Delving deeper into the Sage CRM tool, it is worth taking time to consider what to automate. A pragmatic approach, prior to engaging in any vendor or product research.

You could start with an "action & outcome" list to identify triggers for processes. Overlaying this thinking with ROI measures (as described in the earlier part of this series) will help you focus on doing what matters first. Creating this list, together with a ranking importance, you assign priorities to the processes to be automated and you have the outline of a CRM project before you.

This is essentially the first phase of your implementation. Get this completed and take time to review the outcomes & return on investment. Have you improved the processes in the way you expected? Be sure to consider views of all stakeholders - employees and customers - when you do this review. This is a step that is often known as a "project implementation review" and is good discipline to impose for any project - technology related or otherwise.