I love the Clash and “Should I Stay” is one of my favorite songs. And one of the questions I am frequently asked.
Prospects often ask me for my advice on whether they should remain with their present CRM solution or switch. I can usually make the assessment within a few minutes and often my findings are not what they expected to hear.
For me the decision is fairly clear cut and can be reached by asking two questions. The first question I ask is, “What functionality are you looking for in your CRM?” Some businesses use their CRM purely for contact management; odds are that they should stay where they are but endeavor to clean up their data. However, some businesses are looking for functionality that their current CRM can’t provide; for example, they may require integrations to their phone systems or accounting software not currently available within their current CRM.
The second question I ask is a bit harder to process, and prospects generally do not like my answer. I ask, “What are your frustrations with your current CRM?” This generally prompts a long litany of complaints ranging from, “our data is a mess, we have a ton of duplicates and I can’t find my contacts” to (my favorite), “I can’t get anyone to use it.” I then counter with a few more questions including, “Who helped to setup your system? Who is your database administrator? Were you trained on the system.” Not surprisingly, the person who setup the system (with little or no training) is often long gone, and the administrator is often the “IT Guy” who lacks any real knowledge as to business processes.
When a company has outgrown their CRM system then switching to another product is a no-brainer. At Tech Benders we have literally performed database conversions for over 100 companies transition to a different CRM product that is a better fit for them.
Helping companies that are just “frustrated” for a variety of reasons is a much harder task; unfortunately simply switching to another solution will not solve their issues. In fact, if they have little or no knowledge of the new system simply importing their messy data into a new CRM will actually cause even more issue.
The bottom line is that without the following your implementation will fail:
- Proper training
- An In-house Admin who understands the sales processes used by the company
- An outside point of contact who can answer usage and best practice questions
Struggling with your current CRM? We can help! Give us a call at 561-470-5450 Ext 1 and let us help you to decide if you should “Stay or Should You Go.” We offer Act consulting, Hubspot consulting and Zoho consulting.
