The 5 Commandments of Adopting a CRM

Before diving into the specific commandments of adopting a CRM, it is essential to understand the importance of this technology in the modern business world.

A CRM, or customer relationship management, is more than just a tool; it is a strategic pillar for any company that wants to optimize its sales and customer relationships. Often it is the CRM Manager who will be in charge of piloting it.

Commandment 1: Cultivate the culture of adoption

In the business context, the adoption of CRM is not an end in itself, but a continuous means of engagement for salespeople and managers.

Clearly define what CRM adoption is

It's about transforming the way a business interacts with its customers, by optimizing processes and exploiting data for informed decision-making.

☝🏻 Sales people don't care about CRM itself. They are looking for simplicity and profitability.

They are looking for intuitive and effective tools that simplify their daily tasks, reduce tedious operations, and allow them to focus on what they do best: selling.

Therefore, any CRM adoption strategy should focus on how it can make salespeople's work smoother and more profitable, with an emphasis on:

• The user interface
• Seamless integration with other sales tools
• Automating processes to reduce administrative burdens

Adopting a tiered approach

The adoption of CRM can be considered as a journey in several stages, each marking a progression in mastering and using this tool.

These levels vary from simple license activation to system ambassador, through various stages of mastering features.

Here is an example of a journey:

⇒ Level 0: license activated

⇒ Level 1: basic actions carried out - e.g.: more than 50% of current deals are in the CRM pipeline

⇒ Level 2: all performance-based actions are carried out - ex.: 100% of current business is in the CRM pipeline

⇒ Level 3: activity-based actions are partially recorded - e.g. up to 50% of calls are recorded in the CRM

⇒ Level 4: all activities are recorded - ex.: 100% of calls are recorded in the CRM

⇒ Level 5: the user becomes an ambassador - e.g.: 1 improvement idea based on data and facts submitted per month

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⚠️ Don't use more than one KPI per level to simplify for everyone 😅.

Establishing simple but strict rules

The establishment of clear and firm rules is a fundamental aspect to ensure the successful adoption of CRM. These rules form the basis of CRM culture within the company.

For example:

⇒ If something is not in the CRM, it does not exist

⇒ No bonus for completing the CRM, but not completing it impacts your bonus

⇒ All individual sales pipeline reviews are done in the CRM

Encourage a culture where CRM is seen as a strategic ally

It is essential to promote a perception of CRM not as an administrative burden, but as a real strategic ally for salespeople. This positive perception can be reinforced by concrete actions on the part of managers.

For example:

⇒ Allow managers to create a “monthly sales guidelines report” for each salesperson, providing them with practical advice to improve

Create an adoption committee with representatives from each department.

Setting up a CRM adoption committee, composed of members from different departments, is a key step in ensuring consistent and effective adoption within the company.

⇒ Your adoption committee should include the “nice” person on your sales team.

Commandment 2: You will provide continuing education

After establishing the foundations for CRM adoption, it is crucial to focus on training and supporting users.

Offer regular, short, and engaging training sessions

⇒ Never organize “CRM training sessions”, but rather “sales coaching sessions” where CRM is used as a tool for effective coaching.

These sessions should be dynamic, interactive, and focused on real business scenarios.

Think of training as an ongoing process, not a single event

Training should not be seen as a one-time event, but as a process that is constantly evolving, in line with the changing needs of users and CRM updates.

⇒ Organize monthly coaching sessions led by the manager and a sales coach (internal or external) to make life easier for managers.

⇒ Organize a monthly “all together” meeting where salespeople can ask for help on how CRM can make their lives easier.

Use a variety of learning formats - videos, interactive sessions, and hands-on practice

⇒ Always start the month with an in-person coaching session if possible.

☝🏻 In reality, face-to-face is much more effective than the online format as long as it remains exceptional.

Commandment 3: build digital bridges, not walls

Once the training basics have been established, it is important to ensure that the CRM integrates harmoniously with the company's other tools and processes.

Ensure seamless integration with other tools

⇒ Adopt a sales-centric approach: the people responsible for implementing your CRM should observe a group of salespeople for at least a full day.

Make your CRM a central hub, not an isolated island

CRM should be considered as the heart of the company's technological ecosystem, interconnected with other systems for optimized data management.

⇒ Set up no-code or low-code connections to collect data (Make, n8n, etc.), or a sales assistant like the one from Akimbo 💪.

🎯 On average, salespeople spend 20 to 30% of their time entering data into the CRM manually. A realistic goal is to reduce this to 10%.

Improve the user experience by minimizing data silos.

The aim is to create a consistent and effective user experience where data is easily accessible and usable, without being locked into silos.

⇒ Install data quality indicators on your CRM.

For example: the volume of contacts without a mobile number.

⇒ Connect, if possible, data filling solutions to your CRM - e.g.: Lusha / Kaspr / Dropcontact /etc.

Commandment 4: gamify the CRM experience

After establishing a solid foundation of training and technology integration, it's time to make the CRM experience more engaging and motivating for users.

Incorporate gamification elements for user engagement

Gamification transforms the use of CRM into a more dynamic and engaging experience, thus encouraging deeper and wider adoption within the team.

As such:

⇒ Ritualize business challenges, within your company and/or between companies. All the data used for the challenge must be in the CRM (see the rule “If it's not in the CRM, it doesn't exist”).

⇒ Make sure that a coach is responsible for the logistics and execution of business challenges, not your managers.

☝🏻 Mid-managers are always overwhelmed, never ask them anything more, at worst replace one of their existing missions.

Introduce friendly badges, awards, or competitions.

These fun elements reinforce user engagement by promoting their progress and successes within the CRM.

⇒ Enrich the CRM experience with business challenge solutions like Objow or Salesscreen.

Turn routine tasks into exciting challenges.

By turning daily activities into stimulating challenges, users are encouraged to interact more frequently and more deeply with CRM.

Commandment 5: listen to the chorus of user feedback

To complete the adoption of CRM, it is imperative to actively listen to user feedback and act accordingly.

Establish channels for open communication and feedback.

Setting up communication channels dedicated to user feedback is crucial in order to understand their needs, their frustrations, and their suggestions for improvement.

⇒ Broadcast a “SalesOps/ReVops” approach to constantly seek feedback from salespeople in order to give them more guidelines on the sales process using CRM data.

For example: set up a quarterly debriefing of lost business.

Actively research and implement user suggestions

⇒ Observe salespeople with the lowest adoption levels to identify what's really stopping them from getting more value from CRM.

For example: manual call transcripts.

Celebrate success stories to inspire and motivate the whole team.

User success stories not only serve to motivate the team, but also to concretely demonstrate the benefits of adopting CRM.

⇒ Focus your success stories on what CRM brought to salespeople, not on how salespeople adopted CRM.

⇒ Ask Level 5 users to coach other Level 1 or 2 users.

Beyond these five commandments, it is essential to remember that adopting a CRM is an ongoing journey, requiring constant commitment, adaptation, and continuous improvement.

By following these principles, you transform your CRM into a powerful tool, supporting your growth and success.