* This article is part of a White Paper called “The Survival Guide for Migrating to a Cloud-Based CRM.”
When the sales department learns that the familiar, but much despised current CRM system is going to be replaced, rumors start to fly:
- What will happen to all my contact information?
- Am I going to lose sales leads?
- What about the competitor product and price information I have built up over years?
- Will we have to enter the same data into two different systems?
- Is the new system an excuse to change the compensation and sales commission rates?
Gartner states that, “adoption is inhibited when users resist the new system by focusing on cutover difficulties rather than embracing the new processes.”
In order to get ahead of this, management has to get out in front with communications. Invite all the employees to a video conference to address concerns or give it in an auditorium, explain the roll out process, and sell users on the idea.
The goal is to communicate, educate, and, most importantly, build enthusiasm for the new system and explain why the old one no longer meets the company’s needs.
- Explain the challenges of moving to a new system.
- Show the timeline.
- Explain why the old system no longer meets the needs of the sales organization, because it is resulting in lost sales, lower commission, lower profits, and is difficult to add new products and lines of business.
- Explain how the time-to-market cycle for new products will be reduced by the new software.
- Give training often and repeatedly.
- Give frequent demonstrations and show users how their converted data will look in the new system. Show new features like the ability to scan in sales orders and images with mobile devices.
- Explain how support people (CRM admins) will handle support tickets and communicate with the vendor to fix issues quickly.
Gartner analyst, Michael Guay, explains the importance of effective communication in implementing successful change. He writes that a business can “foster organizational change by making sure everyone understands ‘What’s in it for Me’, and recognize and reward successful early adopters.”
This article is part of a White Paper called “The Survival Guide for Migrating to a Cloud-Based CRM.”
Claim your free copy by filling the form below.
The White Paper covers a range of topics including:
Chapter 1: Project Kick-Off and Effective Communication
Chapter 2: Train, Train, and Train Again
Chapter 3: Sell the Product to the Users
Chapter 4: How to Encourage Users to Adopt the New System
Michael Taylor
Michael is the Lead Author & Editor of CRMSimplified Blog. Michael established the CRM blog to create a source for news and discussion about some of the issues, challenges, news, and ideas relating to CRM.