Staying Organized with Deals: People problem or Technology problem?

I recently ran a poll here asking about some of the problems that AEs face day to day and got some great results. One of the main problems that people voted for was "Staying Organized with Deals".


This is something that I struggle with as well and was curious what others thought about this problem. I currently use a few different "tools" to stay organized like Slack notes, reminders, and a daily recurring meeting that I use as a notepad to update the next steps of my deals.


I'd love to hear what others use to solve this problem and also would love to hear if this is a people problem or a technology problem.

Do you think staying organized with deals is a problem that can be solved with tech?

Attached poll
*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.
๐Ÿ‘‘ Sales Strategy
๐Ÿ“ˆ Closing
โ˜๏ธ Software Tech
17
Telehealth_2the_Moon
Notable Contributor
9
Director of Business Development
All the tech in the world doesn't help someone stay organized if they don't know or don't care to use it right.

My advice for people is to start simple, use tasks in your CRM and flags/follow-ups/reminders in your email client. If you're not able to consistently do that then you probably aren't going to get the value from paying for a fancier solution.
ObtaintheGrain
Opinionated
3
Account Executive
That's a great point... I guess it depends on the rep. If you're organized already then a fancier tool might help but if you're unorganized nothing will help except getting organized
jefe
Arsonist
2
๐Ÿ
100% this. Tech can assist but not solve.
Notmyrealname
Politicker
1
AE
Nothing is foolproof for a talented fool ๐Ÿ˜‚
ObtaintheGrain
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
Hahha this is great
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
this was exactly what I was going to comment.
I still use a simple spread sheet because it works for me.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
๐ŸฆŠ
Too much tech can make it worse.
jefe
Arsonist
2
๐Ÿ
Too true
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
6
Professional Day Ruiner
it can only be solved with tech if the reps choose to use said tech. can't force automation/organization.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
4
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
You get out of it what you put into it.
Justatitle
Big Shot
3
Account Executive
It depends on the volume but it likely more so falls on the individual to stay on top of their deals.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
2
Account Executive
I think it all comes down to the person. Tech can enable you to stay more organized for sure, but only if the person is willing and able to use it. I think the problem has to be solved on a personal level, not with external things like technology
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
2
Sales Rep
Depends on the person, the most organized people I know are the pen and paper/with a calendar book. But those are the outliers
JustGonnaSendIt
Politicker
2
Burn Towns, Get Money
It is fundamentally a process and skill problem.

Technology can enable it. But bad input still = bad output.

I mean, if you think about it pen and paper are just technology to help stay organized...

Need to practice the fundamentals to make technology have any value. Poor fundamentals will just lead to spending too much effort on administrating the technology itself rather than doing the meaningful work.
RckChlkG33k
Big Shot
2
AE (Account Executive)
If you build a tech platform (like a CRM) with the end goal of closing deals instead of a marketing contact repository or reporting tool, it can be done.

I've seen CRM implementations fail time and again because the main users of the system aren't consulted as to how it should be set up and what it's actually trying to do.
Epictetus
Valued Contributor
1
SaaSy
Sometimes tech becomes a crutch. Like, you start relying on it to close the deals, as opposed to knowing how to close deals. Having tech to organize your thoughts is only good if you have good practices to start with.
salezkween
Opinionated
1
Enterprise Account Executive
You have to be disciplined and use tech to scale mundane tasks.

As an IC, Iโ€™ve set up my own Troops Salesforce integration in Slack to ping me when to update next steps, etc.

I set up Troops Outreach integration so I get a notification whenever someone opens one of my emails more that 3 times so I donโ€™t have to log into Outreach to see who is engaged.

I use Kosmotime to block my tasks in my calendar and chip away at my to doโ€™s
Douglo
Opinionated
1
Sr Account Executive
I have severe ADHD and I don't take meds so I am a mess, but the right simple tech stack can make a world of difference.

Outlook > Pin all active email threads even if it's a follow up in a month. This way every time you open your email you can check if you need to follow up or respond

To Do > Anything pops in your mind "oh I gotta do that", throw it in To Do

Gong > We all know I'm not taking good notes, just watch the call back

One note > Try to take notes as best you can

CRM > Have the home page display all your opps so you never forget
ADK
Opinionated
0
VC Associate
Tech definitely helps but without the strategy and ways to perfect it, it's not a magic wand. There's a big section on "Good to Great" by Jim Collins (one of the best business books) if using the best tech makes a great business, answer is nope.
TheIncarceration
Politicker
0
SDR Manager
Tools are only as good as the person using them
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
0
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I think itโ€™s a personal problem to the core. A person can have all the tools in the world, but it doesnโ€™t make them a carpenter.
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
0
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
Nope. Can't be solved with tech. Will issue mostly.
6

Since pandemic pushing everyone to wfh, many people are of the opinion that all aspects of businesses (at least for software) can be done remotely. How many of you still believe that persona touch goes a long way to close a sales deal?

Question
12
Which would you rather do?
36% WFH sales closure
26% In person sales closure
38% I can care less as long as I'm closing
78 people voted
4

At an very early start up, extremely innovative with zero competitors. Like a typical start up we make drastic changes often and are having a hard time closing our target market deals. Any advice how to stay motivated?

Advice
8
7

How often does your company leadership change the story on Closed/Won deals?

Discussion
6
This happens...
30% All the time
30% Some of the time
40% Never bro
30 people voted