The CRM/LMS Dynamic
Yesterday we held a great webinar entitled “Where Good CRMs Go Bad: The Missing Link to Converting Leads into Sales,” and I encourage everyone to check it out here. We felt that the LMS/CRM dynamic was an important topic to cover as the relationship can be quite confusing. Whether we are talking about Internet Leads or any other sort of business, in the age of overkill, there is something to be said about specialized solutions, and this webinar goes into great detail explaining the benefits.
Technology is supposed to make complicated problems and processes easier, but it instead most people will agree that sometimes technology replaces one complicated problem with another more expensive one. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t hate CRM’s, but instead feel that in most cases a Lead Management System can do a better job than a CRM or significantly enhance a CRM that has already been implemented.
A CRM by virtue is exactly what the acronym stands for, a Customer Relationship Manager. Granted, a CRM does do a good job of managing relationships, but how do you get those relationships to manage in the first place? When we pose this question to CRM advocates, we usually get a few seconds of “dead airwaves” if you know what I mean… The point is, CRMs are not the best way to achieve more business, and in fact, they can actually hinder the process. For the delicate sales process, the heart of your business, you need a specialized tool designed to do one thing well. The one thing WE do well is close more business.
Matt Johnson said... February 19th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Exactly. The point that CRM advocates miss is that there won’t be a relationship to manage if you’re not the first to contact the lead.