Why your selection team determines your CRM project success

You have made the decision to go ahead with your new CRM project. The next step is to put together your selection team.  Sounds easy? Maybe not. Many people make the mistake of not taking sufficient time to choose team members, not realizing that their selection team determines their CRM project’s success or failure.

Why is a selection team important?

The CRM selection team guides the entire selection process: they decide what is important, and ultimately, which system is finally chosen.  One of the most frequent mistakes made is to focus on the management team and those that control the budget, as well as including IT because software is involved. But this is not always the right way to go.  Take into account that you might face some hurdles when it comes to CRM adoption (many people dislike change) and you begin to see that users need to be involved, especially those who will be using the CRM the most i.e. sales and marketing teams as well as customer service.  If you can get them excited about the onboarding process then there will be less opposition in the future. As they embrace the new concept and realize the potential that lies ahead, and how much easier their jobs will become, efficiency is bound to improve.

The only way that this is going to happen is to get those on the front-line and customer-facing to be involved in the system selection.  You need a CRM that they will be happy to use. Leave it to management and IT then the chances are you will end up selecting the wrong software leading to an unhappy workforce, and finally project failure.

Plan your CRM selection project using our free selection checklist

Who should be on my CRM selection team?

Don’t just pick your would-be users randomly.  Go for those with some experience using CRMs, and who have a good idea of how their teammates will react. This will overcome the very common hurdle of the CRM being chosen by those who will not use it very often. When users are involved, they are able to ‘sell’ the ‘new’ system to their peers.  Issues that frequently hinder adoption, such as perceived value and logistics, become problems of the past.

However, you may not find your choice a welcoming one; the powers that be may feel that making such a big financial commitment, such as purchasing the new CRM, is something that is far too important to be dealt with by those that will use it. But you need to stand your ground.  Convey the importance of including users to management. Explain to them that they will find it much easier to implement the new CRM and will see an improved rate of adoption if users are invited in. Talk to them in terms of improved ROI and you should see their ears prick up.

Remember, when choosing your selection team:

• Front-line users need input as they’ll be using the CRM the most
• An only management team may not see problems for user groups or specific functionality issues
• If user groups aren’t involved, adoption suffers
• By involving team members from both groups, each will see how the system works and how their requirements are being met
• A better ROI is forecast as the needs of the users are addressed

Take note of all of the above and see your business benefit immensely from much improved CRM success.