Some would say nothing.

I’ve found over time that only the truly determined are the ones who are ultimately successful.

Success doesn’t necessarily mean winning.  As Coach John Wooden said “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming”.

We’ve seen how all of the participants in the Biggest Loser gained new confidence and better health through the process.  We’ve also seen how some singers on American Idol have done well in their industry and didn’t finish first.

The key ingredient is that they were steadfast about what they intended to do.

An effective implementation and use of your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is the same.

If you’re delegating its use, and therefore its effectiveness and success to chance, or maybe disguising your copout by saying it’s too hard for my people to use, then maybe it’s time for you to get serious about your investment.

I’ve heard it said Change isn’t Change unless it’s Change.

It’s still early in the New Year to make the change necessary to engage your company with an effective CRM system.

Only the Serious Need Apply…

Until Next Time…

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

Alwayson-crm.com

Let me give an example:  We had a meeting with a client who is using a well-known, “cloud” based, sales-force automation CRM system.   He said they’ve been paying the bill for the service but not everyone is using it.  He said they know the value the company will receive if they actually use a structured CRM system, but, alas, they too are not using their CRM system that well.

Most of us, when it comes to using technology, embrace the value we think we will receive from the technology (because that’s why we bought it) but not many of us seem to break through the habits or receive the training / coaching we need to become effective with the new technology.

The result of this is either an abandonment of the technology and the justifications as to why the abandonment or we limp along and use the technology in its least common (simplest) way.  A good example is our client above who admitted that they are using their CRM system as a giant Rolodex.  Another one might be buying the iPad as a business device and then using it as only an eBook reader (this last one is hits pretty close to home).

One of the biggest issues with underutilized technology is its cost.  We have an overt cost when we buy and implement the technology and a hidden cost for not using it well.

The cost for not using the technology well is much harder to quantify because we’ve adapted our habits and our business processes to justify how we’re using it.  The cost of buying the technology is much easier to quantify because we know how much we spent for the technology, the implementation, and the training.

As you look down the road in 2012 and you consider your technology investments be mindful of the under utilization costs that you have not considered.

Until Next Time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

“Hey, it’s December and I realized that we need to send out our Holiday Greeting Cards.  Can you pull a list of our customers so we can send them out?”

Assistant

“Sure, what customers do you want to send them to?”

B.E.

“Our best ones, of course.”

Assistant

“How do I know which ones are our best ones?”

B.E.

“Don’t you have the list from last year?  You can use that one and just add to it our new customers”

Assistant

“I can do that; but what if the contacts from that list have changed?  Also, where do I find out which contacts you want the cards sent to with our new customers?”

B.E. (getting a bit annoyed)

It shouldn’t be this difficult; each year we send out Holiday cards and each year we have this conversation.  Don’t we have a central place that keeps a list of our customers and contacts so we can pull this list and not have to do this every year?”

Assistant

“Yes, kind of, but no one keeps it up to date…”

Does this sound familiar…or something similar?

You’re CRM system is the perfect place to draw out the information you want about your best customers, the prospects you are trying to win new business with, and those you are nurturing to do business with you in the future.

The hard part is developing the habits inside your company to establish your definitions of what a customer, a prospect, and a lead are, and sticking with it.  The other hard part is to maintain that discipline when your users are putting in their information and keeping the data current.

You, the business leader, are the one responsible for setting the example and managing to this end.  If the users are not supporting you, it’s up to you to change the way your people use your CRM system.

Until Next Time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

This reminded me of the same kind of mindset for running and managing our business.  In the above case it’s preparing to beat Michigan (which didn’t work out too well this year for the Buckeyes).

Most businesses hold weekly status or staff meetings.  If you have a CRM system, this is a prime opportunity to manage through your CRM system and not around it.

Too many times we ask our staff to use the CRM system to track their sales opportunities only to then have them attend a their weekly review with spreadsheets detailing their opportunities, their last week’s call / visit log, and their next week call / visit schedule.

CRM systems today (and not so long ago) allows users to track their appointments, telephone calls, and their meeting notes so the sales people don’t need to spend any extra time creating these reports each week for your meeting.  If done properly, the CRM forms that the users put information in allows you, the business leader, to generate a report and see all of this information.  This information can be displayed in an Excel spreadsheet format, in a graphical pie or bar like chart format, or any combination.

So what did you do this week to beat your biggest rival?  Think about your biggest rival as tasks and actions that prevent you and your sales team from having more time with your clients and prospects.  One way is to tailor your CRM system, so that as your people use the CRM system in the normal course of their day, you will have the data you need to manage your business better.

Until next time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

I believe there’s much we can learn from this.  Practices may change, but Principles remain.

Your company’s image, your brand, has value.

Miley Cyrus announced at her birthday party that she smokes weed.  Whether this is true or “taken out of context” is not the issue.  My point is the fact that any company that’s been using Ms. Cyrus as a model for what their brand represents, was just blindsided by her behavior.

The same thing holds true with your company, your brand, and your CRM users.

You have a CRM system and “require” your sales people, your support staff, your marketing team, to use the CRM system, yet if you’re not managing (their behavior) from the CRM system, how do you know if it’s being used in a way that benefits your company?

Here’s an example that can harm your brand (image) in the marketplace.  Say you’re using your CRM system for customer support and you have your support people adding support cases so you can track the quality of your Customer Service.  What if some of the staff are documenting the nature of the call, the reason for the support case, the steps that are being taken to fix the problem, and the final resolution?  With this approach, you have solid evidence and information to back up your reputation on your quality of support.

However, what if you have others (their behavior) that do not invest the time to do this same documentation.  What if you’re not managing through your CRM system to find out if everyone on the team is documenting the support cases to the level of detail you want?

The day usually arrives when a customer has a problem and you want to review all the steps that were taken, only to find that there are holes in the documentation of how the support case was handled.  What does this do for your reputation, your image, and your brand?  You’ve been blindsided by behavior.

An effective CRM system is one that is based on the premise of how to make your business better.  Look at your behavior in how you manage through your CRM system.

Until next time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

For those who were around during Phase I of the Internet boom, Yahoo reigned as the Search Engine of popular choice.

Google out played Yahoo in the search engine and advertising game to earn their place in business history.

How many of us mocked Google’s name and asked “what’s a Yahoo”?

Yet none of us made fun of their success.

How do we as business owners and leaders imitate with these 2 companies did?  Isn’t that what we’re all searching for?

Please give me the 3 steps, the 5 points, the 7 ways, or the 10 habits that make the formula work for me.

Here’s what I know after 30 years in the technology business and seeing certain ingredients as to what has helped make for success; and these are not in any order of prominence:

• Ideas alone don’t count; executing on a plan that turns those ideas into something of substance, is what matters
• Staying focused on what matters
• Who’s on your team helping you so you can focus on what you do best
• In the end, if it’s your business, then it’s up to you
• You’re not alone; others have suffered and shined and suffered and shined and have taken both the suffering and the shining personal

So what does this have to do with customer relationship management systems and how CRM can benefit your business?  If you review the points above, just substitute business success with CRM success.

Principles never change.

Until next time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

Letterman commented on how this weekend the country ends daylight savings time and we get an extra hour.  His joke – “who of us really wants another hour of 2011?”

That started me thinking about 2011 as we prepare for 2012.

It’s been said that it’s not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you, that makes the difference.

AbilityCRM is in the business to help companies realize the positive results that they want to achieve from using a structured customer relationship management (CRM) system.

It’s embarrassing to say that we didn’t always have this mindset.  We’ve been quite successful with a focus on what we thought our clients wanted, which is a functioning CRM system for their business.

Most of our clients come to us with their need for a CRM system; they want help putting in a new CRM because they already know they need improvement in their sales, marketing, or customer service departments, or a combination of them.  So it’s been quite natural for us to follow their lead in providing them with what they want, which is a functioning CRM system.

Some may wonder what the difference is.  It’s subtle but important.  Especially to us.

Function, according to one definition in the World English Dictionary, means “to operate or perform as specified; work properly”.

What we came to understand in 2011 is there’s more to providing a client with a functioning CRM system.  The CRM system is the vehicle, the tool, on which to create the positive results the client is looking for.  However, if the business is unprepared to absorb the changes it must make, the functioning CRM system is not going to produce the positive results the business is looking for.

Here are some points to consider as you put in your new CRM system:

1. Start by identifying and documenting (your CRM Project Charter) the positive results you want to achieve.  Then share this with the CRM business partner(s) you are evaluating and find out how they can help you achieve those results.  (Remember, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.)
2. This means base lining where you are today and establishing the increase (or decrease) you want to achieve, and by when.
3. When putting in a new CRM system, remember that you have a business to run and not a CRM project to manage.  Evaluate all the areas of the business that will be impacted by the change and what are the risks to these areas as the business as a whole.
4. Select a Project Team that includes an Executive Sponsor, and not just a Project Manager, to evaluate the progress of the CRM system implementation.
5. Be careful with sticking hard and fast to a Go-Live date.  Take extra time with the users so they have what is required in the new CRM system to achieve the positive results that were established with your CRM Project Charter.

Until next time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

Contact AbilityCRM for more information on updating your CRM system to allow for social media collaboration.

info@abilitycrm.com

(480) 726-5400 ext. 415

AbilityCRM transitioned from being a company that provides CRM technology to a company that helps businesses experience the results of what they want from a CRM system.

This may sound strange at first. As a “technology” company, it’s easy to fall into the trap that businesses that want to put in a new CRM system understand how the CRM system will benefit their company. Therefore, the “sale and implementation” of the CRM system quickly slips into a technology process with a belief that the client knows the results they will receive from this new “technology”.

The shift in thinking for our company this year because I keep reminding our sales, consulting, and customer support teams that no one really wants a CRM system. What they really want is the results that this system brings them. It’s our job to help them crystalize what those results are, quantify them, document them, and put a plan into place that helps them achieve them.

One key component to this plan (and the success of the project) is the people who will use the new system. We now take a much more structured approach to the people side of how the CRM system is going to be used so to help our clients with understanding the behavior and habits of their users.

As you plan to implement your new CRM system and expect certain results, keep in mind that the new technology is only part of the equation. Your people are the other part.

Technology + People = Results. How well you do with both components of this equation will determine the kind of results you will have.

Until next time,

James Marzola
President and CEO