What do you do if you're an executive choosing a CRM system?

As a senior leader tasked with selecting a CRM system, it is crucial to begin by gaining a deep understanding of organization's unique requirements and objectives. Will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of features, scalability, integration capabilities, and ease of use. It is important to prioritize options that fit within allotted budget and offer strong customer support services. Lastly, involve key decision-makers in the selection process to guarantee a smooth implementation and support from all involved parties.

Don't go to the supermarket without a shopping list! or else you will end up buying what you don't need. Have a firm idea of how do you want to engage with your customers now and within your next 10 years, which channels? how often? in which stages of their journeys?

A CRM system is only as good as the data that the team enters into the system. Make sure the team understands the overall value that the data gives to sales, marketing, management, finance, engineering- everyone so that they embrace not only their team members with different roles but also the tool that the company has chosen to use.

If I am an executive choosing a CRM, it is of top priority to me to understand what can help my sales feed the system with ease and if that system can auto add the features that can boost sales follow-up and get through the robust system that is customizable to a decent extent.

Once you've outlined your needs, focus on the features that will address them. A good CRM should offer contact management, sales tracking, and customer service functionalities at a minimum. However, look beyond the basics—consider advanced features like marketing automation, analytics, and customization options. These can significantly improve efficiency and provide deeper insights into your customer base.

Agreed. Also, take into consideration future business drivers that can influence feature needs,i.e M&A acquisition, You will need strong enterprise reporting when reporting on companies as individuals, and your CRM decision now also has to take into account strong integration capabilities with other systems.

The passage highlights the importance of choosing a CRM that aligns with your specific business needs. While core features like contact management and sales tracking are essential, consider advanced options like marketing automation and analytics to streamline workflows and gain valuable customer insights. This can ultimately boost efficiency and customer satisfaction.

This is what I look for in a good CRM. contact management, sales tracking, and customer service functionalities. If these are not there, I won't keep it up to date, but remember, it is the input on a daily basis that builds these 3 items.

Agreed. However in order to have all these options 100% functioning, consistency and accuracy of data entry is important. There should be a feature to check / access this function with minimal or zero human errors.

Yes, CRM should follow an API-first approach. API-first means building a robust API for a feature before focusing on designing its UI. Salesforce does this well.

The integration is a master key of the CRM system success in your organization. What is the benefit of having an isolated CRM system not integrated with the main applications of your organization, BUT building a middle ware unit responsible for passing the data and information between the applications is a must, first it can solve the issue of the APIs compatibility, secondly provide a decent security level of communication between applications.

Yes, Integration check is a very important aspect in choosing a CRM. Here you should assess how well a CRM system can connect and work with other software and tools in your organisation. You can achieve this by; Identifying the software and systems that is currently in use. Checking wether the CRM system offers pre built integrations or APIs. Considering the flow of data between the CRM and other systems. Assessing whether the CRM allows for customisation or requires extensive development work to connect to other systems. Considering it's scalability needs. And finally, considering the cost.

Integrations in CRM systems are crucial as they enable seamless connections between CRM platforms and various software systems. This integration streamlines operations, enhances data management, and facilitates personalized customer experiences. By consolidating customer data and leveraging automation tools, businesses can optimize interactions across the entire customer journey, from initial outreach to ongoing support. This integrated approach aims to drive customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty. Therefore, understanding the benefits and best practices of CRM integrations is essential to enhance customer engagement strategies and achieve sustainable growth in today's competitive landscape.

User adoption doesn't come easy or cheap, regardless of the platform you are using. Every CRM provides great onboarding from the user perspective (the data and set-up can be a different story), but a real level of internal hand-holding will always be required. The relative success of a new CRM implementation and adoption will really depend on how great you are at leading change within your org.

Ease of use, populating with good data, and having input fields that are relevant to role are key to adoption. No one wants extra onerous work. It's important to clearly articulate "what's in it for me" to the user audience, I.e. what benefits will CRM bring to make work easier and help users achieve their goals. Sharing the vision and demonstrating the powerful reports that can be generated from CRM can be a game changer for adoption.

Considere como é feita a integração dos leads com as outras ferramentas de trabalho da empresa. De nada adianta um CRM eficiente se ele não aportar valor para o ecossistema como um todo.

In short "Keep things clean" Understand the key objectives one needs to achieve and design/choose a system that can deliver just that. Most CRM's always have additional arms (fields) that sit out and are never used , sort of like that last cookie on a plate everyone courteously avoids or doesn't know what to do with it. Your staff will thank you for its user friendliness, it is sustainable and can be improved as the organizational needs change or increase.

The adoption comes with a user-friendly and an intuitive user interface however if there is a need to push people to create habits on using CRM system, the team should push related employees to put effort on this. A little push is needed for sure. On the other hand; using the feedback and creating more friendly CRM system also improves the adoption. Don't forget sales teams need this more than the whole organization does. So check twice and find the improvement areas. Making it more useful, setting up smart notifications to give insights to the team are very vital for the adoption process.

Continuously monitor the CRM system's performance and track key metrics to measure its impact on business outcomes. Regularly review ROI and adjust strategies as needed to optimize usage and maximize value from the CRM investment.

don't look at costs, as just numbers.... look at them as an investment into your teams capability, productivity & output. A economical option may look good today, but can be a loss-in-making for future, whereas a costly looking proposition can make you save millions tomorrow. One can structure costs as per users need & access, while keeping in mind aspects of user base (volume), features, access, performance & need.

After working with hundreds of entrepreneurs on their CRMs, the ones that grew the fastest with the least headaches asked themselves "how much better can CRM 'x' solve my problem over CRM 'y'" and less "this is the best 'value' (or lowest cost) I'm getting". CRMs are generally pretty unique when *actually* solving your problem. They may all have a pipeline, or tool, that makes them feel similar, but their infrastructure would say otherwise. Though, do consider that rarely does a business stay in one system forever. As long as you diligently track your numbers, you sometimes have to be okay with spending money, being wrong, and taking away a lesson.

When choosing a CRM system as an executive, prioritize understanding your company's specific needs and goals. Conduct thorough research, consider scalability, integration capabilities, user-friendliness, and vendor reputation. Engage key stakeholders, gather feedback, and ensure alignment with your company's long-term vision. A pilot test or demo can provide valuable insights into usability and functionality before making a final decision....

Think about how much it'll cost to set up the CRM system, including the money you'll spend at the start and what you'll need to keep paying. Consider how much you'll need to invest initially, the ongoing expenses, the return you'll get from the investment, how easy it'll be to grow the system as your business grows, and the total cost of owning it in the long run.

Upon selection, meticulous planning for implementation and adoption becomes paramount, necessitating a comprehensive strategy encompassing resource allocation, timeline establishment, and training initiatives. However, it's crucial to recognize the inherent complexities and potential pitfalls in the process. Despite diligent efforts, unforeseen challenges may arise, such as resistance to change, compatibility issues with existing systems, or underestimation of resource requirements. Therefore, maintaining a degree of scepticism and preparedness for unforeseen obstacles can mitigate risks and enhance the likelihood of successful CRM implementation and adoption.

É crucial avaliar cuidadosamente os fornecedores. Procure aqueles com um histórico sólido de suporte confiável e aprimoramento consistente de produtos. A sua reputação na indústria deve reflectir um compromisso com a qualidade e a inovação. A filosofia de atendimento ao cliente também é fundamental; deve priorizar a capacidade de resposta e a eficácia. Além disso, as políticas do fornecedor sobre atualizações e upgrades do sistema são importantes. Eles devem ter uma abordagem clara e proativa para incorporar novos recursos e tecnologias, garantindo que o sistema CRM evolua para atender às necessidades comerciais em constante mudança. Esta devida diligência garante uma parceria que contribui para o sucesso a longo prazo

Utilizing a scorecard to assess CRM system vendors can effectively align with a firm's unique needs and goals. Given the variety among CRM systems, comparing features, functionality, and customization options is vital for successful adoption and usability. Ultimately, vendor evaluation is crucial in selecting a CRM solution that addresses immediate requirements while fostering long-term business growth and success.

Pick the right company for your CRM system. Research vendors, compare features and costs, check support and training options, ensure scalability and integration. Choose wisely for your business's success.

Perhaps doing some research on the vendors and feedback would be of great help. Especially to rest assure the proper assistance is provided as well as pros and cons. Escenarios that will be faced in real time usage and how the vendor will or has previously solved respectfully.

Don't do anything until you've reviewed your customer and employee experience and simplified your underlying processes as much as possible. Make sure you're being ruthless about what is genuinely unique for you, vs just the way you've always done it. Then be prepared to adapt to the system you choose and help your team understand the change.

Before rushing to implement a CRM solution, it's crucial to first grasp the problem at hand and how the CRM will address it. Equally important is understanding the underlying business need that necessitates a CRM solution.

If you’re an executive in a business, don’t do any of this. Delegate this to whoever the technical buyer is for your organization. If you’re an executive, you are responsible for removing barriers to the final decision and implementation that the technical buyer will have to deal with, which usually means freeing up resources like people, budget and outsourcing technical services to help with the project. As an executive, you need to understand how the solution that the technical buyer puts forth achieves the overall organizational objectives, but beyond that, you need to empower your people to shoulder part of the decision-making burden in the organization. That’s one of the differences between a business owner, and a business leader.

1. As an executive who would delegate this task to someone on the team, it is important the person firstly evaluates what phase of the business lifecycle that the organisation is at. This helps to determine a suitable CRM. In essence, a CRM used when the organisation is at its startup phase might be different when the organisation is at its maturity phase. 2. They must determine the objectives for the CRM and the essential features required from stakeholders across the organisation 3. Research the different CRMs available and compare, also putting into consideration the budget for the CRM. 4. Test the CRMs using trial options and make an objective decision on the right CRM for the company.

Remember the CRM has to work for your specific use case. Don’t go with that fancy option that everyone’s posting about on LinkedIn / X.