“Over promise, under deliver. Salespeople frequently make promises that are nearly impossible to keep. Salesmen sell the dream in order to get their prospects to sign the deal.”
Ron Roberts trains construction sales teams. He spreads the blame around—sales reps, field crews, operations teams, and even customers receive their share of the blame.
His criticism is harsh, but is he right?
Construction CRM: How Top Sales Teams Outperform Their Competitors
Roberts goes on a rant.
“Standard practice is over promise, under deliver. That is not a winning approach. The goal of your business should be sell the dream, deliver the dream. Neither over promise nor under deliver.
By the way, that better be a two-way street with the customer. The client better be paying legitimately for the dream. That means paying more than the lowest price. Promising great price with great service is the underlying cause of the Sell the Dream – Live the Nightmare problem.
Most salesmen forget that dreams cost money. Too often, they include a great price in the dream.” (Source)
Is this really because sales reps, field crews, operations teams, and customers are all selfish and lazy?
Not at all. It’s actually a systems problem. Here are some common problems construction sales teams face:
- Sales, customer service, operations, and field service teams aren’t in sync.
- You’re dealing with silos, turf wars, and disagreements as people in each department fight for control.
- Your sales reps are willing to say whatever they have to to close the deal.
- Customers expect huge discounts for their dream outcome.
- Sales reps oversell your services while field service under-deliver, ignoring specs and company standards.
The underlying cause that drives these is not a people problem; it’s a system and procedures problem—meaning, a problem with your construction lead management system.
But what do workflows have to do with anything? Well, all of the problems I’ve mentioned above can be fixed with the right workflows. Here’s how:
- With the right workflows in place, teams and departments are automatically in sync.
- Performance standards are upheld; sales reps can’t go rogue without everyone knowing about it.
- A written record of conversations between customers and sales reps means over-promising goes away. Audits will expose repeat offenders quickly.
- If sales conversations align with expectations, these conversations can be used to audit field service. If they under-deliver, it’s going to be painfully obvious. Poor performers won’t be able to shift the blame.
- Workflow automation will minimize silos, turf wars, and disagreements over time as employees and teams run into boundaries enforced by software.
If you want this to work, you need to enforce it.
There are two ways to enforce these workflows and achieve these outcomes. (1.) You put this on your sales managers. From then on, your sales managers must crack the whip. It works, but it’s exhausting for your managers, and it’s not great for morale. (2.) You rely on software to enforce boundaries. Here’s the great thing about software. It’s a faceless enemy your team can complain about, but they’re forced to comply with.
This is why CRM workflow automation is so significant.
What Is (Construction) CRM Workflow Automation?
CRM Workflow automation uses software + systems to automate the manual and repetitive tasks in your business.
Owners and stakeholders set predefined rules, conditions, and events. These workflows become systems and procedures that are enforced by the CRM software and managed by people.
What Can Construction CRM Automation Workflow Do?
- Automates manual and repetitive tasks like approvals, data entry and collection, notifications, next steps, and updates.
- Uses if/then conditional logic to guide projects, prevent bottlenecks, and avoid unfavorable conditions and events. Learn more about applying conditional fields and formatting to your sales data.
- Connects multiple platforms (e.g., construction sales tools, accounting software, lead scoring, phone systems, web analytics, and proposal software), ensuring that the data exchange is seamless and consistent.
- Set up important notifications and dashboards for at-a-glance, ad hoc, and comprehensive analysis. What does this mean? Your executives have the high-level overview they need to make important decisions. Directors and managers can use workflow automation to create deep dives in performance data. Sales, support, and marketing reps have the specific data they need to increase revenue and retention.
CRM Workflow automation keeps your sales team focused on closing more deals. Reps are less focused on administrative tasks because they are automated and managed by their construction sales tools.
Related: discover the best 5 CRM for construction companies based on their features, prices, and user reviews.
What Are the Benefits of CRM Workflow Automation?
At first glance, workflow automation seems like it’s too good to be true. As if it’s more of the same—over promise, under deliver. Is that true?
Not at all. If you’re using a construction CRM, workflow automation comes with significant benefits. A recent survey of 7,700 sales reps across 38 countries found the majority spent less than 30% of their time selling. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits we can expect.
- Increased sales rep productivity. With CRM automation, your sales reps will spend more time on high-value tasks—building relationships, submitting proposals, closing deals, etc.
- Automated data entry and validation. You can capture, organize, and verify inbound leads with the right tools. You’ll be able to prioritize your leads based on predetermined criteria (e.g., engagement, deal stages, project size, etc.).
- Semi-automated lead nurturing. With AI-assisted messaging and automated email drip campaigns, your reps will be able to automatically follow up with prospects who are interested in your product and service.
- Better customer interactions. Workflow automation improves your relationships with customers. It gives you consistent reminders to follow up with prospects. Not sure what to say? Use AI assistants to craft messages that are personalized and meaningful. When you use this workflow automation, it’s easy to keep deals moving forward. Sales reps can funnel more prospects towards a yes or no outcome.
- Improved accuracy. With workflow CRM automation, you can automate calculations and document creation. This means fewer errors on proposals, quotes, contracts, bids, and projects. It’s also a huge benefit because there are no missed or forgotten milestones in the process. It’s great for sales because reps can close more deals in a shorter period of time.
How Does CRM Automation Work for Construction Lead Management?
Your marketing is working. Your company generates 50% more leads than you did last quarter. That’s great news, right? Not so much.
Your sales team hasn’t been following up with most of the leads marketing is bringing in. The spreadsheets you’ve used to manage your leads, deals, and projects aren’t being used. Forty percent of your leads are slipping through the cracks. You’re not sure what your reps are working on.
So you do the smart thing: You add a construction CRM with powerful automation solutions.
Then you get to work. You customize your deal stages. You add the proposal, quote, and contract templates you need to ensure your sales team is on the right track. You use CRM automation to create several email templates—welcome, nurturing, and follow-up emails. You create scripts for your sales team to use over the phone. You document guidelines and educate your sales reps on the incentives process for those who qualify for discounts or bonuses. You show reps how to apply them and the authorization process you want them to follow.
Sales reps spend most of their time on administrative tasks—non-sales to-do items that make it harder to close deals and meet quotas. CRM automation keeps reps focused on the revenue-generating activities that matter most. This includes:
- First contact messages (e.g., welcome emails, response calls, text or chat messages).
- Contacting existing customers
- Cold outreach. (Use these cold outreach email templates to get started.
- Prospect follow-up (Steal these ‘are you still interested?’ follow-up email templates)
- Lead nurturing
- Pitch/presentations
- Submitting quotes/proposals
- Disqualifying poor leads (using this lead quality measurement system)
- Upselling or order-taking
- Signing contracts
The more time sales reps spend on these activities, the more deals they’ll close. There are hidden benefits, too.
When sales reps spend their time on revenue-generating activities, managers can immediately identify problems with a significant degree of accuracy.
- Imagine that one of your sales reps has a lower-than-average conversion rate on their cold outreach messages, and you know where they need training.
- Do deals fall apart after your reps give their presentation? You know you need to improve your pitch, offer, or pricing.
- Are you consistently losing deals to a lowball competitor? Your positioning needs work.
CRM workflow automation gives you a clear sense of direction, showing you where to place your attention. You aren’t spinning their wheels, working on tasks that won’t generate revenue.
Why Are Construction Companies Hesitant to Switch to Crms?
What is it about CRMs that makes the switch so difficult? There are several reasons.
1. Getting Team Buy-in Is Difficult
Stakeholders are worried sales reps, customers, and field service won’t use the CRM they’re paying for. If you allow your team to weigh in, you’ll earn their buy-in (this doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. This isn’t a decision by consensus). Give them a chance to voice their concerns. Once you’ve earned their buy-in, work with a trusted provider to onboard and support them as they adjust to the transition.
2. Stakeholders Can’t Afford to Have Downtime
It’s a common perception; I signed up for these tools, and now I have to spend more time and money learning how to use them when I should be working. The right tool comes with the right support. For example, Pipeline CRM helps you migrate your sales data, trains your team, and provides ongoing setup and support. Even better, our construction CRM is simple and easy to use.
3. The Perceived Learning Curve Is Just Too Steep
Learning this will take a significant amount of time, energy, and effort, and the payoff isn’t there. The easier your CRM is to use, the more likely your team will use it.
4. What We’re Doing Is Working
A construction CRM would be nice, but our spreadsheets, custom software tools, or old-school methods are still working. The problem with this point of view? What got you here won’t get you there. Your current approach won’t take your business to the next level.
It’s okay to be hesitant. However, if you choose the right construction CRM software, you’ll find that the benefits are immediate, significant, and consistent. You’ll find your sales team is immediately more productive, with the benefits improving over time.
Adopt a Construction CRM With Powerful Sales Automation Solutions
Many construction companies struggle with a lack of alignment across their teams. Sales, customer service, operations, and field service often operate in silos, leading to several issues, such as:
- Overselling: sales teams, lacking clear guidelines, may overpromise services to secure deals.
- Underdelivering: field service teams may not meet the promised standards, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
- Unrealistic Expectations: customers may demand unreasonable discounts based on inflated promises.
These are systemic issues that require a coordinated solution. Implementing a robust CRM automation system, such as Pipeline CRM for contractors, is a crucial first step.
By integrating your CRM with your existing systems and procedures, you can establish clear sales processes, automate sales workflows, and improve customer service.
Experience the Pipeline CRM Difference today. Sign up for a 14-day free trial.