Adoption starts earlier                                      

You built the Rolls Royce of a CRM. You created the process exactly according to the design document and based on the needs of the management. After three months, you stand in front of an angry VP Sales who doesn't see a full pipeline, low usage and an IT manager who doesn't understand what went wrong.

Why did this happen? Did you really get prepared for the adoption phase as you did for the design or the implementation? Did the management take part in the adoption effort?

To get a salesman to trust a new system is a process that needs to be taken under consideration already when deciding to switch into a new system. There are many approaches how to make the future end user part of the process and part of the solution. The end user must be aware of the project and its targets, and the sooner - the better. A salesman in a training session, hearing the first time about a new CRM system, has a hard nut to crack…

This is not a secret.

Share! Collaborate!

Here are some head start pointers:

1.       Arrange a breakfast announcement and celebrate the beginning of the project

2.       Send a survey and ask for feedback during the design

3.      Send a weekly email notification with the project's progress

4.       Just finished the first milestone?  Good time for another breakfast announcement

Like in a good movie trailer, you are building the expectation for the new system and at the same time you are making the sales team part of the effort. It will be harder for a salesman to avoid using a system that he was a part of its creation from day one.