CSM CRM Systems & Analytics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A sales manager notices that pipeline velocity has dropped 30% over the past quarter. Which CRM metric should they examine first to identify the root cause?
- Average deal size
- Stage conversion rates (Correct answer)
- Total number of leads
- Customer satisfaction scores
Correct answer: Stage conversion rates
Stage conversion rates reveal exactly where deals are stalling in the pipeline, making them the most diagnostic metric for velocity drops.
Question 2: Which CRM data practice best supports accurate sales forecasting?
- Entering deal data only when a contract is signed
- Requiring reps to update opportunity stages weekly (Correct answer)
- Archiving inactive leads every 90 days
- Limiting CRM access to senior sales staff
Correct answer: Requiring reps to update opportunity stages weekly
Regular weekly updates to opportunity stages keep the pipeline data current and improve forecast reliability.
Question 3: A company uses a CRM lead scoring model that assigns points for website visits, email opens, and demo requests. This is an example of:
- Predictive scoring
- Behavioral scoring (Correct answer)
- Firmographic scoring
- Collaborative filtering
Correct answer: Behavioral scoring
Behavioral scoring assigns points based on a prospect's actions and engagement activities with company content.
Question 4: What does the term 'CRM hygiene' primarily refer to?
- Encrypting customer data at rest
- Keeping CRM records accurate, complete, and up to date (Correct answer)
- Deleting all leads older than one year
- Running antivirus software on CRM servers
Correct answer: Keeping CRM records accurate, complete, and up to date
CRM hygiene refers to the ongoing practice of maintaining clean, accurate, and current data within the CRM system.
Question 5: Which report best helps a sales manager evaluate individual rep performance against quota?
- Lead source analysis
- Activity-to-outcome report
- Win/loss ratio by product
- Sales rep quota attainment report (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Sales rep quota attainment report
A quota attainment report directly compares each rep's actual closed revenue to their assigned quota.
Question 6: A CRM dashboard shows a high volume of leads but a very low MQL-to-SQL conversion rate. The most likely issue is:
- The CRM system has a technical bug
- Marketing is generating unqualified or poorly targeted leads (Correct answer)
- Sales reps are not entering activity data
- The product pricing is too high
Correct answer: Marketing is generating unqualified or poorly targeted leads
A low MQL-to-SQL conversion rate typically signals a misalignment between the leads marketing generates and the ideal customer profile.
Question 7: In CRM analytics, what does 'churn rate' measure?
- The speed at which new leads enter the pipeline
- The percentage of customers who stop doing business over a period (Correct answer)
- The number of deals closed per sales rep per month
- The ratio of upsell to new business revenue
Correct answer: The percentage of customers who stop doing business over a period
Churn rate measures the percentage of existing customers who cancel or do not renew their relationship with the company over a given time period.
CSM CRM Systems & Analytics 2
A sales manager notices that pipeline velocity has dropped 30% over the past quarter.
Which CRM metric should they examine first to identify the root cause?