CRM Planning
The right CRM (Customer relationship management) software can completely transform an organization's sales process, automatically assigning leads, identifying sales opportunities, and automating much of the sales cycle. But a successful transition requires advanced planning to handle data transfer, employee/executive pushback, and financial concerns, just like any other organizational change.
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Current System Evaluation
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Before switching to a new CRM system, it's best to take stock of your current situation, says Quality Integrity, authors of "The CRM Planning Guide." Most CRM transitions take place in stages, and you'll generally want to start with areas that can receive the greatest benefits, and wait to transition stable system components until the end.
Start talking to employees, managers and executives. Ask about their goals for themselves and the company as a whole, and how the current system is (or is not) meeting those needs. Are there particular pain points? Is the sales system connected to the shipping department? Can employees access other team members' client notes if the assigned account rep is off-site and the customer calls with a question? Does the current software take too long to load, disrupting productivity?
Not only will finding the answers to these questions help prioritize the transition, but they'll also allow you to find the best CRM solution for your particular company's needs.
Financial Considerations
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According to The CRM Handbook, one of the first hurdles to CRM adoption is executive inquiry into costs involved and what the return on that investment will be. Arriving at a rough estimate of this ROI requires identifying the costs of CRM implementation, including actual software costs; additional hardware; training materials and/or consultants; software administrator time; and lost productivity due to training needs and unfamiliarity with a new system.
You'll also need to calculate the expected revenue generated by the new CRM system, including: increased productivity from improved workflows/reporting; a reduction in lost sales opportunities (because the CRM would identify and flag them for attention); a reduction in administrative support and/or sales staff as a result of improved workflows and communication within the CRM; faster sales cycles; increased customer service quality; and potential IT savings. If you're switching to a new CRM, don't forget that the costs of purchasing, upgrading, and maintaining that system will no longer be necessary.
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Choosing a CRM
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Most CRMs provide basic lead, contact, account, and opportunity tracking, but beyond that, there is a wide variety of differences. Identify your company's must-haves and nice-to-haves, along with your budget, to help narrow down the field of options.
Do employees need mobile access? Do you want a cloud-based CRM (which means it's accessed via a web browser or mobile phone and requires no software installation) for a geographically-diverse team, or do you have the internal resources and hardware to roll-out a desktop CRM solution? Do you need to restrict certain employees' access to specific information (i.e. profit margins on products)? Do they charge one-time or on an ongoing basis; per-user or per-department? Is there an API available for further customizing the application to your organization's needs? How much support documentation is there?
Where possible, see if you can take the CRM systems on your shortlist for a test-drive before making your final choice.
Data Export
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Determine the way(s) in which your current system stores and exports data, and how the new CRM imports that information. Is there a data import wizard, or will you need advanced technical skills to handle the initial data transfer? What fields will you need to create in the new CRM to hold your existing information? Does the CRM company provide any data import support?
Identify which records need to be imported into the system. Do you need the last 20 years of sales information or just the last six months? If an employee later needs to access a file from 10 years ago that was not imported, is there a way to do so?
Switching to a new CRM is the perfect opportunity to scrub old data for errors (formatting or otherwise) and to avoid importing old, irrelevant information.
Follow-Up
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CRM integration requires both short-term and long-term planning. In addition to identifying goals you'd like your CRM system to achieve, you need to setup milestones for checking on the progress toward achieving those goals. You should also regularly meet with individual users to check on their adoption of the software and identify any additional customizations and/or training needs. Planning regular check-ins ahead of time ensures any integration problems are identified and addressed early.
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References
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