I came across David Taber’s article in CIO titled “The CRM Talent Shortage: Here, Now” and agreed with some of his points, but there were some things he said that struck a chord with me. The article talks about how there is currently a shortage of CRM talent, and due to the fluctuating economy CRM professionals are hard to come by.
According to Taber, “there’s [an] increasing demand for external staff and consultants.” He also says that the vacant openings include “system administrators, operations types, data analysts, and power users.”
I have to say, I disagree.
Before you even look into outside support for you CRM solution, before you even consider implementing a CRM solution, you need to find a CRM that is easy to use. You can’t waste valuable time and money dealing with a complex application.
Ease of use allows for a smooth user adoption experience. CRM is all about having information available, easily, and right at your fingertips.
A point Taber mentioned that I do agree with is about growing your own talent.
“Grow your own talent, investing a junior technical person to give them CRM and business domain knowledge.”
I’m going to take this point one step further and say that not only should your CRM solution be easy to use, it needs to be easy to learn. Complex tasks should be limited. Yes, your organization should have a trained professional on staff or readily available for support needs. However, education should not stop with the initial introduction of the CRM solution. Your organization should provide ongoing CRM education to make sure the CRM application is being used to its fullest potential.
Make sure you review all of your options before selecting a CRM solution. Don’t just assume you need an entire team to maintain your organization’s CRM. Implementing an easy to use, easy to learn CRM will help you quickly and efficiently train your current team to help streamline your business processes, without wasting valuable time and resources.
A Response to Inc. Magazine's June 1 guide, "How to Build Business Alliances"
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100601/how-to-build-business-alliances.html
The process involved in determining which CRM solution is right for your organization is one that should not be underestimated and takes careful consideration. If from the start your CRM solution does not work well with your organization's goals, then there could be trouble.
This is the way in which the adoption of a CRM application is comparable to forming a business alliance. Inc. Magazine, the publisher that advises business leaders on starting, operating and growing their businesses, created a guide to forming a strategic alliance. After reading this guide, it became apparent that I could draw a lot of parallels to the process of CRM execution.
Inc. divides its guide into three sections: "Selecting a Partner," "Cutting a Deal," and "Making it Work."
Although best practices for CRM implementation has to be broken down into more than just three major categories, this guide definitely hits the nail on the head when it comes to making an important decision or investment meant to improve a business operation of any sort.
As Inc. insinuates, the selection of a partner is a very important part of the formation of a successful business alliance. It states that, "it pays to be very selective about whom you team up with." This holds true for organizations that seek to invest in a CRM application to improve operations, as well. While it shouldn't scare you away from adopting a CRM solution, you want to be sure that the amount of time and money you use to research solutions, purchase one, and train employees (which rightfully comes along with the implementation process) will be worth it in the end. You don't need to be skeptical if you are certain from the beginning that the CRM you choose is a good fit for your organization.
Inc. also claims that "cutting a deal" involves planning that sets your organization up for success with its new alliance. The same goes for CRM adoption. We can safely say that how well-though-out your organization's plan is for using CRM will determine the success of your investment. Inc. suggests that in this stage you need to "draw the big picture" and "establish subjects and a timetable for the talks." The better your employees understand the benefits of CRM to the team as a whole, the more everyone will get out of it. Time should be set aside for employees to be trained and educated adequately so they will know how to use the system to the benefit of the organization.
When you choose to implement a CRM system, "making it work" is very important. Similar to the importance of planning who will make which decisions in a company once an alliance is formed, it is important that a plan is in place regarding how the CRM will be used routinely and how each person can make the most out of it. In the case of business alliances, Inc. suggests finding a person within the partnering company who is really passionate about having both firms work towards moving in the right direction. Similarly, you should identify a person who is very skilled and consistent with using the CRM application within your company. This person would be someone who can lead by example and who employees can look to for help if they have questions. This should help improve the CRM adoption rate amongst your employees.
Although building business alliances and CRM implementation are two separate subjects, the best practices for building business alliances can be applied to how your organization goes about adopting a CRM system.
CRM SaaS Exhibit at Boston ACG Conference
EquityTouch®
CRM to Be Exhibited at ACG Conference
Boston, MA, June 3, 2010 - Touch Ahead Software, developer of EquityTouch®
CRM, will be exhibiting at the June 9 & 10 ACG Capital Growth Conference in Boston. Touch Ahead Software has attended past ACG conferences, both locally and nationally. One of these includes the recent 39th
Annual ACG InterGrowth Conference in Miami Beach, Florida, which took place from May 4-6.
Touch Ahead's booth will be at table 14d
The ACG Boston Growth Conference takes place annually and attracts the private equity and alternative investments industry. The conference consists of guest speakers and networking opportunities. When exhibiting EquityTouch®
at past ACG conferences, Touch Ahead received a great deal of positive response from attendees.
John Binda, Director of Sales at Touch Ahead, says he is looking forward to Touch Ahead being a silver sponsor for the upcoming ACG conference. He says, "This event gives us a huge opportunity to showcase EquityTouch®, since it is designed specifically for the alternative asset community, whose members will be attending the conference, as well."
Nancy Keddy, founder and senior partner of Touch Ahead, is also thrilled about the event.
"I look forward to connecting with the many successful deal makers and finding out what is on the horizon."
Binda and Keddy are not the only ones excited about the upcoming Boston conference. According to Co-Founder and CTO Tim Lasonde, "ACG is a great place to connect with experts in the deal world and get an understanding of what is happening in our economy. I am interested to learn what companies are using to get deals done in this new landscape."
John Binda, Director of Sales, left
and Nancy Keddy, Co-Founder and CEO, right
Touch Ahead just released an updated EquityTouch®
2.1 on Friday, May 21. This update included the ability to use keyboard navigation in search results, color coding, and advanced relevance sorting. Touch Ahead is constantly coming up with new ways to improve user experience, which is another reason to get excited about what is to come at next week's ACG conference.
About Touch Ahead Software LLC
Touch Ahead Software is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions company, focused on providing unparalleled benefits of advanced technology to the alternative asset community. The benefits include higher user satisfaction and increased deal sourcing productivity by utilizing user-friendly collaboration tools, as well as a dramatically reduced cost of ownership and time for implementation. Touch Ahead Software is the developer of EquityTouch®, the premiere deal CRM service for the financial industry and other specialized industries. For more information, please visit http://www.touchahead.com.
Press Contact
For more information, please contact:
Cathie Briggette
Touch Ahead Software LLC
(p) +1 866 960 9301
(e) cmb@touchahead.com
Building A Relationship With Your CRM
Ask anyone you know if they are using, or have used a CRM solution and you are bound to get the same response...What a painful experience!
Why is it that users see CRM as a hindrance, and not a productivity tool? The answer lies in the selection process and the way it is implemented. Most users are told that a decision has been made on a new CRM solution, and the training will begin on Monday. How would you feel if someone else made the decision to put you in a new car, or dress you in a new outfit, not great huh?
Selecting A CRM Solution
Here are a few suggestions that will make this whole experience less painful:
1. Get users involved early in the selection process. They will have a vested interest in the outcome.
2. Solicit user feedback on possible enhancements and new functionality.
3. Reward power users with bonuses and get them to talk about how they use CRM.
4. Provide proper upfront training and plan for periodic updates.
5. Get senior management involved by using reports, this will show the importance of user adoption.
6. Keep making improvements to the existing CRM solution. You business is changing and so should your CRM solution.
A successful CRM project really depends on user adoption, and you can make this a reality by taking a few extra steps.
Top down support is crucial, and giving the users a voice is a key. Be sure to keep them involved as your CRM solution evolves. You want your users to say they could not work effectively without their CRM solution.