Until Next Time – AbilityCRM

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The Hidden Cost of Being Tolerant

Dec 22

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

Yet when it comes to our business and using a CRM system to benefit our business, we tend to accept our shortcomings as part of the way things are.

Let me give an example:  We had a meeting with a client who is using a well-known, “cloud” based, sales-force automation CRM system.   He said they’ve been paying the bill for the service but not everyone is using it.  He said they know the value the company will receive if they actually use a structured CRM system, but, alas, they too are not using their CRM system that well.

Most of us, when it comes to using technology, embrace the value we think we will receive from the technology (because that’s why we bought it) but not many of us seem to break through the habits or receive the training / coaching we need to become effective with the new technology.

The result of this is either an abandonment of the technology and the justifications as to why the abandonment or we limp along and use the technology in its least common (simplest) way.  A good example is our client above who admitted that they are using their CRM system as a giant Rolodex.  Another one might be buying the iPad as a business device and then using it as only an eBook reader (this last one is hits pretty close to home).

One of the biggest issues with underutilized technology is its cost.  We have an overt cost when we buy and implement the technology and a hidden cost for not using it well.

The cost for not using the technology well is much harder to quantify because we’ve adapted our habits and our business processes to justify how we’re using it.  The cost of buying the technology is much easier to quantify because we know how much we spent for the technology, the implementation, and the training.

As you look down the road in 2012 and you consider your technology investments be mindful of the under utilization costs that you have not considered.

Until Next Time,

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

www.abilitycrm.com

Scottsdale, AZ

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The Dreaded Holiday List

Dec 13

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

Business Executive (or Sales / Marketing Manager)

“Hey, it’s December and I realized that we need to send out our Holiday Greeting Cards.  Can you pull a list of our customers so we can send them out?”

 Assistant

“Sure, what customers do you want to send them to?”

B.E.

“Our best ones, of course.”

Assistant

 “How do I know which ones are our best ones?”

B.E.

“Don’t you have the list from last year?  You can use that one and just add to it our new customers”

 Assistant

“I can do that; but what if the contacts from that list have changed?  Also, where do I find out which contacts you want the cards sent to with our new customers?”

 B.E. (getting a bit annoyed)

It shouldn’t be this difficult; each year we send out Holiday cards and each year we have this conversation.  Don’t we have a central place that keeps a list of our customers and contacts so we can pull this list and not have to do this every year?”

Assistant

 “Yes, kind of, but no one keeps it up to date…”

 

Does this sound familiar…or something similar?

You’re CRM system is the perfect place to draw out the information you want about your best customers, the prospects you are trying to win new business with, and those you are nurturing to do business with you in the future.

The hard part is developing the habits inside your company to establish your definitions of what a customer, a prospect, and a lead are, and sticking with it.  The other hard part is to maintain that discipline when your users are putting in their information and keeping the data current.

You, the business leader, are the one responsible for setting the example and managing to this end.  If the users are not supporting you, it’s up to you to change the way your people use your CRM system.

 

Until Next Time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

Scottsdale, AZ

www.abilitycrm.com

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Ohio State vs Michigan

Dec 6

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

My son attended Ohio State and he tells me that there’s a phrase that goes around the week before the big game against Michigan.  Its “what did you do to beat Michigan this week?”

This reminded me of the same kind of mindset for running and managing our business.  In the above case it’s preparing to beat Michigan (which didn’t work out too well this year for the Buckeyes).

Most businesses hold weekly status or staff meetings.  If you have a CRM system, this is a prime opportunity to manage through your CRM system and not around it.

Too many times we ask our staff to use the CRM system to track their sales opportunities only to then have them attend a their weekly review with spreadsheets detailing their opportunities, their last week’s call / visit log, and their next week call / visit schedule.

CRM systems today (and not so long ago) allows users to track their appointments, telephone calls, and their meeting notes so the sales people don’t need to spend any extra time creating these reports each week for your meeting.  If done properly, the CRM forms that the users put information in allows you, the business leader, to generate a report and see all of this information.  This information can be displayed in an Excel spreadsheet format, in a graphical pie or bar like chart format, or any combination.

So what did you do this week to beat your biggest rival?  Think about your biggest rival as tasks and actions that prevent you and your sales team from having more time with your clients and prospects.  One way is to tailor your CRM system, so that as your people use the CRM system in the normal course of their day, you will have the data you need to manage your business better.

Until next time,

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

Scottsdale, AZ

www.abilitycrm.com

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Miley Cyrus, CRM Users, and your Company’s Image

Nov 29

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

What does Miley Cyrus have to do with your company’s image and your CRM users?

I believe there’s much we can learn from this.  Practices may change, but Principles remain.

Your company’s image, your brand, has value.

Miley Cyrus announced at her birthday party that she smokes weed.  Whether this is true or “taken out of context” is not the issue.  My point is the fact that any company that’s been using Ms. Cyrus as a model for what their brand represents, was just blindsided by her behavior.

The same thing holds true with your company, your brand, and your CRM users.

You have a CRM system and “require” your sales people, your support staff, your marketing team, to use the CRM system, yet if you’re not managing (their behavior) from the CRM system, how do you know if it’s being used in a way that benefits your company?

Here’s an example that can harm your brand (image) in the marketplace.  Say you’re using your CRM system for customer support and you have your support people adding support cases so you can track the quality of your Customer Service.  What if some of the staff are documenting the nature of the call, the reason for the support case, the steps that are being taken to fix the problem, and the final resolution?  With this approach, you have solid evidence and information to back up your reputation on your quality of support.

However, what if you have others (their behavior) that do not invest the time to do this same documentation.  What if you’re not managing through your CRM system to find out if everyone on the team is documenting the support cases to the level of detail you want?

The day usually arrives when a customer has a problem and you want to review all the steps that were taken, only to find that there are holes in the documentation of how the support case was handled.  What does this do for your reputation, your image, and your brand?  You’ve been blindsided by behavior.

An effective CRM system is one that is based on the premise of how to make your business better.  Look at your behavior in how you manage through your CRM system.

Until next time,

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

Scottsdale, AZ

www.abilitycrm.com

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What does Google and Yahoo have in common?

Nov 19

Posted by James Marzola in Information | Comments off

No one would have paid any attention to their names if they did not have the success they’ve had.

For those who were around during Phase I of the Internet boom, Yahoo reigned as the Search Engine of popular choice.

Google out played Yahoo in the search engine and advertising game to earn their place in business history.

How many of us mocked Google’s name and asked “what’s a Yahoo”?

Yet none of us made fun of their success.

How do we as business owners and leaders imitate with these 2 companies did?  Isn’t that what we’re all searching for?

Please give me the 3 steps, the 5 points, the 7 ways, or the 10 habits that make the formula work for me.

Here’s what I know after 30 years in the technology business and seeing certain ingredients as to what has helped make for success; and these are not in any order of prominence:

  • Ideas alone don’t count; executing on a plan that turns those ideas into something of substance, is what matters
  • Staying focused on what matters
  • Who’s on your team helping you so you can focus on what you do best
  • In the end, if it’s your business, then it’s up to you
  • You’re not alone; others have suffered and shined and suffered and shined and have taken both the suffering and the shining personal

So what does this have to do with customer relationship management systems and how CRM can benefit your business?  If you review the points above, just substitute business success with CRM success.

Principles never change.

Until next time,

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

www.abilitycrm.com

Scottsdale, AZ

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Daylight Savings, David Letterman, and CRM

Nov 6

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

I rarely watch the Late Show with David Letterman, but happened to catch him Friday night with guest Bill Cosby.

Letterman commented on how this weekend the country ends daylight savings time and we get an extra hour.  His joke – “who of us really wants another hour of 2011?”

That started me thinking about 2011 as we prepare for 2012.

It’s been said that it’s not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you, that makes the difference.

AbilityCRM is in the business to help companies realize the positive results that they want to achieve from using a structured customer relationship management (CRM) system.

It’s embarrassing to say that we didn’t always have this mindset.  We’ve been quite successful with a focus on what we thought our clients wanted, which is a functioning CRM system for their business.

Most of our clients come to us with their need for a CRM system; they want help putting in a new CRM because they already know they need improvement in their sales, marketing, or customer service departments, or a combination of them.  So it’s been quite natural for us to follow their lead in providing them with what they want, which is a functioning CRM system.

Some may wonder what the difference is.  It’s subtle but important.  Especially to us.

Function, according to one definition in the World English Dictionary, means “to operate or perform as specified; work properly”.

What we came to understand in 2011 is there’s more to providing a client with a functioning CRM system.  The CRM system is the vehicle, the tool, on which to create the positive results the client is looking for.  However, if the business is unprepared to absorb the changes it must make, the functioning CRM system is not going to produce the positive results the business is looking for.

Here’s some points to consider as you put in your new CRM system:

  1. Start by identifying and documenting (your CRM Project Charter) the positive results you want to achieve.  Then share this with the CRM business partner(s) you are evaluating and find out how they can help you achieve those results.  (Remember, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.)
  2. This means base lining where you are today and establishing the increase (or decrease) you want to achieve, and by when.
  3. When putting in a new CRM system, remember that you have a business to run and not a CRM project to manage.  Evaluate all the areas of the business that will be impacted by the change and what are the risks to these areas as the business as a whole.
  4. Select a Project Team that includes an Executive Sponsor, and not just a Project Manager, to evaluate the progress of the CRM system implementation.
  5. Be careful with sticking hard and fast to a Go-Live date.  Take extra time with the users so they have what is required in the new CRM system to achieve the positive results that were establish with your CRM Project Charter.

Until next time,

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

Scottsdale, AZ

www.abilitycrm.com

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Technology + People = Results

Oct 23

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

2011 marked a turning point for our business. I’m not sure when this happened but I do know the reason it happened.

AbilityCRM transitioned from being a company that provides CRM technology to a company that helps businesses experience the results of what they want from a CRM system.

This may sound strange at first. As a “technology” company, it’s easy to fall into the trap that businesses that want to put in a new CRM system understand how the CRM system will benefit their company. Therefore, the “sale and implementation” of the CRM system quickly slips into a technology process with a belief that the client knows the results they will receive from this new “technology”.

The shift in thinking for our company this year because I keep reminding our sales, consulting, and customer support teams that no one really wants a CRM system. What they really want is the results that this system brings them. It’s our job to help them crystalize what those results are, quantify them, document them, and put a plan into place that helps them achieve them.

One key component to this plan (and the success of the project) is the people who will use the new system. We now take a much more structured approach to the people side of how the CRM system is going to be used so to help our clients with understanding the behavior and habits of their users.

As you plan to implement your new CRM system and expect certain results, keep in mind that the new technology is only part of the equation. Your people are the other part.

Technology + People = Results. How well you do with both components of this equation will determine the kind of results you will have.

Until next time,

James Marzola
President and CEO
AbilityCRM
Scottsdale, AZ
www.abilitycrm.com

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Does Social Media Marketing Really Work?

Sep 25

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

I think the better question is, “how well are you at being consistent in your marketing”?

Recently I received a phone call from a CEO who went online looking for someone to help their company and business consortium by doing a presentation for them on the value of using a structured CRM system.

He found me through LinkedIn.  That’s right; LinkedIn.

I attribute his finding me because of two reasons.

The first is that my attitude and approach is that CRM needs to be a business tool and not just a cloud of software decision.  I keep reminding my team that no one wants a CRM system.  Every business wants the value that a CRM system can give them in their sales, marketing, lead management, and customer support.

The second is that I’ve been fairly consistent in our messaging through updates on our website to this end and in writing this blog to get the word out on ways they can apply best practices to their business that are aligned with using a CRM system.

What’s implied and I’ll talk about it in another post, is that marketing may create a warm lead, however, it still takes the right follow up and a professional selling approach that will cause a prospect to do business with you.

So how did we do?  Social Media Marketing worked; the warm lead came in.  Professional selling approached worked; we earned their business.

Until next time,

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

www.abilitycrm.com

 

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Fine Tuning Your Lead Machine

Sep 18

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

Each week at AbilityCRM we have a marketing meeting.  One important areas of these meetings is to focus on our 2 key objectives, which are:

  1. What one activity are we doing this week that will produce new warm leads
  2. What are we doing to reach out to those who can influence our success as a business

We use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 as our CRM system to monitor our nurture marketing and lead effectiveness.  We’ve categorized our marketing and sales process the following ways:

  • Leads – Those that are not qualified that we may have found through various means and are moved into our nurture marketing process
  • Suspects – Those who have an interest but are not yet qualified to be part of our sales process and are moved into our nurture marketing process
  • Prospects – Those who move into our sales process and become an opportunity

We do this because it’s simple and uncomplicated.

For our leads and suspects, we allow our nurture marketing process “machine” to cultivate our relationship with them.  We send out newsletters, Press Releases, blogs, tweets, LinkedIn and Facebook updates; we invite them to webinars, seminars, and other events.

We then monitor the reciprocating activity from each of these nurture processes using analytics from our email marketing and website tools that are all fed into our Dynamics CRM system.  Then we “see” who has responded and stack rank their interest and contact those companies first.  The rest are put back into the “machine”.  Those who were ranked as having an interest are contacted are qualified as either a prospect and are moved into our sales process as an opportunity or they remain as suspects and are put back into our nurture marketing “machine”.

If you have a Lead Machine then let the “machine” do it’s work.  Repeat the process, monitor your results, and repeat the process.

If you don’t have a Lead Machine yet, then as you work through the remainder of the year, set it as a goal to put one in place before the end of the year.

Until next time,

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

www.abilitycrm.com

 

 

 

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“Nobody likes a quitter Jimmy”…

Sep 11

Posted by James Marzola in Information, News | Comments off

One of our favorite sports movies is “The Replacements”, starring Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman.  Hackman plays the part of Jimmy McGinty, a football coach being recruited by the owner of the football franchise to help put a team on the field in the midst of a players strike.  Hackman is asked if he wants a cigarette from the owner; his reply, “no thanks, I quit”.  The owner’s return response is “nobody likes a quitter Jimmy”.

I share this because, one, I really like the movie, and two, it has a lot of similarities in running our business or managing our team.

Like this coach, you have pressures coming at you from all sides.  No matter what you do, even if it’s a good thing, like quitting smoking, can be turned into a joke at your expense.  Being a leader means learning to not take things like this too seriously.

The coach’s role in this movie must go out and recruit new players, train them, and make them productive and effective in a short amount of time.

Don’t we have to do the same?  We have to recruit new people, searching for talent, to replace those who left or fulfill the needs we have as our business grows.  We must, in a short time frame, put a team together that can produce positive results.  And time is not our friend in this fight.

As we put this team together, the players must have a leader who they respect, they must learn to trust one another in a short period of time, and know that only through adversity will you find out who pushes through and who “quits”.

What does this week’s update have to do with Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?  I believe everything we do has to do with CRM.  Using CRM software does not define the quality of our business, it enhances it.  If you are unable to master the basics of team building and internal processes of quality, then by adding a CRM software system like Microsoft Dynamics CRM or SalesLogix CRM to your business may not have the expected results you are looking for and you’ll end up “quitting” using your CRM system to its full potential.

Until next time…

 

James Marzola

President and CEO

AbilityCRM

www.abilitycrm.com

 

 

 

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