Change Management

Have you invested plenty but still struggle to get adoption and ROI on your CRM?

You don’t have to settle for an underperforming CRM. Use this guide to Identify the issues, detail a path forward and reconstitute your project with a CEO for CRM.

It’s always difficult to get everyone on-board with new technology. CRM is no exception. In fact, distributors, reps and manufacturers often face a challenge in getting “sales cowboys” to embrace CRM. Some worry that Big Brother wants to look over their shoulders. Some just resist a change to their regular routines.

Many companies, including industrial manufacturers, distributors and representatives tend to view any kind of technology investment as a cost. Part of that stems from the need to budget the investment, which is typically done under the eye of the CFO.

The July-August 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review reported on a new study aimed at predicting which salespeople are most likely to quit.

The No. 1 reason I see that companies aren’t getting ROI from CRM is culture. This isn’t surprising: Many have 10, 20 or 30 years of culture under their belts, and bringing CRM in is a big change. They’ve been successful without CRM, so why should they change?

It will take time, but you can clear the culture barrier.

Training is important when you’re first embarking on a CRM journey. But if you’ve had CRM in place for several years and you’re still not seeing the results you want, it’s not too late to train.

If you missed the recent SalesProcess360 webinar, ROI from CRM: 3 Takeaways in 30 Minutes, access the on-demand video here.

It is always difficult to get everyone on-board with new technology. CRM is no exception. In fact, distributors, reps and manufacturers often face a challenge in getting “sales cowboys” to embrace CRM. Some worry that Big Brother wants to look over their shoulders. Some just resist a change to their regular routines.

One of the most common reasons that CRM fails for industrial sales organizations is because they try to do too much, too quickly.

I encourage you to start slow and grow. Don’t try to do everything at once.

I’m a big believer in training not only on the How but also on the Why of sales process and CRM.