1. Select a Project Leader

Pick the Right Person

2. Get Buy-in from All Teams

A CRM is used by several teams, which means that it’s important to understand the issues they have, the goals they want to achieve, and the cross departmental information they hope to gain access to.

Sales

Veteran sales reps have likely used different CRMs and many have likely been disappointed with the results. Studies show that the failure rate is somewhere between 18%-69% with an average rate of about 30%. 

Involve sales early in the process and allow them to provide input as to how they want to use the new system. Remember that, as noted earlier, CRMs are chiefly, but not solely, for them.

Marketing

Some CRMs have built in marketing functionality to build your website, send email blasts, etc. Find out if they plan to use the system or if they want to integrate a new or existing marketing automation platform into the new CRM.

Seek their input on how they want to use the CRM for campaigns, lead generation, and to track their KPIs (key performance indicators).

IT

Collaborate with IT to select the right CRM software. Your company may have certain technical requirements such as encrypted data, on-premise vs. cloud, etc. 

If your install requires a technical administrator, it is imperative that you include IT to ensure they have the resources to handle an implementation and ongoing maintenance.

Finance

Finance may want a CRM that can handle invoices or may want a system that syncs seamlessly into their financial management tool. It’s important to coordinate with Finance to understand their requirements for a new system.

There are other teams to get buy-in from, but we will leave them out lest this list go on for days. Remember that other departments may want to house their data in the new CRM. The more that are interested, the more work there is for you. While your CRM may not be your single source of truth, you can save time and money with multiple teams in your new CRM. Be sure to reach out across departments. 

A final note for your communication with all teams: be sure to explain how the CRM will benefit them and the organization as a whole.

3. Standardize Your Data

Data standardization is the establishment and enforcement of consistent formats, definitions, structures, and coding conventions for data across an organization or a system. 

A simple real world example is a contact’s country. Do you write United States of America, United States, USA, U.S.A., US, or U.S.? It is extremely important to establish a standard. Imagine you go to filter your CRM to find all contacts in America. If your system has it written out 5 different ways, then you have to type each method into the filter. It becomes far easier to filter your data if you agree on “United States.” 

Be sure to establish standardizations across departments. I highly recommend that you start data standardization before you implement a CRM and that you begin with Finance. Most other departments can change their data and naming conventions. However, Finance likely cannot and will not change their data. They close their books (digitally speaking) at the end of each month, lock their data, reconcile bank payments, have audits, along with countless other activities. 

Remember that even if other departments do not plan to use the new CRM, it pays to have data across systems standardized. When data is uniformly formatted, it becomes simpler to exchange information between different systems. 

Data standardization comes in various formats: 

Data Formats

Define consistent data formats, such as date, currency, and units of measurement.

Data Definitions

Establish clear definitions for each data attribute or field helps prevent ambiguity and ensures everyone understands the data’s meaning.

Data Naming Conventions

Consistent naming conventions for data elements improve data readability and clarity. Remember our “United States” example above.

Data standardization is especially important when you deal with large datasets, cross-functional collaborations, and systems that need to communicate with each other effectively.

4. Manage Expectations

Set Realistic Goals

Define what success looks like, set realistic targets and timelines. Be sure to involve all teams in the goal-setting process and communicate the end game.

Be Transparent

The project leader must communicate their progress both before the implementation and once it begins. Transparency helps others understand the status of the project, helps them manage expectations as to when they can use the new CRM, allows others to know when there is an issue so they can help, and it builds trust.

Encourage Feedback

Be sure to involve all teams in the feedback process. This is not your CRM. This is the team’s CRM. If team members don’t like the end result, they are less likely to use the tool than if they are involved. Monitor feedback throughout the planning phase (and implementation phase as well) and address concerns as quickly as possible. Team alignment is key.

5. Consider Integrations

No CRM does absolutely everything. It’s likely that you will have at least one, if not several, integrations with your CRM.

Ask for Potential Integration

Make sure your new CRM can integrate with existing software, such as your email platform and marketing automation system.

Easy Integrations

Your CRM should facilitate automation, not add to your workload. Ensure your new CRM solution can integrate seamlessly with other systems.

Test Integrations

Before implementing your CRM, test third-party integrations with your most frequently used applications.

6. Document Your Business Processes

Document your existing processes and create new ones which align to your objectives for the CRM implementation. The CRM system should mimic existing business processes or improve them. 

This relates to #2 above, Buy-In from All Teams. As you get buy-in from other teams and begin to consider how the CRM will house data from different departments, consider how processes may change. Be sure to document new processes, who are the key stakeholders, and who is accountable for each one. 

7. Prepare Your Transition Plan

While no purchase has been made yet, it’s never too early to plan. Once you are in the thick of things, some key items may get lost in the shuffle; a transition plan is one of them.

Prepare to Launch

While it is important to keep the team apprised of updates throughout the implementation, as noted above, at least a month before the launch, involve all teams in a preparation meeting for the CRM roll-out. Let everyone know about the launch date, upcoming training (see immediately below), when old systems and processes are to be phased out, and allow general questions to come out to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Select Methods of Training

Remember that your team will need to be trained. Consider how this will be done: you will train everyone, an employee from the CRM will train everyone, online training, in person training, training videos, or some combination of the aforementioned. 

Your team needs to be comfortable with the new CRM to ensure they use it. Provide ongoing training, encourage questions, and follow up with team members from time to time to ensure they get the most out of the tool, especially in the first few months.

Did We Get Ahead of Ourselves?

While it may be odd to think about the end before you even begin, it’s extremely important to consider all aspects of the implementation because you need to understand if you have the time and resources for this project. 

Wrap Up

Prepare before you buy a CRM. This is the very first step to a successful implementation.