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M Scott Schaffernoth

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Chief Tech Coach, Winnovative Technology Consulting, LLC

256 points

Founder, CRM Success Plans 2011
Founder, Winnovative Technology Consulting, LLC, 1993
Systems Analyst, First National Bank of Glens Falls (now TDBank North)
Microsoft Certified Professional
Sage CRM Saleslogix Certified Engineer and Developer, 1997 - 2009
Act! Certified Consultant, 2002 - 2011

WEB: 7 Cloud Mistakes

M Scott Schaffernoth and 11 other people answered this question

Jan. 17, 2012

How do you see the desktop vs laptop vs tablet vs mobile debate playing out?

Not so sure about only phones. After all, there will remain non-mobile staff working from static location, whether a home office or from home. I don't know about you, while my iPhone is handy when I am on the go, when I am in the ... more

Information Technology

Consumer Electronics

M Scott Schaffernoth and 13 other people answered this question

Jan. 13, 2012

How do you reconcile problems when selling ethically and making goal are not in alignment?

Reconciling a problem is not solving it...
This conversation is too fluffy.

Sales Management

M Scott Schaffernoth answered this question

Dec. 28, 2011

What tips do you have to take my business to the next level in 2012?

What do you do/sell?
What is your job?

Customer Service

Sales Management

M Scott Schaffernoth and 2 other people answered this question

Sept. 15, 2011

Does Windows 8 OS have a fighting chance against Apple IOS and the iPad?

It would be really tough for businesses that have a heavy investment in the Windows platform to move away from it to iOS. They can't realistically gut all of their existing applications.
http://www.CRMSuccessPlans.com more

Information Technology

M Scott Schaffernoth is now following Melissa McCready and 1 other person

Sept. 6, 2011

M Scott Schaffernoth and 2 other people answered this question

Sept. 6, 2011

What is the hardest thing about finding, buying, or implementing CRM technology?

For smaller businesses which tend to not be acclimated to formal process, often times the heavy lifting of the required preparatory due diligence gets shorted.
When a company's CRM team is informed and has a clearly defined "roadmap" of what they need and how it maps ... more

Information Technology

M Scott Schaffernoth and 4 other people answered this question

Sept. 6, 2011

What are the top 3 areas sales people can use CRM to leverage personal productivity?

I agree with Melissa.
And #2 "feeds" off #1 (or at least it should). If the sales people are being diligent about recording their scheduled (and unscheduled) meetings, calls, etc., the majority of today's software automatically tracks dates for the last meeting or phone call or ... more

Sales Force Automation

M Scott Schaffernoth and 3 other people answered this question

Aug. 31, 2011

What "requirements" need to be gathered in software selection and implementation projects?

In addition to the above, you also want to get all of the people involved at the table so that you establish a clear definition on what all of the "departments" agree are the requirements.
If you attempt to implement a system with a top down ... more

Business Intelligence

M Scott Schaffernoth and 1 other person answered this question

Aug. 18, 2011

How does having a "silo problem" within an organization affect CRM/ Social CRM efforts?

Not sure what happened to my whole response above, but what I said is that you put it well Mitch.
While the organization should likely have a 360 view of the customer, any one person only needed the portion of that pie that allows them to ... more

General Management

Information Technology

M Scott Schaffernoth answered this question

Aug. 9, 2011

Generally speaking, has the TCO for most CRM systems decreased over the past 5 years?

I'm sure that the hosted solution vendors would like to say "Yes" - if you choose a hosted solution.
My observation is that different folks are measuring (or not) different things so that their story fits their agenda.
Who is completely (possible?) neutral and has the capacity ... more

Enterprise Software

M Scott Schaffernoth and 2 other people answered this question

Aug. 3, 2011

Where will CRM be in 2 years?

I think it will be interesting to see where the pendulum finally lands on the "on-premise" vs. "cloud" implementations...
Hybrid solutions? more

Customer Service

M Scott Schaffernoth and 2 other people answered this question

Aug. 2, 2011

Are there any differences between a social CRM strategy and a traditional CRM strategy?

For the clients that we work with, for the foreseeable future, their "social" CRM strategy will remain a subset of their larger overall CRM implementation.
Social networks are relevant but they have not become the primary method (yet) for most (non-tech) small businesses to find their ... more

Customer Service

Business Strategy

M Scott Schaffernoth and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

July 27, 2011

Best Practices in Social Selling [7/29 @ 11 am]

What are 1-2 DIY social selling tactics that a sales person can do right now?

Interesting that someone would give this a "negative"... I would love to hear why.

M Scott Schaffernoth recommends this answer by Miles Austin

July 27, 2011

What are the best practices for using Linkedin for prospecting?

Fair question Mike. As a "focused" answer consider the following activities:
1) Make sure that YOUR profile is complete, current and reflects your experience and value to a prospective customer.
2) Use "Advanced Search" while in LinkedIn to provide a much deeper, more focused set of ... more

M Scott Schaffernoth and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

July 25, 2011

The Future of Social CRM [7/26 @ 11 am]

What is your one prediction for Social CRM in the next 5 years?

There will certainly be a consolidation of venders.
Many will go away either by closing their doors or by being subsumed by a bigger fish.
I know you asked for 1, but... I think Social CRM will not be a "category" in it's own, it will merely ... more

Customer Service

Customer Experience

M Scott Schaffernoth and 8 other people answered this question

July 21, 2011

Can anyone catch Salesforce.com in the CRM space? If so, how?

I'm certain that Microsoft will stay hot on their heels for as long as both of them are existance... more

Information Technology

M Scott Schaffernoth and 1 other person answered this question

July 6, 2011

How much end user training is "enough" for new enterprise software implementations?

We suggest enough to get them up and running with at least the "beginning" set of tools - most people are not able to maintain a high level of attention beyond say 3 hours in one day - with a 15 minute break down the ... more

Information Technology

M Scott Schaffernoth and 12 other people answered this question

June 30, 2011

What is a good web-based CRM for a small business?

You didn't mention if you are a non-profit, but Patron Manager CRM has a system built on top of SF.com that is specific for nps and has what looks to be a very strong ticket management module already built in. Most of the other solution ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

M Scott Schaffernoth recommends this answer by Mitch Turner

June 24, 2011

When choosing enterprise software, do you hire independent selection consultants?

As someone who has sat on both sides of the table (as a CFO selecting and implementing, and an advisor to clients on selecting and implementing) I have to say that the pro's of utilizing an external consultant (one that has a proven process and ... more

Information Technology

M Scott Schaffernoth and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

June 10, 2011

How to Select the Right CRM for Your SMB [6/15 @ 11 am]

What are the most common pitfalls you've seen once organizations begin pursuing a CRM solution?

All too true.
Many managers/business owners seem to think that having a successful CRM implementation is as simple as authorizing the check for the software...
Due to too much flashy marketing promises by the vendors perhaps? more

M Scott Schaffernoth and 4 other people answered this question

June 7, 2011

How do you manage the "we have no budget" objection?

Glad that works for you.

Objection Handling

Sales Objection

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