The Eight Inviolable Rules of CRM Compliance

User adoption (aka “compliance”) remains a major issue for many firms, draining productivity gains from CRM that otherwise might be truly spectacular. Take heart. It’s relatively easy to get the reps – and their managers – fully on board. Just follow these eight simple rules:

1. Think before you implement. You want your CRM system to be like a healthy but habit-forming drug. To get your sales team “hooked,” your CRM system must be implemented so that it “pulls” the reps in, rather than making them feel as if management is “pushing” it onto them. Think through the issues, gradually introduce usage requirements, and then, when the system comes up, hold regular training sessions.

2. Focus on helping reps to sell. Sales reps will only want to use a CRM system if it saves them time and helps them make more money. If the sales teams can’t easily see what’s in it for them, then the CRM initiative will fail. Any attempt to force sales automation down the throats of the sales staff is simply a colossal waste of effort. Make sure that the upgrade adds real value to the sales team, if you want to be certain that they’ll continue to use the system.

3. Take a gradual approach. The most successful CRM upgrades begin with pilot projects or in-house evaluations. These periods serve to get users into the process while allowing the system implementers time to tailor features to how the team and its members actually want to work. Taking this gradual approach also helps to eliminate unnecessary complexity from the viewpoint of the end user.

4. Articulate the benefits. All too often, a company will bring CRM into a sales organization without bothering to explain to the sales reps why CRM is a good idea in the first place. Whether you’re implementing a CRM system for the first time, or simply upgrading an existing system, you must carefully and believably explain the benefits of the system – to both the sales reps and to the company at large.

5. Hide the complexity. A well-implemented CRM system makes sales processes simple and hides complexity, thereby increasing user adoption. Building in simplicity will ultimately cost less than simply applying a quick fix. When done right, your investment in simplicity will be recovered many times over.

6. Require managers to use the system. If sales managers are using the system, sales reps know that they can’t get away with skirting their data entry requirements. If the sales managers schedule weekly meetings to discuss the data that’s in the CRM system, the reps will use the system simply to be able to have a meaningful conversation.

7. Have managers train the sales reps. This approach not only guarantees that the sales managers learn the ins and outs of the system, but it also makes the sales managers the sales team’s first line of support. Companies that implement this “train the trainers” approach find that sales managers and sales reps work more closely together to ensure that the system functions smoothly.

8. Give three times more than you expect to get. The best way to ensure adoption is to implement a “3x factor,” which provides at least three valuable pieces of information to the user each time the user enters a new piece of information. For example, sales reps that use the CRM system to enter pipeline data might be provided with access to a comprehensive profile of that customer, or have new leads sent to them electronically.

The above is based largely on a conversation with Barton Goldenberg, president of ISMguide.com and a leading CRM analyst and consultant.