CRM: friend or foe?

My company spends upwards of $15K per year for our CRM tool. And let me tell you it's a Ferrari when it comes to customer management tools.

This got me thinking. What are some key points for you to consider when getting a CRM ?

1. Involve your sales people. This should be a no-brainer, but start out by asking them what they want in CRM. After all they will be the ones using it the most.
2. Talk to your Marketing Dept. Will they be using this as a means of organizing and building lists? If not, what will they be using?
   
3. Do your research. There many CRM systems out there. You need to decide if a web-based one is the best, or if software is the best. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
4. Make sure it fits your organization. Determine if this will be the end all be all for you. Are you going to run you inventory out of it? What about billing and P.O.'s will they part of it? Is this just a marketing tool only?
5. Get the best training package they offer. If they don't offer training, walk away. The best CRM isn't worth a nickel if your sales team doesn't use it effectively.
6. Ask IT. You may not interact with your IT people a lot. But when it comes to a CRM system they will be your best friend. If you decide to purchase software make sure they are involved in every level of the decision making process. They will also be able to assess what works best on a Mac or PC.
   
7. Emphasize data quality. The field is there for a reason. If your not interested in how many employees an organization has make sure the field doesn't exist. Sales people don't like to look at clutter. For that fact I don't anyone that does, so make sure you are capturing relevant information that is needed to move the sale forward.
8. Data Export & Import. What is the ease of use when importing vast amounts of information. And lets say you outgrow your CRM, how easy is it to get all of the data out?
9. Features. Can you save documents and other company info into the CRM? What about the reporting features? And for that fact how useful are the reports?
10. Flexibility. This is the most important thing to consider. Not all of your sales people will sell using the same techniques. The same can be held true when using a CRM. Every sales person will use it differently so it is vital that it can be adapted to each user in order to maximize its use.
    

The Selling Point: Too many cooks will spoil the stew. You don't need to involve your whole organization when making a decision. It may be tempting but you have to resist. A CRM is only as good as someone that manages it, so make sure they stay on top of what fields need to be there, and what doesn't. When it comes down to it, your salespeople will have to embrace the CRM you choose, so choose wisely. The reason you are getting a CRM is to help your staff sell more effectively than they do now. Not to create more work for them.