Graham Richardson

Helping teams across a range of industries organise their sales processes, get more from their pipeline & to #SellSmarter.

A sales professional with over 14 years’ experience. CRM & SaaS enthusiast, always happy to share his knowledge & insights, Graham is a regular contributor to industry publications and blogs.

25 articles

How CRM Helps Insurance Brokers Improve Business Performance

A sales-focused CRM can help improve business performance for insurance brokers. It helps with prospecting, data quality, renewal rates, measuring effectiveness and many more.
- for sales leaders
Inside Sales: 7 Steps to Help Build an Effective Inside Sales Process

Creating an effective sales funnel needn't be difficult. With a little prior planning and research, you can begin building an effective and repeatable sales funnel in no time. The road to success, however, doesn't have a straightforward or easy answer. Not because it’s overly complicated, but because there are a lot of variables to consider throughout the process, so what works well for one company or industry may not apply to you & yours.
6 Challenges Facing Insurance Brokers & How to Overcome Them

As the insurance industry has evolved, so too have the challenges facing insurance brokers. From keeping up with technological advances to maintaining financial stability, through to managing changes in regulations and Brexit – today’s insurance broker faces a myriad of challenges.
How to Choose a CRM System

As the world of business and industry becomes ever more competitive, choosing the correct CRM software will not only help your business get ahead of your competitors but allow you to become more efficient. Regardless of the size or scope of your business or scope, CRM software can do a vast amount of work, from understanding and nurturing your current customers to building new client relationships and automating time-consuming processes.
- general
Applying Agile Methods to B2B Sales Teams

Those familiar with project management processes, or those working in or closely with software development, will undoubtedly have heard of the Agile Methodology. In this article we explore how employing an Agile methodology to B2B sales practices could help increase user iteration and collaboration, as well as improve accountability, providing better measurement and forecasting to help improve outcomes.
- for salespeople
30+ Sales Support Tools for a Sales Hacker

When you work in sales, a big part of your job is interacting with other people, building relationships and analysing needs. However, the more you sell, the more activities you need to automate to sell faster, better and smarter. Only then, you can really hope to scale your business. Below, you will find some tools that can help you with that, making your everyday job a lot easier.
- for salespeople
Everything You Need to Know about Follow-Ups

Closing a deal can be a never-ending hustle and waiting game. First, you carry out your research in order to identify the prospects who have buying potential. Then comes the cold outreach. You launch your campaign or send your pitch, happy in the knowledge of a job well done - but it but it doesn’t end here. Your job finishes when you make a sale, and even then we should be following up and ensuring customer satisfaction. There is still a long way to go to…
10 Processes You Can Scale Using B2B Automation

When your business is ready to grow, there are multiple processes to coordinate. It can be difficult to know where to place your focus, and the demand on your company’s resources can soon outstrip supply. Automation helps to streamline your processes, making them optimally efficient as you begin to grow your brand. This supports the business at a critical time, drives productivity, and ultimately saves you money.
5 Ways Defining Your Sales Process Can Benefit Your Business

Be honest... How well do you know ‘your’ sales process? And could you write down each stage, step and action if asked? A well-defined sales process is crucial in helping your business grow...
Why Your Outbound Strategies Might Not Be Working

A dilemma for all marketing professionals is finding a balance between outbound and inbound marketing strategies. Traditional advertising still has a place, but the advent of social media has developed inbound marketing into a sales machine, allowing SMEs to remain competitive. In this article, we’ll take a look at the reasons why outbound strategies have lost their gleam and the ways in which inbound techniques can offer better results.
5 Lessons from Top Marketers That Work for Small Businesses

You don’t always have to come up with a ground-breaking new marketing strategy to improve your business results. It can be rewarding to look at the efforts of bigger companies and experienced marketers and translate their learnings into your small business. Get inspired by the five tips below from experienced marketers and see how you can implement them in your business.
How to Support Your Staff in Using Automation

Automation can have spectacular benefits for businesses of all sizes, in all sectors. Whether it involves new software, equipment, or a combination, automation can drive efficiency, better resource management, and greater cost-effectiveness.
9 Productivity Hacks for B2B Sales Teams

If you are currently working, or have ever worked, in sales, you’ll know the feeling... That desire to not only help nurture your clients and deliver the service/product they need but to close your deals and see your sales figure skyrocket. But what if you could make your sales results skyrocket, simply by making a few simple changes to the way you work?
Connect Livespace to over 70 different apps using PieSync

Livespace is delighted to be able to offer over 70 different integrations through its new connection with PieSync. This unique 2-way contact sync creates a connection between your Livespace account and your Marketing Automation platform, your Customer Care app, your Cloud Accounting apps, eCommerce and many more.
DMS & CRM in the Automotive Industry – Do You Need Them Both?

If you’re working in or around the automotive sector, you will have undoubtedly heard the acronym, DMS or Dealer Management System.
5 Ways to Boost Your CRM Adoption

Organizations spend countless hours reviewing, analyzing and testing multiple CRM options on the market. They may well test several options, before selecting the one that best suits their needs. Oftentimes they may spend thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) on customer relationship management software.
How Effective Is Your B2B Sales Process

With all of the buzz and panic around the upcoming GDPR changes, many are scrambling to ensure they are prepared – and quite rightly so. But before you rush to consolidate all your data and purge your contact lists, ask yourself - how effectively do you capitalize on the data within your sales and marketing strategies?
B2B Sales Funnels & the Role of CRM

Working with existing customers is fantastic, however, without an outbound sales strategy, many companies may find it difficult to grow and expand - particularly if the competition gets there first.
How Is Your Customer Experience?

Every business and business owner has their own idea(s) regarding the key to their success. All of them must provide, and are expected to provide, an exceptional customer experience.
When Should I Make the Move from Spreadsheets to CRM?

For most start-ups and new businesses, spreadsheets have been king. There are a few tell-tale signs that it may time to make the move from Excel & spreadsheets to CRM.
CRM – More Than Just Lead Management

Sometimes referred to as customer acquisition management or contact management, lead management is the process of tracking and managing your prospective customers, and is a critical part of keeping your pipeline fresh and filled with new prospects.
Why Your Sales Reps Are Losing Deals

Working in sales can be a turbulent experience. When you deliver your numbers and meet your targets, life is grand. Relatively stress free. But when you’re chasing targets and missing numbers, it can all seem too much.
How Customer Expectations Impact the Growth of CRM

Customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted, and so companies are focusing on delivering a seamless customer journey, with a view to build a relationship with their consumers. Subsequently, organizations across multiple sectors and industries are investing heavily in CRM to help drive an improved multi-channel customer experience.
- for sales leaders
5 Ways to Tell If You Need CRM

A good CRM system can alleviate many of the headaches that come with managing a business that is poised for fast growth. So how do you know if you need a CRM solution? Have a look at the 5 key areas.
Why Use CRM for Your Business?

In today's competitive markets, the companies that best manage their customer relationships are more likely to succeed than those that don't. And with the digital age of social media, consumer feedback is now at everyone’s fingertips.