The 8 Buying ConsiderationsCRM Vendors Don’t Want You to Know About

Copyright © 2012 Smart Selling Tools www.smartsellingtools.com

Customer Relationship Management

Like most ad-numbed and ‘spin’-undated consumers, when considering a CRM solution, sales software buyersfocus on the usual eye popping standards like price and features, while leaving the most important elementa distant third – the one that will keep the system in the ‘go-to’ category long after price and features havefaded from memory – and that is use-ability.

Perhaps in the future, when budgetary concerns force the sales division decision-makers to hide theircheckbooks, software solutions wrapped in market-speak like CRM will be tagged will a seal of approval likeUPMs, which would designate some form of ‘User Performance Measurement’, instead of Can’t ReasonablyManipulate this the way the vendor promised it was designed to function.

When filtering through your CRM options, it is quite natural and very tempting to start with price. Like all goodconsumers, we want to get the most for our money, the most ‘bang for the bundle’, while spending the veryleast amount of cash in the process. And features are certainly an important consideration, especially whenone knows what ‘the other guys have’. Comparing features is one of the easiest methods of differentiatingbetween one solution and another. But I caution buyers from placing too much importance on the array offeatures, regardless of initial attraction.

CRM Features vs Ease-of-Use

On a primary level, all CRM solutions contain a standard off-the-shelf sub-set of features like contactmanagement, activity management and forecast management. Some CRM solutions include advanced ortrend-focused features like social networking, collaboration, and lead tracking. These would certainly set themapart from the rest of the field, and are easily embraced. However, differentiating solutions based solely onfeatures alone puts the focus too heavily on functionality, and subsequently at the expense of that criticalcomponent called use-ability.

It doesn’t matter how many grand or dazzling features a CRM solution has, or even if it is a budgetary no-brainer.From a real bottom-lime assessment, if it is difficult, cumbersome, or slow – the 3 elements that make up asystem’s ease-of-use capability – then it might as well be put back in the box (or remain “in the cloud” as itwere).

Ease-of-use is by far the most critical consideration, simply because the biggest reason for most failedimplementations is poor user adoption. What good is a ‘relationship management’ tool if those who are usingit can’t mange to build and manage relationships with it?

Poor use-ability blatantly translates into sales reps never using the systemwith any regularity, nor ever realizing its promised benefits. In other words,not only is the investment thoroughly wasted, but so is the time spenttrying to ‘fix’ something that was broken at the get-go. So much forpromises! Implementing a CRM system that ultimately fails cansignificantly harm sales productivity, morale, and a company’s top andbottom-line.

Because of this, features and price pale in comparison to ease-of-use when selecting a CRM solution. CRMvendors certainly know how critical ease-of-use is. If they can get you to focus on features and price, thenthey don’t have to bother overcoming doubts about use-ability. Our objective here is to step away from thistunnel-visioned vendor tactic of using the ‘if they don’t ask, then we won’t have to tell’ approach to CRMsolution marketing.

“Poor use-ability blatantlytranslates into sales reps neverusing the system with anyregularity, nor ever realizing itspromised benefits.”

The 8 Buying ConsiderationsCRM Vendors Don’t Want You to Know About

Copyright © 2012 Smart Selling Tools www.smartsellingtools.com

VI. Takes more effort to use then it is worth:

People start out with unbridled enthusiasm for thepotential a CRM system holds. As people begin to usethe system, they quickly determine whether theirexcitement was warranted. If it makes their job easier,faster, and more fruitful, then it will be worth navigatingthe learning curves, and abiding by the confinementsinherent in software. If it doesn’t perform as ‘promised’,then it will be abandoned faster than an iPhone 3.

VII. Can’t go beyond the basic features:

Reps and managers can only get value from the featuresthey actually use, and those that demonstrate anincrease in performance and productivity. If moreadvanced (and value-added) features prove too difficultto use, they will be stuck using the bare minimum ofcapability by default. Bare-minimum capabilities are notenough to provide a return on your CRM investment, norcreate any form of sales momentum in a positive direction.

VIII. Takes too long for the system to become engrainedin the sales process:

If your CRM system forces reps to change the way theywork in too many ways, they will consciously andpurposefully resist it, and revert to their previous tried-and-true methods. The longer that happens, the longer it willtake for the system to ever provide value for those it wasdesigned to assist, and the bigger the odds that thesystem will eventually fail due to poor adoption.

II. Takes too long to navigate to the appropriatescreens:

The number of steps required to get to neededinformation often requires the patience of a saint. Ifreps have to click through numerous screens, or flipback and forth between records, you are dealingwith a cumbersome system your reps will tire ofquickly.

III. Takes too long to enter data:

Does the system force reps to become data-entryjunkies? Answer: Check them for finger-tip calluses.If your system forces reps to enter more informationthan what is needed for the task at hand, the systemis slowing them down. That is a ticket to frustration,and a motivation to update the résumé.

IV. Get the full picture:

The information housed in a CRM system should begathered and projected into informative andenlightened views that convey not just raw data, butcritical flashes of insight and inspired calls-to-action.If reps have to pour through mundane histories andnotes to formulate which appropriate steps to take,then your system is not only too slow, but extremelycounter-productive!

I. Takes too long to access:

This includes accessing the internet, signing into thesystem, and gaining access to the appropriatescreen. Do reps have fast, easy access no matterwhere they are or what device they are using?Answer: decide accordingly based on your ownexperience not a vendor demo.

Features and price are indeed important considerations. And they are the two considerations that are easiest forvendors to differentiate by, and place on the front burners for ‘targeted’ focus. However, these factors will not matterin the end if the system is rejected by the sales organization, and justifiably so. Whether or not that happens is dependentprimarily on the 8 buying considerations that define ease-of-use. Bells and whistles are one thing, but common sense,efficiency, and practicality in CRM design parameters serve a far grander and certainly more lucrative purpose.

V. Doesn’t present information in a way that is usefulto reps:

Carefully think through how your reps work from astrategic standpoint, and make sure the CRM systempresents the needed information in a concise andcomprehensive manner. As an example, allow your repsto see all the people that need to be called in onelocation, don’t force them to flip through several screens.

Author, Nancy Nardin is the foremost expert in sales productivity tools. As President of Smart Selling Tools, she consults with many of the topsales productivity software vendors as well as end-user organizations looking to select the right tools. Nancy was voted one of “20 Women toWatch in Sales Lead Management” for 2012 and Smart Selling Tools was awarded the silver medal as the Top Sales Resource Site for 2011.