Congratulations! The CRM selection process is finally done: the license has been paid and access has been granted. Can we start working now? It seems not. The crucial next step is implementation, which includes data uploading, configuring settings and, most importantly, customizing the CRM to align with your processes and workflow.

Implementation - expectations vs. reality

Most CRM vendors claim that their product is "ready to work" and doesn't require extensive setup and implementation. This statement is true, but only partially.

Indeed, basic features such as customer data storage, built-in reports and simple integrations do not require implementation. However, most companies purchase a CRM system to automate their routine client processes, which involves setting up pipelines, workflows, robotic automations and integrations.

We always warn customers about this, but what do we usually hear in response?

"We'll implement it ourselves because it's no-code" In real life, working with no-code doesn't require a programmer but rather a specialist who has completed a training course related to the specific no-code platform. This course typically takes about 100 hours.

"You'll show us everything in a Zoom meeting and then we'll do it ourselves" On Zoom meeting we can show you the basics, such as location of leads and deals, but a simple sales funnel can involve around 50 robots, each with 3-5 settings. To properly understand how to work with them, you need a training course for at least 50 hours. Therefore, it's impossible to observe and understand everything just in 1-2 hours of demonstration.

"Please, implement it based on your experience" We are open to this approach, but it may not be suitable for you because no one can fully grasp another company's business processes and workflow. Additionally, it will require a significant amount of training for your employees, as they are completely unfamiliar with someone else's processes and way of working. Moreover, you will only be able to make changes after training your own personnel to work with the automations mentioned earlier or by entering a development or support contract with integrator.

What should you do to avoid expensive and lengthy implementation?

The most time and cost-efficient approach is to describe your business processes and data yourself and outsource the implementation, including programming and setup, to a CRM partner. If you decide to maintain CRM internally in the future, you‘ll need to train employees on the working system and make any necessary changes or additional setup.

How to facilitate the implementation process

1.    Choose a responsible person for the project from your side – this is crucial. This person should act as a connector between the CRM partner team, who will implement the product, and your team. The success and outcome of the implementation will depend on this person.

We intentionally do not refer to them as a "project manager" because their role is not to manage the project. Furthermore, designating this person as a "project manager" is one of the most common mistakes, as this person may start to believe that their task is not to work with the implementation team but to manage it. We had a project where such a "manager" continuously requested project status updates and explanations but completely ignored all process-related questions they were responsible for answering. Needless to say, project was not successful.

2.    Choose who will handle minor tasks – integrator support team or your IT-specialist. The implementation and ongoing work of CRM include many small administrative tasks: adding and deleting users, setting up access rights, copying data and much more.

The easiest way is to delegate these tasks to the integrator support team, but communication via helpdesk tickets will not be quick and hourly payments for this work can result in significant bills. Therefore, if you have a full-time system administrator, it's better to entrust these tasks to them and ask the integrator for the necessary training courses. Usually, these courses are free and do not exceed 20-30 hours.

3.    Decide who should describe your business processes – it can be the integrator team or your own personnel. Processes describing is a key factor for the cost of the project’s implementation. Business analyst’s work can be quite expensive, so if your company has its own specialist, it's better to entrust the description of internal processes to them as it will be cheaper and faster. If you don't have your own business analyst, you can usually obtain this service from an integrator. These guys perform diagnostics, create a process map, and prepare specifications for pipelines and automation for the development team.

Please, keep in mind, that refusing or postponing this task is impossible because business process automation cannot be done without proper description and specifications. Without automation, you will only be able to use the basic functions of the CRM, even though you paid for the entire package.

4.   Decide who will train your users and how. Most of our clients request introductory training, but based on our experience, a 1-2 hour session only covers the basics of the CRM interface. We recommend to buy from us a training for department heads and IT specialists, who can then train the rest of the staff. This should be done after the implementation is completed and all necessary processes are automated.

It's also a good idea to select a set of introductory courses for users and keep links to them in a well-known place, such as a corporate wiki. Additionally, it's important to maintain up-to-date documentation of everything that was done during the implementation process, and you must obtain this documentation from the integrator after implementation.

Following these tips, implementation of CRM will be easy, fast and will lead to increased sales.