The Big Giant Mortgage Company and the Big Giant CRM
One of our Wintouch sales representatives spoke to an IT manager we’ll call "Tim." Tim works for a really, really big mortgage lending company in Southern California that we’ll call “the Big Giant Mortgage Company.” They decided that they needed a customer relationship management solution and they needed it fast. Enter the dog and pony show from every vendor courting the Big Giant Mortgage Company. 
Frequent Mistakes Management Makes Regarding the 400
or Why NOT to Throw That Baby out (with the Bath Water)
All too often these days, corporate managers misjudge the IBM iSeries – AS/400 when it comes to deploying a CRM solution. They make shortsighted, frugal decisions about the cost of purchasing hardware to run a CRM solution, only to find that their future costs will far exceed the initial costs, even if the initial costs include new hardware.
Recently, the president of a capital equipment manufacturing company stated that since 1985, he had zero (yes, zero!) hours of unscheduled downtime on his IBM AS/400 server.
Why Integrate CRM to Backend Systems?
Why do you need to integrate your CRM system to your customer master files, your ERP or processing systems, or any other applications and data on your server? Where is the real ROI in CRM? Is the definition of CRM simply “contact management” or managing the entire relationship with the customer?
How Can You Guarantee ROI on Your CRM Investment?
The key is the gathering of information but knowing what to do with that information. When I was a salesperson, I learned the "solution selling" method from an
What Do C-level Execs See as the Biggest CRM Challenge?
Hundreds of company presidents, managers, IT staff members and customer service employees agree that Customer Relationship Management can have real value for their organization. Occasionally, a high level executive or sales manager will say that they don’t need CRM because they have only 10 major customers or they only manufacture 5 products, but the biggest challenge really is…
CRM is Like an Outboard Motor
Is Your Company a Rowboat or a Speedboat?
When you row a boat you face backwards, you don’t have precise control over the direction you are going and things don’t happen very quickly. Much like an outboard motor can fix your boating propulsion woes, CRM can fix the same problems in your organization…
To Build or Buy a CRM Solution?
Your goal should be to make the right choice between implementing a packaged solution and using internal or external IT resources to build one.
While totally custom CRM software is not dead, a decision
to build your own CRM can be a dangerous one. The key to getting the
right solution for your organization must hinge on the ability to
customize a solution to meet your needs. According to an August 2002
Forrester Research brief…
7 Positive Steps for a Mid-Size Firm During a Slow Economy
In tough economic times, management always hunkers down! It is their job to find ways to cut unnecessary costs, keep expenses down, and to keep the sales department bringing in as much revenue in as possible.
A down economy should also be a time to analyze what the
company can do better. The questions you should be asking…
10 Stupid Reasons Companies Give for NOT Buying CRM
If a financial consultant calls your home to present his services, should you listen? I am very glad I did! I was trying to manage my own retirement planning with my limited knowledge and no time to develop expertise on the financial markets where I should invest.
The service I signed up with got me into more secure real estate investments, better mutual funds and reduced my investment expenses. I am much more confident that I’m headed down the right path to retirement, and it’s not costing me a dime out of my pocket! The firm works off investment commissions and has done a great job!
Is there a CRM solution out there that will allow you to
cut costs and grow your portfolio?
But Do I Really Need CRM? How to Really know!
The question seems simple! If your investment pays for itself within a reasonable payback period (ROI), shouldn’t you buy it? But how do you measure return?
Do you really need CRM…or are your current practices helping to dig your company’s grave?
- What do your customers need?
- How do you rate with customers?
- Are you efficient and profitable?
Simply put, if you don’t give your customers what they
need and if your company doesn’t make a profit, you’re sunk!
CRM: How Do I Know If I need It?
The merits of Customer Relationship Management and your company’s survival.
In talking to a lot of companies considering the
implementation of CRM solutions, many don’t have a firm
grip on what CRM is, wonder why they need it and what results it can bring to
them. They aren’t sure what they should spend for a CRM solution and
they wonder, "How do I justify this system?"
Involving Your CIO in CRM: The CRM-Ready CIO
Involving the head of your Information Systems (IS)
function is critical to the success of any comprehensive Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) program. This might seem like obvious
advice since the Chief Information Officer (CIO) must not only manage
the installation of new
The Effect of the Enterprise on Sales Success
It is amazing that in many companies, management is not
embracing CRM, or using any contact management solution to make
salespeople more efficient, protect the firm, and increase sales.
Granted, CRM has gotten a tarnished image in some companies, because
they’ve overspent on solutions and features, without any understanding
of the payback and the real issues they need to solve before
implementing CRM. In addition, far too many senior managers buy a CRM
package, thinking that its installation alone will solve their problems
and get one more monkey off their backs. Not true!
