How to make the most of your CRM demos - Compare CRM Software

As is commonly the case when purchasing any product or service, it’s helpful to apply a process whereby you could weigh up your options, examine and contrast specs or functions, and even check or play around with one of a kind systems, all before you are making your choice.

Granted, buying a CRM solution might not be as enchanting as shopping a brand new car or a new laptop, but it’s miles maximum in reality an crucial choice, and one which you’ll do well to have measures and steps in place to make sure you find the pleasant supplier on your wishes.

If you’re a bit of a rookie to CRM or software program demos in general then you definately might discover our advent to CRM demos beneficial earlier than you move any further. It’s a nice starting block, and greater efficient than going via your CRM consultant! If you’re slightly more acquainted with software program demonstrations in standard then let’s move in advance and get stuck into the pinnacle things you want to hold in mind to make sure you’re making the most of your CRM demo.

We’ll cover:

Drawing up your vendor shortlist
Putting collectively a CRM demo group
Preparing for CRM supplier demos
Staying in control of your dealer demos
Evaluating CRM demos

1. Draw up your vendor shortlist (don’t invite EVERYONE to the party)

Sorry carriers, however unfortunately the possibilities of someone having the time and persistence for 5, 10, or 20 CRM demos in a brief space of time are unlikely. Once you’ve despatched out your Request for Proposal (RFP) to several companies, and in turn acquired their finished responses, it’s time to filter via these and discern out who fits the invoice the first-rate. You can liaise with a CRM representative to piece collectively your RFP if you wish – by no means a bad concept to your first shot at it!

Get extra data on RFPs and in advance tiers of the choice method with our CRM selection survival guide

Always keep in mind the business enterprise targets and desires (even in case you virtually like the fine colours and slick layout of that funky new CRM platform) as that is in the long run the end aim – to resolve those desires or issues with a new platform.

You don’t should section the vendor listing yourself; you may discover that putting together a small team to help siphon through the noise will help you. Additionally, the usage of a CRM requirement checklist or point scoring machine ought to stand you in correct stead and make sure that you’re consistently grading vendors in a comparative manner.

2. Put together a CRM demo team – pick out wisely!

Unsurprisingly, the answer to this question will depend closely at the kind of CRM platform you’re hoping to find primarily based on the targets and needs first of all laid out earlier than you began your search.

For example, in case you’re on the hunt for a income-primarily based CRM platform and also you anticipate 80% of the utilization to come back from the sales team then you most genuinely want at the least one (relying on team size) member of the income team present at some point of the vendor demos. While you – a person out of doors of the income team – may have an expertise of the requirement of the sales team, they’ll be capable of ask precise questions focused at capabilities they know they’ll should use regularly primarily based on their income experience.

Check out our step-by-step guide to mastering CRM demos for extra on team-building and planning

In general, a typical CRM platform will obviously revolve around the customer-going through departments, e.G., income, customer service, and marketing. It could be fair to indicate that whilst other departments have a say in the very last outcome (finance, operations, HR) the principle drivers of the choice may be those essential departments, and consequently opting for a consultant from every can frequently be the safest approach.

What’s extra, if you’re using a CRM representative you might discover it helpful to speak about what they experience will work first-class based at the designated requirements of the CRM and who will be the usage of it the most from your crew.

3. Prepare for your CRM dealer demos

Yes, you have already got 15 other things on your ‘to-do’ listing this week, but setting aside masses of time to put together your self and the chosen crew in advance of the demos is essential to ensuring that you get the maximum out of them. In addition to having an internal briefing, you may discover it useful to run through a pre-demo briefing with your chosen companies.

“It’s vital to preserve the providers inside the loop in phrases of what you exactly need to get from the demo as well as your team”

You don’t necessarily need your full demo group to attend because the pre-demo briefing is handiest to verify what is going to be protected and perhaps to run via any high-level questions that could be bogging you down.

It’s critical to preserve the vendors within the loop in phrases of what you exactly need to get from the demo as well as your team. Ultimately, the primary goal behind running a demo for every of the proposed structures is to a) familiarize your crew with the product, and b) reduce the likelihood which you want to rent a CRM consultant to teach your crew in the future as that may be an extremely highly-priced and time-consuming method.

4. Stay in control during the demo itself

Firstly, demos can either be in a face-to-face scenario, usually in which the seller comes into your office to showcase their CRM platform, or they can be carried out over a conference calling gadget. Both are fine, but depending at the number of humans involved, the extent of understanding of CRM inside your group, and the range of questions or concerns you may have, you might locate one option extra beneficial than the different.

During the real demo, it’s in all likelihood that the vendor representative will run via a chain of eventualities which impact distinctive departments or personnel in precise roles. It’s essential that when the possibility arises, your demo crew are capable of ask questions specifically regarding those situations that will impact their role in particular in order that they’re aware of any features relevant to them.

One disadvantage to the seller using a frequent script can be that they will want to introduce all of the functions that their platform has to offer, even though they aren’t specifically relevant to your organization or your wishes.

“An effective approach is to set an agenda for the demo and ship this to the seller in advance.”

With that in mind, be prepared to jump in and intrude to ensure the demo keeps on the proper track. Alternatively, an effective technique is to set an schedule for the demo and ship this to the vendor in advance. This time table can cover capabilities you’d like included and specific questions. Often if you are proactive and send the time table in advance you could find that the first-rate and maximum knowledgeable retailers are despatched to work with you. Another advantage is that if every seller is answering the equal questions it makes comparisons between CRMs easier.

5. Evaluate CRM demos with enter from your crew

Good news – the difficult component is over… now all you have to do is select your chosen supplier. This is where your preparation and awareness at some point of the demo simply come into play. Discuss the numerous demos with your group and maybe your CRM consultant. Weigh up the professionals and cons of each to decide which choice you sense is maximum suited to your goals and wishes.

It might be useful in some instances to apply a ranking or scoring gadget again, similar to what you did at some point of the initial shortlisting phase. Asking key questions about each CRM demo, such as:

Will the CRM lessen bottlenecks within the contemporary workflow?
How will the CRM enhance transaction processing, for example, new sales orders, invoices, and greater?
Does the platform have scope for reporting e.G. Generate reports based on weekly, month-to-month or annual figures?
Is there any room for flexibility in the platform, or can it be customized for the agency wishes if required?
How will the brand new CRM combine with the existing structures and platforms?

To wrap all of this up, it’s important to understand that each step of the suggested process is there for a reason: to make certain you’re making the maximum from your CRM demo. It may be a tedious system, but if you approach every demo with the identical strategy, the very last decision can be an awful lot easier, and you should become with a CRM platform that your group can use effectively to satisfy the necessities of the broader organization.

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