How to cure Cloud CRM sickness

Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms?

• You are hearing people around the work place constantly gripe about not being able to use the new Cloud CRM system.
• You are in a permanent state of confusion around accessing sales information such as activity, deals won and pipe-line.
• You are getting "flashbacks" to how great the previous system was (of course everyone hated that at the time as well!).
• You feel a like you have a high temperature (perhaps being caused by the heat thrown off from the cash you are burning through on this new CRM system).

The Diagnosis

Do you happen to have an awful Cloud CRM system or is there something else going on here? Look, if you have just spent $$$, then chances are, you actually have a really good system, since most of them on the market are excellent in terms of functionality, ease of use, and Cloud availability. They cover a variety of business processes; from lead generation to event management; and fully automate the entire sales process.

So what's the underlying problem? It could be YOU! Yes that's right; don't look behind you; I am talking to You (and your team). Now at this point, don't go jumping into a lake or do anything stupid. It's just a bad bout of Cloud CRM sickness and we can resolve this quickly if you willing to take the medicine; but be warned, it could be unpleasant, and you are going to have to stick with it if you want to get results.

The Cure

Now you have been diagnosed with Cloud CRM Sickness, let's see what we can do to alleviate your symptoms:

1) Keep it simple - focus on the reports in the CRM. The most important function all CRM's can provide is sales management. Forgot all the fancy stuff at this stage; focus on the basics! You need to have management reports on pipe-line, activity tracking and lead generation.

2) Utilize Product Ambassadors - you are going to need people who will advocate using the system and who are fully trained; a good administrator is key; the type of person who won't be intimidated by a complaining sales-rep who cannot be bothered entering a lead correctly.

3) Use it or lose it - you and your team have to keep using the system - this medicine has to be taken regularly! If you have one dissenter in the ranks (you know, the one person who simply cannot enter their leads in correctly) there is a real chance that your Cloud CRM project will fail. Why is that? Well you just opened the flood gates by letting one person get away with it. Be prepared for the typical response that you may hear "Oh, but Jimmy is my star sales performer so we can't possibly bother him with requests to update his sales information!". Hold on though; you spent $$$ on the Cloud CRM; are you really prepared to throw this money away over one "Prima Donna"! Hold fast; believe it or not, Sales people can adapt! Train them again and be firm; the system is here to stay. Do not back down!

4) Involve an Integration Specialist - has all your data been integrated correctly? Most CRM's are compatible with legacy systems in that they include simply data "plugins"; but you need to make sure you have the expertise to cover off any complexity that lies outside of the "Out-Of-The-Box" system and that you can bring the data over in a meaningful way.

Prognosis

Provided you adhere to the principles above, then you should see an alleviation of symptoms after a few weeks; but of course you need to keep taking the medicine; otherwise you risk a potential relapse!

Cloud CRM Sickness

About the Author: Steven Reece, PhD is the Lead Cloud Architect at Lucrodyne and has over 20 years’ experience in both Government, Large Enterprises and SME’s in Canada, US and the UK.