Uncovering Gaming in Your CRM: How to Identify Suspicious Activities

Discover the sneaky tactics your sales reps might be using to manipulate your CRM system and learn how to expose them.

I’ve seen so many sales professionals play this game with their managers that it is only fair to share what I have experienced. In this article, I’ll explore key signs and indicators to watch out for when detecting potential gaming activities in your CRM. Identifying these gaming tactics is crucial to maintaining data integrity and ensuring fair play within your sales team.

Some Quick insight:

Gaming the system is usually a result of team members finding ways to reduce admin/work on their end by knowing a manager’s blind spots. However, I have a way of significantly decreasing this, which I discuss at the end.

Excessive or Unusual Activity:

One of the first red flags to look for is a sales representative consistently generating an unusually high volume of activities or updates in a short period. While it’s commendable to be proactive, an excessive amount of activity may indicate an attempt to artificially inflate numbers without genuine customer interactions or progress. Below are some examples:

• A high number of calls/meetings in CRM with no email paper trail or screenshots of Whatsapp/calls made
• Lots of deals made on one day for the entire quarter (this should be weekly and not all at once)
• Task reminders are all created on one day, with the same due date.

Inconsistent Data:

Inaccurate or manipulated data is another indication of potential gaming. Keep an eye out for irregularities or inconsistencies in the information entered into the CRM. For example, if a sales rep’s records show an unusually high number of closed deals, but the revenue generated doesn’t align with those numbers, it raises suspicions.

A great example is a premium product requiring $x amount of dollars to unlock. A rep knows that the client only has $y, so they load $x into the CRM, only to reduce the deal back to $y after some time. By then, it’s too late to change anything with the live product.

The same can be said for forecasting deals and numbers. I have seen too many pipelines with fake deals that go over quota to only later be adjusted, with the blame being on the “economy”.

Lack of Supporting Documentation:

Pay attention to missing or insufficient supporting documentation, such as incomplete call logs, meeting notes, or necessary attachments within your CRM. These gaps suggest that records are being hastily fabricated or manipulated.

Unusually High Conversion Rates:

Consistently exceptional conversion rates compared to peers can be a warning sign. For example, it might indicate that a sales rep is selectively entering only the most promising opportunities into the CRM while neglecting to record unsuccessful or less favourable outcomes, giving a misleading impression of their performance. You want 10–40% success rate, not 70–100%.

It also means that reps are highly reactive to incoming deals (close what comes in) and don’t put in proactive deals to showcase outbound effort (create proposals and new ideas).

Sudden Changes in Metrics:

Monitoring sudden, unexplained spikes or dips in key performance metrics, such as conversion rates, average deal size, or pipeline growth, is vital. Such anomalies could suggest data manipulation, requiring closer examination and investigation.

Lack of Engagement with CRM Features:

If a sales rep consistently avoids using certain CRM features, it may be cause for concern. For instance, if they neglect task management, opportunity tracking, or lead nurturing, it could suggest an attempt to bypass the system and not fully leverage its capabilities.

Discrepancies between CRM and External Communication:

Comparing the information stored in the CRM with external communication records, such as emails or meeting notes, can uncover inconsistencies or conflicting information. These discrepancies could suggest deliberate manipulation or omission of data within the CRM.

My Method of reducing blindspots; “The paper trail of doom.”

This very simple Method puts your people’s egos in check. Here is what you do: document everything someone says at the beginning of the week with precise details and a due date. Then you review what they said after 3–4 weeks and find the gaps.

An example of a bad objective you cannot track

Close $x revenue by next week. This is horrible as you have yet to determine which deals will bring the revenue in and what to look out for — it’s a lot of work for a manager to monitor, so it’s easier to game.

For example, this would be a great objective:

Bring in $x revenue by closing the following deals; ABC by next week Friday. This allows you to see activity along deals lines, track income from those deals (were there foundations to begin with), and compare that effort with other deals that close during that period (reactive or proactive)

Conclusion:

Maintaining the integrity of your CRM is essential for accurate reporting, fair evaluation of sales performance, and effective decision-making. By being vigilant and proactive, you can identify potential gaming activities within the CRM. Establish clear guidelines and expectations, regularly review and audit CRM data, and foster an open and transparent culture.

Additionally, consider implementing system safeguards and automation to validate data integrity and flag unusual activities for further investigation. By doing so, you ensure that your CRM remains a reliable tool for optimizing sales processes and driving business success.

Thanks for reading!

Let me know what you think of this!