14) PACT - Change Management Required

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

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

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

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

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

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.

I

8) New Product Launch - PACT versus Traditional CRM

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!

1. 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.


2. 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.


3. 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.


4. 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!

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

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

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:

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


3. 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.

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


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


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


4. Your competitor has just lost a major account


5. Your competitor has hired a new CEO or executive


6. There has been a merger or acquisition in your industry


7. Your competitor has launched a new product line or initiative


8. 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:

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


2. Are they aware what information is ethical to pass along?


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


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

The interdependencies of an effective PACT

1. Planning requires Communication


2. 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:

1. Designed to be used by me only, for planning my sales call
2. 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

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

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.