Recently, RingLead sponsored a webinar focused on all-to-common CRM implementation mistakes that organizations make. The webinar was hosted by RingLead Chief Product Officer Michael Farrington and his former mentor and Cloud Theory CEO Brian Marchand, two CRM veterans that have 20+ years of combined CRM/Salesforce experience.
A summary of the presentation can be found below. Enjoy!
#1: Weigh Complexity vs. Value
The first and most common mistake that companies make is in focusing time and effort on components of a CRM implementation that will benefit a small minority of the organization. Think of the 80/20 rule – and make sure you focus on things that benefit 80% or more of your organization. Once you have those pieces running smoothly, then address the other 20%.
Creating artificial deadlines or budgets is another common mistake. Make sure that you don’t rush through this – remember, your entire business is going to run on this platform, so it has to be well thought out and executed!
#2: Include Your Primary Users
One of the biggest problems with CRM is user adoption and this is, in most cases, because the users were not heard in the development phase, and they’ve been handed something that is not very useful! By ensuring that you have buy-in from the bottom you’re ensuring that those at the top of the organization will be happy with the end result.
#3: Remember Who Your Real Customer Is
Remember what the CR in CRM stands for! This whole implementation is for the sake of ensuring that your prospecting and buying process is as frictionless as possible. Design with your customers in mind.
#4: Focus on Your Process
Forget the technology: how would this process work manually? Define each of those steps and build from that. If you put the cart before the horse, you’re destined for failure.
#5: Remember: Data is your Most Important Asset
A CRM migration is a great chance to get a handle on the quality of your data. Here’s an analogy: if you were moving from an old beat-up house that you’ve been in for a long time, where your furniture was old and dusty, would you bring that furniture over as-is to your new place? No! You’d probably clean it up or, if applicable, get it reupholstered. The same rules apply for your data.
Also remember that you don’t need to bring all of the data from your old system(s) into the new one. Take the quality vs. quantity approach. If a portion of your data is “half-baked”, incomplete or irrelevant to your current business objectives, leave it behind.
Lastly, it’s important that every company – from a small 10-person firm to Fortune 500 corporations – have a person or person(s) that own the data.
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