How to Get Your Sales Team to Use a CRM Properly
- Agnes Lan
- Apr 29
- 6 min read
Getting your sales team to use a CRM properly starts with making it easy to use, relevant to their work, and consistent across the board.
A CRM should not feel like extra work or a policing tool. It should be a system that helps your team close more deals, stay organized, and improve follow-up. When used right, a CRM shows where each deal stands, who’s responsible, and what the next step is.
Most businesses already pay for a CRM, but many don’t see the return because their teams either don’t use it or use it inconsistently.
Salespeople fall back on spreadsheets, emails, or their memory, which creates gaps in communication and missed opportunities. If you want to scale or bring in new reps, you can’t afford that kind of chaos.
CRM adoption is a management issue, not a technology issue. You need to define how it fits into your process, explain why it matters, and hold people to a consistent standard. That’s what this guide will help you do.
Why It's Important to Use a CRM Consistently
Using a CRM consistently ensures your sales process runs the same way every time, regardless of who is doing the selling.
When your team logs their activities, follows the same stages, and tracks the same data points, you can see what’s working, what isn’t, and where to improve. Without that consistency, your reporting is unreliable, and your forecasts are guesses.
Inconsistent CRM use causes breakdowns in follow-up and handoffs. If one rep logs everything and another barely touches the system, your pipeline becomes fragmented. That affects not only your ability to close deals but also how you onboard new team members, manage accounts, and communicate with marketing.
Consistency also makes it easier to hold people accountable. You can’t coach someone on their performance if there’s no clear record of what they’re doing.
A CRM gives you that visibility. It turns sales into a measurable process, not just a personal style. Once your team sees that a properly used CRM helps them stay on top of deals and close faster, they’ll stop seeing it as a chore and start seeing it as a tool.
How To Get Your Team to Use a CRM Properly
Getting your team to use a CRM properly requires more than installing software and telling people to log their calls. You need to build a structure around it.
That means defining the sales process first, training around it, and making sure everyone follows the same rules. CRM adoption doesn’t happen by chance.
It happens when leadership sets expectations, supports the team through change, and stays consistent.
1. Start with Process Before Technology
You need to define your sales process before you introduce or reconfigure a CRM. The order of steps matters.
If you build your CRM first, you end up fitting your process to the tool, instead of the other way around. That creates gaps and workarounds that frustrate your team.
Map out how a sale moves from first contact to closed deal. Identify the stages, the data you need at each step, and who’s responsible for what. Once you’ve got that written down, use the CRM to mirror it.
Every field, dropdown, and stage should match the way your team sells. This makes the system easier to use and eliminates confusion.
2. Use Collaborative Mapping
Bring your sales team into the process when you define or refine your CRM setup. They know the details of what actually happens on a call, what information is useful, and where handoffs break down. If you build the system without them, it won’t reflect how they actually sell.
Run a session where you map the process together. Ask them to walk through a recent deal step by step. Listen for what they record, what they ignore, and what slows them down.
Then, use that input to shape your CRM fields, automation, and workflows. Involving the team makes them more likely to buy in because they’ve helped build the system they’ll use.
3. Standardization Over Individual Habits
A CRM only works if it’s used the same way by everyone. That means standardizing what to log, when to log it, and how to move deals through the pipeline. If every rep uses their own shortcuts or naming conventions, your reporting will break down fast.
Set clear rules. For example: every deal must have a next step. Every contact must be linked to a company. Every call summary goes in the notes field. These are simple habits, but they create a consistent record. That record lets you see patterns across the team, not just isolated success stories.
Standardization also helps when you bring on new hires. If the system is used the same way across the team, it’s easier to train and scale.
4. Train with Context
CRM training needs to show sales reps how the system fits into their day-to-day work. Don’t just walk them through the interface—show them how to use it during a sales call, after a demo, or while managing follow-ups. Training without context won’t stick.
You can record example calls and walk through how that data should be entered in the CRM. Show what “good” looks like. Let reps practice with real or sample opportunities.
Most importantly, explain why it matters—how the CRM helps them close more business, avoid dropped leads, and stay organized under pressure.
Training should also be ongoing. Set time for refreshers and share updates as the system evolves. One-and-done sessions rarely change behaviour.
5. Address Pain Points Directly
If your team avoids the CRM, they probably have a reason. The system might feel clunky, the fields might be redundant, or they may not trust how the data is used. Ignoring those issues won’t solve them—it’ll just drive more workarounds.
Talk to your team directly. Ask them what slows them down or causes friction. Listen without judgment. Sometimes the fix is small: a field gets renamed, a report gets cleaned up, or a duplicate task gets removed.
Other times, you may need to change how data is reviewed in meetings so it doesn’t feel like micromanagement.
Once you address the pain, communicate what’s changing and why. People are more likely to follow a process if they feel heard and see real improvements.
6. Tie Usage to Accountability
You can’t manage what you can’t see. If reps aren’t logging activities or updating opportunities, you have no reliable way to track performance. Make CRM usage a core part of how you measure and manage your team.
Set the expectation that if it’s not in the CRM, it didn’t happen. Build your one-on-ones around the data in the system. Review pipelines, activities, and close rates directly from the reports. This reinforces that the CRM isn’t optional—it’s how business is tracked.
Avoid treating the CRM as just a compliance tool. Instead, frame it as a shared system that helps both reps and managers do their jobs better. Accountability flows both ways.
7. Make CRM Use a Team Habit, Not Just a Rule
Rules don’t change behaviour—habits do. If CRM use feels like something people have to do at the end of the day, it’ll always be a struggle. The goal is to make it part of how the team works, not an extra chore.
Encourage your team to enter notes right after calls, update opportunities during pipeline reviews, and use task reminders to stay on top of follow-ups.
Set the norm that CRM updates happen in real time. That way, the system is always accurate, and no one falls behind.
You can reinforce this with peer expectations too. Celebrate reps who stay organized and share strong records in team meetings. Lead by example. If your managers aren’t using the system, the reps won’t either.
8. Drive Adoption with Change Management
Adopting a CRM or changing how it’s used is a behaviour shift. Like any change, it needs a plan. You’ll need to manage expectations, communicate clearly, and give people time to adjust.
Start by explaining why the change is happening and how it connects to team goals. Involve early adopters or trusted team members who can support others during the rollout. Monitor usage and check in often—not to punish, but to offer help and clear up confusion.
Good change management means staying involved after launch. If leadership treats CRM adoption as a short-term project, the team will too. Keep the process visible, track adoption metrics, and follow up regularly.
Change Connect Can Help with CRM Adoption
Rolling out a CRM—or getting your current one working the way it should—doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
At Change Connect, we work with business owners like you to align your team, build a process that fits your sales cycle, and ensure the system actually gets used.
We don’t just implement software—we help you set the groundwork for long-term sales efficiency and accountability.
As a HubSpot Certified Partner, we’re trained to optimize CRM platforms the right way. Whether you're starting from scratch or trying to fix low adoption, we can help you map your process, train your team, and simplify your tech so it works for the people using it every day.
Don’t let your CRM investment go to waste. Book a consultation with Change Connect today and take the first step toward getting your sales team aligned, efficient, and fully on board.
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