Traditionally CRM is seen as a tool for sales teams to close deals and record interactions & communications and any other relevant information they can think of. But CRM integrates into pretty much anything, giving you the one place where anyone can lookup anything and see the past, present and future. CRM allows you to easily slice and dice your data and target market, and integrates with you telephony and quoting app and ERP and customer service and you never have to run around again asking people for the one email they might have received from someone at some point during the past few years, because (oh no, not again), it's all integrated into your CRM!
BUT! BUT! CRM IS A SALES TOOL!
Indeed it is. And your sales team will thank you for it once they get their hands on it. It's not about overseeing what they do. CRM is about enabling them to maximise their time to do what they are very, very, very good at: selling your service or products (and sometimes even their mothers). And by giving them a tool they can use, integrated with all the other tools in your company, you are not only empowering your sales team but everyone else in the organisation. Nothing is vague, no more chasing around the houses, asking for updates on this that or the other. It is all there; from Sales, Marketing, Customer Service,Finance & Operations (if you so wish). But ALL information goes back to the one place traditionally build to pro-actively manage client data - your CRM.