Sales is a vital part of every organization. Without it, your business will struggle to grow. And your CRM is one of the most important tools in your arsenal – you rely on the data to target the right prospects, book sales calls and close deals. But our new research study shows that bad CRM data quality and a lack of alignment between the sales and credit control teams are leading to lost deals (i.e. revenue).
Late payments be damned; sales teams doggedly chase leads regardless of risk
44% of the surveyed sales professionals admitted they would still pursue a sales lead even if it was a habitual late payer and had a poor business credit score. This might explain why so few (18%) of the respondents cited ‘strong financial health and ability to pay on time’ as the most important factor when qualifying new business leads.
Sales rejections sting even more when they come from your own finance team
While you might think most deals are being rejected by prospects themselves, our study indicates it’s often coming from your own finance team. In fact, almost half (47%) of the surveyed sales professionals confirmed they have up to 10 deals rejected each month by the finance team.
Credit policy ignorance is not bliss: Is tension between sales & finance to blame?
Our study found that credit policy ignorance is more of the rule than the exception in US businesses. While 21% of the respondents said their company doesn’t have a credit policy, 17% said they don’t even know if there is one at their company. To make matters worse, 42% of the respondents confirmed that they have little to no understanding of their company’s credit policy.
Download the full report