When we read quotes like, “It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life… It is possible to be busy – very busy – without being very effective,” by Stephen Covey, we sometimes dismiss it as “that doesn’t happen here.” However, I have seen this over and over again with CRM implementations.

A company will implement a CRM system and mandate usage and the population of a lot of data by their sales force. This usually results in push-back. Salespeople will say things like “I’m too busy closing sales to worry about CRM,” or “I don’t have time to ‘feed the beast’ I’m knocking on doors.” You get the picture, and if you implemented CRM, you’ve probably heard it too.

What happened?

You implemented CRM to help your users and to increase sales efficiency and effectiveness, why don’t the users embrace it? Did you ever stop to think that your users truly believe what they are saying? That they don’t have time to do it. I’m not saying that they are right, simply that they believe it.

How to handle it

The feeling of being busy is relative. What one person believes is busy another believes is slacking-off. But no matter what the reading is on the “busy-ness” scale, one thing is certain. You cannot ignore these comments. Whether you believe them or not, it is the person’s belief that they are too busy to worry about CRM. To resolve these types of excuses, make sure that you respect the time of staff and implement CRM in such a way that it is a natural fit into their workflow. CRM should not be another step or an afterthought when the workflow is completed.

Don’t reinvent the wheel

CRM software is a powerful tool for many organizations. Implemented and used correctly it can help companies launch a team-based customer success strategy that highlights those customers that need special attention right now. However, you don’t move from everyone at your business in a habit of working their own way to a team-wide collaborative effort overnight.

Certainly, people have some habits that need to change to improve productivity and communication, but overall, the system you have is probably working. Your CRM should fit into this already defined functioning system.

The (Not So Shocking) Truth

Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is, it’s difficult to get a group of people actively using your CRM software; initially. The excuses will continue, “I don’ have time,” “I don’t want to,” and my personal favorite, “I’m the boss, I don’t need it.”

Work with your team to determine what they are currently doing and brainstorm how it would work in your CRM system. Map out the process and highlight the areas where CRM fits.

Patience

Finally, patience is truly a virtue in CRM. If you want to increase CRM usage it will take time. You will need to prove to your team the benefits of CRM. They won’t effectively use it until they believe in it. Ask yourself, “does my CRM system benefit every user?” If not, work with your team to find the benefits and deliver those benefits to them. It may be a simple as:

·        Eliminating double-entry of data

·        Providing one-source for all customer data

·        Aggregating years of sales data into easy to understand charts for each customer

·        Providing sales data on multiple devices so it is available when and where a user needs it

Hopefully, with these tips you can move your team from “I don’t have time” to “I can do this” in relationship to your CRM system. If I missed something and you would like to learn more, contact me, I’d be glad to chat.