A couple of weeks ago I was asked to deliver a webinar to the SalesForcecommunity. As I prepared my presentation I came to the realization that the term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) isn’t the right one anymore.
The concept of CRM gained in popularity as companies realized that software could help them manage the customer conversation. It allowed them to make smarter sales & marketing decisions. Most importantly, it helped them manage the customer until the sale was closed.
Prospects became leads; leads became opportunities, and opportunities could be managed with carefully crafted sales processes until the sale was made.
The sale itself has often been viewed as the final event, the objective, and the end result to be achieved.
But today, the best businesses are recognizing the importance of a Customer Relationship Lifestyle (CRL).
(Hat tip to my friend Shawn Veltman for riffing with me on this late one evening)
You don’t build wealth by closing the sale.
You build it when you realize you’re selling your products and services to real people who can become your company’s most valuable asset. They represent your company’s most precious future resource.
They are equity in the bank, and the ultimate resource you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to nurture, cultivate, and care for.
If you want to make some money here and there, then by all means adopt the latest and greatest CRM strategies for your company. Adopt a CRM mindset and strive to always be closing.
It’s easy to make money selling things.
But [tweetable alt=”If you want to build real wealth, then you need to develop and own the assets.”]if you want to build real wealth, then you need to develop and own the assets. [/tweetable]
[tweetable alt=””]You don’t close the sale; that’s simply the start of the relationship.[/tweetable]
Nobody ever won Monopoly any other way.
