With so many options to choose from, selecting the CRM system that best fits your company can be time-consuming and exhausting.
The key: Build a solution around your business, not just what the vendor offers. Sure, their software may have plenty of bells and whistles, but if those added features don’t cater to the needs of your company (or worse, if they’re inefficient and distracting), there’s no reason to invest in them.
One great way to see if a vendor’s CRM system fits your needs is to test-drive it through a series of demos. The first demo will be an overview of that system, its basic features and the benefits it offers. The second should be more personalized to the needs of your specific company. At the second demo, you should also take the opportunity to revisit highlights from the first demo and to clear up any concerns you may have about this vendor.
After the demos, have members of the CRM evaluation team use a standard scorecard to assess each company. By having each team member fill out a scorecard for each demo, you’re ensuring an apples-to-apples comparison.
Learn more about evaluating and selecting vendors in our free whitepaper: 5 Keys to Selecting the Right CRM Partner.
Have you read our book yet? It gives you an in-depth roadmap to getting the most from CRM and how choosing your vendor is a critical part of that. Learn more here.