We interviewed five experts for their advice on boosting CRM adoption with sales teams and how sales managers can select the best CRM system for their team.

1. Expert Tips
by Luke Wallace, Market Research Associate
for Getting Your Sales Team to Adopt CRM Software

2. Sales managers know that a customer relationship management (CRM) system's success
rides on sales reps actually using it. However, sales teams can make adoption a more
difficult endeavor than many anticipate.
While finding the best fit can seem daunting for first-time CRM buyers, it’s not impossible.
You can find a CRM system salespeople find appealing … and get them to use it.
Overview

3. Managers Only Consider
Their Own Needs
Software is selected with only the functionality
managers need, rather than with reps in mind.
Buyers Choose Software That
Sounds ‘Sexy’
Buyers are distracted by bells and whistles
instead of seeking features and functionality
that fit their processes.
Sales Reps Don’t See
Personal Benefit
Management fails to convince reps that CRM
use will benefit them as individuals, so they
resist using it.
Some Sales Reps
Don’t Want to Share
Sales reps withhold client information, seeing
this as a job-security measure.
Why Adoptions Stall

4. Colleen Francis
President and Founder,
Engage Selling Solutions
Lori Richardson
Founder and CEO, Score More Sales
Gerhard Gschwandtner
CEO, Selling Power Magazine
For more information on CRM
adoption with sales teams:
We interviewed five experts for their insights on CRM adoption for sales teams. The
following slides encompass the advice they give to sales managers looking to boost
adoption among their salespeople.
Dave Stein
Principal, Dave Stein, Inc.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author
Meet the Experts
Download the Full E-book

5. Step one, before you ever get to a CRM or
convincing them to buy in, is not to hire
any more salespeople who don’t think in a
logical, sequential way. You want
someone who, when you say that you are
going to be modeling your sales process
in some technology, [will] say, at the least:
I’m open to that.
Dave Stein
Principal, Dave Stein, Inc.
“

6. “It is absolutely essential to have at least a
couple of people from the sales team
involved in the decision-making process,
because you need evangelists out there
who will help you promote the system. If you
allow people in on the decision-making
process, they are much more willing to
accept it and spread the word about it.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

7. [Sales reps] don’t understand why
making a change is going to have any
benefit for them. ... Management that
wants their laggards to switch needs to
figure out a way to communicate [the
benefits of CRM] in terms of return on
investment.
Colleen Francis
President and Founder, Engage Selling Solutions
“

8. “Ask your sales reps [about] the biggest
roadblocks they face now. If you can
bring in a CRM system and it will save
someone’s life, you’re going to convert
them over into liking the CRM system. If
you have a CRM system that helps
measure things that they feel are very
important, again, it’s going to help win
them over.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

9. “It goes back to the very basics: … The
less you have in your brain that you have
to remember, the more creative you are.
So immediately, salespeople can be more
creative when they have a trusted place
they can put all this knowledge in. The
benefit proposition is time-savings and
peace of mind. … [The software] will help
you know where to go next and help
guide you to be more productive.
Lori Richardson
Founder and CEO, Score More Sales

10. “If the sales manager has not created a level
of trust and the salespeople don’t have a
level of trust with each other, the CRM
system becomes a very slippery slope. Is
the CRM data going to be used in your
annual or semi-annual evaluation? ... Is data
in the CRM system going to be used for
determining compensation? ... You’ve got to
make those decisions up front. This is why
sales[persons] get so concerned—they’re
not sure how this data is going to be used
against them.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

11. The sales rep [who doesn’t want to
share their customer data] needs to be
reminded that it’s not an ownership
issue. [In] everything they do, the
customer is owned by the company.
Those are not their clients, they’re the
company’s workforce clients.
Colleen Francis
President and Founder, Engage Selling Solutions
“

12. You have to align people, process and
technology. You have to integrate
technologies that run in sync with one
another and that are aligned with the strategy
that the company is trying to accomplish. It’s
not the tools that build you a better house, it’s
the blueprint that builds you a better house.
Gerhard Gschwandtner
CEO, Selling Power Magazine
“

13. Really document your customer buying
process and your internal selling process
so you can clearly understand, objectively,
what the right business process is for you.
Then use that business process to frame
the CRM purchase. Don’t get caught up in
the sexiness of technology if it doesn’t fit
your business process.
Colleen Francis
President and Founder, Engage Selling Solutions
“

14. “Don’t buy the system for what you need
today. Buy the system for what you will need
three years from now. In other words, you’re
investing [in] the future. As a sales leader,
you’re going to have access to insights
about the industry, about your business,
that your salespeople aren’t. So your
salespeople are going to see one set of
needs ... but you’re going to see a different
setting.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

15. “Make sure whatever system you buy is going
to be compatible to other systems that it may
have to communicate with. I’ve been amazed
at the number of people who bought CRM
systems that suddenly find they have to
re-enter all that data.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

16. Get your best performers to pilot [the CRM].
Don’t roll it out in a big bang. Get the best
salesperson and somebody in the middle to
use it for a quarter or two. Make sure that
they’re using it correctly and that it is helping
them win, and then trumpet every win that they
have.
Dave Stein
Principal, Dave Stein, Inc.
“

17. “You cannot allow ... failure [to] even be an
option. You have to be able to recognize little
successes along the way. It may take two or
three months to really get the system up and
running. Keep weekly updates and
encourage salespeople to be sharing with
one another. … You have to put as much
focus behind [CRM implementation] as you
would a product launch with customers.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

18. “Negative reinforcement just doesn’t work. You’re
not going to force salespeople to [adopt CRM
software]. You’re going to have to allow them to be
convinced that it will actually help them sell more.
I’m not going to do it by threatening them or
screaming at them, I’m going to do it by showing
them I’m going to help them be more successful
at their job.
Dave Stein
Principal, Dave Stein, Inc.

19. “Instead of focusing on the ones [who]
aren’t getting it, and spending twice as
much time to get them to see it, just focus
on the people [who] are successful.
Showcase how those people are
succeeding; then the other people will
want to participate, as well. ... Reward
them in some way and show everyone
why it’s better for the reps and not just the
managers.
Lori Richardson
Founder and CEO, Score More Sales

20. “You must get everyone into it. It’s all or nothing.
There are two values to the CRM system: One
is to the individual salesperson in helping them
use their time more efficiently and effectively.
The other piece is big data, when I’m able to
aggregate everybody’s results together. If I’ve
got a couple people [who] aren’t participating,
I’m diluting the ability for me to have big data.
We lose the whole power of what the CRM
system is.
Mark Hunter
Sales Trainer, Keynote Speaker and Author

21. Don’t expect a 180-degree shift. Everybody
should improve a little bit every week, and
you need to make time for people get up to
speed. I’ve seen terrible integrations and
terrible cutovers and it adds a lot of stress. …
Sales managers should be patient and set
some goals so that there’s support, not just a
mandate from the manager.
Lori Richardson
Founder and CEO, Score More Sales
“

22. Software Advice™ is a trusted resource for software buyers. We provide detailed reviews and
research on thousands of software applications. Our team of software advisors provides free
telephone consultations to help buyers build a shortlist of systems that will meet their needs.
For more information, visit softwareadvice.com.
Software Advice is a Gartner company. Gartner (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information
technology research and advisory company. For more information, visit gartner.com.
@SoftwareAdvice /company/software-advice
@SoftwareAdvice/SoftwareAdvice