Recently my wife was going away for the weekend. She told me where she was going, and I forgot. I know she had told me a few times but sometimes my listening skills at home are not as good as they could be. The funny thing is I spent the last couple of days before she went away trying to get more clues about where she was going without losing credibility and asking directly. It didn’t work. I ended up straight out asking and suffering those consequences (I should say small consequences). Do you think I need a CRM at home?
What if you could capture all those important conversations at home or with friends? How good could you become as a spouse, a friend, a parent? If you remembered those important dates and never forgot a birthday, how would that make you seem? What if you became a better communicator? Would you like that people could rely on you more, ask your advice, invite you to all the best parties, and when you go, you have better conversations?
What about when you master these skills and then use them to communicate better with ten spouses (well, maybe not that part), a hundred people or even a thousand more? You are now building a personal brand that goes beyond your closest friends. You are becoming a legend. If you answered yes to these, then maybe you need a CRM at home. I might need one at home. I might forget things and know I could be better, but I will not make that mistake in my professional life.
Now, what about being the most successful in your company or your chosen industry? The reason I mention this is because if you are a salesperson and you want to be an expert in sales, then you need a CRM or actually using the one you have been provided with properly. I cannot believe I am still saying this in 2025, but if you are not recording client information, then you are doing your clients and your company a disservice. And we are not even talking about all the other valuable things a modern CRM can give you. Don’t get me started on that.
One of the best stories of successful use of a CRM without actually using a CRM was Joe Girard. Joe was recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records when he sold 1,425 cars in one year. To put that into context, that is about four cars every single day of the year. How did he do this? The first thing he did was understand the value of information on his clients. This was before CRMs existed, so he used a Rolodex. He knew birthdays, preferences, who liked V8s or leather seats, and how his customers liked to be treated. He kept this information on thousands of people. There was no way he could do that without recording it. I hate to tell you this, but you simply cannot remember all those conversations on your own.
The very letters of CRM stand for “Customer Relationship Management” managing your relationships with clients better. Who does not want to do that better? Aren’t they your most important assets? There is plenty of research showing the value of CRM to salespeople, not just to managers.
But and this is a “big but”, companies do not just need a CRM; they need to use it well. When we hear that a CRM was not successful, most likely it was not the tool. It was poor leadership, poor culture, bad implementation, and especially resistance to change from salespeople. If you do not like change, I promise you that you are not going to enjoy the future.
As I mentioned, I still cannot believe I see salespeople pushing back on CRMs or not understanding their value. We often see the tail wagging the dog in how a company uses the tool. Like your laptop, your phone, and your product knowledge, a CRM is table stakes. Get over yourself and become a professional but perhaps no need to worry about getting one at home. I am not even sure that is a thing!
