5 Reasons CRM Projects Fail...

Taking a look at the whole story...

I was sitting in the office of a new prospect just the other day, and the inglorious topic of software blunders came up as a topic of conversation. This particular professional was carrying on about how they have found most software they have implemented in the past to be a real headache for users: filled with bugs, not user friendly, and poorly designed. When I looked around their office, I took note of many clues as to why this person felt this way. It led me to write this post. Here are the five most evident reasons software fails:

1. NO Implementation Strategy ~ This is not just the Why, but the How, and the What. They need to be clearly defined to measure not only the proportion of need for this software, but the methods to how it will solve problems, meet needs, achieve goals, and fix something that is broken. Many time I find that clients who sign on for new technology without strategy, haven't properly assessed the situation as a whole. They sign on to fix one thing, and create a slew of other concerns in the aftermath. There has to be a good strategy behind any successful implementation.

2. NO Desire to Change ~ Let's face it, any new addition to your already comfortable system is change. Change that is not embraced corporately will create a bigger problem for any company. Data is our most precious commodity, and it needs to be preserved and protected. Companies that resist change are usually not good candidates for successful implementation unless they change their thinking.

3. NO Proper Investigation ~ You can't be an expert at understanding the ins and outs of technology and business process unless that is what you do... for a living. Working with experts can help you find and address the right questions, give you all the options, and help you understand thoroughly the pros, cons, benefits, and differences. This is desirable in order to make a solution last, and not have to revisit the existing issues that were not solved or that were newly created over and over.

4. NO Appropriate Training ~ I tell my clients that training, and not just software training, but process training is 95% of a CRM solution. I have gotten to a point where I will refuse to perform an implementation without commitment to train in most corporate environments. The reason should be so obvious. People who are busy don't have time to teach themselves a new software and a new process. They need the method predetermined for them. This is not only fair, but it is necessary. You cannot expect a person to develop a system for use and a application on their own, and yet so many companies do this to their employees. This can cause anxiety about implementing any of the right software tools because of the wrong software experience.

5. NO User Feedback and Follow-up ~ This is critical to pass or fail. Like most technology, once you get your users on board, they become your biggest evangelist. Once the see the vision, tackle the mission, and embrace the tools, they drive your productivity sky high! This is what we want. This is what we like as Software Experts! We want to see the user commit. You have to engage the user to get them to marry the strategy. They have to be able to work, refute, develop, and rework the technology to best fit their roles and needs. They are as diverse as there are options! This is why feedback and communication can seal your deal. If you want a technology solution that delivers, include the users in its development and redevelopment. You won't be sorry.

Think of your technology as not the solution, but the method to your philosophy. Get a really good expert to help you define it in ways that can be interpreted through sophisticated software tools. As you do this, you will realize that your technology has endless possibilities and immense value to you, because of your timeless and developed philosophies underlying it. Then and only then will almost any software solution you implement will be a success.

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!

Turning Up the Volume with Relevant Questions: 5 Questions to Engage the Audience

One of the most important things about reading blogs is the extended power of opinion, especially when it differs from my own.  Most often when I read something that really gets my blood boiling or challenges my thinking, I never forget it. I often even meditate on it for days.  Sometimes it colors the mood for the rest of the week. I don't mean to give it that much power, but sometimes the power it has over me is relevant. It is a teachable moment, a moment of utmost importance in the greater shaping of my character. I like these moments because they make me double down and get a little bit more serious about my personal brand. Often times, I find myself returning to the same place for the next saga in non-conventional thinking outside of the box.
Turning up the volume with challenging and non~traditional content can be a boost to your readers, depending on how well you deliver it. I have come up with five questions that will help you develop your content in a way that will be non-confrontational, and yet very effective in delivering a message that intrigues, satisfies, and compels your readers to think.
These five questions are:

1. What influences the way you view this topic? This will be the ground work for laying a foundation that makes you reader friendly and intelligible.
2. What is single most important thing do you find about this discussion? There are moments around every subject that each of us connect with more strongly than others. What are they? Why are they so powerful? Which buttons were pushed for you and Why?
3. If you don't have enough information, how would you go about determining the best position on this?
4. Where do your values lie on this subject? Values make our work significant. Values make our ideas coherent and effective.  What are yours and where did you put them in relation to your content? Can your readers connect with them, understand them, and determine them from what you have written? If so, how? If not, how come?
5. Do you think your personal beliefs will serve you well over time? This one is a kicker! When delivering thought provoking content that creates your following audience, it is important to determine whether or not your beliefs about the subject will serve you well over time. As a thought leader, if you cannot take a position and and stand on it, you will lose credibility with your reader, and with your brand.  Figure this out, and work from within it.

Discovering hiccups in our thinking can move us further into creativity by broadening our worldview, and point of view. Here are five questions for uncovering your hiccups!
1. Who am I in relationship to this thought. Who is my reader?
2. What am I saying, and is what I am saying align with what I believe?
3. When I say this, am I willing to define myself by it?
4. Is where I stand on this topic today a place I would be comfortable to stand on tomorrow, next week, or five years from now?
5. Why am I writing this? Do I believe it, am I afraid of it, am I changed by it, is it a sensitive spot in my being?

I think content is so powerful! Don't be afraid of it! Use it wisely, use it carefully, and use it courageously and you just might develop a tight little niche that makes a great big splash....