Harris KhanFor some time now, the financial services industry has been booming. Firms have achieved record fundraising levels, expanded investment strategies, become more global in nature, and grown in size. While much of that growth has been prompted by the success of people, technology has also played a large role in helping the overall firm to succeed. In an effort to maintain a competitive posture in this environment, hundreds of firms have relied on DealCloud’s financial services CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution.
To help other financial professionals understand the value of CRM, we’ve decided to pose and answer some of the questions that our clients most often ask. This guide is intended to answer some of the common questions related to CRM solutions and how they may help your private equity firm.
Know The Difference Between CRM and ERP
Private equity firms often have a multitude of tools and technology at their disposal, making it more likely than not that you’ve worked with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in the past. A subset of ERP, customer relationship management (CRM) is a specific strategy that is built around the idea of managing customers and prospects with enhanced tools. Of course, managing your customer data is the most important part of the process. By collecting and storing data from multiple channels, CRM solutions allow you to leverage that information in multiple ways. One of the most important ways is through the creation a unique profile.
What Is an Individual Profile With CRM?
An individual profile is a point of contact that has their own information tied to it. From here, you’re able to make that information specific, with data including their team, geographic location, and how they prefer to be contacted. In the case of CRM, the idea goes that companies can collect data from a number of places and beyond your first contact with them, a CRM system can help you retain and manage that information, and continue to sharpen and refine your contact information. By doing this on an individual level, private equity firms are able to keep quality top of mind during their interactions.
Key Benefits of CRM for Private Equity
- Breaking Down Silos One of the important parts of a comprehensive CRM solutions is that it actually removes the silos that you have been developing in your firm over time. By developing individual profiles of various contacts, CRM systems can help private equity firms develop a more cohesive picture of their clients, and maximize relationships. It is important to note that the key is to have data that is also current and updated. Anything older than the current year is considered to be outdated. Many private equity firms have found that gathering this information can make it easier to disseminate and share knowledge with other different departments and departments.
- Gaining Better Insight into Your Prospects by Leveraging the Information in Your CRM System. A solid set of CRM tools helps you to create a unified profile around a contact, and it also provides a thorough understanding of the contact’s strengths and weaknesses. A private equity firm is often working with numerous prospect profiles at any given time, and by utilizing technology, they can get a better idea of what they need, whether it is related to an investment opportunity or the entire engagement. CRM systems help private equity firms to keep track of information, ranging from dates and due dates, to notes related to a deal. This information can be leveraged by the firm to make the most of its time and resources during an engagement. Creating Prospect Profiles
Of course, you can also do this externally by providing a prospect profile in the hopes of getting them connected to the right person within your firm. By utilizing the information you have available and by updating this information on an ongoing basis, you’re able to ensure that an organization is not just a function of limited information, but instead, it is based upon a solid understanding of the client.
In order to make the most of your engagement with clients, you first need to make sure that you have a full understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish. Using this information, you can tailor your solution to provide prospects and clients with a service that is really going to help them advance their goals and needs. This is why using a trusted CRM solution is so important. In many cases, you are provided with a system that can help you to make quick decisions, and it is a quick way to share information with the right people, allowing you to maintain that in-depth understanding into a client or prospect.
Manage Deals in Real Time
CRM solutions also allow private equity firms to complete a deal and track fundamental information in real time. These pieces of information, ranging from important dates, to key milestones, can help firms identify what they will need to do next, or what potential red flags they should be aware of. It is important to note that real time information in your CRM tool is key to the overall success of a private equity firm. By taking the time to establish proper profiles, you’re ensuring that you’re able to have the data you need to keep track of contact information. The better you are able to follow up directly with the client, the more likely you’re going to convert them into an investor.
Additionally, by keeping this information organized and properly stored, it is likely to continue to serve you well for years to come. There will always be a need for your firm to interact with clients. After all, one of the main reasons companies are so interested in investing with private equity firms is because of the tailored and personal approach. With information at your fingertips, you’ll be able to perform faster, develop more, and expand your reach and influence over time.
Why Do You Need a CRM for Private Equity?
There are a number of reasons why private equity firms are finding that CRM systems are becoming increasingly popular. For a number of these firms, the key is to have plenty of information to work with in addition to the information and background that they receive on clients. They’re able to have a more comprehensive understanding of what is driving them to invest and why their company is a good fit along with their needs. However, the key is to make sure that you are able to communicate this information to the team, particularly your team members in different departments. Each team is coming into a private equity firm with their own skill set and with different goals, and that means you’ll have to be able to communicate this information to them in a way that they will understand, and will also be able to present a position that is helpful to understanding the private equity firm.
By creating this individual profile, you’re able to use CRM tools to help you to make a larger impact with the work that you are doing. By keeping information up-to-date, you also ensure that you’re giving each client the most robust service that you can provide. It is important to note that the perfect solution for one firm may not work for all, but by getting a commitment to the value of CRM, you’ll be able to develop your own specific approach to information management.
The key is to ensure that you’re using this information to share with your team members and others inside the firm. By collecting information on each client, you’re paving the way for future information to be shared by individual teams, making it easier for each member of the firm to share this information and more easily leverage it across teams. Remember, learning from data is what enables each stakeholder to work to their full potential.
The Importance of Regular Commitment
One of the most important components of any position is to ensure that the information being collected is current and up to date. This is something that is going to make a big difference in the long run. You want to make sure that the process is designed in such a way that it is going to prompt users to update their own information, and it is going to help them to ensure that critical information is being utilized in the most effective way. Obviously, this is going to vary from private equity firm to private equity firm, and it will also vary based upon your specific needs. Having a system in place that will prompt you to consider different action items and list down key tasks for you in a way that is easy to view (and easy to update) is what you’re really going for when it comes to your CRM.
The key is to find a solution that will work to connect you with all of the contacts you’ve been able to build over time. These prospects are likely to continue to be in your business, so it is important to be able to keep up with their experiences. You want to be able to leverage information from all possible channels, whether it is social media, or other data points that exist like press coverage. It is also important to take some time to make sure that this information is staying current and up to date. While there will be a number of different channels available to you, it is important to find the one that works best for you specifically, and it is also important to make sure that you are able to use various CRM tools to record information and to keep it up to date.
Managing Prospects and Claims
While this information is likely going to be shared with others, the primary goal is to make it easier to track this information and to ensure that your firm is able to leverage the knowledge you have on a continual basis. As your firm is able to collect more data, you’ll be able to leverage more actionable information. By utilizing a CRM for strategic insights, you’ll be able to make the most effective decisions when it comes to the private equity firm.
Additionally, you’ll be able to uncover trends and other data that you’d likely have missed otherwise. By leveraging information to develop strategies, you’re creating a much more effective approach to managing your business. Along with organization, this is going to give you a better handle on what is working and what isn’t, and it is going to give you a better ability to formulate an actionable plan going forward. By using your data as a foundation, you’re going to be able to take the time to come up with an informed set of strategies that you can put into place. This is going to make it easier for your firm to move forward, and it is also going to allow you to get a better understanding of who the best prospects are, the ones that you want to invest in, and at the same time, the ones that you want to be very wary of.
One common problem that many private equity firms face is a lack of access to the right kind of data. With a CRM, you’re able to consolidate many of your contacts. This is something that is going to help your firm to think more strategically, and it is also going to allow you to leverage information more effectively. This is something that has an immediate impact on your firm. You want to make sure that you have all of your data in one place, and you want to make sure that it is updated in real time. With the right private equity CRM, you’re going to make the most of what you have, and you’ll be very effective as you’re responsive, and you’re able to put all of this information to good use.
One of the most important things that you can do to raise the profile of your private equity firm is to make sure that you are able to combine your strengths with those of your clients. In many cases, the relationships that you’re able to develop will be stronger if they are formed through a firm that is already aligned with the investor. This is a thing that you want to be able to leverage going forward, and it is also important to create a profile for every single client. This is a thing that will enable you to understand more about each and every client. This is a thing that is going to provide you with a substantial competitive advantage, and it is equally important to make sure that you are able to leverage the data
