In this chapter we began the business analysis process required to maximize the benefit your business will gain from a CRM implementation. Some of the most important topics we discussed were:
CRMs need more customization than most computer applications. Don’t just focus on implementing a CRM—focus on implementing it in a way that suits your business.
Some of the characteristics that will determine the CRM features and customizations your business really needs are its size, the number of locations at which you do business, whether or not you have outbound salespeople, if your customers are individual consumers or businesses, if you sell products or services, your average unit sales value, and whether or not you need support for international capabilities.
You will need to decide if your CRM will only manage the sales pipeline, or if it will be a broader business management resource, used by everyone in the company.
CRMs can integrate management of the corporate calendar for all employees...