Zoho Sprints is Zoho's project management software. It is a dedicated tool for scrum masters, following best practices for Agile management. The core purpose of this tool is to practice Agile using the Scrum methodology. From planning through to execution, every single process is segmented across different stages, called modules. 

Zoho Sprints works on the core concept of Agile project management and is best suited for teams that practise or want to practice agile on day to day basis. It’s potentially a good alternative to Microsoft DevOps and Jira Confluence. However, it’s new compared to the other two and still in the process of improvement and growth. From our personal experience, we consider this tool easier to start with for small teams. 

As discussed last time it's a best practice to start with a message. So let's welcome the user and share what type of bot are we. Select Show a message and then introduce your bot (see example below):

This is how this step should look like after the above edits. 

Now repeat the above steps and create a few more questions, one to get the number of days and another to get the starting date. Also, don’t forget to rename your variables to something meaningful. We are going to use them later when building our first Power Automate Flow. Once you are done you should have something similar to the below:

Type Approvals in the search bar and select the Start and Wait for approval action. Approvals is a very popular action and it allows us to create and send approval requests. At the end of the blog you will see how the approval email is structured.

Finally, give your flow a meaningful name and make sure the Outcome is in the Output parameter.

We are almost there. Now that we have the flow we need to map the Input parameters with our variables and create a Message that will return to the user the outcome from the approval. If you followed the steps above, the mapping should look like the below screenshot:

This is how the approval email looks:

This is all for today, we hope that you enjoyed the blog. As we are going deeper now and investigate many new areas you will realise that Microsoft Power Virtual Agents is much stronger when combined with Microsoft Power Automate capabilities. Reach out if you have any questions!

To get a video introduction to Canvas for Zoho CRM, watch this Zoho Canvas Introduction video. 

Canvas for Zoho CRM is a drag and drop editor with no technical skills required – you don’t need to know how to code in order to use it effectively. Start from scratch or work from one of the pre-loaded templates it comes with, created by Zoho’s in-house designers so that you can hit the ground running. 

If you want to get creative then Canvas for Zoho CRM has an easy-to-use page builder tool for designing CRM systems that will really make your people feel at home. A wide range of formatting options let you craft something truly personal. Edit font colours, adjust padding, switch to tabs, merge fields, refine spacing, and more.

Choose what to show and what to hide, reducing clutter and helping users find key information quickly. You can also decide where each field goes and how they look, like colour coding for better visibility.

Since Canvas for Zoho CRM is included by default in some of Zoho’s CRM plans, there’s no added price for building it out. However, there is a limit to how many views (separate configurations) your organisation can deploy at a given time. These limits are based on the Zoho CRM plan you’re using, and they are:

Free:                 0 views

Standard:        1 view per organisation

Professional:    3 views per organisation

Enterprise:       5 views per module

Ultimate:         25 views per module

Muhammad Waheed Qadir is a Senior Zoho Functional Consultant at CCG. His passion is solving business case studies and recommending the right customer management solutions to clients. 

Now let's navigate to Topics and create one "From blank"

Everyone is familiar with the long-winded monologue by the sales rep. It's a product dump in diguise and has nobody fooled. 

Instead of over-explaining and underestimating your potential buyers knowledge, provide helpful material your listener can read in their own time. This will help you to endure the occassional silence during the audience's moments of consideration, and won't leave them feeling as if your product is going to trump their vision or buying goals. They are less likely to tune out and disengage when you are talking about how you can help them, rather then having a one-way conversation about all the features your product has.

It's a tough time having to talk about the same thing over and over again with varius prospects, but don't let this lead you down the trap of thinking you know what they need. Guide your audience to their own conclusion with well-timed questions about what pains them the most about their current product/service, and why they are looking for a better alternative. Use your own experience and wisdom in smaller doses that help the prospect to verbalise their own goals, challenges and decision-making. You need to employ effective listening actions here, so you are able to fill in the blanks when your audience looks to you for an answer.

You're in sales, we know you can talk. But speaking to the above point, can you listen just as well?

By being the only one filling the silence, you are now effectively wasting your audience's time and your own. Noone enjoys being talked at, so leave plenty of space for the client to 'umm' and 'ahh' over the points you've raised, allow them to give you more information then you may need, because you cannot assume when they are going to give you the gold nugget that opens the floor to you driving that final point home about why they want to invest in you.

You know you are selling a superior product/service, this can best be exemplified by your confidence when you talk and answer questions about it. 

Sometimes, we see sales reps go into the 'us' versus 'them' pitch, where they compare their product/service to another competitor. This is most dangerous when you are making defensive comparisons between your product/service and the one the prospect is already using. 

While it's important to talk about the competition to a degree, a good pitch should only do so when a prospect brings it up themselves. Slow yourself down and hear out their concerns as well as the features they like about it instead of talking the competitor down. This way, you won't deviate from the reasons your product/service and your company would be a better fit for the prospect, and really shows the audience how passionate you are about enriching their lives or business, without highlighting any insecurities you have.

On the same tone as mentioned above, well-timed questions are a key to success in a sales pitch. There is, however, a thin line between gathering information and staging an interrogation. This can be intimidating and cause more confusion when the prospect is trying to highlight their challenges and set goals. 

Also, asking very pointed, personal questions such as 'May I know what deal you have with X company?' or 'What's the price you are currently getting from X?' can immediately send a prospect running. They will divulge that information when they are ready and should not be forced into it. You can instead try to explain why you want certain information if it's feeling on the brink of private, and how it may effect the deal you are able to offer them. Be candid with your responses, and accept that you do not immediately have someone's trust at first meeting. Allow the audience to feel in control of the conversations and has ownership in the sales process.

A common experience amongst buyers is the sales rep begins by showing interest in them, maybe asks some questions, and then loses interest in what they're saying completely, potentially cutting them off or even slowing their speech to meet the prospect at a perceived level of intelligence, creating a barrier of condescension and distrust.

Not only is this a very poor practice of sales and customer service, it also loses repeat business to competitors almost immediately. 

As a sales rep, you cannot leave your prospect feeling like they are too 'dumb' to understand your product/service, or that your time is not worth theirs. Show modesty, and you will show your skills are valuable. Portray the ability to explain a product/service to people across many intelligence levels, your will show your knowledge and passion. If you want to win the sale, you must understand that there will always be someone who can outshine you, then set your goals to do better each time you pitch. 

Customer Consulting Group work with online website building tools, online social management and integration with other products. We would love to get you started today!

Contact Customer Consulting Group at info@customerconsulting.com.au to discover how you can address these areas to strengthen your businesses resiliance, empower your people and digitally transform your team and organisation.