Preparation Is Key
"Do we pick the lowest bidder amongst yourselves?" This question was asked of a CEO after two offices submitted competing bids to an existing client. Nightmare scenario?for sure!?No leader ever wants to receive a call like this especially since it is avoidable.
As you can imagine, neither bid won, and the CEO never could shake the embarrassment of having two offices submit competing bids for the same project.?To ensure such a catastrophic mistake would never happen again the?firm decided to purchase an integrated CRM solution. The first step in choosing that CRM system? They had to take a close look at categorization and firm organization.?
Slice and Dice Your Data
When the time comes to choose a CRM system for your firm, whether it’s because of a painful wake-up call or well-reasoned campaigning from a member of the team, it’s not a matter of simply choosing the solution with the most features. Instead of searching the internet for “best CRM software for AEC firms” or asking a colleague which system their firm uses, you need to focus internally and look closely at your organization’s processes.
To find the right CRM, you must first understand what the actual problem is before you can solve it with a process or tool.
In the above example, the firm had to focus on data categorization. A good way to think about this is to ask yourself how you want to be able to “slice and dice” your data. How do you want to see the data reported or displayed graphically??Do you have territories, service lines, or divisions? How do you want to see your pursuit data grouped? Are you in more than one market?and want to know the firm’s project history in those markets? If so, can a pursuit or a project fall into more than one market or category? If it can, how are the fees or costs divided and reported? If the business has multiple locations, how do you determine which office chases a particular project? These are just a few of the questions to ask yourself as you prepare to?categorize your data and build out your CRM process and integrated system.
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Change Management Approach
Another thing to think about when you are preparing to implement a CRM platform or breathe new life into an existing process or system is if your firm has a change management framework in place. One of our favorite models is Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Change Management.?
Kotter’s 8-Step Process:?
This article is an overview of chapter five of?CRM or Die: Manage Your Client Relationships or Perish?by Courtney Kearney and Chaz Ross-Munro.