Which CRM Tools Are Right For Your Business?

When it comes down to CRM Tools, the choices available can be a daunting task.  On the one hand, it's the tendency of management to have a robust, more reporting you could ever need, grow into CRM Software program with all the bells and whistles.  The problem with these systems is that the more difficult you make it for the salespeople to use, the more trouble you are asking for when it's time to buy into using the software.  The last thing you want is to invest serious money into a system like Siebel onDemand and have your salespeople not use the darn thing. 

The most important thing is to make sure that you involve the line in the decision making in the early stages.  Have a meeting and ask them what features would make their jobs easier in their next CRM Software.  This doesn't have to be a long drawn out meeting, but you need to convey to the people that will be using the software on a day to day basis that you are going to pick a software program that fits their needs, but also the needs of management.  In other words, it's going to be a win/win for the whole group.

But, as far as making the decision, it really depends on what the primary needs of your salespeople are.  I don't care what anyone says, the real value of CRM Software is for the salespeople, and too often they are left out of the process.  If your salespeople are pure business developers and they hand leads off to account managers to close, then you need to equip them with a solid lead management software without too many bells and whisles.  If you are using the software for customer service reps, you want to give them a solution that is easy to understand and encourage the actions that you want them to take after they speak with customers.  Let's face it, it's a nice thought to have a customer service rep use all the features in a CRM Software but don't overwhelm them.  Have your programmer give them limited screens to work through and then add more as they progress.  The last thing you want to do is overwhelm them with a robust contact management solution, run them through a 4 hour training session, and then have them lost in the software program.  Start slow, add more, and then tweak as needed.

So, hopefully that will help you finding the right CRM Tools for your business.  The most important thing to remember is that the buy in for the salespeople is huge and should not be overlooked when picking the solution that's right for your business.