Implementation of a CRM solution is a harbinger of the new work environment, where we try to make the automation of all processes and activities. One thing is clear that whatever software solution you select will not be 100% exactly fit in your today’s business process. But still, the solution must fit and fulfill more than 80% of the current and futuristic business processes.
Below are few important pointers which must be considered and looked deeply while selecting a CRM solution for the business development team.
You must understand your pain points
You must think and understand your pain points, that why actually you need a CRM solution or software to manage your business processes.
Is your organization so big enough that you have people at different locations and managing them one-by-one for every activity of business has become a cumbersome process? On the other side, you have a small team, but your number of prospects and clients are many and at various locations for various types of product and services. So you need a system to have a proper, timely management of various task and appointments.
Sometimes you have multiple types of documents for every party that finding them in your hard drive is a problem, etc.
Blend of both Marketing & Sales process
A good business development CRM must cover both marketing and sales process. In almost all organizations we have separate and dedicated marketing and sales team, with the set of defined activities and responsibilities. Many times, we have outsourced some of the marketing activities to any third party who works for us in a region or country, in a particular language. But at the end, this hits our quarterly and annual marketing and brand promotion budget. A CRM should give a complete clarity of all Marketing campaigns along with their sub-campaigns and related ROI, in terms of a number of leads generated and deals closed. This must give you granular level drill down and data visibility at all possible levels on a high-end dashboard.
At the same time, it must cover all your sales process, starting from lead engagement, opportunity funneling, documentation, task, appointments on your inbuilt calendar, communication, etc. it must have a very clear and strong role-based authorization mechanism.
Such type of software is one of the best CRM for small business.
 User Work Habits and Capabilities
You must also understand your workforce and the actual users. Are they tech savvy enough to use a software solution? Can they be trained enough to understand and use the software in the correct manner? Are they having devices suitable and compatible with the software accessibility?
Go for cloud-based / SAAS based CRM Solution
There are a lot of advantages for selecting a cloud-based sales CRM solution and that too on SAAS model or monthly and quarterly subscription model.
The best advantage is that there will be no or very small upfront cost of ownership. Monthly billing gives you the comfort of paying in equal installments. Depending on your number of user licenses you can increase and decrease the subscription cost to the company.
You don’t invest on hardware infrastructure at all, and that is a big cost.
There are many other superb advantages of going for a cloud-based SAAS model CRM solution. A cloud-based solution is superb CRM for small business.
Have a deep techno-functional discussion with vendors
You must have a deep techno-functional discussion with the vendor to understand the technical as well as the features and functions of the proposed solution.
Technology platform must be robust enough to support multiple people and data, and at the same time, the features should be capable of handling business dynamics and various scenarios.
Can you manage multiple businesses from same CRM Login?
A progressive company always thinks of creating multiple entities and group of company. While you grow big with multiple names and brands, is your single business development CRM giving you that visibility or you have to buy other CRM for multiple businesses. A good CRM must be capable of handling multiple business entities by a single login.
Check the data intelligence
We all know that data is the key decision driver for any business house. Now a day we have the huge amount of data in the system and data visualization is a challenge. So a good CRM must have a very strong in-built Business Intelligence & Data Analytics, to give live analytics of every activity and movement of the business.
Customization
CRM must be customizable as per the business dynamics. Now the customization is either form the implementation console or it can also be from the code level. So you must evaluate the strength of OEM as well as channel partner before actually finalizing the deal.
Scalability, Mobility & Lightweight solution architecture
A CRM must be highly scalable and cater to the expanding need for your business. Since this is a mobile world where all solution must be very quick and responsive to any device anytime. For this, the solution must be lightweight for fast accessibility.
Notification and Alerts
Notification and alert is very important and integral part of the CRM solution. If the system is giving you auto alerts and notifications at all levels of the business process, then it is worthy to be explored deeper. This helps users to get up to date on every activity of the sales team across the hierarchy. You can’t miss any important task and appointment if the system has inbuilt notification mechanism.
Customer Support
Very important factor for the success of the CRM is the support system to customers and licensed users. This support must be round the clock or at least should be available during the working hours.
All this available in world-leading upcoming CRM called GrowthFactor CRM (A Business Growth Engine)
About the author
Nazish Ahsan, Founder & CEO at ZNSoftech. He is also the CoFounder & Director at GrowthFactor, SportsBuzz. He completed his Bachelor of Technology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. Nazish is passionate, accomplished, result oriented and innovative thought leader, entrepreneur and technologist with an extensive 16+ years of experience in IT, Product development, performing design and development of client-server & web-based multi-tier applications with start-ups as well as large multinationals.
How to select a good Sales and Marketing CRM for your organization?
