The CRM Dilemma

Some things that really do work

2010-03-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

There should be no doubt in your minds that I have become a cynic when it comes to activity controls. You will be happy to learn that there are areas and methodologies that I have found really do work.

Over the past year, I have been working exclusively for a very young, progressive entrepreneur starting out what will someday be a very large and successful corporation. I have had the freedom to try out many new systems and methodologies designed to carry his companies through future growth.

At any given time, we have had over twenty projects on the go with varying levels of complexity. These projects have involved both internal and external resources and keeping everyone on track with their tasks has been critical to the success of the companies. These projects have included such things as:

Developing and publishing an employee handbook
Several large construction projects
Regulatory and funding projects
New product development and launches
Patent and confidentiality work
Mechanical automation, design, and the moving of an industrial site in the dead of winter
Working with individual employees on time management and organization
Conducting and organizing research projects
Expense reporting and management
Safety and security audits
Organizing and facilitating regular brainstorming and strategic planning sessions
Developing internal and external communications systems
Cost analysis of mobile devices and the switching of vendors
Creating vendor evaluation systems
ERP systems and vendor analysis (Future planning)
Discovering and implementing an employee time-clock software system

All these were done with tight timelines and budgetary constraints

With limited resources, I have had to be very creative in discovering and developing systems to achieve a successful outcome to each project or determine and defend an no-go position.

Internal Systems and Applications Initially Added

Exchange server
SQL server (For Outlook Business Contact Management database)
BES Blackberry server
Shared drive
Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Management (My first project with them)
Office 2007 suite

Other factors:

SharePoint was cost-prohibitive
The owner of the companies uses email as his primary form of communication (Literally hundreds)
Seven business units, all under two years old
No middle managers
Overwhelmed, individual employees working on multiple projects in multiple business units
Accounting, legal, HR, marketing, coaching, and IT support, all outsourced to small companies

Those of you in the consulting profession are probably thinking that I was out of my mind to jump in to this quagmire with both feet and I think you are probably right :-)

Since the theme of this post is what went right, let me share some fantastic tools I discovered to address some of the many challenges I faced in the past year and four months. I was also able to clearly define the shortcomings in systems and applications that I previously thought would fit the bill for a growing enterprise.

Challenge #1 - Email overload

How many emails can you handle each day?
How much time do you spend searching for past emails?
How many tasks sent via email get missed in your world?
How many "Let's meet Thursday at 2:00" emails result in a forgotten meeting?
How many times do you end up endlessly and needlessly cc'd on email conversations?
What if your boss works weekends, sending you twenty "important" emails that greet you Monday morning?

Let me say that I know everything there is to know about Outlook. I know every trick and tool; setting up folders, email rules, customizing views, categories, drag-and-drop emails to task and calendar buttons, the works. I have done programming, customizations, and training. You may think as I did that with so many ways to handle basic functions and look at information, Outlook should work great for every user regardless of technical expertise provided there was proper training and "one sheet" guides. Perhaps in your environment your employees have mastered Outlook, if this is the case I applaud you.

If, on the other hand, like me you discovered valuable, frustrated employees that lived in fear of Outlook because of sheer volumes of emails and wrongly-formatted information, here are some tools that worked well for certain employees. As always, a warning that users will usually say that every new tool will help them, but explore key functions to discover the true intention to use before purchasing these add-ons. Fortunately, most come with extended trial periods of full versions. I do not resell or receive compensation for any of the applications mentioned in any post I make, nor am I affiliated with, or shareholder of any company mentioned. I pay rack rate for all applications.

Clear Context Pro http://www.clearcontext.com/

Integrated Outlook Add-On

30 day trial - $90 to buy

Despite it's steep price tag, this is one application that I use every single day and have been for the past few years. A major new release came out a few months ago and I happily paid the upgrade cost for it.

Two main application features I and others use

Project (Folder) creation and assignment - Which provides #2
Project (Folder) Dashboard

The biggest benefit of this program to me is also its main pitfall for some. I call it "the nag". Every time I send or receive an email that has not been assigned to a Project folder, a list of current Projects pops up to select from or type in a new one. Once selected or created, subsequent reply or conversation emails and attachments are automatically or selectively added to that Project folder. Appointments and tasks can also be assigned to these Projects and it all comes together in the Clear Context Dashboard that saves me many hours each week.

Unfortunately, if you tick the "Don't ask me again to assign a Project" box at the bottom of "The nag" dialog, you lose what I see as the main benefits of the program. Once you get used to assigning projects, this program becomes an application you will never want to be without.

Email and contact scoring are Clear Context features I do not use although the inbox cleaning features can help you go from over 1500 unfiled emails (you know who you are) to zero in about an hour. I have worked through this process several times with users and it really is impressive.

Again the caution here, in my opinion, if a user prefers to turn off "The nag" function, this program is not worth the investment, despite the other noteworthy features.

Pocketday Personal (Or Pro) for Blackberry http://www.pocketday.com/products_pdersonal.html

$20-$25

PD is one of the least expensive PIM programs that works as advertised. Their web site and update systems suck and I keep expecting Cross River to disappear, but there are a few gems in this program. I honestly tried to use and appreciate the (seemingly) more advanced (and more expensive) E-Mobile Today Pro, but PD remains far superior for user customization.

Send an email to calendar or task - Most PIM programs have the ability to add the contents of an email read on your Blackberry to an appointment or task. This is a great feature because it helps avoid missed items read on the fly
Dashboard View - Pocketday has one of the most customizable dashboards and I appreciate being able to set it up the way I like
If you can get past the lousy web site, this program can help you stay organized while also being mobile and the price is right.

MS OneNote

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/FX100487701033.aspx

Included with certain MS Office versions - $65 stand alone

While I personally do not use OneNote much, I have found for certain overwhelmed employees it can be just what they need. Designed primarily as a program for students, I have found it also works extremely well for employees that spend a lot of time pouring through online research and receiving many emails on the topics they are researching. OneNote provides yet another way of looking at accumulated information that suits the needs of some employees and executives in electronic binder format.

In my next post, I will speak on project management which I spend a great deal of my consulting time on. I have discovered a reasonably-priced project management application that allows for internal and external resources to be integrated in an easy-to-use format.

Until then, best regards and it is nice to be back!

Arne Huse

Testing My CRM Dilemma

2010-03-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

One of the services I provide to clients in my practice is brainstorming sessions. I have created a system that involves using large sheets of easel paper, about twenty different colors and shapes of Post-It notes, matching colors of Sharpie pens, and colored stars that represent particular employees. It occurred to me that this system could be used to test how CRM is planned to be used by companies.

The theory is that each employee document on a Post-It note what they do during each hour of each day. The color of Post-It note used will be determined by the category of work he or she does during that hour and these categories will be decided in advance. Each employee will have a colored star that is also stuck to the Post-It note to identify that they did the activity. The Post-It notes will be put on the easel sheets with each sheet representing a day of the week or month. These sheets are to be placed in the company lunch room or other common area so anyone having access to that area can see and read them. This is CRM in a completely manual form but I hope you can see the similarities to a central database system used by most companies attempting to launch a CRM system.

As the Post-It notes were added, they could be sorted by employee (Stars), activity category (Post-It color), and by day, all in reporting fashion.

What do you think would happen? Here's what I think would happen:

The grumbling would begin immediately - "The Post-It notes are too small", "It takes too long to fill them out", "The trip to the posting area takes time out of my day", "The sheet provided for each day isn't big enough".
Larger Post-It notes and posting sheets will have to be ordered and a daily pickup of Post-It notes will be done by a junior staff member to accommodate the complaints.
Many employees will stop using the system while they wait for the new supplies to arrive.
The other employees, noticing they are the only ones posting, will also stop.
New supplies will arrive and will be distributed to staff with the assumption posting will begin again.
It has been noted that company executives have not been posting to the activity wall. This is unfortunate for employees because they were looking forward to reading them. Executives have stated they are "too busy to post" even though each of them has an administrator. They do however insist that employees go back to posting their activities.
It has also been noted that several executives have not been going down to read the Post-It wall and are staying in their executive area instead.
Employees begin to wonder why executives insist on the postings when they are clearly not going down to read them.

Let the Gaming Begin!

Opting out of posting waiting for the new supplies to arrive, employees have gotten out of the habit of posting their notes. Several meetings are held to get them posting again.
Several middle managers, following the lead of executives have decided they also do not need to post to the wall but continue to insist their employees must do so.
Some top performers are permitted to not post their activities to the wall because they are too busy being top performers and it is obvious they are doing all the right things.
Those that are left posting, in fear of being judged on their activities, begin to fabricate what they do each day. Great time is consumed doing this.
They begin to post nonsense items to see if anyone is actually reading them.
The number of postings is steadily declining
When asked, employees report they have run out of Post-It category colors and new weekly sheets are not being put up fast enough.
With so few employees posting, the system is unusable due to the information gaps.
Within a short time, the Post-It wall, created with such promise and enthusiasm, remains unused because the system "just didn't suit our needs".

Do any of you see a way to have a different result? I can't, I would love to, but I can't. Look at a company bulletin board where people post things of interest to them. Filled with pictures, current events, the latest Fail Blog post. People have no problem finding the time for these things but ask them to post their activities and it all falls apart.

See you again very soon. Thanks to all my fans for hanging in during my absence.

Best Regards,

Arne Huse

Arne Huse Consulting

Back again!

2010-02-08T19:36:00.001-08:00

To all my loyal readers,

I am now finishing up a hectic year-long contract and will get a big chunk of my life back march 1st. I will begin to add posts as well as update my research in the next while. I am now convinced more than ever that my research conclusions have merit. I have also found new tools for dealing with bureaucrats that have been extremely effective for me in the past 1.5 years.

Please keep reading and commenting and I look forward to being more involved.

Empirical Evidence Builds

2008-05-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been very busy putting my theories into practice. Although I consider myself a general business consultant specializing in systems, I am finding the demand for CRM consulting is very high. When I sit down with a client to discover their business needs, CRM keeps rising to the top because every business needs CRM. There is simply no escaping the reality that many top business problems today can be solved by effective use of a CRM system. Interestingly, Project Management is higher on the list than I anticipated. I am now working with a program designed for small-to-mid sized businesses that incorporates project management into CRM. The program is Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager. In typical MS fashion, Outlook 2007 BCM is not without "issues." It is big, ram hungry, somewhat crash-prone and awkward at times. But this program that sells for under $200 as a stand alone, or comes standard in some Office packages, is surprisingly feature-rich. I have been using BCM myself for some time, and am increasingly impressed with the tools that have been included in this program. I am now implementing this program for six of my clients and the list is growing. But this blog is about "The CRM Dilemma" so I want to share some of the results I am getting in regards to using Outlook BCM as a PACT system.

Client #1
An industrial manufacturer that has a large customer base in a declining market. They had implemented Goldmine but had abandoned the program due to lack of usage by sales reps. I was asked to meet with the entire team to demo Outlook 2007 BCM. During my initial meeting with the business owner, he had shown me a cold call spread sheet he was implementing with his sales force to bring accountability to their daily activities. After explaining my CRM Dilemma research to him, he decided to accept my research and abandon his plan to add activity controls for his sales force. With his acceptance of my research, I was able to design my demo to focus on the following key business problems:

Planning

Knowing the right customers to target
Knowing when to target them
Knowing how to reach them
Knowing the right message for those customers
Knowing what is going on with your customers

Communication

Easily getting your message to customers
Gathering and viewing customer feedback
Linking customer communications to accounts and contacts
Managing projects internally
Easily communicating internally that which needs to be communicated, to advance the sale and excellence in customer service

When I presented my Outlook 2007 BCM demo, I also spoke of my research and the agreement by the business owner to not use the system to bring activity controls into the equation. As expected, the response from the sales reps to the demo was very positive. Being suspicious of such feedback, because I know from past experience that sales reps will not reveal their fears about CRM in front of their bosses, I met with each of them individually and as a group after the demo. I assured them our conversations would be kept confidential and I would not share their feedback with management. Although the fear of activity controls was still evident, they all stated that the demo I presented, along with assurances of the system being used for PACT only, gave them confidence the system would actually be a useful tool for them. I feel these conversations illustrate the following important points:

Never assume the enthusiasm for CRM displayed by sales reps in a group setting, reveals what they are really feeling.
The suspicion and fear of activity controls by sales reps is not overcome by words alone.
PACT is much more acceptable to sales reps than traditional CRM

Over the next few days, I will post regarding the other implementations I am involved in.

A Classic Example of CRM Failure

2008-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by a company that has experienced "The CRM Dilemma" through what is now two full CRM implementations. After reading my research, this particular executive now understands why his sales force has been giving nothing more than "Lip service" to CRM, for several years. Each time the company has met with the sales force to determine the reasons behind their lack of CRM usage, sales reps have provided a long list of excuses.

Each time, changes and upgrades were made to accomodate the concerns expressed by the sales force. Extra training was provided, mobile devices for real-time CRM were purchased, system speed was upgraded, and additional data integration was done. The sales reps had all agreed that with these upgrades, CRM would be a "Great Tool" for them.

After the second launch, of the second CRM system was completed, executives anticipated finally having a 360 degree, collaborative view of their customer relationships. Unfortunately, despite all efforts and expenditures, CRM usage by sales reps, remained the same as
before - Zero.

After reading my research, this executive had several sales reps in the company read it and provide their opinions on it. Because the sales reps felt validated in their fear of activity controls, their response was to state that "The CRM Dilemma is bang on!"

Because the original intent of CRM at this company was not to control the activities of sales reps, my research has provided an avenue to finally get some value out of the system. I will be working with this company to determine the truth behind their CRM failures, and institue PACT for them. This company has decided there is enough value in CRM without using it for activity controls, that they are willing to make the additional investment to try to finally obtain some value from their CRM system.

Don't Fall On Your Sword - Steps to Introducing "The CRM Dilemma"

2008-03-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

With the large number of readers this blog and my research have attracted, I can only assume some of you are preparing to "Spread the news" regarding my research.

Since I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject, please accept advice that I wish someone had given me.

Be strategic and move slowly

Don't try to go it alone

Build a strong team of supporters

"The CRM Dilemma" can itself be threatening, particularly if the CRM initiative hasn't failed yet. A slow, strategic approach to this massive change in corporate mindset, is required.

Don't Try To Go It Alone

If you have accepted my research findings, you now know the quickest way to ensure your sales force will undermine your CRM initiative, is to have "Low Card" activity controls included in your implementation. If your CRM program is currently implemented, but sitting unused by your sales force, the job of introducing "The CRM Dilemma", and my PACT solution, become somewhat easier. I have now developed situational analysis templates and refined the presentation of my research findings to assist in gaining acceptance of this phenomenon. I will address post-implementation and pre-implementation individually.

CRM Has Been Implemented, But Remains Unused

Review the original goals of the project with management
Focus on "High Card" benefits not being achieved (Customer feedback, planning tools, communications)
Gain agreement on the critical values that are missing because the system is not being used
Presentation of "The CRM Dilemma" research
Review the current CRM application with management, to identify "Low Card" activity recording elements
Present the PACT solution
Gain management agreement on the value of the components in PACT, versus CRM with activity controls
Gain agreement to conduct sales force workshop, to validate if "The CRM Dilemma" is in fact driving the lack of CRM usage
Conduct confidential, one-on-one interviews with sales reps and sales managers, that were involved in the original CRM implementation
Stress that the truth, not blame, is the goal of all interviews
Conduct one or more confidential focus group session(s) with sales reps, not involved in the original CRM implementation
Review the current CRM program with sales reps to identify "Low Card" reporting elements
Present and validate the PACT solution
Once the truth about "The CRM Dilemma" has been acknowledged by sales reps, the PACT solution can be reviewed honestly through the same lens.
Gain agreement on the value of the PACT solution
Discover and document sales planning informational requirements
Present aggregate interview results and PACT agreements to management
Plan the IT side of providing informational requirements of sales planning reports
Work towards relaunching CRM as PACT

The CRM Implementation Has Begun, But Not Been Completed

The same steps as above apply, but additional up-front work must be done to convince management of the inevitable failure of the program due to "The CRM Dilemma"

The CRM Implementation Has Not Begun

This one is tricky. Likely you are in a CRM consulting role, and you may be wondering how your clients will accept the inevitable failure of their CRM project. On the other hand, you will be the hero if you provide them with a valuable solution that will actually be used by the sales force. The best way to approach this I feel is to utilize me to present "The CRM Dilemma" research to clients. The question then will be:

"Do you think this will apply to your CRM implementation?" If they say no, you have done your honest due dilligence. If they say yes, once again you are the hero for saving what would have been an expensive disaster. At the very least, if the client feels "The CRM Dilemma" will not apply to them, you have opened the door to being brought back in to rescue them when their sales force is not using CRM.

As I said before, I have developed some great tools to assist you in bringing this new concept to businesses. With the high number of failed CRM initiatives out there, the opportunitity for success by "Taking the high road" is much larger, than ignoring this research and staying on the "Low road" to failure. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.

"The Patient Has Died" - A Pre-mortem

2008-03-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

I read a great article in the September, 2007 issue of HBR. In the article, Gary Klein writes on the value of determining the death of a project, before it starts.

Prior to my research on "The CRM Dilemma", a pre-mortem on my CRM project, would not have included the certainty of death that my research revealed. I now know that activity controls are like a surgeon carrying the plague.
(The analogy carries on from here and although it might be "Over the top," I had a lot of fun writing it and I believe the points are valid - AH)

If the infection is allowed anywhere near the patient, the patient will die a painful death. For years, few have suspected this "Deadly surgeon" but has instead blamed other people and circumstances. Over and over the operation is performed using different techniques and people, but someone keeps inviting the "deadly surgeon" into the room. The patient rarely recovers after the operation and most often dies.

There are groups of upcoming patients that suspect the "deadly surgeon," but they are afraid to say anything because he is so well liked and accepted by the medical team. The "deadly surgeon" has become such a part of the medical team that they can't imagine the operation would work without him. Yet up to 80% or more of these operations fail and the patient dies because no one will take the "deadly surgeon" out of the room.

So what do you do once the finger has been pointed squarely at the "deadly surgeon"?

Are you willing to take responsibility for asking him to sit out of a few operations?

There are people that you report to that really like the "deadly surgeon" and what he brings to each operation. They may not be willing to accept his culpability in all those past patient deaths.

You may end up with a severance package, writing a blog, and changing careers if they would rather keep their "angel of death" in the operating room.

But isn't the overall health of the patient more important? Now that you know CRM will die if activity controls are allowed in, are you willing to force "Him" to sit out a few operations?

CRM and The Law of Unintended Consequences

2008-03-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

When a mechanism is installed in the world, things can happen as a result, that the original creator of the mechanism may not have intended. These consequences may also run completely contrary to the original intent of the mechanism. There are three basic reasons for this phenomenon:

Exploitation - The mechanism is used for purposes other than was originally intended. (Examples: GPS for finding the nearest Starbucks, or fertilizer being used in bomb making)

Avoidance - Because the mechanism exists, people change their behaviors (Examples: Tax avoidance strategies, driving habits in a GPS tracked vehicle)

Culture Shift - The mechanism has created a cultural expectation and people come to expect things they otherwise would not expect (Example: Cell phones)

Here are a three classic examples:

Sophisticated alarms and immobilizers on vehicles, have resulted in more violent and dangerous carjackings, because the thieves needs to have keys directly from drivers in order to steal vehicles.
The popularity of cell phones has been putting pay-phone companies out of business, while forcing more people to get cell phones because of the shortage of available pay-phones.
Telephone systems adding prompts, ie: "For customer service, press 3" have resulted in less customer service communications being done over the phone

CRM is very interesting because it has had unintended consequences due Exploitation, Avoidance, and Culture Shift.

Exploitation

Credit card data from massive amounts of customers is stolen from a major retailer's database
An employee takes customer data when moving to a competitor
Data provided by a customer results in the customer being "Value classified" in no receiving a lower level of service than before the data was provided

Avoidance:

Consumers not wishing to provide personal information, intentionally forgo "Loyalty Club" discounts provided by retailers.
Users avoid CRM due to fear of the information being used in performance measures
False email addresses are created in order to avoid providing an avenue to send marketing materials
Callers press "0" to avoid phone prompts and go directly to the switchboard

Culture Shift

Consumers expect their contact information to be transferred along with their call and remembered for the next time
The details of a transaction should be available long after the transaction is complete

None of the examples given above have been taken through their full progression. Avoidance is fascinating in that there is usually an escalation for each avoidance:

Retailers create larger pricing disparities for those refusing to join their "Loyalty club"
Fake email addresses, led to requiring email verification before the services are delivered.
Because people learned that pressing "0" on their phone, would connect them with the switchboard and avoid the prompts, companies disabled this feature, forcing the prompts to be used
Companies create performance measures for CRM users, that are based on CRM usage as a performance measure

Do you see the pattern here? That which was created to make things better, is perceived as making things worse, by those that were supposed to see an improvement. Avoidance of that which was created to improve service, leads to escalations, in order to force those that are avoiding the improvements, to accept that which they see as negative.

CRM was not created to become an instrument of fear for customers or employees.

The Riddle Within The Logo

2008-03-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

The game of Tic-Tac-Toe has been around since the 50s. In the logo to the right, the game that has begun cannot be won, only tied. In Tic-Tac-Toe, there are three possible outcomes; Win, Lose, or Draw. When both players understand the game however, there can only be draw, after draw, after draw. In this game, a draw is ok because it means you had the best possible outcome you could have.

I have taught many people the two moves seen in the logo. If I hand you a piece of paper with four lines and an X in the corner, if you do not put your O in the middle square, you will lose. So the best outcome of this game is to not expect to win, but to obtain the best possible outcome - A draw - With neither side winning or losing.

Winning is nice, but if you can't win, does that mean you don't play the game at all? In CRM, there is much more value in a "Draw" than in Tic-Tac-Toe.

The message of my research is that we need to fully understand the value in the "Draw" of PACT. CRM users, fully understand the game they are playing, and they know where to put their "O". If they are willing to play in a game that ends in a draw. Are we?

Lies, Damned Lies, and CRM Reports

2008-03-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

SalesForce.com has just released a report by CSO Insights, on how to benchmark your sales force. This report is called the "Sales Performance Optimization Report."

A year ago, I would have read this report much differently. Through the lens of "The CRM Dilemma", it was like listening to Michael Scott from "The Office" speak his words of wisdom. I had tears rolling down my cheeks I was laughing so hard. The assumption is now that CRM is fast, mobile, and user friendly, sales reps will tell you every activity they are doing. This activity data can be used to evaluate their performance through the wonderful charts, graphs, and reports available in today's CRM. This is known as "Magical Thinking."

Does anyone really think that sales people will faithfully provide their activity data, so their performance can be optimized?

Talk about "Carrying the stick you will be beaten with!"

CSO Insights put a lot of work into this report. Like all CRM sales documents, they use the word "Can", like it is actually the word "Will."

Sales data from your ERP system is usually pretty reliable, so go ahead and make charts, graphs, and analytical reports to your heart's content. Why did we ever get the impression that sales reps would provide all this data that can be used against them? I am amazed now that I used to think they would, and I was a sales rep.

The Invisible Precipice - User-Created Solutions to Combat Fear of Performance Measures in CRM

2008-03-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

As I delve even further into my research, I am discovering yet more implications about the effect "The CRM Dilemma" may have on CRM users. There are two important things to remember whenever CRM users feel threatened by what they are asked to enter into CRM:

One or more of them will figure out a way to avoid the threat
The threat, and the user-created solution, will be shared amongst users, and any complicit managers
For every accountability measure you come up with to combat user-created solutions, users will create several more

Indicators of these user-created solutions can be extremely subtle:

A pad of writing paper on every desk in a call center.
Increased usage of Gmail or Yahoo Mail by employees
A decrease in VPN usage by sales people

The fine line between users viewing CRM as a "Great tool", and CRM as "A threat that must be eliminated."

Every user-created solution to combat "The CRM Dilemma", is a slippery slope to total CRM failure within that user group. Here are some examples from an actual CRM implementation, to illustrate the point.

1) Call Center CRM

Call Center CRM viewed as a great tool by users (Spoken)

Recording customer feedback
Providing easy access to customer data
CRM linkage to phone system for customer information pop-ups

Call center CRM viewed as a threat by users:

Time-stamped input in CRM, may or is used in employee or departmental performance measures

Call center - User-created solutions to combat the threat:

Pads of paper may be used to record information prior to entry into CRM. There will be many excuses given as to why this "provides better service to customers".
By limiting "Real Time" usage of CRM, users negate any value in time-stamped data, so the threat is eliminated.

2) Call Center Complaint Handling

CRM for Complaint Handling viewed as a great tool by users:

Intuitive solutions are provided based on user input
Easy access to solution documentation is provided
User is able to choose from a list of approved solutions provided to them in CRM.

CRM for Complaint Handling viewed as a threat by users:

Users are required to create and document their own solutions
User solutions may be deemed as right or wrong
Complaints that come in through the web or email will be particularly challenging if a user-created solution, must be provided to the customer, and the solution provided may be right or wrong.

Complaint handling - User-created solutions to combat the threat:

Because solutions will have to be validated before being documented, phoned-in complaints will either be kept outside of CRM (Paper), or delayed while conferring with others
Users may avoid responding in writing, choosing instead to phone the customer to avoid documentation. This is done "To provide better personalized service."

If CRM is not being used "Real Time" for customer complaint handling, it is little more than a costly drain on valuable resources. If there is a pad of paper on the desk, demanding it be removed will not work by the way. Quietly ignore most of what is said in the excuse category as well:

Ignore the excuses about system speed, when you know the page-load time is two seconds.
Ignore that if the system goes down during entry, the information will lost. Yes, it did happen a few times during the initial roll out!
Ignore that crap about the customer refusing to provide their name when they call in a complaint
Ignore the calls for more training after the deskside trainer has spent months working with users

You will not succeed in CRM, unless you understand the truth that comes out by the water cooler, in the breakroom, and at the bar after work on a Friday.

3) Linking customer emails to the customer record in CRM

Customer - linked emails viewed as a great tool by users:

Seamless integration within outlook
The user chooses which emails are "important enough" to be linked to the customer
Confidential emails are linked, but with limited viewing by other employees

Customer - linked emails viewed as a threat by users:

All customer emails are linked to the customer record
Negative emails regarding employees, may be recorded in the customer record, with access by all

User-created solutions to combat the threat:

Employees may use secondary email (Gmail) to avoid linking all their customer communications to the customer record
Company web mail client may see increased usage if it is not linked to CRM

These are just a few examples of how user perception is affected by the smallest details. Make no mistake, users will evaluate every angle of how their employer can turn any piece of data into a performance measure. Time-stamping of data entry will likely only be deemed a threat to users, if the corporate culture or management of a company lends to using such data. In this case, a policy (Before implementation) of never using TS data in performance measures, would ease user fears.

Unfortunately, policies and statements will not combat "The CRM Dilemma," when any reasonable person must assume that user- provided data in CRM, must at some time be used in performance measures.

To all you CRM Developers out there....

2008-03-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

I know "The CRM Dilemma" blog has a following from the Developer community. I would like to ask a favor of you. Please send a link to the page that has my basic research paper to some sales reps in your company. Here is the link: http://thecrmdilemma.blogspot.com/2008_03_02_archive.html

I have gotten a lot of great feedback from the development community but I am lacking in feedback from the sales community.
Everything I have heard says that CRM sales reps don't use CRM to record their activities, any more than non-CRM sales rep do. I would very much appreciate hearing from more sales reps and sales managers. I am hoping I can rely on my readers to forward this link around. Thank you very much.

Testing my PACT Solution

2008-03-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

Unemployed no longer! I am in the process of joining a business consulting firm, and I am very excited about the possibilities. I received a call today from a company that is considering implementing CRM. They would like me to work with them to determine the viability of implementing a CRM solution for their company. This will be interesting for three reasons:

They don't yet know that I have authored "The CRM Dilemma"
Because I do not rely 100% of my income on CRM consulting, I can share my research with them, without concern about losing my livelihood if they choose not to implement CRM.
If they choose to go ahead and implement my PACT solution, it will be the perfect opportunity to test "True" user adoption when activity controls are removed from the equation.

I know that not everyone agrees with my conclusions on "The CRM Dilemma." Testing my hypothesis will give me the opportunity to build a case study on PACT versus CRM. The framework in the CRM application chosen (Assuming they go ahead) will be the same, but how the application is used will be entirely different from traditional CRM with activity controls.

Since understanding the customer is what most customers are really looking for, I have little doubt that my client will explore the opportunities in my PACT solution. As always, I will continue to honestly update this blog with my progress. If they choose to not implement CRM, or use another more "Compliant" CRM consultant, I will post that as well. I am not determined to be "Right" about "The CRM Dilemma," in fact, I wish I was wrong. But I think history has shown us that sales reps will work very hard to defeat CRM. If we can create a successful solution that will be used and accepted, simply by removing that which causes the greatest fear, why not give it a try?

If my PACT solution can provide the planning and communication tools that sales reps are looking for, not dreading, this company will have far greater quality information than can be found in most CRM applications today.

Wish me luck! Thank you for your continued interest in this blog. As always, I welcome your comments and emails.

Best Regards

Arne Huse

The mystery of MY "CRM Dilemma"

2008-03-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

Brad Wilson, the General Manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, was interviewed for the CRM Buyer Magazine.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/exclusives/60933.html

In this article, he said two very interesting things on the subject of user adoption.

"CRM went through a period where there were a lot of inflated expectations that were not met," Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, told CRM Buyer. "The biggest problem for a lot of people was that the technology wasn't well suited for the people who were using it."

"User adoption has been the biggest problem in CRM for the last 10 years," Wilson concluded.

What I find very interesting about these comments, is it seems like he is saying that technology has been responsible for poor user adoption.

Having been using CRM in various forms as a sales rep for many years, I don't think the user experience has changed that much but for a few notable exceptions:

CRM is generally faster in opening, navigation, and saving information
Better Outlook integration with CRM
Better field customizations

But all this needs to be kept in perspective. Back in the the early 90's, I was using Maximizer on my 486 laptop. It was slow and crashed sometimes, but it did integrate with Outlook. I think I had five custom fields at the time. But I have to say I LOVED Maximizer because it was brilliant for managing my customer contacts. This was back when it just took longer to do things with a computer. I was willing to wait and put up with crashes because it was such a great tool.

But when my boss asked me to print out my activities, I would say it took too long and the system was too slow. I continued to love and use Maximizer and he never did get thos reports.

Then I upgraded to ACT and I loved it even more because I could go mobile on my Palm Pilot with all my customer information. It was faster, crashed less often than Max, and integrated with Outlook even better.

But when my boss asked me to set it up, so my system would email my activities to him...Well, let's just say that never happened. I think I must have had good excuses and I was the top salesman. Besides, I was the only rep using such a system.

While I was a sales rep, I was also leading the Canadian implementation of MS CRM for our company. I started using MS CRM in my territory so I could demonstrate the value of using CRM to my fellow reps.

The original 1.2 version of MS CRM was a lot slower than my ACT was. Outlook Client was a nightmare to say the very least. I had Ten Digits on my Blackberry which worked well and offered real time access, so I used that quite a bit.

Remember, I was a sales rep that was leading the CRM initiative. I am seeing much of what I did back then, through the lens of "The CRM Dilemma." I found more and more that I wasn't using CRM as much as I had used ACT to manage my customers. I had created tick-boxes and drop-downs in CRM that I didn't like using as a sales rep. I told myself it was because the system was slow and not as intuitive as ACT. When I looked back at the notes and activities I recorded in CRM, I realized I had turned into a sales rep that was reluctant to use CRM. But it really was slower than the MS CRM of today and the Outlook integration really sucked as well. In hindsight, I believe I had fallen into the trap of "The CRM Dilemma." By the time we upgraded to 3.0, I was leading the North American implementation full time so I didn't get to test my theory.

In Maximizer and ACT, I used to record only what was important to me and my customers. I required no "Low Card" reporting from myself. I would never be held accountable for my entries so I had no fear of what I put into my system. As soon as someone asked me for the information, I had a list of excuses why I could not provide the information on my activities.

While the user interface has improved in most CRM applications, how "Fast and easy" does it have to be before sales reps will use it to record their activities? If my theory on "The CRM Dilemma" is wrong, sales reps will be willing to use the newer, faster, more intuitive CRM applications on the market today. I believe adoption of CRM by sales reps will continue to be dismal, unless the issue of activity controls is addressed. I have a theory that even if CRM was a "magical application" that merely required a rep to "Think" what he or she wanted to put into CRM, it still wouldn't have the adoption it deserves.

Sorry, but your CRM implementation is DOOMED!

2008-03-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

"It is a rare dog that will carry the stick with which it is to be beaten." - Douglas Hartle

I was offered a very lucrative position as an independent CRM Consultant. I was told that my skills in dealing with the business side of CRM, are very valuable and sought after. I would work on behalf of CRM partners and manage the CRM implementation, as I had in my last corporate position.

BUT, there was a catch to this position. If the client asked for activity controls to be a part of CRM, I would have to keep my mouth shut about "The CRM Dilemma." I could "Suggest" they may want to reconsider activity controls, but I couldn't screw up the deal by telling them "Your CRM implementation is going to fail if you go ahead with activity controls."

But this would be the truth! Unless you are in a regulated industry, (Finance, law, medicine) where licenses are taken away for not recording customer interactions, CRM will fail if sales reps aren't using it. And sales reps will not use CRM if they are required to record their activities.

Since I am unemployed, I considered taking the position and relying on my persuasive nature to convince clients not to use activity controls. But I had to turn the position down, because everyone that is implementing CRM, wants activity controls. Activity controls are a natural extension of the capabilities of CRM. Why would you not want or expect sales reps to enter their activities into CRM? Until I discovered "The CRM Dilemma," I felt exactly the same way, and I am a sales rep!

Unfortunately, "The CRM Dilemma" is very real, yet unspoken, in all CRM implementations. CRM will fail if activity controls are part of the implementation. I hate this reality. It screwed up my career after I had discovered an area that I loved and was very successful at. I single handedly convinced my previous employer to implement CRM across North America. They spent a vast sum of money, the infrastructure is in place, the pilot markets are psyched, then I went and told them it wasn't going to work. Thanks allot Arne!!

So I remain unemployed and continue to crusade to finally bring success, to what we can actually achieve, not what we want to achieve.

To focus sales reps on planning their activities
Providing sales reps with all the information they require before a sales call
To enable sales reps to easily communicate "High Card" activities and information, after the sales call, that is attached to the Customer Record.
To encourage sales reps to record customer feedback by including them in access to cumulative feedback reports.
To provide a "Safe" process for sales reps, so they feel free to use the tools provided, without the need to defeat CRM due to fear of activity controls

The CRM Dilemma - Basic Research Paper

2008-03-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

In order to assist the many readers of this blog, this post contains the basic elements of the CRM Dilemma and the PACT solution in one document. Additional information is found in my other posts. Each frame is this post can be opened by clicking on it.

"The train wreck you can't look away from."

2008-03-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

There has been a great deal of discussion about the contents of this blog. One individual complimented my site and my research, but likened it to "A train wreck that you can't look away from." He is experiencing the same response that I did when I discovered "The CRM Dilemma."

Once I discovered the existence of the CRM Dilemma, I knew the CRM implementation I was leading, would fail. Not because we were focusing on activity controls, but because we weren't focusing on removing all activity controls. At that moment, I knew I was looking at an impending train wreck, unless I could explain the CRM Dilemma so convincingly, that we would change the focus of our implementation. It didn't work! Thus the warning I provide about the danger of presenting "The CRM Dilemma" too early.

I have told friends that the moment I finished the presentation of my research, I knew I was finished.

If you believe this research, it becomes very difficult to look at an impending CRM implementation the same way. If "The CRM Dilemma" really is the answer to the CRM failure question, it means that I am a genius, that has discovered that which we really didn't want to know in the first place.

My discovery means that the CRM failure rate for sales reps could be far higher than has ever been reported.

I really look forward to implementing a PACT solution to prove or disprove the value I believe it can bring to a company. I know that removing activity controls from the equation, resolves the CRM Dilemma.

I continue to be amazed how many people are visiting this blog and I thank you for your emails. Please continue to share this blog with your collegues.

Best Regards
Arne Huse

24) 100% CRM Compliance

2008-02-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

I discovered a web site www.cohon.com where Charles Cohon claims to have 100% compliance in CRM usage by his sales reps. He says he accomplished this through a number of methods including all CRM input being done over the telephone, which is transcript by someone and entered into CRM. He also said he promised his reps, that NOTHING they enter, would ever be used against them.

I find this an interesting story as it really goes to what I have been saying about The CRM Dilemma. If Mr. Cohon has indeed achieved 100% compliance, I think it is much more about the promise of impunity, than the methodology. What I am advocating is to remove "Low Card" activities, which is what he must have done as well. There is little sense in gathering data you never intend to use. If you ask a rep to record how many calls they are making, why bother if you can never tell that person they aren't making enough calls?

The promise without action is useless to overcome "The CRM Dilemma," as I discovered in my own CRM implementation. I was employed by a company that did not in any way have a culture of accountability. The implementation of CRM was in no way designed to bring more accountability to our sales force. And yet, the moment sales reps saw "Activity type" drop downs and various "Tick boxes," they surmised (With good reason) that higher accountability was on the way with CRM.

Fortunately for them, they were very quickly able to abandon CRM and go on with their own private systems once again.

I can only assume that Mr. Cohon has a very small sales force with no other managers to louse up his promise of impunity. This is not the case at most companies and all it takes is one manager holding performance data, (that a sales rep has provided) up to the face of that sales rep. The news spreads like wildfire and the gaming would begin in earnest. Of course "The CRM Dilemma" rarely lets it get this far because there is no "Trust before distrust" when it comes to activity controls.

23) The user view versus the company view

2008-02-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

I came across a very interesting website for a GPS tracking system for vehicles called GPSMate.

This company has two products for sale. The first product is for individuals, the second is for companies. I am going to paste the details of each and then discuss the specific language used to target each audience. Both products are designed for the reporting of driving activities. I will change the font on the points for discussion to Bold Red.

What is GpsGate.com BuddyTracker?

GpsGate.com BuddyTracker is an online service for GPS tracking and position sharing. GpsGate.com offers buddy tracking and vehicle tracking services and many integrations to third party applications.
BuddyTracker
With GpsGate.com BuddyTracker you can follow people and objects that have a GPS with an Internet connection. You can also share your own position by connecting your GPS to GpsGate.com.

Note: You are always in control as you decide if you want to be seen, and who you are visible to!

Product number 2 for companies

GpsGate.com VehicleTracker
GpsGate VehicleTracker is a web based vehicle tracking application. It is available both as a hosted solution at GpsGate.com and as a server product. If you are looking for your own vehicle tracker installation have a look at our GpsGate Server here.

With GpsGate.com VehicleTracker operators can follow their vehicles in real-time and display historical track information for selected vehicles. Track data can be exported in KML and CSV (Excel) formats for further processing.Access rights are defined for each operator for a set of vehicles and each operator has a personal account for security and flexibility reasons.You can also get read access to your database, the possibility to translate and re-brand your user interface as an option.

Fascinating language

I think this web site has done an excellent job of defining the view of CRM, from the perspective of the user and the company.

User Language: The term "Buddy" is a friendly term containing no element of threat. You can "Share your position" infers you have complete choice over this decision to again lower the threat level of this product. In case you don't quite believe this, there is a final, separate point, highlighted by an exclamation, that provides comfort in knowing that you can always turn the system off, and decide who sees where you are.

Company Language: We aren't tracking our "Buddies" (People) anymore, now we are tracking "Our vehicles".

For "Security and flexibility reasons", our company can deny access to the the system by operators of our vehicles. The "Comfort language" here, is that we can keep people from turning off the ability to track our vehicles, or see the information we are recording.

Now, I know that GPS transmitters are used in trucks all over the world and these systems offer huge benefits. If I was a driver, on a highway, with a load of plasma TVs, it would also be comforting to know that my company knew where I was. I am also sure that in today's tight labor market, companies spend little time harassing drivers over frequent bathroom breaks. In companies that have chosen to monitor human behavior with GPS tracking, I wonder if drivers have employed "Gaming" techniques, but I have no concept of what they might be.

Users want to be able to avoid tracking, and companies are seen as wanting to enforce tracking, because users want to be able to avoid tracking.

22) Oh, what a tattered web we weave...

2008-02-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

As I have written before, my discovery of "The CRM Dilemma" did not come from CRM. I was simply seeking answers on why my fellow sales people had lied to me, when they said they would use CRM. Because I am an INTJ, I knew the answer must be outside the boundaries of what I was being told.

As I said in my research, I began to discover the secret hidden within the aversion to activity controls (Knowing the steps someone takes to achieve a known outcome). I looked at sports stars, chess players, taxi drivers, doctors, and many other groups, to determine the lengths that people will go, in order to have their activities not be controlled.

Because I also ultimately want CRM to work because I believe in it, I looked at possible ways to force CRM users, to get past "The CRM Dilemma" and use it, despite their fears. Once again, to find the answer we look outside the realm of CRM itself.

As I considered my last post, I began to think about the amount of time and energy it would have taken, for my contractor friend to hide his activities and mistakes from our reporting capabilities. I would also like to consider methods that could be used to ensure accurate reporting by our contractor. Remember, although we know the true reason for the resistance to this reporting, it will never be stated by him. I would also like you to consider the amount of time, energy, and money, spent on each step.

Remember: The goal of the system deployed to this contractor is to increase efficiency and profits for both him and us. No where is it stated in our goal, that we wish to bring punitive actions against him, for inefficiency, or using too much lumber.

What the contractor would do:
First line of defense - Excuses

"It takes too long to record each cut"
"The laptop is impossible to keep clean in a construction environment"
"The software is too complicated"
"The software is too slow"

Our response:
Address the concerns and provide solutions

Move to a weatherproof, handheld device
"Always on" software
Provide additional training and job site support

Contractor step 2: Promise to try the new tools and provide feedback.

Contractor step 3: Let the gaming begin!
The contractor has convinced himself, that despite our assurances of the system being to his benefit, what we are really looking for are ways to measure HIM. He has arranged with another contractor friend on the same system, that they will share lumber when required, in order to improve "Their numbers." They have also figured out that if they buy a few boards with their own money, they can improve their odds of winning the yearly prize for the "Most efficient contractor." The award will more than compensate them for any lumber purchased. They have also agreed to split the prize money.
They are now maintaining a spread sheet to keep track of the lumber, but it is becoming more difficult to keep it all straight.

The reports aren't making any sense
We are finding discrepancies in the amount of cuts reported, versus the amount of lumber being used. Because we require accurate information in order to achieve or efficiency goals, we look for additional tools to ensure more accurate reporting of lumber and cuts.

New tools are required
We discover that a company has produced a new saw that will automatically records cuts made, and upload the information each day to our database . By adding RFID chips to all the lumber, we can get an accurate picture and decrease the effort by our contractors in providing the information. The new saws are purchased, our suppliers have agreed to add RFID chips to lumber, and our contractors are trained on the new system. The contractors say they like the fact that less effort is required to record the information.

The contractors have to step up their gaming efforts
The contractors continue their lumber swapping and side purchasing of lumber. Several of the contractors have been reporting problems with the new saws and have said they have to keep their old saws around, because they are reliable and trusted. One saw per job simply isn't enough anyways. With the new saws reporting cuts and the old ones not, reporting is now becoming even more eratic. The contractors have demanded they receive additional and better quality saws that they can rely on.

It isn't difficult to determine what is going to be the end result in this hypothetical situation. The bottom line it seems, is there is not a snowball's chance in hell that the contractors are going to provide the information we are looking for. Each move by us will receive an effective counter-move by the contractors.

We will receive no pay back or benefit
The contractors will receive no benefit from the tools
From day one, the contractors had decided the new system was never designed to benefit them and it had to be defeated
Distrust on both sides will increase
An incredible amount of energy will be spent instead of focusing on building houses and making money
A huge amount of money will be spent by us, to address objections that were not really at the heart of the problem

In my last post, my contractor friend had said that if we could provide him with an effective Planning and Communication Tool, (PACT) it would be of true benefit to him. Since our original goal of efficiency and profits could be achieved, without monitoring lumber cuts, why would we not take activity controls out altogether?

21) Explaining my research to someone that has never heard of CRM

2008-02-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Last night, a friend of mine asked me to explain my research into "The CRM Dilemma." My friend builds houses for a living, rarely uses a computer, and has never heard of CRM. I used the following analogy:

We want to know how many cuts you are making each day, to ensure you are building houses efficiently. By understanding how many cuts you are making, we will be able to help you streamline some of the processes and help you make more profit by reducing waste.
Please begin to record each cut, the size of wood, and where the board is going.

"What if I make a mistake in cutting a board?" he asked.

I told him he should record that too, so we can help him minimize those mistakes in the future.

Then I asked my friend what he thought would happen.
Interestingly, he didn't talk about the time it would take to record each cut and how that would interfere with the amount of time he spent, actually building.

He was more concerned that he would feel very uncomfortable with having efficiency reports run on his activities. Although my friend is one of the most honest people I know, he said he would probably not record most errors he made. He said he would use the boards cut in error in other places (As he does now) but find ways to report it in such a way, that we wouldn't know it was actually a bad cut. I explained that this would mean the reports would not be valid and we would not be able to help him improve if he didn't tell the truth. He said he simply wasn't going to tell us every mistake he made, or every detail, so that we could figure out how many mistakes he made.
I had turned my highly skilled, honest friend into a gamer and a liar.

My friend now understands "The CRM Dilemma" perfectly!

PACT explained to my friend using the same analogy:
Instead of recording each cut, we want to help you plan your cuts, before you build a house. You can select from various reports that will provide each suggested cut, and also suggest where the end piece can be used. If a mistake cut is made, the software will allow you to search for the best place to put the board, without registering it as a bad cut. At the end of the project, you can evaluate how using this model improved your profit.

The software will also allow you to quickly pass "Next steps" onto your sub contractors so everyone will know what they need to do to complete the job.

My friend thought this was much better than monitoring his cuts and he said the second system is one he would actually use.

19) What is said - How They read it

2008-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

To follow, I will copy key benefits of CRM noted on two software-provider web sites. Following each key benefit, I will list what needs to happen to accomplish each benefit, and what your sales force is reading into these statements. If your CRM system sits unused, look to what is NOT being said as the true culprit.
I am in no way saying your company does not have the right to ask or require this information from your sales reps. I am trying to show how "The CRM Dilemma" causes reps to do everything in their power to defeat or circumvent CRM. To date, sales reps have been exceptional at avoiding "carrying the stick with which they are to be beaten."

MS CRM (What they say)

"Improve field-service performance"
"Microsoft tools for field service management allow you to track the activity and results of individual field representatives or teams, identify any issues, and increase performance. When managed with the help of Microsoft solutions, the delivery of field service, maintenance, or sales might yield even better results, and drive more income, than it does today."

What has to happen: Activities and results cannot be "Tracked" unless they are first recorded by field personnel. "Issues" cannot be identified unless the information is accurately provided.

What your sales people read but do not say:
Microsoft tools for field service management allow you to track my activities and my results. Identify any areas where I am not doing my job, and increase my performance through closer scrutiny . When I am managed with the help of Microsoft solutions, my delivery of field service, maintenance, or sales might yield even better results, and drive more income, than it does today. "If I don't provide the information about my activities, my activities can't be tracked."

"Are you neglecting any customers? Run a report to find out"
"To build lasting relationships, you must check in with leads, opportunities, and customers regularly. You can use the Neglected Accounts, Neglected Leads, and Neglected Cases default reports in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 to identify contacts, or you can create your own report using Microsoft Office Excel 2003."

What your sales people read, but do not say: If I am neglecting any customers, you can run a report in CRM to find out. "If I don't provide the information, these reports cannot be run against me."

SalesForce.com (What they say)

Territory management. With the territory management capabilities in Salesforce, you can easily define,
administer, analyze, and change sales territories to match your sales organization, no matter how complex it is or
how frequently it evolves.

What your sales people read, but do not say: If you want to strike fear in the hearts of your sales force, just mention the words "Territory realignment." "The CRM Dilemma" is epitomized in the words "administer, analyze, track, change, and define."

Opportunity management. Opportunity management enables sales teams to work together to close deals faster
by providing a single place for updating deal information, tracking opportunity milestones, and recording all
opportunity-related interactions. Salesforce can be customized to fit your internal sales methodologies and
processes, making it easier for your managers to monitor their sales pipelines.

All these items are required to be recorded by the sales reps themselves. They do not just "Appear" in reports unless sales reps feel secure in entering the information. Since most of these points would be considered "Low Cards" by sales reps, the fear of providing this information overrides any perceived benefit in doing so.

18) Contact Management to CRM - Harder than you think!

2008-02-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

I purchased my first computer back in 1994. It was a lightening fast, Toshiba 486 laptop. I believe I paid more for that Toshiba, than the Dell XPS 1330 I am typing this post on today.

I bought my laptop back in 1994 for one reason; to manage my customer relationships. I remember the day I spent loading Maximizer, using the nine floppy disks that I paid a small fortune for. I spent quite a bit of time entering all my customers into my Maximizer database. I installed Winfax, bought my first Palm Pilot and I was all set. Imagine, I could write a newsletter to my customers, push a button, and each of them would receive a personalized fax, with the newsletter. I became the star of the sales department and then I was asked to take over a senior territory. My sales manager, knowing that I had been keeping a database, asked me to share it with the new sales rep moving into my position. You'd have thought that he was asking for a kidney! This was my database, on my laptop. Of course I did the right thing, I printed a copy of my database, with the last five customer notes - Mr. Generous!

The CRM Champion

When a company is rolling out CRM, they will often look for their "CRM champions" in those reps that have been using contact management effectively. From an organizational change perspective, it would seem to make sense that those that are used to entering customer notes into ACT, or Goldmine, should have no problem transitioning to CRM.

I can tell you from personal experience; It was the ACT and Goldmine users I looked for to be super users for the CRM implementation. These users of course said it was "Great" that we could use Scribe to import their databases into CRM. Once again, "The CRM Dilemma" had a huge hand to play in the minds of these technologically advanced sales reps. I now know the planning had begun for these reps to defeat CRM. The clues were provided in their statements and questions:

"CRM needs to be as easy to use, as my ACT system."
"Can I make notes in CRM private?"
"I have many customized fields in ACT that I need."
"Who is going to be able to see what I put into CRM?"
"I will probably keep my Goldmine database in case CRM goes down."
"I need offline access to my information."

These are very natural things for people in this situation to say. Because we are confident in the superior technology of CRM, we promise that all these needs will be met.

While contact managers can be set up for the information to be shared in a small group, they are primarily designed for single-client use.

The UNSPOKEN, and most important differences - Here's what your contact management users aren't saying:

"Because I alone see what I put into my ACT database, I only record "High Card" activities."
"I like that I have admin rights over the information I record in Goldmine."
"I like that if I am asked to share ACT information, I can do so selectively."
"I like that I decide what to enter about my activities"

Because of "The CRM Dilemma," the spoken will become the database of excuses, for the unspoken.

Challenge: Since you are reading this, I will assume you have CRM in place that few, if any, sales reps are using. Run CRM activity reports on "super users" that were previously using contact management. I am pretty sure you will find very low usage rates among those that were supposed to be your champions. Unfortunately, "The CRM Dilemma" says that the requirement to enter "Low Card" activities, spoiled all the fun for these key users. They have the advantage of determining all their excuses in advance for not using CRM. Send a link to this blog out selectively and ask for opinions on it. You will be amazed (As I was) at the response once the truth about the "Unspoken" is revealed.

The PACT Difference

By removing the fear of "Low Card," quantitative activity reporting, vast new tools can be provided through PACT, for the contact management user.

17) The Sales Manager

2008-02-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

Before I discovered the CRM Dilemma
I was working with one of the largest regions in the company. The head of the region was begging for CRM, and had promised that "Our people WILL use CRM." since I knew "Pressure from above" increases CRM adoption, I made them a pilot region. This story involves a general manager, a sales manager, myself, and 30+ sales people. These events all happened before I discovered "The CRM Dilemma." Now that I have completed this research, what happened in this region makes much more sense. I now know that when CRM is implemented in this region, the results will not be what I anticipated at the time.

The General Manager: As far as clients go, "Jim" was a dream come true for this CRM Project Lead. Young, MBA, analytical, information driven, and very hospitable. As a stop-gap measure, "Jim" had instituted and mandated an Access database log of activities be kept by all sales reps. This hadn't worked because "It was too slow." I had noted that "Jim" had tendencies towards micro management which made the sales rep in me cringe. But I wasn't one of the sales reps in his region, I was the CRM Project Lead who was looking for "Executive buy-in," and I had found it! "Jim" had recently instituted a policy that all managers and sales reps had to keep their Outlook calendars populated with appointments. They were also to add notes to the appontment in Outlook after meeting with a customer. "Jim" was having trouble getting "Terry" the sales manager to keep his own calendar populated.

"Jim" was looking for CRM to provide:

Sales rep activity snapshot reports.
Understanding about the "Mood" of customers
Help to "Keep each other in the loop" because multiple people were calling on the same customers.

The Sales Manager: My first meeting with "Terry" went very well I thought. He was responsible for one of the largest sales force in the company. "Terry" is a seasoned veteran and seemed quite laid back and he reminded me of the sales manager I had when I was a rep. My sales manager was, and remains, the best sales "Coach" I have ever encountered. I remember thinking I was a little concerned that "Terry" may not pressure his reps to use CRM, much like my own sales manager hadn't. "Terry" was hoping CRM would:

Help him communicate better with his sales reps
Because more employees were now calling on the same customers, they needed a way to communicate with each other so that customers received a consistent message
Help to provide better customer service

Before I get to the sales force, you need to know about the sales meetings.

Two Sales Meetings - Big Differences

I had the pleasure of being invited to two sales meetings for this region. The first meeting was run by "Terry" the sales manager, without "Jim" in the room because he was out of town. The second sales meeting was run by the general manager "Jim" with "Terry" in the room.

The meeting run by "Terry" was relaxed with a lot of discussion. "Terry" spoke a little on CRM but I was disappointed there wasn't a stronger declaration. Watching "Terry" in action solidified my opinion that his true strength was in being a sales "Coach." The sales reps clearly liked "Terry" and responded well to him. I also became more concerned that "Terry" wasn't going to put enough pressure on his sales reps to use CRM when we rolled it out.

The meeting run by "Jim" was entirely different. There was very little discussion and it was very much lecture-style. "Jim" spent quite some time talking about CRM and the benefits of CRM to the region. "Jim" made it very clear that the sales force would be expected to use CRM and usage reports would be looked at by him. When "Terry" got up to speak, I noticed he was quite different than when "Jim" wasn't in the room at the last meeting. I could tell there was a tension in management styles between the two.

The Sales Force: This is a very dedicated and diverse group, struggling to meet all their goals in a declining economy. As I interviewed them in groups and individually, I noted that "Terry" was highly respected by them but they didn't like "Jim" very much because of his micro-management style. The sales reps I spoke with had told me they were using their Outlook calendars to record appointments and adding notes. They expressed concern about being micro managed through CRM. We assured them that CRM was being designed as a tool for them. The main frustration they were consitently expressing was that many employees were now calling on "Their customers" and they needed to be kept in the loop on what was being said to customers. In the past, only the sales reps would be calling on customers so this was a huge change for them. They were pleased that CRM could be used to communicate to each other about what needed to be done after a department called on a customer.

Leading Indicators: Now that I understand "The CRM Dilemma," there were several indicators that this CRM pilot will not produce the desired results.

I thought "Terry" was avoiding me - After our intitial meeting, I was never able to get a follow up meeting with the sales manager. Since I was only there to help him, this puzzled me.
"Terry" was being pressured by "Jim" to be harder on the sales force and monitor their activities more closely.
While it is true that sales reps had used the re-occuring appointments feature in Outlook to populate their calendars, not one of them was filling in notes after the customer appointment.
No call reporting was done by sales reps
It was clear to me that "Jim" wanted quantifiable data from CRM in order to make business decisions. These decisions would not neccessarily be in the best interest of "Terry" and the sales force.

The REAL story through the lens of "The CRM Dilemma"

I now understand the serious dilemma faced by "Terry" the sales manager in the implementation of CRM. In fact, "Terry" already understands the basics of "The CRM Dilemma," but he can't say anything about it. As the leader and protector of his sales force, he knows they need CRM so they can communicate needed information between each other. "Terry" also knows that with the benefits of CRM comes a huge pack of misery for him and his sales team. In the end, "The CRM Dilemma" will prevail and this CRM initiative will fail:

"Terry" will not make his reps record their "Low Card" activities, unless he is forced to do so by "Jim"
If "Terry" forces his reps to record their "Low Card" activities, "Jim" will begin to run reports on the quantifiable, "Low Card"activities of the reps.
"Terry" will run no such reports because he does not believe in activity control and prefers to coach his reps based on outcomes.
"Jim" will then go to "Terry" and tell him the changes he needs to implement with the sales force, based on this information
"Terry" may go to his reps and "Coach" them on what to put into CRM (Gaming) with the purpose of protecting him and his reps from "Jim"
If reps are entering activities into CRM, but are "Gaming," if "Jim" figures this out, he will either put yet more pressure on "Terry," or he will start going directly to the reps and bypass "Terry."
The best solution for "Terry" and his sales force is to make CRM go away. If he could just take the "Low Card" activity reports out of CRM, they could all use it as the tool it was intended to be in the first place. This great sales team won't be able to take advantage of the "High Card" communication tools that they really need because "Low Card" activity controls are attached to the system.
"I know I should be using CRM but.........." will be the refrain heard throughout the sales force.
If they use CRM just for "High Card" communications, it will negate the excuses they need to use to get rid of CRM.
CRM will have to die. It will die as long as the entire sales force works together.

To "Terry" and all the other brilliant sales coaches out there, I finally understand what you have been thinking, but not saying. In PACT, I offer a solution that addresses your concerns and allows you to have the tools you really need. There is finally research to prove "The CRM Dilemma" exists and is all too real.

As always, I welcome your comments. In my next post I will share more CRM implementation situations where "The CRM Dilemma" was staring me in the face. I will also admit and share my own story as a sales rep, being asked to share my ACT information, and how "The CRM Dilemma" affected my actions.

16) The dreaded opportunities pipeline

2008-02-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

If your company is currently using an opportunities pipeline, you are likely using it for one or both of the following reasons:

To understand how many units you will have to manufacture or order to fill the orders in progress

To put pressure on your sales force through activity controls

If you are using your pipeline for purpose number one, the system is probably working for you. Because it is used to fulfill sales rep orders, such a system is considered "High Card" by your sales reps (providing it is the only method by which the information is communicated), the reps will regard it as a tool to their advantage.

If you are using it for purpose number two, or both one and two, I am sure the pipeline is a major source of tension between managers and sales reps. The "CRM Dilemma" is epitomized by the opportunities pipeline by being the ultimate in activities control for your sales force. I would also bet that the following is occuring:

Your highest performing sales reps use (and are required to use) the pipeline, far less than lower performing reps. This is because the pipeline is not a tool, but an accountability. Your best reps require less accountability because "We already know they are doing the right things."

Sales reps that use the pipeline the most (If you have any) will not represent your highest performers. This is because the pipeline does not truly provide guidance to your reps - They already know how they are doing in sales by knowing their outcomes.

If your reps don't see personal value in the pipeline, they aren't using it anyway so kill it, kill it dead!

The really important pipeline

While opportunities management in CRM is the antithesis of PACT, PACT can be used as your greatest indicator about the effectiveness of your current strategies. Going back to the new product launch in Post #8, which would be the greatest indicator of the acceptance of your new product by sales reps and customers?:

A "hit and miss"report from CRM on which reps have said they would do the presentation, and to whom. Combined with:
A report on those reps that have completed the presentation. Combined with:
A drop-down report from reps in CRM as to why they did not make the sale after the presentation. Combined with:
An ERP report on orders received

OR:

A report from PACT on those reps that have scheduled appointments with customers during the sell-in period. Combined with:
A report on those reps that have requested the new product sell-in package for those customers. Combined with:
Feedback from sales reps and customers regarding what they said about the new product line and the presentation tools. Combined with:
An ERP report on orders received.

The key difference is that PACT offers a level of safety tin the minds of sales reps because it focuses on planning and communication that they consider meaningful.

15) Steps to converting an unused CRM system to PACT

2008-02-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

If you agree with the premise of my research on "The CRM Dilemma", (Why would you be reading this if you didn't?) It probably means you have implemented CRM to great fanfare and promise, only to have your sales force ignore the tools you have given them. You may have tried various sticks and carrots resulting in no marked improvement in usage, or a move to "Gaming" by your sales force. The challenge then is how to resuscitate the system you have, without falling back into the activity control trap that your sales force rebelled against in the first place. It is my contention that this can be done, but it will require a determination to provide a system that your sales force will really view as a tool, NOT a threat. To follow are some steps you can use to achieve this important conversion in attitude.

PACT = Planning and Communication Tool

Admit the problem: This may be the hardest part. I am no longer employed because I did this before the problem was identified in our North American role out (The Canadian implementation had failed because of the "CRM Dilemma".) To state that "Our sales force is not willing to record their activities, because they don't trust that we won't use the information against them" is a very bold step that will be welcomed by the sales force, but may be panned by others. This admission shows that we are virtually powerless to understand the day-to-day activities by sales reps, in a quantifiable fashion. You will be amazed at the audible sigh of relief you will hear from your sales force when you remove this tremendous burden from them.
Restate the original goals of CRM for your company: You didn't implement CRM in order to control the activities of your sales force, activity controls are an unintended by-product stemming from the desire to offer better service to your customers. By restating these original goals, you set the stage for a new understanding with your sales force and open the door for a new PACT with them.
Do an analysis of current planning practices: There needs to be an admission from the sales force that they could do a better job planning their activities. If I were hired by a company to perform this task, I would spend time travelling with various sales reps to identify gaps in activity planning. There needs to be a level of trust in identification of these gaps that does not single out individuals. Planning practices by department heads and executives must also be evaluated to ensure the messages that are reaching the sales force are clear and consistent. I have personally seen situations where sales reps are confused as to their objectives because different departments are giving them conflicting messages on what priorities they should be focused on.
Evaluate the information needs of customers: I have always been a top salesman, not because I was a "close friend" to my customers, but because I was able to identify what they wanted to know. Not just about the products I was selling, but providing them information that they would be interested in, and that would impact their business or their lives. For example: A contractor customer is interested in your products, but provide him or her with a market analysis of their industry, and you become a hero to them. Help them to get more business and they will buy your products.
Evaluate the information needs of your internal customers: Yesterday, I spoke with a friend that had a problem because she wasn't able to obtain a particular piece of business information on a consistent basis. I showed her how by creating a simple "Google Alert," she could have this information delivered to her as soon as it was made available. I suspect there are many people like her in most organizations. Now she will be able to plan her activities easily because she will be able to consistently get the information she needs. In previous posts, I outlined some ideas on the types of reports sales reps need in order to effectively plan their activities. Providing these reports is key to a successful PACT with users.
Plan to provide all the required information: This is where I get into trouble with my friends in IT because I do not provide a magical application to accomplish this, nor do I offer a solution package. The key is that in order to plan activities, employees need to go to one source to find the information that is customized to the customer.
Understand and declare what is and what isn't required to be communicated: For the new PACT to be successful, (Used consistently) "High Card" activities (Information that must be communicated in order to progress the sale, or provide feedback that MUST be acted upon) can be the only recording required in PACT. With the exception of training or disciplinary "One offs" identified previously, departments cannot be permitted to add "Low Card" activity recording to PACT. This may have the same implications identified in step one, so executive champions are required to keep consistency in this message.
Remove all "Low Cards" from your current CRM application: As painful as this sounds, the days of the "Tick box fields" need to be over. You don't trust the information anyways, so in order to send a positive message of change, all quantifiable information on "Low Cards" needs to be deleted. You will hear yet another cheer from your sales force when they see this has been done! Please don't assume you can leave the information in and it is enough to say that your sales force no longer needs to populate the fields. Quantifiable data remains a "Threat" as long as it exists.
Add "High Card" fields and tags to PACT: This step shouldn't be too difficult assuming your company email system is integrated with your CRM system. If "High Cards" are currently communicated through emails, there simply needs to be a link between the customer and that email. If you open the customer record, you need to be able to see the "High Cards" recorded against that customer. There also needs to be customer feedback fields, suited to your organization, that customer-facing employees can use to provide "High Card" feedback. As mentioned before, the ability for employees to view cumulative feedback is as important as managers viewing it.
Conduct a pilot of PACT: CRM training has long been forgotten. Users need to be retrained and reminded what the new PACT is all about. Conduct a pilot study to ensure user understanding and acceptance.
Make sure the PACT is being honored: With the removal of "LowCard" activity recording, comes new accountability in using the PACT system to its' fullest. Sales reps cannot assume the company has "Rolled over" but rather is providing new tools that are designed to help them sell, instead of watching and quantifying their individual activities. Users and managers alike must be held accountable for their planning and communication activities on a continual basis. Reports of appointments being recorded against customer records and the planning reports requested will be the key indicators of user acceptance.

In my next post I will continue to provide evidence of the value of the information gathered through the PACT system and tackle the issue of The dreaded pipeline.

14) PACT - Change Management Required

2008-02-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

By my definition, PACT stands for Planning and Communication Tool. In the dictionary, a pact is defined as an agreement or treaty. In any agreement or treaty, both parties give up some the things they want, in order to achieve a desired outcome that is adventageous to both parties.
The CRM Dilemma Restated:
The problem with agreements on traditional CRM, between companies and users, is the CRM Dilemma causes users to decide that submitting to activity controls is too high a price to pay. They enter in to these agreements knowing that they will not keep them, and yet they say nothing because doing so would validate the CRM Dilemma for the company. The company enters into the agreement knowing full well that they will use activity controls because quantifiable, "Low Card" activity data, is too valuable to ignore. Yet the company doesn't say this because to do so would validate the CRM Dilemma for users.

A PACT gets the truth "Out on the table" by finally admitting that "Low Card" activity controls are the primary cause behind user mutiny against traditional CRM.

Yet, even with a new PACT, there are elements of change management required. New accountabilities are added to the sales force and to managers with this PACT. Because communication in the PACT only involves "High Cards" (What others need to know in order to progress a desired action), change management is more a functional element that can be addressed in training. Planning on the other hand, is an element that many sales reps and managers have not been held accountable for, on an ongoing basis in the past. In instituting the PACT I have outlined, you may want to consider an incentive program to ease the transition into a focus on effective planning.

In my next post I will present some recommendations on incentives you may want to implement along with the new PACT.

13) I thought we could encourage CRM Usage through Incentives

2008-02-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

Back when I still believed that sales reps would record all their activities, as long as the benefits outweighed the perceived risks, I created an very elaborate and lucrative incentive program to encourage CRM use. When I presented this plan at a Gartner CRM conference, it was very well received and I had several people ask for a copy. The incentive plan was designed to engage users and groups of users. To follow, I will lay out the incentive plan and then discuss how the plan was impacted by the CRM Dilemma I later discovered. I have taken out any company references. The numbers given are only an example and would vary by industry.

CRM Incentive Plan
Submitted by Arne Huse

How MS CRM is intended to benefit this company

Allow for timely sharing of customer activities and information between business units. This will make for less frustration for employees and more importantly, our customers.
Improve customer activities documentation being passed on to incoming employees when the current individual leaves the position. This will allow for an easier transition for both the customer and the new employee
CRM will provide a centralized database of customer information. This will improve privacy, security and accuracy of all customer information.
Less time being spent by employees looking for information.
Better goal and opportunity management by market facing employees
Far better sharing of competitive information

Situational Analysis
MS CRM was rolled out in three phases. In each Region, two ½ day training sessions were held for Sales Reps and Managers. Overall the feedback was the program was easy to navigate and understand. Deskside trainers were established in each region for additional training when requested.
As is common in 50% of CRM implementations, adjusting to the “New habits” of using CRM has been a challenge since the introduction. The introduction of Blackberries created less of a need to use laptops and so CRM usage became sporadic for most. The pilot of a mobile solution (Ten Digits) brought CRM to the Blackberry and continuing to roll out a mobile solution to the field is a crucial step in the success of CRM
Increasing CRM knowledge, usage and comfort level in the organization will be the first area of responsibility and focus. We need to create a “New habit” for sales users. Using a graduated introduction, we can embed usage with our customer facing employees and create a habit that will yield long-term benefits.

Three Categories of Sales People, Motivations for using CRM
And Success Factors
With regards to what I call “Organizational habits” I have generalized salespeople in to three categories in order to best create solutions and incentives to encourage regular CRM usage. This encompasses all field sales roles and is general in nature.

1) Unstructured Sales People – With no structured systems in place, while these individuals may have been effective in the past, and in some cases may continue to be effective in the future as further demands are placed on them the need to better organize their time (calls) becomes increasing apparent. These individuals usually do not pre-plan calls, occasionally miss appointments and with a little more planning and the right tools, can provide much more timely information to
their customers. They may not have established a fax or email communication system in place for quick information dispersal to customers. The benefits of an effective and well-designed CRM solution will impact these individuals in a positive way in a relatively short period of usage. The key elements are to offer specialized training, coaching and to get them to begin using the program by pre-planning and entering activities and using it regularly for six months to establish good habits. Key benefits include happier customers, better performance evaluations and bonuses, and more job satisfaction. These individuals will often agree with the statement “My best days are the ones I wake up knowing exactly what I will be doing that day.” CRM can help them to obtain that.

Key CRM success factors for the unstructured user
Identify who they are
Provide basic CRM training, coaching and ongoing follow up
Manager accountability in pre-planning and entering activities in CRM by the Sales Rep
Provide incentives for beginning and continuing to use the program
Involve peer accountability and support through team incentives

2)_Somewhat structured Sales People – These individuals use a manual system of notebooks or file folders to keep track of customer interactions. Pre-planning of sales calls may or may not be happening on a regular basis. These individuals sometimes spend extra time looking for past information as used notebooks are not carried and files are often started fresh at the beginning of each year. With no system of reminders or task planning, some tasks fall through the cracks but they can often tell you their schedule for the coming weeks. Most likely they do not create opportunities and goals that are regularly reviewed, updated followed. These individuals may or may not have a fax or email system established for quick information dispersal to customers. This group is where I feel the majority of our sales people fall in to. This group will seriously struggle to see the benefit to them in using CRM on a regular basis. They will likely be attached to the system they are currently using and will need to be encouraged to adopt the habit of using CRM. The target here is six months of usage. Once the six month mark is reached, they will have information invested in CRM and they will see the benefit of faster information retrieval versus the old way of searching through files or notebooks. Effort must be put in to make sure the CRM solution is fast and convenient to use with proper training, a good CRM Mobile solution and every manager and support person entering activities in to CRM. Incentives and accountabilities need to be put in to place to encourage the beginning and continuing usage of CRM.

Key success factors for this large group

Discover what frustrations can be reduced with CRM usage by themselves and the team
Draw a picture of what successful CRM will mean to them and the company
Six months of regular CRM usage to create “Investment” in the data
Buy in and CRM usage by area managers with training on running reports and team incentives
Provide basic CRM training and offer more advanced training based on business process
Provide a good mobile CRM solution
Provide incentives for beginning and continuing to use the program
Involve peer accountability and support through team incentives

3) Structured Sales People – These individuals are already practicing CRM whether or not they use an electronic system. They pre-plan calls and have developed a solid system for follow up and providing information to their customers. These individuals may have also started using a contact management system like ACT or Maximizer on their own, because they see the value of using such a system. They regularly send information to their customers through a system of fax or email broadcasts. They may or may not be using opportunities and goals well. The challenges with getting these individuals to use the company CRM system are surprisingly difficult. These individuals are very fond of the systems they are using and they often enjoy the fact that others cannot look in to their system to see what they are doing. One frustration for these individuals is not being made aware of interactions with their customers by other company employees and managers. These individuals will buy in to CRM much faster if their managers are also using the program and they can get a true “360 degree” view of interactions with their customers. The Marketing Campaign features in MS CRM V3.0 will very much appeal to these individuals as well. One key is also to provide a good mobile CRM solution to replace the on site system they are now using. Advanced CRM training should be established for these individuals to include analytics, reports and opportunity management. Incentives should be put in place to encourage these individuals to use MS CRM to its fullest extent in setting goals and following them through to conclusion. Once these individuals have begun to use CRM they will likely be excellent champions for the program.

Key CRM success factors for the Structured group

Identify who these individuals are ( Managers and peers)

Interview them to discover what systems they are using

Do crossover analysis between their system and MS CRM to discover the benefits and offer data conversion

Make the transition as smooth as possible

Discover what frustrations can be reduced with CRM usage by themselves and the team

Draw a picture of what successful CRM will mean to them and the company

Provide training alternatives based on their level of knowledge

Use them as champions of the program and acknowledge them

Ensure they have elevated privileges in CRM

Offer incentives that will challenge them to use CRM fully and be rewarded for doing so

CRM Incentive Program Proposal

Goals of this incentive program

All Competitors be entered with profiles and current information in to CRM
Every Field Representative and Manager demonstrate the ability to enter Account Activities in to CRM
Every Field Representative enter at least forty and every Manager at least twenty – Pre-Planned Account Activities in to CRM
To reward and recognize those Field Representatives that achieve the CRM Mastery level with at least one hundred fifty Pre-Planned Account Activities in to CRM this year
Advanced sales users be encouraged to and rewarded for entering their territory goals in to Opportunities in CRM, updating progress against those goals in CRM and providing success milestones for the year. The intent is to expand this particular goal for next year.

Details
Entering Competitor Profiles – Contest
Rationale: Having current and relevant Competitor profiles in CRM is very valuable and will allow company employees to gain an understanding of competitors S.W.O.T, key products, and general information. Information discovered such as press releases and sales literature can be attached to the Competitor profile on an ongoing basis. Completing a Competitor profile takes about 30 -60 minutes and requires knowledge and research about the particular competitor. The creator and last person to update the profile are both easily identified in CRM
Cost: $120 for every five completed National and Regional competitor profiled
Eligibility: Sales Reps
Criteria: Every eligible employee that creates and completes a competitor profile will be entered twice to win an IPOD and any eligible employee that adds either a significant note or sales literature to the profile will be entered once to win an IPOD. The draws will be conducted at the end of each month and one IPOD will be added for each five completed profiles. The intent is to have them all completed over a short period of time.

Demonstrated ability to enter account activities in to CRM – LEVEL 1 - Beginner (10 Activities)
Rationale: The two key elements in increasing customer satisfaction and effectiveness in sales calls are Pre-call planning and Post-call follow up in CRM. This simple achievement level is simply to demonstrate to the user how simple and effective the process is, and draws out any additional training required. The Team Challenge is designed to encourage peer accountability both for Field Reps and Managers. Updates will be put on the CRM Home Page daily.
Cost: $
Eligibility: Sales Reps
Criteria: Every eligible employee entering ten - Account Related Activities or five with pre-call planning in CRM will receive a $25 gift card
Team challenge: The first region to reach this level at the 100% level (All Field Reps AND Managers) will have their rewards doubled

Entering Account Activities in CRM – LEVEL 2 - Proficiency (40 Pre – Call Planned Activities)
Rationale: This incentive simply encourages the continuation of entering Account Activities and pre-planning sales calls. At the point of payout, the individual will be proficient in navigating CRM and will have been using it for pre-call planning and follow-up for six to eight weeks. This is a very good indicator of continued and effective use of CRM. The Team Challenge has also been added. Reports will be run and updated weekly on the CRM Home Page
Cost Estimate:
Payback: At the 100% level, this represents over 2000 Pre-Planned and followed up sales calls.
Eligibility: Sales Reps
Criteria: Every eligible employee pre-planning and following up forty – Account related Activities in CRM will receive a $100 gift card
Team Challenge: The first Field Sales Team to reach 100% will each receive a double reward only if ALL Managers have reached 50% of LEVEL 2 (20 Pre-Planned activities)

Entering Account Activities in CRM – LEVEL 3 – Mastery
Rationale: This incentive rewards the top Field Sales CRM users that choose to embrace the concepts and spirit of Customer Relationship Management. This incentive is based on qualitative as well as quantitative use of CRM
Cost:
Eligibility: Sales Reps
Criteria: To be eligible, each Field Sales Representative will have entered at least one hundred fifty- pre-call planned activities (At least one per day) in to CRM this year. Each Representative achieving this level this year will receive $500.The user judged to have made the best use of CRM Activities in 2006 will be awarded an additional $1000 and the runner up will receive an additional $700.
Team Challenge: If a region achieves 100% CRM Mastery Level by Field Sales Representatives and 50% (75 Activities each) by Managers, the awards will be increased to $1500 from $500.

Using Opportunities in CRM to track and achieve Territory Goals

Rationale: This incentive encourages and rewards those Field Representatives that have decided to use Opportunities in CRM to track and follow their territory goals through to conclusion this year. Having territory goals and opportunities top of mind all year AND focussed on the Accounts, Prospects and Activities related to those goals, can only increase the chance of achieving them. This challenge will be used to build case studies and testimonials to be used in the roll out of CRM.

Cost:
Eligibility: Sales Reps that have also reached the Activity Mastery Level
Criteria: The top two CRM Opportunity users this year will receive the rewards. To be eligible, the Field Representatives must have 1) entered all Territory Goals in CRM Opportunities prior to a set date 2) reached the Mastery Level in CRM Activities usage this year and 3) worked through each of the goals in CRM this year, adding notes and Activities towards achieving those goals. In January, judging will be done to determine the two Field Representatives that have best used Opportunities to work towards achieving their Territory Goals. The winner will receive a reward of $2000 and the runner up will receive $1500

CRM Incentive Scenarios

1) CRM Activities usage by Field Sales Rep
Reward Single With Team
Level 1 (Beginner) reached $25 Gift Card $50
Level 2 (Proficiency) reached $100 Gift Card $200
Level 3 (Mastery) reached $500 $1500
TOTALS $625 $1750

Best use of Activities award - $1000
2nd Best use of Activities award - $700

2) CRM Opportunities used to track Territory Goals

Best use of Opportunities this year $2000
2nd Best use of Opportunities this year $1500
Total reward this year for the top CRM user will be $3625 or $4750 with Team
Total reward for the second CRM User will be $3125 or $4250 with Team

Everyone was very pleased with the Team aspects of the incentive program I created and the payouts were approved by executives.

Would the incentive program work once the CRM Dilemma was discovered?
I designed this incentive program to get users in the habit of using CRM to record their activities. I believed that once users were invested in the data, they would continue to record their activities, even after the incentive program ended.
Remember, the CRM Dilemma says that if asked to record their activities, users will weigh the benefits of doing so, against the perceived threat in providing the information. In understanding the CRM Dilemma, we know that such an incentive program will likely cause the following to occur.

If the program is considered lucrative enough, users will use CRM during the incentive period but only to put in enough information to earn the incentive.
CRM will not be seen as a tool to manage customers but rather as a way to earn bonuses.
As soon as the incentive program ends, they will stop using the program
If, during the incentive program, users begin to feel controlled, they will decide whether to game the program or give up the bonuses and stop using it altogether.

In my next post, I will look at how such incentives (With smaller rewards) can be used with PACT

12) Activity Controls from the "High Card" perspective

2008-02-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

Before I get to the data on the bike ride I just took, I would like to restate that before a person will submit to activity controls, they will weigh the benefits and threats of doing so. So before I put the details of the ride I just took in this post, I will consider the following:

Does this information show that I have eaten too much chocolate this winter, instead of spending time on my wind trainer? - Yes
Does this information show I was unable to maintain the cadence I had in August? - Yes
Are these still pretty good numbers for a 44 year old? - Yes

Can I determine the information I wish to present? - Yes

Am I competing against anyone that will see this information? - No

I have decided that the details of my ride are more positive than negative. I will present the details in two formats from two analysis programs.

The information I have provided you tells you many things about my ride. Just like the "After the sales call" example, there can be great value in the information a person is willing to share about their activities. It may be nice to see the "Low Card" details, but why demand them if all they do is cause dissension and rebellion?

11) The Coach, the Cyclist, and the CRM Consultant

2008-02-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

In post #10, as the cyclist, clearly I was at fault. The coach had given me his expectations and I had agreed to do the work and provide the information from my cycling computer. I was the one that started "Gaming" by not providing the information. I began to blame the cycling computer for my unwillingness to provide the data about my riding activities. I did not admit that I felt I was being reduced to "ride data" or that I felt the coach should be talking to me more instead of just looking at my data.

The coach has hired a consultant to come in to determine what went wrong and make recommendations for a solution.

The Coach was interviewed by the consultant and showed documentatation on our discussions and agreements on the information I would provide on my cycling activities

The coach showed the consultant all the great comparison data he had made available to me for uploading to my cycling computer

The coach also said he liked to compare all his cyclist data to decide the best riders to work with because the more comprehensive data he had, the better. The data also made the coach's job of evaluating cyclists much easier than spending time with them personally.

The consultant then interviewed me. I said the cycling computer was too slow and I was not being provided with the information I thought I would be. I had hoped I would be able to see more information, not just upload my data.

I also said I was spending too much time setting up the computer and it was cutting into my riding time. I said the cycling computer was poor value and was hard to read with just a black and white screen. I couldn't always trust the data because I get strange readings if my batteries are low.

The consultant made the following recommendations to the coach:

Spend more time explaining the benefits of the ride data to the cyclist so he will buy-in

Tell the cyclist he will be dropped as a client if he doesn't provide the data

Upgrade Arne to the Edge 705 with a color screen

There is a new software package to upload the data for better analytics

Give the cyclist extra batteries and a mobile power pack so he won't be able to say he forgot to charge his cycling computer

Because I have given you insight into the real reasons I have not been providing my ride data consistently, you now know that the previous five recommendations will not work. It isn't the consultant's fault because the consultant can only go by what they are being told. It would seem there is little hope for this situation unless I change my ways. There are likely coaches and cyclists going through this same situation all over the world.

Can you see the similarities to CRM? Can you see the "Real" problem? Is there another solution?

Put some blame on the coach:

The coach has to be aware that athletes are sensitive about providing all their ride data. Ride data collected by a GPS cycling computer, identifies every strength and weakness a cyclist has, that can be identified by data alone. The coach prefers getting good data to spending time with the cyclist and uses the information to select the best cyclists to work with. The cyclist has not been told this, so the cyclist should believe that the data is only used to improve his performance and encourage his good activities. Despite what the coach has stated, his desire to receive all ride data is not just for the benefit of the cyclist. In fact, the data could be used in the decision to drop the cyclist as a client or cut back services to the cyclist. It is not enough for the cyclist to say he climbed that hill, he has to prove it with data. - Do all these unspoken motives validate the fears of the cyclist in providing all the data?

The cyclist isn't being honest about the situation either of course because he doesn't want the coach to monitor every rest break, or chew the cyclist out when he didn't climb the hill fast enough. The cyclist understands he needs to be accountable for results and accepts that. The problems are:

The pie chart that shows eight minute rest breaks when only five minute breaks are allowed.
I ride better at 2:00 pm than I do at 6:00 am despite all the other riders doing better in the morning.
It takes me an hour to drive to the hill the coach wants me to climb but he doesn't know that because he has never been here.
I hate being compared to other riders. I am also sure the coach is showing my data to other riders because he shows me their data.

The bottom line: Neither the coach or the cyclist is going to get the desired benefits in this relationship because neither side can be truthful with the other. They may decide to part ways. They may give up on the cycling computer and go back to a manual spread sheet. The cyclist may feel he has "Won" because the activity controls are gone but he has lost far more than he knows. The coach may try out the new Edge 705 with all the new features at a much higher expense. The results will be the same because the unspoken issues about the data are at the heart of the failure. If the cyclist isn't performing, he should probably be dropped. The coach should be spending more time with riders, not just looking at data. If the providing of data will never meet the capabilities of the cycling computer, does this mean we give up on it because riders aren't submitting the data?

A PACT between the coach and his cyclists

What information can be provided before a ride will help the cyclists perform better?
What information about the ride does the coach really need in order to coach and improve the cyclist?
What data about the rides are cyclists comfortable providing consistently and can be held accountable for?
What is the best way to provide this data?

If this is the US Postal Service cycling team, they don't have this problem. They aren't doing Google searches on how to convince riders to submit their data. For the USPS Team, if you don't willingly submit your ride data, your spot on the team will be quickly filled thank you.If ALL the USPS team riders, decided they wanted one riding day a week to be cycling computer free so they could ride for "Fun", do you think it would happen? What if they all decided they wanted to go back to traditional monitoring and stop using the GPS cycling computers? If CRM is being used by all your employees to record their activities, I am sure you are not wasting your time reading this blog.

Now I am going to go cycling, WITH my Edge 305. When I get back I will tell you all the data about my ride that makes me look impressive!

10) Changing a great tool into a burden

2008-02-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

The CRM Dilemma is everywhere
As you read this, think of my cycling statistics as sales activities and my cycling computer as CRM.

I am an avid, non-competitive road cyclist. In the month of August, I road my bike thirteen times, totalling 284.22 miles, at an average moving speed of 17.5 MPH. My average heart rate was 150.7 BPM and my average cadence (Pedal RPM) was 90.
The reason I can provide such accurate information is I wear a Garmin Edge 305 Cycling Computer every time I ride. This unit records everything about my rides including how long I stop to rest, where I am and how much a steep grade slows me down. I am told these numbers are pretty impressive for a 44 year old. I bought my Edge 305 so I could use it to measure my own progress and challenge myself. This information with GPS is gathered automatically assuming my Edge 305 is turned on, charged up, and I have pushed the button to start recording my ride. I also need to put on my heart rate chest strap and it gives strange readings if the battery in the transmitter is low.

I upload all this data to a web site where other people can compare their rides to mine. I can choose to make each ride private or public.
In July, I worked to improve my Cadence (Pedals RPM) because in comparison to other riders, mine was much lower (80-83 RPM). After much work, I can now run a cadence over 100 without killing myself. I was glad I was able to see the information shared by others because it helps me improve. I am also glad to share my rides with other riders because I am proud of my riding skills. This year I will work with an online coach that will view my ride data and make suggestions on areas to work on while letting me know what I am doing well.

If CRM worked like this, I think everyone would be pretty happy. I would even be able to improve my selling skills by looking at the activities of top sales people and adjusting my activities based on their successes. This could all be done without having to admit to them that I didn't know I was doing it wrong. My sales manager could look at my activities and coach me on areas to work on and let me know what I am doing well.

Back to my (CRM) Cycling Computer with ride (Sales) data:
I didn't tell you before, but of the 20 hours it took to ride the 284 miles in August, only during 16.5 of those hours was I actually moving. I spent 3.5 hours resting during those rides. I think I also had two flat tires which take a while to fix. My largest climb in August was 1271 feet so I live in a pretty flat area. But of course, you already know all this if you have the data from my Edge 305, rather than just the information I choose to tell you. If I give you ALL the data from my Edge 305, you can overlay my ride on a map and watch every element (Activity) of my ride, in real time or accelerated.
In this example, my Edge 305 is the perfect example of CRM working the way it is supposed to. But there is no accountability in the information because no one but me has any authority over my cycling and the data provided by my Edge 305.

The Coach adds accountability:
My coach says I am riding too many days in a row and I should ride longer every other day. He also wants me to climb more hills than I have been and try to increase my cadence to average over 100 RPM.

The Edge 305 moves from Tool to Burden

I really want to ride today but I rode yesterday so the coach says I shouldn't. If I don't use my Edge 305 or use it and delete the ride, the coach won't know.
I ended going on a long ride yesterday and so I deleted the ride from my Edge 305 because I don't want the coach to think I am not trying.
I was really sluggish today because I rode so far yesterday. Rather than upload these crappy numbers, I think I forgot to charge the Edge 305 before my ride. Sorry coach.
I used to love competing against myself and other riders. Now that I am accountable for providing all the data, I am not enjoying my Edge 305 and I keep making excuses to my coach so I don't have to provide the data. We spend more time talking about the data than my riding.
I have dropped my coach and have gone back to competing against myself so I could use my Edge 305 that I love. It wasn't the coach's fault, he was only trying to help me get better. I just want to ride they way I want to ride and I seem to keep getting better and better with the system I have.

This was all true, up to the part where I get a coach. I have decided not to get a coach because I think the accountability in providing the information from my rides will become a negative for me. I also understand I am giving up the tremendous benefits in having a coach and how I could improve if I provided the data. Have I mentioned what a great tool my Edge 305 is?

9) A "True" CRM Dilemma

2008-02-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

If you Google "CRM Dilemma", you will find the list comprised of decisions between software, vendors, hosted or on-site. You will then see provocative references from my blog telling you that CRM isn't going to work, no matter what you do. A true dilemma is one that involves more than one person or group, making a decision that impacts both the outcome and the decision made by the other group. The CRM Dilemma I have defined through research is a Trust or Don't Trust Dilemma between employers and employees that heavily impacts resistance to CRM.

An employer requesting that "Low card" activities be recorded in CRM, causes users to distrust, and fight CRM because:
"If our employer trusts us, and does not plan to use our recorded activities against us, why do they want us to provide quantitative data about our activities?"
The resistance by users to providing information on their activities, causes employers to distrust, because:
"If our employees are doing what they are supposed to do, resistance to providing this information can only mean they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing."

The most fascinating part of this dilemma for me is that it can't be spoken with the other party in the room! As soon as you validate the concerns of the other party, there is no longer a dilemma and "Distrust" can be the only choice. The only element to be decided is whether the employer or employees will "Win." A win by employees means no one is using CRM to record any activities. I believe the CRM failure rate provides the answer on who really has the power to make or break CRM against this dilemma.

8) New Product Launch - PACT versus Traditional CRM

2008-02-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

In order for PACT to replace traditional CRM, Planning and Communication need to be the focus throughout the organization. As posted before, tremendous planning needs to be done to ensure sales reps have all the information they need in order to plan a successful sales call. Sales reps also need to be held accountable for proper territory and sales call planning as many sales reps are lacking in these important skills. This does not mean that we are telling sales reps how to plan, but rather, guiding them in what to plan. The following hypothetical company statement illustrates how PACT is supposed to work.

PACT - "High Card" Approach

"In order to prepare for our new product launch, our goal is to have 300 new product presentations conducted with customers next month. In order to assist field sales in achieving this goal, we are adding the following sales call planning reports in PACT:"

Data sheets on the new product line

Sell-in sheets

A copy of the suggested presentation format

Customer leave-behinds customized to each customer.

Target demographics for the new line

Product photos

Independent reviews of the new line

The latest competitive intelligence for this line

"When planning sales calls for next month, please select this package of information for each target customer. Please note that customer feedback on these tools is very important, so please pass along any feedback you receive. You will also be able to view cumulative reports on the feedback that has been received."

Accountability in the "High Card" approach:

Before I give the "Low Card" approach to this scenario typically found in CRM, it is important to understand how using PACT has shifted the accountabilty for the sales reps involved. Again, with apologies in advance to the IT experts, I am a "Sales Guy," not a "Network Guy".

In the above scenario, sales reps have been made accountable for 1) Planning and scheduling appointments with customers. 2) Selecting the new product line package for target customers, and 3) Providing customer feedback on the presentation, which they can also access cumulative reports on. (This last add also tells reps that management will be reading the feedback as well).

CRM - The "Low Card" approach to this same scenario:

Even if all the same sell-in tools were provided, "Low Card" reporting is added to satisfy quantitative reporting. The added statements are in red.

"In order to prepare for our new product launch, our goal is to have 300 new product presentations conducted with customers next month. In order to assist field sales in achieving their portion of this goal, we are providing the following tools in CRM:"

Data sheets on the new product line

Sell-in sheets

A copy of the suggested presentation format

Customer leave-behinds customized to each customer.

Target demographics for the new line

Product photos

Independent reviews of the new line

The latest competitive intelligence for this line

"On the attached template containing a list of all your customers, please check off the customers you will be doing the presentation with next month. In CRM, each customer will now have a check box added that should be selected once you have completed the presentation. You will also find a drop-down lists to indicate the results of the presentation and, if the order is not placed, the reason the customer has given."

Accountability in the "Low Card" approach:

In this typical "Low Card" scenario, sales reps have been made accountable for 1) Selecting the customers that will receive the presentation so as to provide their "portion" of the total goal. 2) Provide "proof" that they have completed the presentation by checking off a box in the customer record. 3) Provide further "proof" that the presentation was completed by choosing the results of the presentation from a drop-down list. 4) If the presentation did not result in a sale, to provide the reason the rep was unsuccessful.

Such data is fantastic at providing quantitative reports on the activities of reps, right? Wrong!

In selecting which customers reps intend to do the presentation for in advance, reps will satisfy their portion of the goal for the quantitative report which will satisfy or exceed the overall 300 presentation goal. BUT...They haven't made the appointments yet! The time to state the intention to do the presentation is at the time the appointment with the customer is made.

Proof the presentation was completed: We seem to forget sometimes that most sales reps hunger constantly for new products to present and sell to customers. I know that having a nice report on "X Presentations completed = X% sell-in success rate", but this is achievable in PACT, without forcing the reps to create this report for you.

Results of the presentation: Your ERP system will tell you if a sale came out of the presentation. This drop down is designed to put further pressure on reps to account for their activities and builds on the battle to make CRM go away.

What did you do wrong? I guarantee you the drop-down selected here (If chosen at all) will be the one that puts the least responsibility on sales reps for the sale not being made.

"It is a rare dog that will carry the stick with which it is to be beaten." - Douglas Hartle

I will let this sink in while I prepare my next post.

7) Instituting a PACT takes courage!

2008-02-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

As an employer, you have every right to ask your employees to log their activities into a centralized database. My research does not advocate removing accountability, but rather, seeks to demonstrate how the aversion to recording activities, that can be used against them, drives employees to mutiny against traditional CRM. Believe me, I found the conclusions of my research to be hard to swallow, but undeniable. If you have the courage to implement a PACT, rather than traditional CRM, there will be departments or individuals, that will push to add activity controls. Because the CRM Dilemma is so counter-intuitive to the ethos of most organizations, unless you fully believe in a PACT, rather than trying to force sales reps to log their activities, you are better off not trying to go down this road. Unless you are willing to institute a "No Low-Card Policy", (Except for training or discipline as noted earlier) my research concludes you will be back to a failing CRM system in no time. Remember that a "Low Card" is anything that a sales rep is asked to record about their activities, that only forms quantitative data and does not help progress the sale, benefit them, or the customer.

6) PACT - Communication after the sales call

2008-02-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

NOTE TO READERS: This blog is NOT meant to be read "Top-down". Please explore my research starting with the oldest entry to understand the logic behind the CRM Dilemma.

After the sales call
With traditional CRM, after the sales call the sales rep is supposed to enter the details of the sales call into CRM. Typical details of a sales call include:

Date of visit and customer

Primary objective(s) of the call, by category or categories

Items discussed, or presentations made by category are recorded

Agreements reached with customer

Customer feedback is recorded

Evaluation if objective(s) of the call are or were achieved

Follow-up activities or appointments required by the sales rep, are recorded

Follow-up activities or appointments required by others, are recorded

There are many benefits to the sales rep, the company, and the customer in recording the above details of a sales call. Whether or not CRM is used, many of these details are recorded by the sales rep in a paper or contact management format. To follow, I will evaluate the benefits and implications of each of these activity details as they relate to the sales rep, the company, and the customer. Each detail of the activity will also be evaluated from the sales rep's perspective if entering it into CRM, rather than a paper or contact management system only the sales rep has access to.

Date of visit and customer: The vast majority of sales reps record this information as a reminder to themselves or evidence that the sales call was made. Usually, in the hands of the company this information is only used for quantitative and analytical purposes. This information has some value in the customer record if another employee is going to visit the customer and needs to know the last time the sales rep visited. In PACT, this information will be revealed based on the planning that was conducted for the appointment. This information is "Low threat" to the sales rep provided it is not categorized and only in the customer record.

Primary objective(s) of the call, by category or categories: Every sales rep should have an objective when they make a sales call. These objectives should line up with strategic initiatives set out by the company as well as the goals the sales rep is working towards. What differentiates PACT from traditional CRM, is that because reporting these objectives back to the company is strictly "Low Card", quantitative data, such reporting is not required.

Items discussed, or presentations made by category are recorded: Most sales reps will record this information for their own records. In CRM, this information is "Low Card" used for quantitative reports of negative value to the sales rep. PACT does not require this information, but does allow for uncategorized text notes created by and for the sales rep, if they choose to do so.

Agreements reached with customer: Such agreements usually have "High Card" value (Someone needs to know this agreement has been reached). The progression of these "High Cards" in PACT (Or CRM for that matter) is of high value to the sales rep provided the quantitative element of this information is kept to a minimum. Quantitative reporting (Usually indicated by "Tick boxes") can have the negative effect of causing the sales rep to use email to progress the "High Cards" because email is less quantifiable.

Customer feedback is recorded: Reporting the feedback provided by customers is of critical importance in PACT. Unfortunately, traditional CRM lumps this tool in with activity controls and as a result, many companies are not receiving this key information from customer-facing employees. By removing activity controls in PACT, employees will be more willing to record this feedback because they will not have to employ all the "Excuses" for not using the system. An important note: In my considerable experience, customer-facing employees need to be given access to cumulative customer feedback. Having access to these reports encourages employees that "Someone is listening." If possible, an automated "Thank you for recording this feedback" is also a good idea to encourage this behaviour. They also need to be encouraged to provide positive feedback from customers.

Evaluation if objective(s) of the call are or were achieved: In traditional CRM, this reporting is placed under the guise of "Program evaluation" or "Employee coaching." Employees see right through this and know that these "Low cards" will only be used for quantitative evaluation of their performance. Employees want to be judged on outcomes, not the activities completed to achieve those outcomes. Because this reporting is viewed so negatively by employees, they usually cause employees to avoid the reporting system altogether. Very often, this activity reporting doesn't jive with actual outcomes anyway. The reporting of these activities is not required in PACT.

Follow-up activities or appointments required by the sales rep, are recorded: Once again, because the quantitative reporting of sales rep activities is eliminated in PACT, the sales rep will be much more open to using the tools provided to record follow-up activities. Such a system works far better than paper-based systems because of the "Reminder factor."

Follow-up activities or appointments required by others, are recorded: The key in PACT is to attach these "High Cards" to the customer record. Even if the preferred method of "High Card" communication at your company is email, most systems integrate with Outlook so the customer can be attached to the email. In this way, anyone that opens the customer record will see the email or appointment that has been attached. Important Note: You may be tempted to create workflows to address these sales processes. I caution against applying accountability to those in the sales processes that receive these workflows. I offer the following scenario to illustrate my research findings:

Each stake holder in the sales process gathers in a room, to place parameters around a particular sales process from start to finish. Each department in the process is asked how long they feel it will take to complete their portion of the sales process. Their response is recorded and the entire process is agreed to by all stakeholders with a clear timeline firmly in place from inception, to completion. Each department will be accountable for the timeline they have agreed to live by. This is a process that goes on at most companies, with or without an automated system for tracking the progress. With an automated system, managers and others can receive delinquency reports on departments not achieving their portion of the workflows, in the time period agreed to initially.

The dilemma occurs when internal departments start moving away from the automated workflows that have been created and agreed upon. After a time, many revert back to old systems such as email or phone calls, and avoid putting the workflows into action. The reasons for this are very complex and hard to pin down. Inevitably, excuses blaming the "System" will arise as to why the automated workflow is not being used. The "truth" of the matter seems to point to human nature being the cause of reverting back to "Less trackable" systems for the following, usually unspoken reasons:

You can't "talk" to an automated system. The "system" doesn't care if you or someone in your department is sick. The "system" doesn't care if two people in your department just quit. If your department is assigned a workflow, a delinquency report WILL be generated if you do not complete your assigned portion on time. You can't phone the "System", explain your problem and ask for more time. It will then be up to you to explain why you are delinquent after the report is generated.
In an automated workflow process, if you need more time you can't simply phone or email the one that instigated the workflow. Instead, if you are unable to complete your portion on time, you will need to call everyone in the process and explain why you will be delinquent.
This dilemma seems to happen more often in "Team-based" corporate cultures. Because no one likes delinquency reports generated against them, empathy can cause a move away from automated workflows.
Automated workflows with accountability reporting, can have the negative effect of not being able to accelerate the process under special circumstances. Sales Reps and others usually try to form positive relationships with those they rely on to produce, ship and deliver the products or services they sell. Often, a phone call is made saying "I know you guys usually need two days to do this, but I need a big favour......". Usually the last thing someone wants is to create an adversarial relationship with those they rely on, by instigating an automated workflow process that will cause problems for those receiving it.

There are times of course when such tools are required and appropriate. This scenario is only designed to point out that agreements reached in stakeholder meetings, do not always result in "real life" work flow parameters.

The sales call by the rep has been well planned. The sales rep had a clear understanding of their objectives based on company initiatives and guidance that was provided in their planning process. The sales rep was also well-armed with information from PACT, that would help him or her both sell to the customer, and build relationships by providing valuable information and service to the customer. PACT provided this information customized as both a working paper and a customer leave-behind.

After the sales call, the rep was only required to enter "High Card" activities and customer feedback into PACT, so that recipients would quickly receive them and the "High Cards" would be attached to the customer record. The sales rep was also able to schedule any follow-up activities for themselves.

In my next entry, I will build on the value of PACT for companies and users. I hope to show that a tool based on Planning and Communication, even without activity controls, is far superior to a CRM system with activity controls, that no one is using.

5) PACT - Getting the most out of a failed CRM system

2008-02-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

You've spent a LARGE sum of money to bring the dream of CRM to your company, but no one is using it despite your use of incentives, threats, and agreements. You've probably heard every excuse in the book as to why the system is not being utilized:

"The system is too slow"
"Paper notes are just so much faster and convenient"

"I don't want to carry my laptop into calls"

"Entering stuff into CRM is cutting into my selling time"

"You want me to enter my activities into CRM at night, instead of spending time with my family"

Mobile Access to CRM must be the answer then.

You may have tried, or are considering giving mobile access to CRM to users through company Pocket PC's or Blackberries. Technology today allows for quick and secure access to all CRM information by mobile users. I can tell you from my own experience, despite rave reviews during training and implementation of complete CRM access on company Blackberries, it made absolutely no difference in increasing CRM usage. Mobile CRM access was provided at large expense and was designed to reduce the excuses noted above. Unfortunately, mobile access simply added new excuses to the list while maintaining old ones:

"The buttons are too small for typing"

"The screen is too small for viewing"

"Paper is just so much faster and convenient"

"I KNOW I should be using the system, but........."

Now that the wedge of distrust has been firmly placed between those needing the information and those being asked to provide it, a completely new approach is needed. This is NOT the best solution, but my research has shown it to be the only solution that has a chance of succeeding against the CRM Dilemma. The key is to turn attention to planning and communication, and away from user activity controls.

Planning

Planning happens at many if not all levels of an organization. Planning involves the analysis of leading indicators (What is happening) and lagging indicators (What has happened) to determine direction and actions. Businesses today are dangerously reliant on lagging indicators because of the relatively easy access to firm information. I offer the following common scenario to illustrate the point:

Sales to one of your largest customers have been steadily increasing month after month. You can therefore extrapolate those sales to a large increase in the next year based on lagging indicators from your ERP system. What you don't know is the leading indicator that one of your low-cost competitors is courting this customer and the customer is considering switching. What could you do if you had this information?

There are several ways this leading indicator could come to you (If it does) before the customer makes a decision:

The customer calls you and lets you know
The customer tells one of your employees and the employee tells you

The information comes through a third party (Supplier, customer, media partner)

Situations like this happen every day in business. What you really need is the knowledge that your competitor is going to make a move on your customer, before they even walk in the door. Let's take a look at some ethical ways you could determine this likelihood, through leading indicators, if you had the information.

Your customer has been unhappy about an element of your value proposition

One of your employees or managers has gone to work for the competition

Your customer has hired an employee, that used to work for a company that purchased from your competitor

Your competitor has just lost a major account

Your competitor has hired a new CEO or executive

There has been a merger or acquisition in your industry

Your competitor has launched a new product line or initiative

Your competitor has suddenly become more aggressive in another area or market segment

In this simple example, several of these leading indicators would be available in the public domain and company executives should be aware of such industry changes. CRM is supposed to solve several of the business problems involved in gathering and communicating leading indicators, between decision-makers and front-line employees. The sad truth is, if users are not entering information into CRM, they probably aren't looking at the information that is being passed to them through CRM either.

For several of the leading indicators in the above scenario, it is very likely that someone within the decision maker's sphere of influence, is aware the occurance has happened. The four questions are:

Are they aware what information is important and needs to be communicated?

Are they aware what information is ethical to pass along?

Do they know who (or whom) to pass the information along to?

Do they know how to best communicate the information to the right person, people, or departments?

The interdependencies of an effective PACT

Planning requires Communication

Communication requires Planning

Field Level PACT

Every sales rep and sales manager has heard the terms "Plan your work and work your plan" and "Fail to plan and plan to fail." While effective planning is critical to the success of sales reps, the personality and skills that draw people to this profession are often not condusive to proper planning. I have traveled with many sales reps that start their days without any kind of plan for that day, let alone the week or month. Effective planning at the field level involves many company directed and self directed competencies and elements.

Arne's Dream for PACT

I want to say up front that while I am highly computer literate and a sought after "Go to" for my exceptional ability to problem solve hardware and software issues, my official computer training consists of a two day course in 1994, called "How to Turn It On"(I am not kidding). I do not fully have all the answers as to how some of the information in this scenario is going to be disseminated and delivered to the user. I get "Google Alerts" every day on various topics, and I love them. I do not suppose to say that Google Alerts could translate to an enterprise, but they are a concept that most people can understand in delivering timely, specific, user-requested information. I am not a network or data warehouse guy, I am a sales guy with a lot of CRM knowledge, experience, and a dream...Just make it all work and I will be happy.

Sales Rep Planning Scenario #1 - Retailer that currently sells a product we manufacture

I will be visiting this customer next week and have created an appointment in Outlook which integrates with PACT. I need to have information that will help me sell my products to this retailer, be of particular interest to this retailer, and show the retailer that me and my company truly care about the success of their business. When I select the customer from my Outlook appointment, a menu pops up with a check list of reports to choose from:

Retailer Details Report (Address, staff names and positions etc)
Sales, Payment, & Product Mix Analysis
Co-op Advertising Report
Current Initiatives Report
Retailer Goal Report (Goals determined for this retailer)
"High Card" Report (What actions have been created by me or others for this retailer)
Staff Training Report (Which staff have or have not had training on our products)
Value Proposition Report (What our company has to offer this market segment)
Demographics Report (Automatic based on where the retailer is)
Retailer Competitive Intelligence (What is happening in their industry)
Competitive Intelligence (What is happening in your industry based on retailer location)
Community Highlights
"Google Report" for this retailer
Retailer Best Practices General
Retailer Merchandising Best Practices
Retailer HR Best Practices
Consumer Trends
Report on Latest Retailer Technologies
Give me all reports
Always give me these reports for this customer

Depending on the reports requested, they will be delivered in two formats:

Designed to be used by me only, for planning my sales call
Designed to be reviewed the retailer and left behind

The option is then given as to when I would like these reports delivered to me:

Deliver these reports the day before my appointment (Via email)
Deliver these reports as soon as they are available (Via email)
Deliver these reports now and again the day before my appontment

The key is to make the reports valuable and compelling enough, that the sales rep has incentive to PLAN their activities in advance and are specific to the customer. Just imagine the value of these tools when the sales call is made!

Sales Rep Planning Scenario #2 - Prospecting

I will be calling on a particular area or specific prospect next week. Based on the categorized prospect or location in my Outlook calendar, a list of reports to choose from pops up.

Leads for the area
Current Initiatives Report
Goals Report (Goals for this area, prospect or segment)
Value Proposition Report (What our company has to offer this market segment)
Demographics Report (Automatic based on prospect or prospecting area)
"High Card" Report (What actions have been created by me or others for this prospect or area)
Segment Competitive Intelligence (What is happening in their industry)
Competitive Intelligence (What is happening in your industry based on prospecting location)
Community Highlights
"Google Report" for this segment or prospect
Segment best practices
Latest technologies used in this segment
Job leads for the prospect
Give me all reports
Always give me these reports for this area or segment

Depending on the reports requested, they will be delivered in two formats:

Designed to be used by me only, for planning my sales calls
Designed to be reviewed the prospect and left behind

The option is then given as to when I would like these reports delivered to me:

Deliver these reports the day before my appointment (Via email)
Deliver these reports as soon as they are available (Via email)
Deliver these reports now and again the day before my appontment

These are only examples but hopefully you get the idea. The reports required for your industry may be very different but the focus on planning remains the same. The key elements are the ability to select specific reports that will be considered valuable by the sales rep.

In my next entry, I will move to communication at the sales rep level after the sales call. I will then go back to planning at higher levels based on the information gathered through customer feedback and "High Cards" created after the sales call.

4) P.A.C.T. - A New Way of Looking at CRM

2008-02-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

If my research is to be accepted, it means that CRM users will strongly resist recording their "Low Card" activities into a centralized database. It means that users will work individually and as a unified group to defeat CRM. It means that, if forced to record activities into a centralized database, users may sanitize or falsify their entries so as to not "Carry the stick that they will be beaten with." Mutiny against CRM is the preferred method because it deflects blame whereas falsifying records can lead to additional problems for the user.

If my research is to be believed, it casts serious doubt on the ability of CRM to be an effective tool for companies to understand their customer relationships by having a record of activities with those customers. This detrimental view is not considered helpful to the notion that by following proper change management principles, users can be convinced to enter their activities into CRM.

Why Even Bother With CRM Then?

The simple fact is that companies must continue to strive to understand the needs of their customers. They must provide every available tool to their employees to help them sell more of their product to more customers. Employees must have a system to effectively communicate customer feedback and activities that must be dealt with by other employees, suppliers, or partners, in order to increase sales and customer satisfaction. Sales Reps need to be provided with key and timely information that will both help them sell to customers and make them look like heroes in the eyes of their customers.

Steps to A New Perception of CRM

Step 1: Completely remove CRM from our vernacular

To a Sales Rep, CRM stands for "Controlling Remote Management"
SFA stands for "System Forcing Accountability"

Step 2: Remove the Trust/Don't Trust Dilemma from the Equation by removing the recording of "Low Card" activities

If companies truly trust their employees, managers and executives do not need employees to record their "Low Card" activities, but rather they need employees to tell them what customers are saying and doing ("High Card Activities") so they can plan and adapt.
If companies do not trust their employees, managers and executives need employees to record their "Low Card"activities so they can direct employee activities. They also need to know what customers are saying and doing ("High Card Activities") so they can plan and adapt.
If employers trust and do not plan to direct employee activities, why do they need those "Low Card" activities recorded?
If employees truly trust their employers, they would accurately record their "Low Card"activities with no concern that managers and executives would try to direct their activities based on what they are recording. They will also record what customers are saying and doing ("High Card Activities") to the benefit of themselves and the company.
If employees do not trust their employers, they would fear their "Low Card" activies will be controlled and directed if they provide this information to managers and executives. Customer "High Card" activities would also be withheld because it would demonstrate the usefullness of the system and reduce excuses for not entering "Low Card" activities.
Even if employees trust their managers and executives, why would they record "Low Card" activites, if they did not perceive a personal benefit in doing so?

Step 3: Form a PACT between the company and users

P.A.C.T. - Planning and Communication Tool

Pact - No recording of "Low Card" activities will be required (Exception noted below for training or disciplinary action)
Pact - Users, managers, and executives will record all "High Card" customer activities and feedback in the system.
All "High Card" activities will be attached to the customer record, and will not result in quantitative "Low Card" reporting upon completion ("High Cards" often become "Low Cards" in the view of the user, once the sale or activity is complete)
Pact - The system will contain no "Tick Boxes" for the purpose of quantitative reporting of "Low Cards"
Pact - "High cards" will not be communicated via email or telephone, unless attached to, or recorded in, the customer record
Individuals may be required to record "Low Card" activities for a period of time, in a training or disciplinary capacity. Such recording will be in text form viewed by the manager working with the employee
Pact - Users agree to be open about, and accountable for, their "High Card" activity planning
Pact - Users, managers, and executives will be provided with useful, timely, and customer focused information that will help them plan their selling strategies and improve customer relationships

In my next entry, I will break down each component of the Planning and Communication Tool and how it can greatly enhance performance and user acceptance.

3) Activity Control Versus Outcome Control

2008-01-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Now we are getting down to the nitty-gritty of why the majority of CRM initiatives fail. For most CRM initiatives to succeed, users must be willing to record their activities with customers. The benefits in doing so cannot be denied however in most cases, users strongly resist entering their customer activities into CRM, forgoing the benefits of doing so and despite their assurances that they will use the tool. From my research, I now believe this "Trust Dilemma" is articulated very well in a quote by Douglas Hartle

"It is a rare dog that will carry the stick with which it is to be beaten."

Perfect Versus Imperfect Knowledge (Outcome control versus activity control)
Typically, evaluative processes in business are focused on outcome controls such as sales numbers and product mix because sophisticated ERP systems should provide perfect knowledge of these results.
Perfect knowledge in activity control is rare in that it involves knowing exactly what steps were done by individuals that led to the (overall) documented outcomes, as well as the results of each individual activity.

Current examples of perfect knowledge in activity control include:

Professional televised sports where the activities of each individual player and position are recorded during play using video and manual documentation by others. Combined with the final game result and individual player statistics, this information exists as perfect knowledge of individual activities and overall team performance.

High level chess where player moves and counter moves are documented and published along with results. 2,138 games played by chess master Garry Kasparov, against all opponents, have been meticulously recorded showing each move and countermove by each player, and the final result of each game.
The benefits of perfect knowledge of past activities (and results) by coaches and upcoming opponents are obvious. Such knowledge allows for decisions to be made and strategies to be created that can dramatically affect future outcomes. An important note
here is since, in these two examples, every activity and result is always recorded without input from the players themselves, players cannot choose to “opt out” of activity controls, if they wish to continue to receive the benefits of being in the game. This study will attempt to demonstrate the length that players will go through to “opt out” of activity-based control systems that do not provide a disproportionately larger reward to perceived risk ratio.

Hypothetical Suppositions
If an active, professional basketball player could, through self-effort, remove their image from all previous game recordings (Activity controls), so only their comprehensive individual and team outcomes (Stats) remained http://www.databasebasketball.com/about/aboutstats.htm
-Would they choose this option?
-If yes, would they encourage others on their team to do the same?
-What if they were given the option of only removing themselves from select games?
It is conceivable that players would prefer outcome controls over activity controls, particularly during “Slumps” or if they received any negative feedback based on activities, rather than outcomes. This decision would be much easier if other players also opted out of activity controls to spread the blame or justify the decision.
If, when Garry Kasparov was actively playing chess, he could choose, through self-effort, to remove his previous individual moves from public record, leaving only win/lose outcomes http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=15940
-Would he have chosen this option?

“CRM has to be easy for users to input their activities into or they won’t use it”
How easy does CRM have to be for users to input their activities?
Before one can answer this question, it is important to look at user resistance to automatic activity control systems in use, that require no effort by users to provide the information about their activities.

Opting out of a non-user-inputted, automated activity control

For users that have been assigned an automated activity control system, any opportunity or decision, to disengage or “mutiny against” the control system, will be weighed against perceived value or penalty by the user in doing so. One such anecdotal example came out of a conversation with a friend that has served with the Canadian military in Afghanistan. All Canadian military personnel are equipped with GPS transmitters that provide their information and location, to officers remotely guiding their actions. These GPS transmitters are used both in non-combat maneuvers here in Canada as well as in combat situations in Afghanistan. The purpose of GPS in training situations, is primarily to evaluate the activities and movements of troops as they perform their maneuvers to documented results (Low Cards).This information provides perfect knowledge of user activities and subsequent results, without any effort required by users to provide the information. Unlike peacetime training, in combat situations air cover is provided and GPS information is used to keep bombs from being dropped on troops and to generally keep them out of harms way (High Card), as well as activity controls. While activity control in peacetime serves to prepare troops for combat situations and thus protect them from harm, the perceived value by troops is far less and “Big Brother” is the common term used to describe GPS-based activity controls in training situations. My friend confided that a course of action sometimes taken by troops during training, is to turn off the GPS transmitters whenever possible. This collaborative, “Mutiny” approach against the “Low Card” activity controls, are often endorsed by junior officers that are held accountable for activity control information gathered about troops under their command. The same users, I was told, would never consider “opting out” in combat by disabling their GPS transmitters because the perceived value of higher safety outweighs activity controls.

Customer benefit is often weighed against the self-interests in activity controls
No where is this statement more appropriate than in the bitter battle between Yellow Cab drivers in New York City (NYC) and the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) regarding the “Low card” activity controls of drivers using Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters. Historically, NYC Taxis were not dispatched but were “flagged” by passengers and only accepted cash as payment. Manual “Trip sheets” were maintained by drivers listing pickup and drop-off points and the fare amount. This documentation formed the basis of declared income by drivers. In 2005 the TLC mandated that as of October, 2007, all NYC Taxis must have GPS transmitters installed with passenger terminals that also allow passengers view their location and pay by credit card. Passenger pickup and drop-off points with fare paid are recorded automatically recorded by the GPS units and transmitted real-time to the TLC. This system eliminates manual trip sheets and provides the TLC with an accurate and unbiased view of NYC Taxi driver activities and income. Many punitive controls have been put into place by the TLC to ensure compliance by drivers and continuous system usage is mandatory for employment
NYC taxi drivers have rallied heavily against these new “Low Card” activity controls, complaining about the cost of the units as well as the loss of privacy and autonomy. Interestingly, no statements by drivers admit the benefit to passengers of paying by credit card, nor address the (unsubstantiated) possibility that drivers rely on undeclared income made easier in a manual trip sheet system. TLC statements have focused on benefits to
passengers and for drivers, the end to manual trip sheets. To my knowledge, driver income accuracy has not been addressed in statements by the TLC except that the automated trip reports will only be available to the IRS by subpoena. The TLC has also addressed driver concerns regarding the issuance of tickets for traffic by stating “There are currently no plans to issue traffic citations based on GPS data.”

Hypothetical Suppositions
When the IRS is aware that automated, accurate records of taxi-driver income are available, will subpoenas for these records increase over those for the manual trip sheets?
If a taxi-driver is involved in a traffic accident and there will be a GPS record of how fast the cab was travelling, will the claimant demand the record?
If the TLC receives traffic complaints about drivers, will they be forced to look at GPS driver data?
Can activity control (Low card) data such as this be left unused once its existence is known?

Automating the decision to “Do the right thing”

If toll booths were completely run on the “Honor System” without automated enforcement, would drivers stop to pay the toll for the good of all or would they justify to themselves why they do not need to pay?

If the TLC allowed cab drivers to choose whether or not to install GPS and rely on “Market forces” instead, would drivers install the units to the benefit of passengers or justify to themselves why they do not need such activity controls?

When police departments can decide whether or not to have forward facing video cameras in their patrol cars, why does it usually only come about after racial-profiling lawsuit settlements?

A study on medical morbidity published in 2003 by Folkman, McPhee and Lo found that of training physicians who made serious errors causing death or injury to patients:

Only 54% shared the error with a colleague
Only 24% told the family of the patient

The bottom line is that people are highly resistant to providing any information on their activities that can be used against them.

My next post will explore how CRM can actually succeed if activity control elements are replaced by P.A.C.T.

2) "A Beautiful Mind" that started this journey

2008-01-22T06:56:00.000-08:00

My research into the real reason behind CRM failures started after watching the movie "A Beautiful Mind".

In the movie, Russell Crowe plays the role of John Forbes Nash, the Nobel Laureate who suffered from schizophrenia. After watching a movie purporting to be based on a true story, it is my habit to do online research to find out what the "Real" true story is. While this often sucks the life out of the pure enjoyment of watching a movie, it feeds my inquisitive nature and my love of learning.
In reality, Nash was contacted by aliens, not the CIA, and his ever supportive wife divorced him but remarried him years later. Nash shared his Nobel Prize and no Laureate gets to make a speech at the ceremony. The key point here is I discovered the thesis Nash wrote at Princeton.

In his Princeton University doctoral thesis "Non-Cooperative Games", Nash expanded the concept of Game Theory by looking at a simple poker game. In all Game Theory, players will always do that which will give themselves the biggest payoff, with no consideration to the payoff to others.

I had no intention of entering into a research project at this point. I came up with an idea to create a game that would demonstrate to CRM users the benefits to themselves and to each other in using CRM to record their activities. This is the actual game paper I created:

CRM
A Card Game Analogy
When looking at any business report or situation (Poker Hand), there exist “High Cards” and “Low Cards”. High cards are those pieces of information a player feels will impact their hand the most .

These high cards often change and fluctuate depending on job role, culture and corporate direction. Because high cards can be subjective, incentive and corporate programs are often created to reflect (and drive) high card values and behaviors.

If you are left with high cards at the end of a hand, they count as negative.
Low cards are those pieces of information that in and of themselves do not command attention but in a cumulative way have an impact on high card values.

If a particular low card value is impacting, or needs to impact a high card value in a disproportionate way, it may be deemed a high card value for a period of time. Low cards are one to one issues
Often people leave the company and stacks of cards are found that should have been played, but were not.
If players never know if the other players are blindfolded or not, they cannot trust the game and will look for alternatives to ensure cards played are being acted upon.

High Card Dilemma: If a high card is played in CRM, assuming it will be read (and acted upon) and it is not, the player could be in a worse situation with the customer. If players assume the high card may or may not be read and acted upon, there is no point in playing in CRM because sporadic action will result in conflicting communication that may exasperate the issue even more (Blindfolded players). Players cannot win the game unless they play the high cards.
Low Card Dilemma: Over time, as all the hands I play are recorded and analyzed, others will know exactly what patterns I use in playing. I will lose my ability to bluff and others will be able to critique my playing. But if many players are recording all hands played, I will be able to view playing patterns of successful and unsuccessful players and allow experts to coach me to being a better player.

The coaches must also show all low cards played. Discarded low cards may be picked up and used by other players
THE DEALER IS ALWAYS THE CUSTOMER although wild cards are decided by players at the beginning of each round.
Discards are low cards deemed by others to be high cards
Endless deck with an equal number of high and low cards
Players may opt out of the game at the beginning.

What happens if players leave the game but don’t tell anyone?
High cards are recorded in your hand and then also sent to other players (Partners) that you think can also use them. Whoever receives the card either plays it or sends it to another player. Unplayed high cards at the end of the round, count against the holder and those that sent the cards.

You are all playing against the “HOUSE”

Game Theory Simplified

Game theory seeks to understand the rational choices that people will make to receive maximum personal payoff in a given situation. The most famous game theory is "The Prisoner's Dilemma".

The Prisoner’s Dilemma
In 1950, Rand Corp. scientists Merill Flood and Melvin Dresher, researching game theory in terms of its possible applicability to global nuclear strategy, came up with a series of non-zero-sum puzzles. From this evolved the Prisoner’s Dilemma:
Smith and Jones are arrested on suspicion of a crime. Their attorney tells them the evidence is flimsy, so if they both stay silent, their sentence will likely be a year at most on minor charges. The suspects are put in separate cells and each visited by the district attorney with the following deal:
If you cooperate and confess to the crime but your accomplice remains silent, you will go free because you cooperated, and we will jail your partner for 20 years.
If you confess and your partner does, then he will go free and you will get 2o years.
If you both confess, you’ll both get 10 years

A strategy of mutual silence results in the best collective outcome, but it requires the partners to trust each other because it places the silent player at risk of being exploited for the other’s gain. The dominant strategy therefore, is to confess (Defect).

John Nash took this theory one step further by mathematically proving that individual players could benefit by understanding that the other players will consistently do that which will give themselves the biggest payoff.

What this all has to do with CRM

CRM is sold to users under the premise that recording their activities in CRM will be beneficial to them.

Despite what is said in the room, users will inevitably make the decision whether or not to support CRM by recording their activities in a centralized database.

We know from many studies that CRM most often fails, because users choose not to use the system rather than support it. Although I strongly believe that consistent use of CRM will help employees be more successful, users will inevitably weigh any benefits in recording their activities against any percieved threats in doing so, when deciding whether or not to use CRM.

My study took a comprehensive look at what really goes on in the minds of CRM users, between the stated intentions to use CRM, and the inevitable failure of the program due to the lack of input by users, or distrust in the data provided.

My study does not support the conventional view of what CRM can or will achieve, in terms of allowing companies to have users submit to activity controls, regardless of how benignly these controls are presented to users.

Examples of common statements include:

“The company has neither the time or inclination to watch your activities”
“Information sharing is important with so many people calling on the same customers”
“The information will not be used against you but we do need reports in order to measure the success of the ____________ program”
“As long as you are getting results, we have no interest in monitoring how you are getting those results”

If the dominant strategy in a Trust/Don’t Trust Dilemma is “Don’t Trust”, by either the company or CRM users, the factors causing the distrust must be removed or CRM will fail.

Because this study and its conclusions may seem to cast doubt on the overall value in even attempting a CRM implementation, recommendations are made on how companies can increase the odds of a successful implementation substantially. The results of this study have been validated by sales reps and sales managers from several companies.

**The term “Activity Controls” does not refer to activities or information currently communicated between customer facing employees, via emails and/or phone calls, to achieve a specific outcome desired by the originating employee. Activity controls simply mean the ability to observe and record current activities and through analysis, the ability to change future activities and behaviors.

On my next entry, I will address the topic of perfect versus imperfect knowlege of activities and "High Card" versus "Low Card" activities.

Best Regards

1) The true killer of what should be a great tool for companies and their customers.

2008-01-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

About Me
I have been a sales rep for various companies for over twenty years. Since I got my first 486 laptop, and took my first (And only) computer course called "How To Turn It On" (I am not joking), I have been using CRM. I have (of my own accord and expense), purchased and used almost every contact management program, owned six Palm Pilots, two Pocket PC's and a Blackberry. All of this has been in search of the best way to manage my customer relationships.
In this I have been very successful, and have always maintained an exceptional sales record. I am very much a "Go to guy" for computer and software related issues, despite my lack of formal training in IT.

Three years ago, I was asked to lead the Canadian CRM implementation for my company, as well as continue my role as sales rep. After completion of the roll out, I was asked to lead the North American CRM project full time.

I have conducted two full research studies on CRM failures. The first study was in university, the second was on my own, in an attempt to understand why the same employees that told me CRM was going to be a "Great Tool" for them to use, weren't using it at all.

My research paper "The CRM Dilemma" has been validated by many people in sales and sales management from companies where CRM has been implemented, and has failed. My presentation of this research to my company that had not yet fully implemented CRM, ended my career with them. I continue to be passionate about providing a tool that employees will actually use, rather than neglecting and conducting mutiny against something that will help them because of one element of CRM.

The CRM Dilemma

Let me caution that if you have not yet implemented CRM at your company, you should probably not continue reading this blog. If like me, you implemented CRM to great fanfare, using all best practices available, only to find no one is using it, you may be very interested in this research.

My wife speaks of the day I discovered the CRM Dilemma and how shocked and depressed I was. I really believed that I had chosen the wrong career path in moving from sales to CRM. Although my findings have been validated time and time again, they are hard to accept.

After presenting my research, the IT Project Manager said "If I was considering CRM and heard your research findings, I would probably recommend we don't even try implementing, and save the money." Usually, the problem is easy, but the solution is hard. In this case, the problem is much harder to accept than the solution.

To follow I will list the six most commonly held best practices for lessening the odds of failure in your CRM implementation. These are directly from my group university research project "Avoiding the Pitfalls - A framework for Successful CRM Implementation" (We got an A+)

Have a clear CRM vision and communicate it often from the executive level
Focus on your customer strategy
Focus on collaboration with all stakeholders
Evaluate all business processes (Don't automate a bad process)
Use proper training and follow up with users
Ensure data quality

Your list may vary slightly, but it has been said that your odds of successful CRM increase substantially if you achieve all these steps. Because these steps are so difficult to achieve, it is easy to believe your CRM failure was because you didn't have enough_____(Fill in blank from above list)

On this blog, I will begin to lay out my research that proves traditional CRM will fail, even if all these steps are followed, because of The CRM Dilemma. With the exception of compliance-regulated industries (Financial, Legal, etc) which I will address separately, the definition of the CRM that will almost always fail can be taken from the "What Is CRM?" line from any CRM company. An example from Sales Force.com:

"The simplest, broadest definition can be found in the name: CRM is a comprehensive way to manage the relationship with your customers — including potential customers — for long-lasting and mutual benefit. More specifically, modern CRM systems enable you to capture information surrounding customer interactions and integrate it with every customer-related function and data point. The resulting information mosaic is then used to create and automate a variety of processes that identify, and describe, valuable customers. Most important, these processes help you personalize new and ongoing interactions to cost-effectively acquire, stay close to, and retain these "good" customers."

This sounds like something every company needs and should be striving for. It would quite frankly be career suicide to stand up at a meeting, and say that what is described above would be bad for your company. Nor can an employee stand up and say they do not want CRM and they will do everything they can to sabotage it, and make it go away.

On this blog, I will conduct a staged argument of my research that involves a very diverse group of subjects, from Chess Masters to New York City Taxi Drivers. I have no doubt that many will disagree with my research findings. I welcome the opportunity for someone to prove my research wrong.

If I am wrong, I can become a successful CRM Implementation Consultant. If I am right, I will be able to help extract value for companies that have CRM systems in place that employees aren't using, by changing what CRM is used for. This change by the way, has nothing to do with words or promises to CRM users about what CRM information is to be used for.

CRM needs to removed from our vernacular. There needs to be a fundamental shift in our understanding of how users view these programs, and most importantly, what lengths they will go to as a group to get rid of the threat of CRM.

Exceptions

There are true CRM success stories (To a point). CRM can work when the intent is to record strictly what the customer is saying. Typically, call centers and web forms work in this fashion. As mentioned before, in highly regulated industries, a minimum standard of record keeping is required for oversight compliance. In some companies, commission sales reps are told "If it isn't in CRM, it didn't happen" meaning that commission payment is contingent upon a minimum standard of record keeping. None of these examples really fits the definition of "True CRM" but they are held up by the CRM industry because for the most part that is all they have.

On my next entry, I will address Game Theory in relation to CRM.

Best Regards