For small grassroots businesses, making the step to invest in sales software isn’t one to be taken lightly. Good sales software programs cost money, and even if your business is growing rapidly, it’s important to save money where you can. 

However, even the best organized small businesses can benefit from some sort of sales software. Whether it’s a CRM software product like Hubspot or a call tracking program like Gong. These programs can help to automate your processes and make life a lot easier. 

But many business owners often think “does my business really need sales software?”. Well,  that’s a great question, and in this article, we’ll cover exactly that. Below, you’ll find 5 different indicators that are a tell-tale sign that it’s time to invest in sales software.

First, let’s take a look at the different types of sales software available to businesses. 

What is sales software and how can it help? 

The term “sales software” can be used to refer to a number of different solutions that can help different areas of your sales processes. Here are some of the most common types of sales software and what they can be used for.

CRM Software

CRM stands for customer relationship management. CRM software can help you to manage the various tasks related to your customers, from storing and organizing their data to managing correspondence and tracking their journeys. Popular CRM solutions include Hubspot and Salesforce

Call Tracking Software

Call tracking software can be used to track sales calls to provide valuable insights about customers and conversions. Popular call tracking software solutions include Gong and Chorus

Sales Intelligence Software 

Sales intelligence software can help you to improve your leads and conversions by collecting and analyzing data related to your sales processes. Popular sales intelligence software includes Hubspot and Prospect.io

5 ways to know when you're ready for sales software

Now you know what types of sales software is available, here are some indicators that your business is ready to take the plunge

1. Your business is expanding faster than your current team can handle

If your business is growing faster than you expected, that’s a great position to be in. But as your business grows, you’ll need more resources to keep it ticking over efficiently. Your first thought may be to hire more help, but with budget constraints, this isn’t always possible. 

That’s where sales software comes in. By choosing software that can automate and organize your processes more efficiently, you can save time for both you and your staff. This means they will have more time to tend to customers’ needs and adapt to the growing demand, and won’t have to waste time on processes that can be automated.

2. Your sales workflow is inconsistent

This is one of the most important reasons to invest in sales software. Your workflow is an important process that ensures all of your leads are nurtured and converted. If your processes are all over the place, then you’d likely benefit from sales or CRM software. 

Here’s an example: A lead puts in an inquiry via your website. They sign up to get a call back about your product or service. You receive a notification about it, but nobody is automatically assigned to complete the call. You don’t have a centralized process to check which callbacks have been completed and which haven’t. As a result, nobody picks up on the callback request, and the lead is lost. 

Alternatively, the opposite could happen. You and three other of your employees follow up with the lead because there was no way to mark the action as completed. The customer receives three similar calls in one day. Not only have three employees wasted time, but the customer is put off by the disorganization of the system. Again, the lead is lost.  

Those are just two of the many negative situations that can arise from an inconsistent sales workflow. With the right sales software, your sales workflow becomes automated. With one centralized software solution managing the various sales tasks, it is clear to all members of the team what tasks are complete and what isn’t. 

You can also keep a closer eye on your funnels and evaluate what is working, and what isn’t when it comes to your sales processes. If your sales are slowing down or picking up, you can use your sales software to analyze your processes and identify what may be causing the changes. 

3. Your organization system isn’t working

The organization is super important for any small business. Especially one that is growing fast. When you first start a business, it's common to start small and not really put much thought into how to organize your different tasks. For example, you may have started out with a simple spreadsheet to collect customer data. Perhaps you were writing down important dates on a paper calendar or using post-it notes to remind yourself of the day's tasks.

But as the list of customers gets longer and longer and your team gets bigger, methods like this can quickly become inefficient. Keeping on top of all the data you have, and accessing it when you need it becomes a lot harder. 

As the old cliche goes, time is money, and if finding the information you need to access takes longer than it should, then it could be time for sales software.  Staying organized not only benefits you and your team but also benefits your customers. When they call up or drop by, you should be able to access all of their information within seconds. You don't want to keep them on the phone whilst you frantically search for the piece of scrap paper that you wrote their information down on. CRM sales software will also make it easy for anyone in the business to access the information they need when they need it. This saves time and improves customer retention. 

4. You want to improve your customer support 

As your business expands, you may begin to see inefficiencies within your processes. If one of these inefficiencies you notice is customer support, then it could be time for sales software. After getting your business off the ground, it's important to start considering customer retention and support as a priority. 

Good customer support will help you to build a good reputation and will make people more likely to recommend your services to others. But how can you improve your customer support without spending a ton of money on a new customer support team? Well, sales and CRM software can help with this.

One key feature of great customer support is providing multiple contact options. As a new business, you may only currently have telephone or email contacts, but with sales software like Hubspot, you can access new methods of customer support like live chat and chatbots.

You can also use sales software to automate processes like sending welcome emails to your customers, staying in touch with customers and giving them updates, and more. This means that your customers can feel more supported and have more ways to get in touch and you won't need to hire many more employees to achieve this. 

Although these all seem like simple changes, they can make a big difference to your customer's experience, and this will help your business to build a reputation as a reliable, helpful, and legitimate company.

5. You’re becoming overwhelmed by your current processes 

This is probably the most important indicator that your business is ready for sales software. If you feel run down, confused, or overwhelmed by your current processes, it's probably time to change things up. 

The human brain is a powerful thing, but when it comes to running a business, there will come a time when there simply isn't any room left for new information. And that's why sales software exists. 

You may feel like you’re saving money managing everything yourself, but investing in sales software may actually improve your financial situation in the long run. 

Sales software automates processes that simply don't need a human to complete them, and this means that you and your employees can focus on those tasks that really benefit from a human touch. 

Staff can spend less time collecting customer data, and more time talking to customers and selling your products. And you can spend less time delegating tasks and checking that everything is running smoothly, and more time innovating and coming up with new ways to make sales. All of this and more leads to more sales and happier customers. 

Final Thoughts

Sales software can be a great investment for growing businesses, and if you haven’t got a good solution already, the points above should help you decide whether or not now is the right time for you. If you want to learn more about the different types of sales software available and other tools that you can use to improve your business processes, check out the rest of our blog.