Top Ten CRM Project Killers

Over my years of working with companies implementing CRM, I have come across many mistaken and project killing beliefs and attitudes that were held by Managers and Executives. Let’s have a look at top 10 CRM Project killers

1. CRM is an IT project.

Technology is only part of a CRM project because it’s going to help you achieve your business goals. And, because technology is only part of the project, it needs to be put into its proper place: serving the achievement of business objectives. As you travel on your CRM journey, you’ll encounter a lot of project “noise” such as:
Disagreements over priorities
Internal political resistance
Budget trade-off decisions
These types of issues can only be dealt with at the most senior business levels of the company and CRM should be treated as a business project to achieve corporate objectives

Bottom-line: CRM is a Business Project.

2. All CRM software is pretty much the same

This is absolutely NOT the case. There is an unbelievable variety in CRM software, including:
Database platforms. Some are built on rock-solid enterprise level databases while others are built on very old, proprietary and flaky databases.
Product focus (sales force automation, customer self service, marketing automation, etc.)
Architecture (web-based, network based, etc.)
Capability. For example, you could look at two different software solutions that both claim to be “fully integrated” with MS Outlook, but actually have two very different levels of integration.
Newer Isn’t Always Better, It may be natural for you or more specifically your IT person to pick the latest and greatest technology. However, the latest and greatest may not be mature, stable technology. The latest and greatest may not have the complete feature set you need. The reality is that you may be better off choosing an “older” technology from a company that has the resources and corporate will to continue investing in the product’s underlying technology. Obviously, you’re not going to pick CRM software whose underlying technology is so “old and tired” that functionality is adversely affected.
Bottom-line: The primary consideration when selecting software is how well it satisfies your business requirements.

3. We just need a vanilla, “out of the box” system.

The phrase “out of the box” is strictly born of the marketing department. It was invented to “convince” smaller companies that they wouldn’t have to pay for any consulting to configure the software. These small companies can just use the software “out of the box”. It’s not true. Remember this is a business project; you’re trying to achieve business objectives. That means how you implement your CRM system is going to be dictated by business objectives. Simply installing software that “works” out of the box not only does little to nothing to achieve your business objectives, it can actually harm your business if you use it under the false assumption that it’s going to achieve your business objectives.

Bottom-line: CRM Software has to be made to achieve your business objectives.

4. The software is going to work.

When talking about whether or not software works, the question really is “Does the software work according to your expectations?” Manufacturers of CRM have become very good at marketing. They spend a great deal of time and money to position their products in the best light possible. They know what the buying motivations of their target market are and how to play to them. This makes it nearly impossible to validate software’s claims and more importantly whether or not particular software is the right choice for achieving your business objectives.

Bottom-line: Don’t expect software to work. Unless you see it for yourself, be skeptical of marketing claims.

5. We'll just install it and use it.

This is not like installing a word processor or even an accounting system. CRM systems are notoriously complex when it comes to installing and configuring. Think of it. A manufacturer is going to create one software application that is going to work for 100’s of thousands of companies, each with their own way of doing things. Much of how one piece of software can serve so many masters is in the ability to configure and customize it. Just because your CRM Partner is certified does not automatically mean they have the skill, proficiency and experience needed to do a quality job.

Bottom-line: Be sure the person/company doing the work has the right kind of credentials to work on your system.

6. We'll change our processes to fit into the system

If this describes your company, then you shouldn’t even be looking at CRM software until you get a handle on your business processes. If you can’t accomplish that in-house, then call in an expert on business processes, preferably an expert in your industry.

Bottom-line: Don’t look to software to fix broken business processes. Get your business processes under control before looking at software.

7. it’s the CRM Partner's job to figure out what we need and make it work.

You can certainly hire your CRM Partner to document your business requirements, but be prepared to spend upwards of $25,000 for it and this kind of analysis may very well not be one of their core competencies. Your Business Requirements document is absolutely critical to the success of your project. It’s a many-page document that describes, in detail, what your CRM system needs to be able to do, from a business perspective. I strongly recommend that companies undertake putting together their own Business Requirements and to do so before looking at any software.

Bottom-line: You absolutely must have a good set of Business Requirements before shopping for software. It’s time consuming, but well worth it.

8. We can train our staff ourselves.

If you are going to take on training yourself, then make sure:
A person with an aptitude for training and technology is put in charge of the training early on.
A training plan is developed for each group of users.
A training facility (even a converted conference room) is set-up for hands-on training.
Your designated Trainer receives adequate training on the CRM system and can field a wide variety of questions.



Bottom-line: Doing the training yourself is fine, but don’t cut corners on the quality of training.

9. My staff have had training so they're trained.

People should be considered trained only once they can demonstrate a level of skill and proficiency. For many, this may be after an initial training session. However, some will require more training and support to get to a level of proficiency. If you notice several people having difficulties getting up to speed with the new CRM system, which may be an indication that your training may be poorly designed. No matter how much training hours you throw at people, if the training is a badly designed, they will not be able to effectively use it.

Bottom-line: Users are trained only when they can demonstrate proficiency. Be prepared to help users become proficient beyond initial training.

10. My staff will use the system if I tell them to.

One of the biggest contributors to CRM failure is rejection by users. Rejection can take many forms: from “bad-mouthing” the system to outright refusal to use it. Simply assuming your staff will use it is a mistake.

In the case of “user adoption” the best defense is a good offence. You need to be proactive about your change management plan:

Involve representative users in the design of the system.
Build a system that works well.
Identify possible problem employees and put a game plan together on how to deal with them.
Provide users with lots of training on a system free of bugs.

Are you prepared to handle situations such as a top-producing salesperson refusing to use the system? Be sure you prepare for situations that can be reasonably predicted. Dealing with any situations that come up quickly is key.

Bottom-line: Give thought early on to how to proactively deal with any potential resistance to your new CRM system.


Author

Dinesh Chandrasekar DC*Practice Director CRM & MDM CoE
Sierra Atlantic Software Services Ltd, India


“Dinesh Chandrasekar is the global Practice head for CRM & MDM CoE, at Sierra Atlantic Inc. He has over decade of experience in multiple CRM & MDM Packages Implementations, Consulting & Industry Solutions Domain expertise and published various whitepapers and articles in various Oracle and non Oracle Forums. Before joining Sierra Atlantic, he worked with GE Capital Software and Citibank Technologies. Dinesh comes with a rich experience and expertise in solution orchestration of CRM, MDM and Analytics solutions.”

Email: dinwin@ hotmail.com
http://in.linkedin.com/in/dineshchandrasekar