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One big key to CRM implementation success and usage

Luke Russell
Posted by Luke Russell
Luke Russell
Luke Russell has been CRM consultant since 1998. Luke has personally consulted
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 16 March 2011 in Education

If you desire a high usage of CRM after implementation, this blog post is for you ...

 

 

Companies invest several thousands even several hundred thousands of dollars in preparation, customization, and implementation of CRM software only to find out that users do not use the system.  This is largely due to the system being a shift in culture for the users.  Users are so engrained in how they used to do it, and the CRM system, whether a change for the better or not, is new and different, and often overwhelming to the new user.  This is especially true for the sales user. 
 
By no means do I intend to degrade sales people in this post, and please do not take it as such, but the fact is many sales people (especially from my generation and beyond) are not high-tech computer users.  They use email, Excel (to an extent), and Word.  They do what they have to on the computer to accomplish their daily tasks, and that is pretty much the extent of it. 
 
What most companies do after a CRM implementation is to hold a “training” to teach the new users how to use the new system, and then they turn the users loose to go at it alone.  After all, it makes sense, right?  Contacts, accounts, opportunities, and notes are all a logical part of the sales process, so after only one training why would a sales person not take to it like ducks to water?  Because it is a lot to take in!  So, what do companies do when their users feel overwhelmed and confused by the new system?  They send reminders to their people that they are not doing this right, or they are forgetting to put that into CRM.  Rather than send the reminders, think about how you can better educate your users.
 
If you want your users to be comfortable using your new CRM system, you need to hold that initial CRM education, and follow it up with another in a few weeks, and another.  In fact CRM education should be a part of all sales meetings (at least quarterly) for the first couple of years.  After all, isn’t your goal to make your CRM system a natural extension of the user?
 

Can you imagine what it would be like if a professional athlete were hired by a team, given an introduction training to the teams plays, handed a play book, and left to their own from that point on?  I would not place any bets on that team ever having a winning season!  Whether you are a sports team or a multi-million dollar company, education and repetition is the key to success.
 
You have invested a large sum of money in your system and your people, true success can only come through education and repetition.  The success of your CRM implementation is proportional to the amount of education you invest after implementation.
 

Luke Russell 

Resolv, Inc.

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Tags: CRM, Implmentation, Success
Luke Russell
Luke Russell has been CRM consultant since 1998. Luke has personally consulted with hundreds of organizations, and has a strong success record for CRM implementation and results. During this consulting, he has worked with customers to achieve such lofty goals as higher quote win ratios, larger average order size, more effective trade-show follow-up, reduced cost of administration, increased customer retention, and expanded cross-sales into existing customers; to name a few.



Luke’s other business experience ranges from owning an advertising design and publishing company, to managing the state-wide marketing of loan products for a Wisconsin based bank. He also was the general manager of a national newspaper in Nicaragua for three years.
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