The last couple of posts focussed on awareness of why people buy CRM solutions & the value they wish returned from an implementation.
As this blog exists in the realm of the development partner community, I thought it useful to "follow the story" - ensuring that the implementation effort is linked to the business benefits.
By way of reminder, investing in a CRM project is typically about solving business needs. Ideally, these needs should be addressed through measurable objectives AND exhibit a payback on investment within a reasonable period. In good selling encounters, a situation is explored (e.g. what the customer does), problems uncovered (e.g. how difficult is it for your business to identify your top 10 customers), a series of implication questions put (e.g. do you know how much it costs your company to lose one of your top 10 customers) and then a series needs payoff questions put (e.g. how would it help your business to keep all your top 10 customers). This is a classic sales methodology, known as SPIN, which was developed by a gentleman called Neil Rackham in the late 1980's.
It is my experience that in many organisations the selling part of the business is often disconnected from the implementation part. So, when the software is sold & the time comes to install & build, the implementation team are somewhat in the dark about what to deliver. Implementation teams who understand the concepts of SPIN selling are better able to move a sale into implementation. Why ? Sales teams that execute SPIN type methodology will uncover & document measurable business needs. These documented needs can be handed over to the implementation team, perhaps as part of some sort of "scoping" or "business analysis" phase. Doing so should ensure the implementation process is more tightly coupled to the sales process.
It's about ensuring that a process of deriving & demonstrating customer needs is logically linked to implementing that system in practice.
Using this approach will position Sage & its partners as quality providers of CRM consultancy services, strengthening the engagement process as early as possible & increasing sales as a result.
