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CRM: The nightmare of
a sales executive
CRM implementations have duly followed the path of the early
accounting packages, manufacturing (MRP I, MRP II, scheduling), Supply Chain,
Human resources (the total is called ERP) and now finally the business is starting
to “tame” sales.
Where sales used to be the domain of fast cars, expense
accounts and heroes bringing in orders to save the company, we now starting to
whip sales into shape.
Sure, we have some resistance, but did we not have the same
thing at HR and the other components of the ERP systems we have implemented?
The solution seems simple: we throw in some change management, and treat sales as
completely illiterate as they do not seem to know how to fill in those fields
as we expect them to be. We have even heard about bonuses been paid to fill in
the system, so the next step will be to provide data capturers to each sales representative??
How come so many of these CRM implementations fail to
provide us with the results we are expecting. The logic is rock solid: If we
have all the information, to take better sales decisions, turnover must go up?
We can get all the information with the push of a button, if
we can believe the ‘intangible’ benefit promised to us, by the CRM suppliers
such as:
Reductions in operating costs
(per transaction)A
higher percentage of cross-selling due to offering a single point of
contactMore
success in attracting new customers and closing deals faster, through
quicker and more efficient responses to customer leads and customer
information Simplification
of marketing and sales processes by understanding customer needs Better
customer service - through improved responsiveness and understanding that
builds customer loyalty and decreases customer "churn"Increasing Revenue Increasing Customer Retention Reducing Costs or Keeping Costs Under Control Improving Service Adding New Customers Creating Competitive Advantage Reduce non-value added interactions, allowing
agents/producers to concentrate on new business Design and run telemarketing campaigns geared towards
cross-selling, renewals Provide up-to-date information to end-customers at
any time, anywhere Assist in attracting new customers and directing them
to the appropriate channels
The promise of customer
relationship management is captivating, but in practice it can be perilous.
When it works, CRM allows companies to gather customer data swiftly, identify
the most valuable customers over time, and increase customer loyalty by
providing customized products and services. It also reduces the costs of
serving these customers and makes it easier to acquire similar customers down
the road. But when CRM doesn't work--which is often--it can lead to
Monster-like (and monster-sized) debacles.
So where are we now, when we see the figures the
monster-like debacles seem to win. Looking at the latest figures from the ICT
barometer of Ernst and Young shows that close to 70 percent of CRM
implementations fail. Research from viewpoint CRM in July 2006 reports about
the same.
The common cause seems to be in: The CRM system does not solve the problem of
the sales executive, or the “what is in it for me” question.
If there is no way sales management can review the problems
of what is keeping the account executives from achieving more sales, or support
in increasing the win rate, there will be limited benefits for sales
executives. You can throw in all the training and change management you want,
it does not solve the opportunity constraints.
In order to evaluate if your current, or proposed CRM system
will do the job, a sales constraint analysis might be recommended. This is one
sure way, to find the monsters, or prevent a monster-like debacle.
We suggest you manage you sales and opportunity constraints,
before they start to manage you. Our experience has been that CRM systems are
necessary, but not sufficient.
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