Comments on: The Irony of CRM http://mikemuhney.com/the-irony-of-crm/2009/08/ Using Technology To Effect Closer Business and Social Relationships Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:30:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: beardd http://mikemuhney.com/the-irony-of-crm/2009/08/#comment-18 beardd Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:59:34 +0000 http://mikemuhney.com/?p=91#comment-18 Mike - Nice piece. Even after 20+ years of this game, the issues at the heart of "good" vs "bad" implementations are still people. Any CRM strategy needs to be company-wide & have employees at its' heart. Anything less just dilutes strategic effort & spend. Read more here: http://dpp.sagecrm.com/blogs/talking_about_customers/ Ken - >> every CRM system on the market today has at its >> heart a flat file data base. Even cursory research will tell you this is not true. And it's much less about vendors but those who help a customer elicit their needs, based on their company's strategy, and craft the solution to best match that need. -= David http://dpp.sagecrm.com/blogs/talking_about_customers/ Mike -

Nice piece. Even after 20+ years of this game, the issues at the heart of “good” vs “bad” implementations are still people.

Any CRM strategy needs to be company-wide & have employees at its’ heart. Anything less just dilutes strategic effort & spend.

Read more here:
http://dpp.sagecrm.com/blogs/talking_about_customers/

Ken -
>> every CRM system on the market today has at its
>> heart a flat file data base.

Even cursory research will tell you this is not true. And it’s much less about vendors but those who help a customer elicit their needs, based on their company’s strategy, and craft the solution to best match that need.

-= David
http://dpp.sagecrm.com/blogs/talking_about_customers/

]]> By: KenKnickerbocker http://mikemuhney.com/the-irony-of-crm/2009/08/#comment-10 KenKnickerbocker Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:12:29 +0000 http://mikemuhney.com/?p=91#comment-10 Mike, with all respect for your pioneering efforts in the CRM arena, a significant onus for creating more customer/sales centric CRM systems lies not with consultants and management but with CRM vendors. Without exception, every CRM system on the market today has at its heart a flat file data base. IT people understand databases, salespeople don't. As a result CRM projects are relagated to IT departments where all creativity and spontenaeity are sqeezed out in favor of existing standards and infrastructure. Very few sales people think in flat file databases. Rather they are creative and opportunistic, constantly looking for angles, for opportunity to sell value and to climb higher in the organization. CRM vendors need to invent a totally new paradigm that leverages the sales person's natural creative ability and the real world in which he sells. Databases just don't cut it. Ken Knickerbocker http://www.xfi.com 610.256.9571 Mike, with all respect for your pioneering efforts in the CRM arena, a significant onus for creating more customer/sales centric CRM systems lies not with consultants and management but with CRM vendors.

Without exception, every CRM system on the market today has at its heart a flat file data base. IT people understand databases, salespeople don’t. As a result CRM projects are relagated to IT departments where all creativity and spontenaeity are sqeezed out in favor of existing standards and infrastructure.

Very few sales people think in flat file databases. Rather they are creative and opportunistic, constantly looking for angles, for opportunity to sell value and to climb higher in the organization.

CRM vendors need to invent a totally new paradigm that leverages the sales person’s natural creative ability and the real world in which he sells. Databases just don’t cut it.

Ken Knickerbocker
http://www.xfi.com
610.256.9571

]]> By: Charlesr http://mikemuhney.com/the-irony-of-crm/2009/08/#comment-3 Charlesr Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:23:43 +0000 http://mikemuhney.com/?p=91#comment-3 In my >40 years selling and leading sales teams and companies, I have often argued the pints which you so lucidly characterize. Importantly the owner of a CRM system - and the person that leads a large group that should only be a stakeholder - is more often the CFO, and he/she also think they fund the systems. My view (see ISO38500 et al)is that the CFO is responsible for the financial 'Governance' business - not for earning nor spending. The Business Units should own the definition of support and productivity tools which enable the Unit to deliver: repeatable and compliant results & processes which are efficient and devoid of risk. In a few words: sales should be the principle stakeholder of the CRM system, and others only included to ensure compliance and risk management in line with company policy and Governance proceduures. In my >40 years selling and leading sales teams and companies, I have often argued the pints which you so lucidly characterize.

Importantly the owner of a CRM system - and the person that leads a large group that should only be a stakeholder - is more often the CFO, and he/she also think they fund the systems.

My view (see ISO38500 et al)is that the CFO is responsible for the financial ‘Governance’ business - not for earning nor spending. The Business Units should own the definition of support and productivity tools which enable the Unit to deliver: repeatable and compliant results & processes which are efficient and devoid of risk.

In a few words: sales should be the principle stakeholder of the CRM system, and others only included to ensure compliance and risk management in line with company policy and Governance proceduures.

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