1. ProspectSoft™ CRM Plan for CRM Success
SPECIAL REPORT
PLAN FOR CRM SUCCESS...
...AND SELECT THE RIGHT CRM
SOLUTION TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS.
Part 4 of the ProspectSoft™ Growing Business Series

2. CRM bringing it
all together.

3. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
From the Editor
Dear Reader
Welcome to Part 4 of the ProspectSoft Growing Business series, how to ‘Plan
for CRM Success and Select the Right CRM Solution to Grow Your Business’.
This report follows on from Part 3: ‘Locking Your Customers In For Life’, which
was well received by over 5000 customers.
In Part 1 of the series we concentrated on Boosting Lead Generation, whereas
Part 2 was focussed on Managing the Sales Process. In Part 3 we talked about Customer
Retention, and in Part 4 we focus on making the right Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) choices to best support your growth strategy.
In our experience any successful project is underpinned by thorough planning, so naturally
the first part of the report is all about ‘Planning for CRM Success’. In this section you will
learn about traditional and contemporary methods of CRM planning. Our emphasis here is
to empower you with advanced procedures of ‘CRM Planning’ which relate to your particular
business strategy. This core section of the report is the result of years of experience in
consultative selling and CRM implementations.
This is followed by more specific advice on CRM selection, with guidance on five areas you
will need to focus on to make sure you choose the right system for your needs.
This report is all about getting the most from your CRM system, and to do this CRM needs to
be underpinned by strong strategies for lead generation, effective sales conversion, and an
outstanding customer experience. If you would like more information on how to apply these
growth strategies to your business, you may benefit from reading our other Special Reports,
which are available at www.prospectsoft.com/specialreports
Whatever your chosen growth strategy, read on to find out how to ensure successful
selection and implementation of CRM in your business.
David Hunter
Report Editor
ProspectSoft™ Ltd
Copyright (C) 2007, ProspectSoft™ Ltd. All rights reserved.

4. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Planning for CRM Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CRM and your business strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Evaluating your options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Improving staff efficiency with CRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
CRM selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
What next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4

5. Planning for CRM Success
and how to make sure you get
the results you want.
5

6. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
Introduction
How to select a CRM solution...
and how to make sure you get
the results you want.
Too many failed CRM Projects... There are clearly some poor software packages
on the market, but in reality most businesses
How many times have we heard about failed don’t actually buy poor software, they just buy
CRM projects? How many times in fact have the wrong software, perhaps for the wrong
we heard about failed, over-budget or under- reasons, or are simply implementing their
performing IT Projects? Plenty I am sure! systems inadequately. Even worse... many
But for every failure there are tens or even businesses are selecting the wrong software, for
hundreds of successful projects – whether the wrong reasons and then implementing it
we are talking CRM or anything else. poorly too! Inevitably this is a result of both poor
So, as a potential CRM buyer or user, what is it customer awareness and poor advice from
that differentiates success from failure and how a vendor or reseller.
can we ensure that our CRM project delivers
real, tangible business success?
CRM Made Easy
What goes wrong? So, what can you do to ensure you implement
the right CRM for your business and avoid
The reality is that very few companies actually becoming just another statistic? This guide is
select poor software. Most software on the based on over 10 years experience in selling,
market is pretty good at what it is intended to implementing and maintaining successful CRM
do – the real question is whether the buyer is Software. In the following pages, we reveal
selecting the right tools for the right job. what we have found to be the best practice for
selecting and implementing successful CRM,
The most likely causes of dissatisfaction with a
and take the first step to unlocking the potential
CRM purchase are:
lifetime value of your CRM investment.
1. Choosing perfectly good software (perfectly
good, that is, for someone else’s business) but
one that is wrong for your business.
2. Setting your sights too low – looking only at
tactical issues and failing to see CRM as a
strategic tool to deliver business advantage.
3. Failing to plan, implement and use new
systems effectively and simply not being
in a position to take advantage of what has
been purchased.
6

7. “You only need to search the internet to see how
many CRM solutions have failed – even at large
companies with huge resources. The reality is that
SME’s can ill-afford such IT failures – they need
success first time round”.
Andrew Ardron
ProspectSoft™ Managing Director
Typically, survey results say that
anywhere from 60% to 80% of
CRM projects fail within their first
12 Months.
www.crmblogger.com
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8. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
Planning for CRM success
Of course, planning your CRM project is vitally important,
but thinking about planning the right way will go a long
way to helping your project be successful.
The wrong way...
The wrong way is to start writing out a list of actions and
processes that need to be supported, defining what you
do and how you do it, perhaps even listing what you
do within your current system and where it needs to
be better. Despite the fact that this seems a very logical
plan, it is perhaps the worst plan you could come up
with – perhaps worse than no planning at all.
Why? The problem with this classic approach (taken by
many companies all over the world) is that it typically
results in:
1. Automation for automation’s 2. An over-budget and expensive
sake - simply automating the current implementation - defining the
manual processes, without asking processes in detail before making a
whether automation is actually going to tentative CRM software selection usually
help this particular activity or taking full leads to trying to use the software in a
advantage of how the technology could different way to which it was designed.
improve and alter those processes, and This results in a complex and heavily
consequently generating very little in bespoked solution which rapidly becomes
the way of real efficiency gains. overly expensive and even difficult to use.
If you have unlimited budgets and time go
ahead!
3. An inflexible system that 4. One step forward, two steps
slowly falls into disuse - by back. Most critically, you will
being too specific up front, you risk implement a system that keeps you
implementing a system that is where you are, or if you are lucky
inflexible and unable to evolve moves you forward a small step. You
with your business over the years could even take a few steps backwards.
to come. Rather than providing a medium for
growth and change, you will put a
shackle around your corporate neck
and hold yourselves back.
8

9. CRM and Your Business Strategy
The right way... So what’s our CRM Strategy?
The right way is to forget about the detail for a You may already have a good business strategy and know
while (don’t worry we will come back to it later) and what needs to change in the next two years to grow and
concentrate on the bigger picture... The really important improve your business. In which case you can skip this
question is what are you trying to achieve? Why are you section. However, if you are like most SME’s - run a good
looking to spend so much money and expend so much business; make a good profit; but rely (at least partially)
effort? You must have a good reason! Don’t you? After all on lady luck for strategy and improvement - then now is
you are thinking of committing your business to expense a good time to make some more concrete plans about
in both time and money along with the frustrations that which areas of your business you would like to impact
go with any changes in practice! Or, maybe you are sure with a CRM solution.
there is a good reason, you just can’t say what it is?
The first step is to open your mind and unleash your
Implementing a CRM system is not going to be easy and imagination. What do you want your business to look
even after it is working, you will go on spending time, like? If you are after growth, how much and how are
effort and money tweaking it and adjusting it as your you going to achieve it? If you are after stability, what
market and customers change, and as you continually changes in your business will be required to get there?
evolve the customer-facing side of your business.
For example, if you are after 50% growth over the next 3
Most importantly, you need to realise that implementing
years then how will this be achieved? If it was as simple
a CRM system will NOT improve or grow your business. In
as installing a bit of software and automating a few
the same way that a hammer on its own will not nail two
processes then everyone would be able to do it! We all
pieces of wood together; you need to wield the hammer,
know that any Venture Capitalist investing in a business
hold it the right way round, take aim and add some effort
looks at the management team and the business plan
to swing it. Similarly, in order for your CRM system to
long before they worry about the business’ systems
improve your business, you need to see it purely as a tool
– why? Because without a plan for change and the will
to be used the right way, aimed at a target and wielded
to implement it, the systems alone will achieve nothing
for maximum impact. CRM is a tool, not a strategy.
than perpetuating the status quo.
If you haven’t already thought about it, or you are in a hurry, then there are a few ready
made strategies that CRM is generally well-equipped for. The diagram below shows the key
strategies that any business could deploy for growth:
Simple but Successful Business Growth Strategies
1. More Marketing Enquiries in
3. Customer Retension
5. Referrals 2. Improved
Conversion 4. Customer Value Enquiries
Interest
Order
Success:
Profit Generated
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10. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
So CRM could help grow your business through:
1. Generating more enquiries 2. Improving the conversion
- this will inevitably increase the number ratios and value - ensure that more
of customers gained and consequently the of the enquiries that you get turn into
profit in almost any business. Even without customers – increase your value per sale
increasing your sales capacity, it will and simultaneously reduce your cost per
allow the sales team to go after the best order.
opportunities, acquiring more and higher
value customers.
3. Improving customer retention - 4. Increasing the value of each
whatever your current rate of gaining new customer - with greater up-selling and
customers, retaining each customer for cross-selling of your products and services,
longer will ensure that lost customers do or simply increasing the frequency of
not detract from this success. On a rolling purchase will grow your business. You can
basis, the average customer base will be dramatically improve profit - even without
higher, resulting in more sales opportunity. gaining any new customers.
5. Finally, leveraging your
customers as a sales and Of course, you could choose to tackle more
marketing force - can generate than one, or even all of them. Although,
referrals, recommendations, be warned - biting off more than you can
testimonials and references. This can chew, especially with software, can lead
become a strategy on its own or a great to an inevitable consequence of achieving
way to increase the success of any of very little in any area.
the other four strategies.
10

11. “Efficient processes are crucial for any business,
but they won’t spell success unless efficiency is
considered secondary to the result. A successful
business needs to consider what’s important
before considering what’s efficient.”
Peter Thompson, one of the UK’s leading authors and strategists on business and personal growth.
The devil in the detail...
Try answering these questions: Having selected a high level strategy, we now need to
spend some time and effort deciding on what activities
1. What do you want your business and changes to our business practice are going to deliver
to look like in 3-5 years time? on these strategies and how CRM might help with these
What’s different? activities. We can’t simply say “Make it so!” and expect
more leads or a better close-rate to magically appear.
However, in our experience, working out what we need
2. What level of growth are you to do differently is not hard... and most business owners
looking for? 10%? 30%? 50? and managers have plenty of ideas on what could be
200%? done better. Often the remedy is simply sending more
mailers, better customer profiling, better customer
3. How many leads does your intelligence, better proposal documents, more regular
business receive per month? and timely chasing up of proposals, up-sell product
matrices etc. and you can be certain that CRM (if well
How many would you like? implemented) can help with all of these.
4. How good are you at converting So we won’t dwell on the detail of each strategy here
enquiries to business? Are some – every business will be different and you will, I am
sales people better than others? sure, have plenty ideas. If you would however, like some
Why are they? inspiration and ideas for each of these strategies, you
can download Special Reports on each of these growth
strategies from: www.prospectsoft.com/specialreports
5. How long do you keep your
average customer for? How
much is each customer worth
per annum? What impact would
keeping each one, one year
longer make?
6. How could you raise the average
customer lifetime value by 10%?
Identify up-sell and cross-sell
opportunities? Identify and target
customers who stop buying or
buy less?
7. How could you actively target
your customer base for more
references, referrals and
recommendations?
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12. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
“Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are
always interesting to me, because as we know, there
are known knowns; there are things we know we
know. We also know there are known unknowns; that
is to say we know there are some things we do not
know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the
ones we don’t know we don’t know.”
Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defence (on the importance of accurate reporting –
there are plenty of business managers who know just how he feels!)
We have our strategy, so let’s
select a CRM system to support
it... well not quite yet!
Unfortunately, knowing what we want to achieve, and
even having a plan as to how to get there isn’t the whole
story. Almost every business I have ever met has at some
time or another (if not constantly) had one or more good
ideas on how they could improve their business. I know
that I am always thinking up things that we could do
better! But, time and again, these businesses then fail to
implement their great ideas. The question is why?
And how can you make sure your ideas get off the
starting blocks?
12

13. Evaluating Your Options
So, why do most businesses Strong, fast and accurate
fail to implement their good reporting
ideas and strategies? Quite simply, while trying to expand, change or just
improve our business, as business owners and managers,
Well the answer as always is obvious. Implementing any we need to ensure that the organisation doesn’t lose
sort of change takes time, energy and focus – if not a focus on what’s important. We need everyone to keep
little money. Everyone comes up with good ideas, but the doing whatever’s required to keep the existing business
only companies that can make them stick and become running smoothly and profitably. Instead of having to
truly successful are those that create the space to make spend all day worrying about the business, we need
those ideas become a reality. strong, fast and accurate reporting on day-to-day
activities. Ideally we would be able to spend just 10
Creating the space for change requires minutes every day, or every week looking at key business
two slightly different but related steps: metrics and key activity reports that gives us confidence
that our business is going to generate the desired results
this month, next month and some way into the future.
Creating the space for change Once we have this information, accurately and succinctly
presented on a regular basis, we can shift our focus
requires two slightly different from worrying about what the business is doing today,
but related steps: onto what we want to do differently tomorrow; from
chasing everyone to do their jobs, on to communication,
1. Free up the Directors and/or mentoring and strategy.
Managers from worrying about So how does this need to report on and mange the
the business you already have business impact our CRM system selection?
– at least for some of the time in Generally speaking, if you select appropriate software
order that they can spend part of that allows you to record the right level of detail,
their time and focus on planning, the reporting capabilities will be quite good. The real
communicating and driving the challenge of course is to know what reports are needed,
and to ensure that the system selected will be flexible
changes that you need. enough for these reporting requirements to further
evolve over time. So before or during your selection
2. Make the staff who do the work process you will have to answer the vital question
more efficient in order that they “which business metrics are important for measuring
can spend time supporting the day-to-day business activities and progress towards our
change through their activities strategic plan?”
and behaviour. It takes longer to
do things differently, people may
need training or mentoring and
they will certainly need to think
about what they are doing before
the new strategy becomes
second nature.
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14. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
Improving staff efficiency with CRM
Once our managers and directors are In any business today, there isn’t normally a lot of slack to
make these things happen, so creating this time through
ready to roll out their growth strategies, making what we do more efficient is an essential step in
someone has to be ready to take on allowing our growth strategy to take effect.
these new or improved activities and
Fortunately, process and staff efficiency is where most
processes. That means they have to be CRM systems excel. You can gain vast efficiency savings
able to spend time in training, thinking by automating some of the little tasks that your staff
about what they are doing, making the currently perform many times each day. Every CRM
system is different and will offer different efficiency
effort to act differently and perhaps savings, but if you work closely with your vendor,
taking on new activities. it should become apparent where these savings
can be made.
14

15. “Efficiency is doing things
right; Effectiveness is
doing the right things.”
Peter Drucker – Legendary Management Consultant
So, if efficiency is easy to deliver with
Curious Facts CRM, why is efficiency the last item
From a recent series of studies focusing on on our list? Because while CRM
organizations that are currently measuring systems do it really well, it is actually
and monitoring business activities and the least important!
processes, one survey asked participants to
Despite the fact that most companies setting out on
provide their top three business reasons for a CRM project start with this fine detail of processes
doing so. and efficiency, this is a very short sighted and deluded
approach and will deliver very limited results. In the
Out of 713 respondents, improving worst cases, it will simply transfer your processes to a
efficiency and managing or reducing costs computer and make your organisation a slave to the
ranked highest, followed by increasing system.
focus on revenue opportunities. Retail
and professional services were the only Sure, every business needs efficiency gains. But in reality
industries placing a higher priority on you will gain some efficiency from almost any system
you choose.
increasing focus on revenue opportunities
than improving efficiency and managing or You should, before making your final decision expect
reducing costs. your chosen vendor to demonstrate efficiency gains (we
guarantee they will be able to). However you should not
Organizations cannot afford to emphasize put this first on your list.
efficiency and managing costs at the
expense of other priorities, such as As a final tip you should also not try to pre-determine
responding to competitors or aligning what these efficiency gains might be. Until you have
individual actions. Balancing these priorities made your initial selection you will have little or no
is the way to ensure success. prior knowledge of how the system is designed to work
or what efficiency gains the system offers. Your best
www.intelligententerprise.com approach is to leave efficiency to the end of your process
and ask your vendor (who knows the system best) to
demonstrate the areas in which the system will make
your business more efficient.
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16. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
CRM selection
Having considered our overall strategic aim and how we might get
there, plus how we can ensure our management and staff can give the
strategy their focus and attention, we are finally ready to select our CRM
system. Use the checklist below and your chances of getting real results
from your CRM project will be greatly improved:
1. Do not begin with a list of required 2. Decide what changes you need
features, have a clear business strategy for to make in order to implement your
change and look for a CRM system to help strategy; then look for a CRM system
you drive it forward. that will underpin each of these
activities (i.e. view the system as a
tool to support your strategy – not a
strategy in itself).
3. Decide what reporting you need to 4. Ensure that the final CRM system you
help better manage your business and free select will bring some increased efficiency
up director and senior management time. but don’t start worrying too early on what
those efficiencies might be, at least not
until you have an initial selection, have
seen the software in action and have an
idea how it will work for you.
5. Finally, make your vendor work hard
for you – don’t let them take the easy
option of just trying to impress you with
a flashy demo – use their experience and
expertise to refine your strategy, help
you build your plan, define your reporting
needs and identify potential efficiency
savings. After all, they have done it plenty
of times before and challenging them to
help early on will give you confidence that
they can deliver as the project progresses.
16

17. “CRM is a business strategy to improve customer retention,
acquire new customers and enhance your relationship with
existing ones, to increase customer life time value. CRM is
not just about customers, it is a complete business practice
which adds value to different organisational functions.
To guarantee success, a scalable, agile and customisable
CRM solution is essential.”
Asif Malik, Prospectsoft™ Marketing Manager
Good Initial Requirement
Examples
Increase customers 11% p.a. through
more effective marketing
Raise average quotation value by 15%
through offering up-sell combinations
Increase quotation close rate by ensuring
that all quotes are followed up quickly
Reduce customer attrition by improving
customer service responsiveness and
tracking
Poor Initial Requirement Examples
Quotation outputs need to be Excel
format...
Customer records need fields for...
Pie chart report of x against y in date
range...
In defining the detail of how you
want the system to work, you can
overly restrict the solution and fail
to benefit from different ways in
which CRM systems can help you.
17

18. ProspectSoft™ CRM Part 4 Growing Business Series
What next? “ProspectSoft is widely
recognised in the CRM
and mobile solutions
market with high
appreciation from
prominent customers.”
Florian Piroth, Intel Software Enabling Team
Talk to Us About ProspectSoft
If you would like to find out more about ProspectSoft ProspectSoft Ltd is the Number One supplier of CRM
CRM and how we can help you define and implement systems for growing businesses. With a genuine focus
a great CRM project, then we would love to help you on business needs, ProspectSoft is committed to helping
start off on the right foot. We won’t just turn up and businesses to succeed, develop and grow. Based in
start trying to impress you with great CRM features; we the UK and supported by a national and international
promise that we and our partners will spend the time network of committed resellers, we are here to help,
necessary to help you establish what your company wherever you are, and whatever your business needs.
needs, and then see if we can genuinely help you
www.prospectsoft.com
achieve your goals and ambitions. To book a consultation,
please visit www.prospectsoft.com/consultation.
Alternatively, if you are not sure if CRM is right for
you, or how it might be able to help you grow your
business, then why not download one of our Business
Growth Special Reports from www.prospectsoft.com/
specialreports or book a place on one of our many
Workshops and online events via www.prospectsoft.
com/events.
About CRM
ProspectSoft™ is the No. 1 supplier of CRM
for Growing Businesses!
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the
ultimate tool for attracting, developing and most
importantly retaining customers.
Find out more about ProspectSoft™ CRM and how
we can help you grow your business online at: Copyright © 2007, ProspectSoft™ Ltd. All rights reserved.
www.prospectsoft.com or call us on ProspectSoft™ and the ProspectSoft™ logo, are trademarks
of ProspectSoft™ Reproduction of this publication in any
Tel: +44 (0)1494 486 301 form without prior written permission is forbidden.
18

19. “Turnover is up by nearly 50% over the
last year and this is in no small part
due to the extra management control
that Prospectsoft™ CRM gives us.”
Andrew Watson, General manager Bathing Solutions Ltd
19

20. P105-074
ProspectSoft™ is the No.1 supplier
of CRM for Growing Businesses!
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the
ultimate tool for attracting, developing and most
importantly retaining customers.
Find out more about ProspectSoft™ CRM and how
we can help you to grow your business online at:
www.prospectsoft.com or call us on
Tel: +44 (0) 1494 486 301.
Copyright (C) 2007, ProspectSoft™ Ltd. All rights reserved.
ProspectSoft™ and the ProspectSoft™ logo, are trademarks of ProspectSoft™.
Reproduction of this publication in any form without a prior written permission is forbidden.