The secret to saving time & money when implementing a new CRM

Whether you are managing a CRM software implementation in-house or enlisting the help of a consultant, there are certain things that greatly affect the time and money spent on the implementation and beyond. When done right, a CRM implementation is relatively seamless; any hiccups along the way are minor. After all, the goal of implementing a CRM is efficiency – saving time and money – and driving business growth.  

TopLine has over two decades of experience with CRM software implementations, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, Zoho CRM, HubSpot Sales Hub, Act! and a few in between. We have been able to refine what it takes to keep waste to a bare minimum when implementing a CRM. Check out a few of the things that help do that!  

Plan Your Timeline 

There are certain things to consider before moving forward with implementing new or updated CRM software. If your organization is currently using a CRM system or some other form of software, you will want to think ahead about expiration dates, so you are not paying unnecessary overlapping licensing costs.  

Another consideration for your implementation is reviewing how things fit into your overall business plan as an organization. Will you be implementing another software you are looking to integrate? Does the start of implementation of either platform matter to each timeline?  

Do Your Homework

An implementation will almost always involve a group or multiple groups of people or departments. There are certain things that will need to be completed, and in a certain order, for a successful implementation to be achieved, whether you are doing it in-house or using a consultant.  

There is usually pre-work required when working with TopLine, which is meant to increase the project efficiency and save money, so we don’t need to bill for unnecessary meetings. Not only does it save you money by not spending your project hours on meetings, but it also speeds up your project timeline! Providing the information requested in the pre-work will ensure that your timeline doesn’t get hung up on issues that could have been avoided.  

Prioritize and Pace Yourself 

I think most of us can agree that Rome is a pretty cool city, but don’t forget what they say about Rome . . . it wasn’t built in a day! The same goes for your CRM software. It can be a great resource but takes time and strategy to get where you want to go. Going from 0-100 in your first phase can be costly in both time and money. Consider prioritizing your functionality and breaking it down into smaller groupings that can be accomplished in phases across weeks or months. Ultimately, it will leave you with a well thought out product and a smaller time and money investment up front.  

Use Additional Resources   

It may, at first glance, look cheaper to do an implementation in-house, but often using a consultant who is an expert in that software can be less expensive. Consultants can avoid many costly mistakes that come from implementations that are only partially functional, leading to low user adoption, lack of visibility, customer or internal frustration, poor data quality, and more time and money spent fixing problems. Not only will consultants have the skills and expertise, but they have the real-life experience to pull from implementations done in the past with similar organizations, allowing them to provide perspective.  

TopLine Results is proud to draw on our experience completing CRM implementations since 1999 and providing relationship-driven service and technology to our customers. We support multiple platforms and can help you select the solution that will work best with your budget and your users. We would love to have a free 30-minute consultation with you to see if and how we could help with your current or future CRM needs! Contact us at 800-880-1960 or info@toplineresults.com.