CRM - February 2008 - (Page 36)

KEEPING THE PEACE is one of the hardest steps for a sales team.“Users in general— and this isn’t limited to sales—seldom can adequately express what they want from a system or a process,” Konczal says. “They have a vague idea of what needs to be changed, but can’t really articulate what an ideal ‘to be’ state should be.” On the flip side, he continues, most IT environments have considerable inertia due to legacy systems, inflexible architectures, and other concerns—hence the push for a new approach. Services-oriented architecture, business process management tools, and flexible-rules engines all can inject muchneeded flexibility into a patchwork of IT systems without requiring costly, error-prone modifications to core systems. The technologists are thus embracing an environment that accepts and facilitates frequent change that will support what Konczal calls “the sometimes-schizophrenic nature of sales.” Just as with any business, success starts with credible and reliable delivery. In manufacturing, for example, delivery of materials is crucial; in CRM, the key deliverable is IT resources. “Predictability creates a certainty for sales that they can sell what they have, promote where they are going, and encourage the prospect to participate in the future vision. It is process, process, process,” Konczal says. “If there is a common, documented, up-to-date understanding of the business process— like order-to-cash—then it becomes easier to have a joint discussion around what needs to change.” Sometimes it’s a foster understanding of issues as they develop, but create a sense of real communication. You might even find that the leaders of the Slicks and Propeller-Heads seek each other out proactively to deal with things that come up without waiting for the next scheduled meeting. IMPROVEMENTS Bohn is a believer in iterative CRM rollouts and agile development processes. “You folks [at CRM magazine] have written about many failed CRM projects; one of the common threads is trying to do too much at once,” he says. “I always tell people to get a basic system up and running by focusing on the most obvious pain point, then expand to other areas as experience grows.” In Bohn’s experience, too many people still try to do a comprehensive needs analysis, and they proceed using old-fashioned project management. “I have always thought that no matter how conscientiously a team tries to define their requirements, they will fail,” he says. “Until a team uses a CRM solution a while, they don’t really appreciate the capabilities it offers and the things it can do. And then you must remember that sales and marketing needs will always be dynamic—the system will never be done. Both sales and IT must fully grasp that simple concept,” he warns. The key is maintaining a continuous dialogue—before things blow up into a crisis and fingers start pointing. procedural change, sometimes it’s a new system or feature— and sometimes it’s both—“but you have to have the lingua franca of a common process model as your baseline,” he says. One possibility for facilitating communication is the use of a mediator—especially one already familiar with both sides’ needs. (See “Engineering the Sale,” page 35, for more about a particular kind of mediator—the sales engineer.) A special mediator may not be needed at all, though. Simply getting the Slicks and the Propeller-Heads in the same room with their mutual boss can be enough to create forward motion. In that setting, each team can present its needs, wants, and pain points so that the other side can hear it just as the neutral third party does. Rather than complaining about the other side, they complain to the other side. The solution is not going to arise from day-to-day griping and uncomfortable hallway conversations; it’s going to come from seeking a resolution that both parties can agree upon after a reasoned discussion. And that reasoned discussion should not be a one-time meeting at the mount, either. Regular sessions not only 36 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | FEBRUARY 2008 “More and more IT shops are moving to some kind of agile development methodology,” he continues. “The better CRM solutions support these ideas. Microsoft Dynamics CRM, for example, is easy to use and grow in an iterative development process. One of Siebel’s problems was always that they like big projects for big consulting teams—they were not friendly to letting the system change and grow.” No matter how you establish good working relations between the Slicks and the Propeller-Heads, you must get it done in order to move on to the proper focus for a business: outward upon its customers, not inward to damage control. “What is needed is for sales and IT to come together and form a consistent understanding of customer needs, business objectives, and business requirements,” Konczal says. “From there, both roles can work together to form a joint solution to immediate issues as well as future opportunities.” Contact Senior Editor Marshall Lager at mlager@destinationCRM.com. www.destinationCRM.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - February 2008

CRM - February 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Loyalty Riddle CRM Drives Down-Market Out of the Gate: Marketers Rate ’08 Traits The Pulse Consultants Adapt to CRM’s Changing Landscape Required Reading Cover Story: CRM Gets Serious Contact Center Solutions Always On Rumble in the Office The Smallest Slice Tying Up Cable’s Loose Ends Burning Up the Paper Trail Sunny Skies for Knology No More Bumps for BlueRoads Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - February 2008

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