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    Here are three reasons organizations are abandoning their old CRMs

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    Before I began the work that would eventually become Membrain, I was a part of, and built, sales organizations. I became intimately familiar with the unwieldy nature of most CRM implementations, including the industry-leading Salesforce CRM. I experienced firsthand the results of poor user adoption rates and low technology ROI–resulting in graveyards of information, instead of guidance for salespeople.

    It would not surprise me at all to witness, in the next few years, a mass exodus from the old way of doing CRM. In fact, I think it’s inevitable that those who find a better way will excel while others will either get on board, or fall behind.

    Many CRMs have become graveyards of information, instead of guiding companions for sales teams.
    George Brontén

    The trend is already beginning. Sales teams of all sizes, from a dozen or two reps to hundreds, are leaving Salesforce and other legacy systems for better sales effectiveness solutions. Here are three reasons why Global Marine Group (GMG), an offshore engineering firm with a 165-year history, left their legacy CRM, and why you might want to do the same.

    1. They needed better visibility

    “When we talk about engineering a clean and connected future for our company,” says Ian Bryan, GMG’s Director of Corporate Development, “we mean that we’re contributing to the way the world is growing.” To achieve their own growth, they needed a clean and connected view of their sales strategy, process, and performance.

    Traditional CRM is simply a database with some reporting tools attached. GMG was using Salesforce, and admits that their implementation had become ineffective for them. They needed more visibility.

    Are you in the same situation? Does your CRM:

    • Make your sales process easy to understand and follow?
    • Help you see where every opportunity is in the sales process?
    • Send the appropriate people notifications when something isn’t going well?
    • Let you view at a glance where each sales team member excels and where they struggle?
    • Provide visibility on every aspect of your sales team’s performance, at both a high level and a granular level?

    If not, it may be time for you to consider the switch from your legacy CRM to a true sales effectiveness platform like GMG did.

    2. They needed greater flexibility

    “I want to be very fair to Salesforce. They are a world-class company, with a lot of references and a terrific product,” says Bryan, but their existing implementation had simply grown too cumbersome. In order for it to meet their business requirements, they would have had to invest in consultants and programmers to customize the platform extensively. Then, every time something changed in the sales process or on the sales team, they would have had to pay again to have it adjusted and updated.

    They looked for, and found, a platform that could be more easily tailored to achieve their business objectives, and that could be maintained and updated regularly with minimal technical assistance.

    Is your sales process dynamic and flexible to changing conditions? Do you pay someone simply to maintain the technical aspects of your CRM? If greater flexibility is on your sales effectiveness wish list, you may want to consider a CRM switch.

    3. They wanted to win more

    As part of their sales effectiveness initiative, Bryan says his organization requested bids from two traditional CRM companies and a bid from Membrain. The first two tried to convince Bryan’s team to buy their product based on its features. Membrain was different.

    “The Membrain team was focused on our business outcomes,” says Bryan. “They understood that what we wanted to do was to sell more. They showed that their platform could help us focus on why we win and why we don’t win. And to make our sales process easy to understand and follow.”

    If you want your sales team to win more, it may be time to reexamine your CRM system. To find out if Membrain might be the right choice for you, read GMG’s CRM case study here.

    Click here to schedule a personalized demo of Membrain

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    George Brontén
    Published September 20, 2017
    By George Brontén

    George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.

    Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn