Connect with the world's leading business experts.
Get instant access to their expertise via world–class Q&A, Research, and Events.
0
What is the average CRM learning curve?
Our sales managers are interested in the idea of implementing a new CRM system (we currently use ACT!), but are holding back because they think it would take too much time to implement a system, port over the old data, and have our sales team learn the new software. I know not every CRM system is the same, but on average how long does it take for someone to learn a CRM system? Especially if they already have experience with a CRM? If there are any statistics out there I'd love to see them!
Events
- Social Media and Content Marketing For Business Q&A Feb 14 @ 11 am PT
- The Rise of Pinterest in B2B Feb 15 @ 11 am PT
- ERP – Priming Your Business to Deliver Value From Strategy to Operations Feb 15 @ 1 pm PT
- How Not to Coach Your Salespeople Feb 16 @ 1 pm PT
- BI's Intersection with Social Media Feb 22 @ 2 pm PT
Related Activity
3 Answers
Arthur,
My MS CRM implementation expert says it takes someone about 3-8 hours to learn how to use CRM depending on their computing proficiency. If you're already using ACT!, you could have an edge. Also, if you choose MS Dynamics CRM, you can leverage Outlook.
Be careful that you have a senior executive champion and this is a cultural priority or like many buyers of CRM, you'll wonder why no one is using it. Since you're using a contact manager already, you may have the right environment.
As far as installing it etc., that and price are usually not the tricky part...the determining factor on if you should do this is cultural fit and commitment. Most best practice companies use some version of a CRM to take care of their buyers.
Best,
John
www.thedigitalbuyer.com
Hey Arthur,
Many companies are going with Saas (Software as a service) platforms to avoid installation/hosting related issues and want access from different locations around the world.
Some CRM solutions such as 37Signals' Highrise use the specific marketing campaign of having simplicity. This software for example, takes little to no training at all to understand, but lacks many CRM tools as a result of their marketing angle (Weak collaboration capabilities, no calendar feature, no sales pipeline, no sales leads assigning, to name a few).
Other CRM platforms like Salesforce are known to have all the bells and whistles, but take hours of tutorials - and even at that point users are still often unknowing. A software system like this takes weeks to get used to.
Worketc's SaaS is my favorite for two reasons:
1) I work for them,
2) Their all in one capabilities.
WORKetc is extremely simple to use and based on experience I can see your team getting used to the service within the same day they start using it. It's very intuitive. What I'm referring to by 2) is that the system goes beyond just a huge CRM feature list. It offers billing and project management features all integrated into one system (Basecamp and Salesforce's parent companies offer applications that cover these as well, but they cost extra and integrate poorly). WORKetc takes a pretty big shortcut in my opinion, and puts them all into one, while maintaining a higher list of features than the majority of its competitors (detailed comparison: http://www.worketc.com/compare ).
Arthur,
Your team could learn a new system within a week or two and be functional in working in the system. The caveat here is functional. Most folks tend to work with ACT! because its a a robust contact manager and it has built the market for CRM technology. ACT! latest versions really help to keep your training cost down since the interface makes simpler. CRM solutions integrate sales, marketing, customer service and many other business applications. However, your business processes should dictate which technology solution you choose. Also, your end user should be part of the decision process to make sure they "buy-in".
Answer This Question