A CRM Excel template is often one of the first tools sales reps use to organize customers. It's familiar, flexible, and easy to customize with contact information, sales stages, follow-up dates, notes, and opportunities. For a small customer list, that can work perfectly well. But as outside sales teams grow, spreadsheets can become harder to maintain.
For a small customer list, that can work perfectly well.
The challenge starts when the territory grows. One hundred accounts become three hundred, follow-ups get buried in rows, and reps have to remember to update everything after a full day of customer visits.
Outside sales happens in the field, not behind a spreadsheet. Reps are driving between appointments, visiting job sites, making calls, and talking with customers. Waiting until the end of the day to update Excel makes it easier for important details and follow-ups to get lost.
Spreadsheets also make territory planning difficult. An address in a row doesn't show which customers are nearby, which accounts haven't been visited recently, or where the best opportunities are concentrated.
As teams grow, sharing spreadsheets creates another challenge. Multiple versions, accidental changes, and inconsistent updates can make it difficult to know which information is current. This is why working within a CRM Excel template can create some challenges.
Excel isn't failing. Excel is doing exactly what it was designed to do: organize information. But as sales teams grow, they often need technology that does more than store customer data. Harvard Business Review has explored how sales organizations can use technology, data, and analytics to improve the way their teams sell.
But eventually, sales teams need more than rows and columns. They need customer information, follow-ups, field activity, and territory visibility in one place. A CRM Excel template can be a great starting point. When maintaining the spreadsheet starts taking time away from selling, though, it may be time for a CRM built specifically for outside sales.
Looking for a better way to manage customer information without relying on spreadsheets? RepMove gives outside sales teams a CRM built for the field, making it easier to track customer activity, manage follow-ups, plan routes, and stay organized while reps are on the road. Try RepMove free.
