Succesfull Implementation

The successful implementation of any CRM system in your organization will take some planning, discipline (on all levels), and full backup from management. Naturally, the benefits are many and will certainly outweigh the status quo. OmniAdministrator can take an active or passive role in helping you implement a successful CRM implementation strategy. Our services can range from "spiking" the system with data (customers, inventory, etc) to actually spending time on-site during the crucial start-up period. On occasion where we are requested to be on location during this start-up phase, we hold short seminars in the mornings for the staff in different departments and remain in the background during the day to answer questions. Please do not hesitate to contact our sales department for more information on this.

Successful implementation is achieved when you:

• Explain the goals and benefits, thereby getting everyone excited about making their lives easier.
• Make sure management is fully engaged in supporting implementation.
• Understand the resistance to a cultural change in sharing information.
• Spike the system with basic information.
• Pre-educate users prior to implementation.
• Request on-site consultation during start up by OmniAdministrator.
• Phase in each major section.
Naturally, smaller companies and corporations have a much easier time implementing major changes like this; but you should still go through a structured process of implementation. We are looking forward to the opportunity of helping you with this.

Explain the goals and benefits, thereby getting everyone excited about making their lives easier

This seems like a simple thing to do, but in reality you have to explain this in a way that helps each member of your team understand how it will benefit him or her personally. In addition, you also have to avoid negative feelings about job security and extra work load. The best example is the sales person that would feel he is giving away his job security, because once the information and sales prospect is registered on the system he looses personal control. Furthermore, management will now be better able to measure performance and discover mistakes, which is not a comforting thought to many. In the case of a sales person, it is best to focus on his/her ability to be connected when traveling and his/her increased ability to spend one or two days away without leaving his/her customers in a bind since other team members can solve small problems due to the fact they have access to each customer's communication history. So the main message should be: Improved information sharing benefits customer experience and thereby the company and all team members by extention.

Make sure management is fully engaged in supporting implementation

Many CRM systems have failed because the leadership in an organization did not support it fully. The main reason for failure is that senior (or junior) sales people are not being forced to actually enter their data and communications. Technical support staff often seem more apt to follow rules; but again if some do not update information every time they talk with a customer, then others cannot trust the information to be complete. In either case, a system which is missing 10-20% of the information is only half a tool. Therefore the leadership in the organization must first lead by example, then be ready to deal with team members that do not update the system and possibly implement disciplinary actions of some sort. To assist management in its support and implementation, We have purposefully integrated email and other functions (see below) directly into our software setup to help guide each user onto the system regularly and thereby encourage its use. Integration into one easy to use system is, in our opinion, essential to making the transition as pain free as possible.

The following functions have been integrated into the software:

• Send and Receive email (which is automatically saved under customer/contact point).
• Create Fax Covers (which are automatically saved under customer/contact point).
• Create Cover Letters (which are automatically saved under customer/contact point).
• Integrated Personal Calendars (with automatic note taking upon completion).
• Integrated Sales Prospecting (which also helps management do sales forecasting).

At the same time, management may also find that having the ability to measure the performance and working habits of each user can be very useful. This is especially true with remotely located sales or service personnel. Actually, implementing a system like OmniAdministrator holds the potential to manage home based sales and service personnel located strategically throughout the country or even the world. All these remotely located people are fully integrated into your database and operation. Naturally, one of the biggest problems of having remotely located personnel is the ability to make sure they are actually working when they are supposed to. Since OmniAdministrator is a fully web-based product you will be able to monitor their activity log and see that they are actually working.

Understand the resistance to a cultural change in sharing information

With many (if not the majority of) employees already feeling insecure in this fast changing world of ours, bringing in radical changes to the work place will most often lead many people to feel even more insecure and have the following concerns: "Can I learn the new system?", "Why change when we know the old one?", "Share all information with others and will I become less important in the process?" and many more. The last one may be the hardest for many, especially for sales people. Therefore, when you begin to talk about implementing a new system start with your current problems:
• How much time is wasted looking for information files in paper form?
• How many times does one person disturb another to get information?
• How often can you not get the information because a certain person is not there?
• How often do traveling sales people call home and need something done for them?

All these activities, which revolve around the inefficient acquisition of information, are a waste of the most precious resource you have, people. However, better job performance and time management can be achieved if you make the following tools available:
• Management can see financial information in real-time without disturbing the accountant.
• Sales personnel can follow an order and give information to a customer without contacting/disturbing shipping or production.
• Sales manager can see sales forecasting and major prospects without disturbing individual sales people.
• Sales, managers, and others can see what problems have been occurring with a customer as they talk with their Tec support.
• Traveling sales representatives can limit their requests for office support, since they have full access on their laptop using either a wireless or cellular internet connection.
• When a customer calls and their representative is not available, the person receiving the call can better assist the customer because he or she can actually see the customer information and historical communication. This leads to a better customer experience and a probable resolution of the issue at hand.

The key to resistance is to explain why the team will do better, how everyone will become more efficient, and how the system will create new opportunities for actually providing a better quality of work and life through these benefits:
• Allowing an assistant to stay home with a sick child, if they have high speed internet access.
• Allowing a manager more vacation while actually being available if needed through high speed internet access.
• Allowing an owner more time away from the company without loosing touch with the activities.
• Allowing a traveling sales person who arrives home after work hours to spend a few hours tying up loose ends at home instead of heading to the office. for a few tasks.
• You can probably find many more benefits.
In the end, the goal is to provide everyone with a more efficient, adaptable, and result-oriented organization, which is the best way to secure jobs.

Spike the system with basic information

This is really a simply concept and one of the most crucial steps you take to insure successful implementation. This simply means that sufficient information has been entered to insure that the system can be used efficiently from the first day. More information will be entered as it is needed, and probably in phases. The amount of "spiked" information versus "added later" will depend on your individual requirements.

The following list is a sample of commonly "spiked" data:

• Customer information (Addresses, phones, faxes, emails, contact people).
• Initial notes and information about customers.
• Vendor information (Addresses, phones, faxes, emails, contact people).
• Inventory information (Part numbers, pricing, vendor, etc).
• Procurement information (Part numbers, pricing, vendor, etc).

The amount of information entered before you begin to use the system will depend on your situation. You may choose to distribute these tasks internally, or OmniAdministrator can help with the automated or manual entering of data. The key is to have a plan in place that is going to work.

Pre-educate users prior to implementation

This seems like an obvious thing, so we will state the obvious. Employees need to feel comfortable with the new system, its goals, and how it is structured for your organization. So lets look at how we can pre-educate your staff:
• E-learning through internet meetings.
• Seminars at your site during implementation period.
• Off-site seminars for your staff.

The first one is certainly the least costly while the second and third choice is probably better. The last two options will often give you and us a chance for a new beginning. Frequently, employees may shrug off the new system as "just another system" or "just another endeavor of the boss"; but if an independent "consultant" shares the value of this system in a seminar setting it may just sink in.

On-site consultation during start up by OmniAdministrator

This one is certainly closely linked to the last section. But here we focus on being there to answer questions when people begin to use the system. We also include morning seminars during our visit for various departments where we help them maximize the features and functions available in OmniAdministrator. Our onsite visits often enable us to highlight unexpected benefits your team can implement.
Together with this kind of implementation support we would normally make a full proposal for spiking the system, some e-learning, and then a week or two on location for being available with morning and maybe afternoon classes.

Phase in each major section

OmniAdministrator's full suite of functions and features are very extensive and may seem overwhelming to some to implement all at once, especially for larger organizations. Therefore a "phased-in" approach may be the best choice in realizing the full benefits of OmniAdministrator. The key to this would be a detailed road map for implementation with benchmarks and dates.

A step-by-step approach could look like the following:

1: Start with using CRM section.
2: Require sales department to use Sales Prospecting.
3: Enter inventory and begin using order handling.
4: Enter procurement section and begin using it.
5: Linking procurement to the actual inventory items.
6: Activate Financial section to begin tying it all together.

This is only a suggested road map to full implementation. So please do not hesitate to contact us for more information on how we can help you implement OmniAdministrator.