You’re an expert in your field, but is that enough to set up business indicators that actually work? What pitfalls should you avoid? What can go wrong between the dashboard you’re dreaming of and the data feeds it needs to run properly?
The role of a good CRM integrator goes far beyond technology. Here are a few tips to help you choose the right partner.
Knowledge of your industry
A good integrator must be able to understand your challenges. Check their references and experience. They need to be able to work with companies of any size and be able to talk business strategy with you.
You’re a mid-sized company or a major account, and they’ve only ever supported very small businesses? Walk away.
You’re a medium-sized company and they’ve only ever worked with sales teams of at least 500 people? Walk away.
Knowledge of the recommended tool
Of course, they must have very solid experience with the CRM software they’re recommending, so they can suggest the best possible indicators and anticipate any problems your sales reps might run into when collecting and entering data.
The relationship they have with the publisher of the CRM software you’ve chosen is critical. It should be reflected in the methodology they propose (see our article How to choose the right Odoo integrator?)
Their ability to challenge you
Your integrator must be able to help you build your requirements or push back on them when needed. Beyond technical skills, they should bring ideas to the table to help you sort through and select the most relevant indicators.
Such an indicator will require a considerable amount of work from your sales representatives. They need to be able to alert you. If your employees have to fill in 30 fields to feed your indicator, there’s a good chance the data won’t be entered properly. The result: you’ll finally have your long-awaited indicator, but it will be based on bad data. Can you realistically build your business strategy on incorrect data?
Helping you see further ahead
Want to motivate and challenge your sales representatives? Your CRM partner needs to be able to help you think outside the box. If they know the world of start-ups well, chances are they’ll be able to offer you countless ways to meet your challenges.
Displaying certain CRM indicators on a giant screen indicators in your offices to energize the sales team? Highlighting strong individual or team results with notifications on your sales reps’ smartphones? A flashing light in your workspace that switches on as soon as an objective is reached? Why not...
You get the idea: it’s not necessarily about going that far. But your ideal partner has to know how to think CRM... Beyond CRM!
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