Cloud computing is all about providing shared configurable computer resources such as servers, applications, storage and other computer related services. Similar to application software hosting, cloud computing is a service, but with several very important differences. Cloud computing enables a customer to scale their computing requirements upward and downward often without vendor intervention, share virtual resources in a multi-tenant environment, access data anytime and anywhere via a PC, tablet or mobile device and pay only for the computer processing and resources utilized. Unlike a hosting service tied to a specific server or servers, with cloud computing the access to computer resources can in effect be limitless.

Providing application software that performs properly in a cloud computing environment is not for the faint hearted. It starts with the selection of a world class cloud computing service, offered by several companies including RackSpace and Amazon.com as examples. This is coupled with CRM software that has been designed for a multi-tenant architecture and can perform well under high transaction volumes. Many CRM vendors have struggled with delivering reliable and scalable software solutions in a hosted environment and simply do not have the experience to migrate their solutions to the cloud. As a result many customers have experienced poor performance and downtime. The way to avoid this is to select an established proven CRM software provider that has the experience and track record for delivering their customer management software in the cloud.

Companies like Commence Corporation have been delivering software as a service or (SaaS) based solutions for several years. Commence began as a hosting service and has evolved into a true cloud based computing offering that offers the scalability, resource pooling, reliability and performance you would expect from a top rated CRM software provider.

For more information about Commence CRM and the Commence cloud services, call one of our experts at 1-877-266-6362 or visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com.

Image Credit: by Bpgriner at en.wikipedia source Wikimedia Creative Commons

Commence Corporation is one of these companies.  Commence has a rich history and has been providing on-premise CRM software to small enterprises and mid-size companies for more than two decades. In fact, Commence was the original developer of IBM Current, a desktop contact manager, and SuperSELL, IBM’s sales force automation offering. As such, Commence is no stranger to the CRM sector.  A few years ago the company expanded its product line by migrating its award winning desktop CRM software to the cloud.  Commence is one of the only companies that offers its customers the “freedom of choice” to deploy the software via the cloud or on premise.

Why Commence Makes Sense

One of the key CRM selection criteria that are driving customers to Commence CRM is that the company does not force you into a “pre-defined” box. Salesforce.com forces customers like you to select a specific product edition that locks you into a set of pre-defined features or limits the number of users you may have based on the price you paid. In fact, Commence does not have any restrictions of any kind.  The product is modular in design which means you can select the functionality you require today and add additional modules or users at any time without incurring a substantial price increase, just because you switched to a different “pre-defined” box or edition, or added additional people.

If you took a survey of companies that have selected CRM software, you will discover that many of them fell into the feature trap, where they ended up paying for more functionality than they end up using. This is because the vendor has forced them into buying a product edition with pre-set functionality as mentioned above.  This just doesn’t make sense.  To make matters worse, the majority of these companies are utilizing functionality that is standard in most quality CRM solutions like Commence, such as account and contact management, activity management, sales management, lead management, and Outlook and email integration.  Add those that also use it for marketing campaigns or mobile access and you have covered the lion share of the market.  Commence offers all of the above along with a help desk or customer support module, a document library, a project management application and integration with accounting systems like QuickBooks.

The point is this:  Trusted CRM providers like Commence have leveled the playing field and can provide similar functionality to products like Salesforce.com at a fraction of the cost.  If you’re an organization that requires a lot of users, the cost savings with Commence can be substantial.  If you are considering a CRM solution, take a few moments to evaluate Commence CRM. To learn more about Commence visit the company’s web site at www.commence.com or ask for a free CRM trial and experience Commence CRM for yourself.

Tinton Falls

“The new applications add significant value for our customers” said Larry Caretsky, President of Commence Corporation “ and continue to differentiate Commence in a very crowded market.  The Project Management solution is designed to enable project managers to properly assign resources, manage project delivery dates, stay within budget and address issues before they become a significant concern and impact deliverables. The integration of this information with all other CRM data provides authorized personnel with complete access to full account, contact and project information.”

“The Customer Service Portal is all about enabling our customers to provide customer self service to their customers by allowing customers to update their profile, check the status of a service ticket or access the company’s knowledgebase for information anytime and anywhere.   This capability significantly enhances the quality of service Commence customers can offer to their customers and should give them a leg up on their competition”.

The company concluded the year with a company luncheon that included several international dishes followed by a highly competitive miniature golf tournament inside the company’s corporate headquarters in New Jersey.  “We don’t have the luxury of going outside this time of the year” says Caretsky, “so we had the course set up inside our offices.  We also offered prize money for first, second and third place which made the tournament highly competitive.”

About Commence:

Founded in 1988, Commence develops and delivers a diverse suite of award-winning CRM solutions that integrate people, processes and technology.  Delivered via the popular software as a service (SaaS) model or implemented as on premise software, Commence CRM solutions are used by thousands of businesses to streamline sales and customer service front-end business processes. As a result, Commence clients increase workforce productivity, generate positive customer interactions and reduce operating cost.  More information about Commence can be accessed at www.commence.com or by calling Commence sales at 1-877-COMMENCE.

Media Contact:
Nicole Reed
info@commence.com

The days of thinking you could manage all of your customers using a paper filing system are long gone, and in most cases you have far too many clients to even begin tracking in this archaic fashion. Today there are numerous choices when it comes to finding the right CRM software for your business.  For the past few decades the most common solution was desktop based contact management software that was installed on your internal PCs and server.   These programs did a good job of tracking basic customer information, but were limited in functionality and scalability.  Many were also proprietary solutions that required updates each year in order to take advantage of new features or remain compatible with desktop operating systems.  Customers that did not upgrade their software often found themselves in a very difficult and costly position as conversion to current versions of the software were expensive and simply not as easy as they had anticipated.

As with many other platforms, customer relationship management software has begun the move from internal servers to the cloud.  This migration to cloud based computing offers several benefits and customers who have switched to an online CRM service are realizing a higher degree of value than they did with previous platforms. Perhaps the biggest benefit is simply the ability to access data anytime and from anywhere via an internet connection.   In the past, employees using desktop CRM software often found themselves tethered to their desktop computer with access only to e-mail via their cell phone while away from the office.

The newer hosted CRM services have implemented mobile platform support for use with the latest smart phone or handheld devices. This makes it possible for your staff to access information on the go, providing sales people with the opportunity to immediately follow-up on new inquiries while your support team delights your customers with rapid customer service.   Hosted CRM services also provide you with product updates and enhancements that are fully implemented for you and ensure that you remain current with the latest technology advances.  This has proven to be an arduous task for IT managers maintaining in-house environments where the updates must be installed on in-house servers and desktop PCs.

Some company IT executives continue to debate the issue of desktop or on premise CRM software vs. online CRM claiming security concerns and runaway costs for hosted services each year, but industry reports indicate that web based CRM solutions are growing at a pace of more than double that of desktop software offerings. Companies are also finding that security concerns have been addressed and that due to the competitive landscape, online or web CRM offerings are now more affordable than ever.  This makes the case for hosted CRM quite compelling.

If you are looking for a cost efficient way to improve sales execution and customer service and provide your staff with anytime, anywhere access to vital customer data using a PC, Apple Mac, or Mobile device, you should strongly consider an online CRM solution hosted by a reputable company.  If this sounds like the winning formula for you, consider Commence CRM from Commence Corporation. The company has a twenty year track record for delivering comprehensive CRM software applications and high quality customer service.

There are quite a few Basic small business CRM applications, or what I like to refer to as productivity tools. There are Mid-market CRM solutions and Enterprise level CRM systems.  Vendors traditionally offer their CRM solutions as either web based under the Software as a Service (SaaS) model where you pay a monthly fee, or on premise.  A few now offer both deployment models.

Basic CRM software

These programs were at one time called contact managers and are generally designed to be productivity tools.  They provide the ability to manage your contacts and accounts, your calendar, e-mail, notes, history and even create a sales forecast. In addition, they also traditionally include a mail merge feature that allows you to quickly produce letters and merge the name and address fields.  Many also enable integration with popular mobile devices like the BlackBerry, iPhone and the new Droid via a synchronization program that resides on your PC.

Designed primarily for the small office, home office market (SOHO) these are affordable and worthwhile companions for businesses with limited requirements.  The downside to these applications is that they are traditionally sold as out of the box or ready to use crm solutions that are not scalable and are limited with regard to customization.

Mid-market CRM software

Mid-market CRM software takes contact management to the next level and has a strong focus on automating the sales process. They offer a robust set of functionality for lead qualification, lead management, opportunity management, pipeline management, sales activity management and sales forecasting.  Sales reporting is also very good, with both text based reports and analytics on sales activity and sales performance.  Many now also offer marketing management applications that enable marketing professionals to create pre-scheduled direct mail and e-mail marketing campaigns targeted at a specific group of companies or people.  The sales and marketing functionality is fully integrated with the contact management software allowing you to capture, track, manage and share vital customer and prospect information with the people and departments that require it to efficiently do their jobs.  The strength of mid-market CRM systems is their ability to fully integrate information from multiple departments therefore providing all authorized employees with a 360 degree profile of customer and prospect information.  Some mid-market programs also include a help desk or customer service tickets application.  Adding service history to the customer contact and sales data can play a vital role in improving sales execution and customer service.

The mid-market CRM software space is highly competitive. What separates many of the products from each other is their ability to integrate with disparate systems such as accounting and ERP systems, the ability to customize the applications, mobile support and the experience level of the vendor’s implementation and service staff.  Unlike basic low cost CRM software packages, many of these products are quite comprehensive and require a commitment from sales management and the proper training in order to realize the value they can bring to your business.

Enterprise CRM software

Enterprise CRM systems cover much of the functionality mentioned above, but are designed to support large numbers of users. The programs are quite comprehensive and offer a deeper level of sales, marketing and customer service functionality.   They may offer multiple sales processes for example, one for customers and one for prospects, security permissions down to the field level and the ability to manage high transaction levels.  Project management functionality is often found in enterprise level systems along with integration to social networking sites.  These systems are also highly customizable and offer (APIs) Application Programming Interfaces that enable the integration of a large array of disparate systems. Enterprise CRM software also traditionally supports multiple languages and multiple currencies making them ideal for large companies that operate globally.

If you are a large Fortune 1000 company with requirements for multi-language and multi-currency support your choice will become very clear as there are a limited number of quality vendors to choose from.  If you’re a small to mid-size company the choices are so numerous that it’s difficult to differentiate one from another.   You may want to review my free report, Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake, 7 points to Consider Before Selecting Your CRM Solution.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the President and CEO of Commence Corporation, a leading provider of web based and on premise CRM software for small to mid-size businesses. Caretsky is considered an expert in the subject of CRM and has written several white papers on the subject. They may be accessed via the company’s web site at www.commence.com. Commence supports several thousand customers in more than 22 countries around the world and has outlets in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

CRM Herrrreeee, Get your CRM…

Some CRM providers are offering their software free, while others offer lengthy trials or money back guarantees.  Some are even offering the ability to get started immediately by simply entering your credit card over the Internet and voila, instant CRM.   Are these low cost, get your instant CRM marketing programs working?  I think so, but for whom?  Most of the vendors are struggling financially and industry statistics continue to indicate that more than 70% of CRM solutions fail to get properly implemented or utilized. This statistic has gone virtually unchanged in the past ten years, even though web-based CRM solutions were supposed to address the difficulties associated with traditional desktop CRM software, which were labeled as too hard to implement and too hard to use.  So what’s the problem?

What’s causing the failure?

I have been engaged in the sale and implementation of CRM software in dozens of small to mid-size companies and I believe there are three components that are responsible for so many failed implementations and poor utilization.

1. The Traditional Selection Process is Flawed
2. Lack of Executive Management Involvement
3. No Sales Leadership -Failure to understand the Core Competency of the Staff

1) The Traditional Selection Process is Flawed

Most companies continue to select software products the same way they did twenty years ago. They gather a small team of people to survey different departments and document what each department requires in their CRM system, and then create their master list of features.  Some highlight the ‘must have’ features from the ‘nice to have’ or optional ones.   Then they research and contact a number of vendors, watch a product demonstration, and place a check mark next to each feature the vendor offers.  At the bottom of the checklist they total the score and “lo and behold”, the vendor with the most points has the best CRM solution for their business.  If there is a tie in the number of points, then the lowest cost provider wins.  Seems simple enough, but this is a flawed process for the following reasons.

2) Lack of Executive Management Involvement

The executive management team knows better than anyone else the challenges they face.  They must take an active role early on in the selection process and properly communicate the core business requirements to their team. On numerous occasions I have experienced situations where the executive management comes to the table very late in the process with a uniquely different prospective on what the business is looking to achieve with the implementation of a CRM system.  This only serves to embarrass if not alienate the selection team who has wasted valuable time and may have narrowed down two or three vendor selections based on completely different criteria.  In several instances management did not get involved in the selection process at all at all except to approve the expenditure.  The process should start top down not bottom up.

3) No Sales Leadership – Failure to Understand the Core Competency of the Staff

Software does not run your business — people do. Management must take into consideration the maturity of their business processes and the core competency of their staff before embarking on the selection and implementation of CRM software.   This is especially important when it comes to the sales organization that traditionally consists of people with various levels of experience.  The successful implementation of a CRM system requires the engagement of the entire management team and the leadership of an experienced sales executive that is committed to the implementation of a structured sales process and the reinforcement of that structure.  This has nothing to do with the actual software selected and everything to do with a commitment to build an internal infrastructure with mature business processes, mature systems and mature people.  I believe this is one of the single most important factors in determining the success or failure of a CRM implementation and its proper utilization.

Before concluding, if you are considering the implementation of a CRM solution for your business I would like to suggest that you think about CRM software in the following way:

• CRM is Not a Toy – you’re not going to address significant business challenges with a free CRM offering or one that you can buy over the Internet for a few dollars a month. Anyone who believes this is just foolish.  If you are truly committed to improving your internal business processes, such as building brand recognition via marketing programs, implementing a proven sales methodology and creating a support structure for delivering world-class customer service, you need to look at your CRM provider as an integral partner in this process and engage them as your partner.   The vendor’s experience and core competency in mastering the use of their solution is perhaps more important then the solution itself and will serve to ensure that you realize the maximum benefit from their offering.

• Software does not run your business, people do.  I mentioned this earlier, but it is worth repeating. The software should be viewed as simply a tool to automate and streamline your internal business processes.  In order for you to realize a high return on your investment you need to have mature business processes in place, and understand the core competency of your staff.   The implementation of a CRM system should result in a significant level of change within your organization, that’s why you are investing in the process.  It’s paramount to ensure that management is committed to making a change and in reinforcing new internal processes and procedures.  If you do not have this level of commitment you may struggle to realize a return on your CRM investment and fail to become a more efficient sales and service organization.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the CEO of Commence Corporation, a leading provider of CRM software which can be deployed in a web-based, cloud-computing environment or on premise. Caretsky is considered an expert in Customer Relationship Management and has written numerous white papers on the subject, which may be accessed via the company’s web site at www.commence.com.

This all changed for me a few years later when I joined Commence Corporation, a provider of Customer Relationship Management software.  At Commence, I was forced to trade in my spiral notebook for a sales automation tool and while I was a bit dubious that a sales automation system would help me, after a few weeks of use I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I began capturing every customer and prospect interaction from basic telephone calls, quotes and documents I had sent to e-mail correspondence.   I learned to enter follow-up activities on my calendar and set alerts that reminded me to contact people on the dates and times I committed to.  Each day new leads with contact information were dispatched to me electronically and an automated sales methodology helped me to manage each opportunity through a structures sales cycle.  Best of all, with the simple click of a button I had the ability to view a complete 360 degree view of all current and historical information about my customers and prospects.  This was truly unbelievable.   I even learned that I could integrate a Smart Phone so that I could have contact information at my disposal and have also begun to utilize the systems mass e-mail feature to help generate more business.  I had never imagined that I would attain so much value from this tool.

“On a personal level I am more productive than ever.”

The CRM system has impacted me both personally and professionally.  On a personal level I am more productive than ever.  I have access to customer and prospect information anytime and anywhere and I am confident that things are no longer falling through the cracks. On a professional level I have become almost fanatical about the product, which has helped me to serve potential customers more effectively.  I continue to utilize my past experience as a vehicle for delivering a powerful testimonial of how CRM software has helped me better manage the sales cycle and improve sales execution.  It’s a well known fact that prospects are more likely to buy from someone who believes whole heartedly in the product or service they are selling and my newly found enthusiasm for CRM software has enabled me to gain credibility with potential buyers.

As I talk with new prospects each day I understand and appreciate the reluctance they may have in implementing a Customer Relationship Management solution.  I’ve learned that It’s a lot easier to understand their concerns and provide valuable assistance if you have been in a similar position, so I tell my story.  Their interest level grows and often turns into a new sale. If you are considering a CRM system give me a call.  I am confident that I can help you consolidate data, and improve sales execution so that your team and sell more and sell more easily.

About the author: Steve Fischkin is an Account Manager at Commence Corporation, a leading provider of CRM software which can be deployed in a web-based, cloud-computing environment or on premise. For more information about Commence visit www.commence.com or e-mail Steve at sales@commence.com

The Role of Technology

The last several years have brought a radical change in the relationship between the customer and business as a whole.  More and more customers are collaborating with businesses and technology is playing a key role in this new collaboration. An increasing percentage of interaction with customers is coming by way of social networks and online communities.  These interactions include suggestions for product improvement, requests for help, information requests and even customers assisting their counterparts directly.  These customer conversations are driving the need for the business to respond in a timely fashion and to also convince potential customers of their ability to adequately address their needs.

This is driving executives to focus more attention on discovering the “favorite” customer or target market and crafting a marketing message that resonates with that target market.  To do this effectively, the business needs to gather and analyze all of the relevant customer data points,  In addition to demographic and geographic data, the business needs to understand why customers are buying their products or services and more importantly, what specific language the “favorite” customer is using to describe the buying experience.

The Changing Customer Role

This calls for the establishment of a close collaborative effort between the business and the customer base.  Sales and any other part of the organization that is in direct contact with the customer needs to listen closely to the conversation in order to hear what the customer is saying.  The data gathered needs to be analyzed so that not only does the business then understand which customers comprise the target market, but also how those customers think and how they communicate.

This effectively achieves two goals.  First, it allows the sales force to be immensely more productive by getting them to concentrate on that part of the general marketplace that has these pre-qualified prospects that have the same profile as the “favorite” customer. Secondly, it gives the marketing side of the business the ability to script a marketing message that resonates with the customer since it uses the information gleaned from the customer and can be written in a language that the customer understands.

Even more importantly, with more customers using online communities and social networks, it is essential that the key phrases that the business uses are the same as the key phrases that the customer uses in their posts on Facebook and LinkedIn or in their tweets on Twitter.  It also allows the business to search engine optimize its web site because the language and the keywords used are the ones the favorite customers are accustomed to.

So now, the business has a marketing message that resonates with the customer.  The sales force has a sales pitch that is geared towards solving the customer pain and is in a language the customer understands.  The customer feels that the business is listening and hearing them and prospects not only find the business, but when engaged by the sales force are easier to bring to a close.

Can current CRM systems play in this arena?

Most current CRM systems are very effective at helping the sales force automate the sales process and manage the sales cycle.  The way they do this is by collecting customer and prospect data that the sales force uses to manage sales campaigns, schedule sales calls and keep the sales cycle moving along.  To meet the new paradigm of target marketing that requires collaboration with our customers, these CRM systems need new functionality.

Commence Corporation is taking a leadership position in this area and understands that the future of customer relationship management will be centered on the collaboration and partnership with customers.  Commence is busy restructuring the data points that their system collects to include the needed demographic and psychographics data that CRM system do not capture today.  Commence is also looking closely at interfacing the product with social media applications so that it can collect and analyze all of the different streams of customer conversations that are currently on the web, then use this information to targeting effective marketing campaigns.

As a result of the economic downturn, many SMBs are struggling to justify the capital outlay to upgrade or implement a new CRM system because of cost and business uncertainty.  To survive in today’s economy, you need to implement a CRM software solution, but you need to do it for the right reasons.  Don’t implement a CRM solution to simply automate the sales process.  Growing your business will require the ability to capture, manage and share vital customer information from several data sources and then use the information to gain a competitive edge.  Select a CRM software provider that offers a platform that can support the customer collaboration that will need to take place in the future.

About the author: Larry Caretsky is the president of Commence Corporation, a leading provider of CRM software, which can be deployed in a web-based, cloud-computing environment or on premise. Caretsky is considered an expert in Customer Relationship Management and has written numerous white papers on the subject, which may be accessed via the company’s web site at www.commence.com.

“Many of these businesses have simply stayed put and have continued to utilize discontinued versions of the Goldmine software”, said Nicole Reed, Customer Manager at Commence Corporation, “but with the release of the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, these older versions will no longer work. This has generated a number of calls to Commence Corporation from Goldmine customers seeking a migration path to newer, supported CRM software.”

Commence offers a robust contact manager along with a suite of CRM software applications for managing sales, marketing and customer support. The Customer Management software is available for deployment on-premise or hosted under a “software as a service” or SaaS model.  Commence also supports the Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 operating systems along with the upcoming Microsoft Office 2010 software.

Larry Caretsky, president of Commence Corporation, welcomes the addition of these customers. “Commence has been servicing SME businesses  for twenty years,” noted Caretsky. “A good portion of our business comes from companies that have outgrown traditional contact management software such as Sage ACT software and Goldmine software. These companies need more then a simple contact manager, but not the cost and complexity of enterprise CRM software. We are positioned right in the middle of the two, which has served our business very well over the years. Our CRM solution is comprehensive yet intuitive and affordable, and can be deployed over the Internet,” says Caretsky.

About Commence Corporation:

Commence Corporation is a leading provider of Customer Manager software. The company’s products are designed to provide small to mid-size businesses with flexible solutions that leverage the Web to offer an integrated platform for managing sales execution and customer service. Commence supports several thousand customers through a worldwide distribution network, with outlets in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information see www.commence.com or call 1-877-COMMENCE.

Picking a CRM software vendor is tough. It’s even tougher when you’re part of the small to midsize market, where technology budgets are limited and horror stories of complex, drawn-out CRM projects abound. While the watchword of midmarket CRM buyers was once something akin to the President’s “irrational exuberance,” today it is “caution,” as companies demand solutions that are affordable, easy to implement and easy to use and that deliver a quick return on investment.

“The CRM industry has been plagued by vendors offering overly complex solutions to solve basic business problems. This has resulted in a low adoption rate and failed customer expectations,” says Larry Caretsky, president and CEO of Commence Corporation. “The concern for most businesses today is not a lack of technology, but rather how they can leverage technology to improve their internal processes and, ultimately, their bottom line.”

Caretsky should know. His company has been in business for 22 years and has witnessed all the trends in customer relationship management. And with that kind of experience, Caretsky figured out long ago that rapidly deployable, cost-effective CRM solutions – even when they weren’t in vogue – were the only way for customers to quickly and affordably reap the benefits of their investment.

Commence Corporation has taken a unique approach to meeting the key objectives of most small to midsize businesses – namely, by streamlining internal business processes, improving sales processes and delighting customers. The company starts with the fundamental knowledge that most mid-market customers must first address the problem of data capture, data consolidation and data sharing.

Typically, vital customer information is spread throughout these organizations in contact management software, back office systems and Excel spreadsheets. “Employees spend a significant amount of time trying to determine where or who in the organization has the information they need to address customer inquiries,” says Caretsky. “Management recognizes this problem and realizes that in order to increase sales and become a more efficient sales and service organization they must get the right information into the hands of the right people, at the right time.”

The Commence CRM software does just that. Customer information, captured from multiple channels, is stored in a unified database where it is immediately available to all authorized personnel through two product features: a digital dashboard and a multiview capability. “This enables them to be constantly aware of account activity and take proactive steps to ensure customer satisfaction,” says Caretsky.

At the same time, Commence helps companies increase sales using a sales process template that is built into the system. Preset sales stages allow the sales team to begin classifying new sales opportunities from the beginning. The product also offers sales teams the ability to utilize a structured sales methodology for lead scoring and evaluating each sales opportunity. And it helps make sales reps more productive by providing a tool to automate routine tasks. “It’s like having an administrative assistant working directly for you,” says Caretsky.

Building brand recognition via the use of direct mail and email marketing campaigns is also incorporated in Commence CRM as a component of the marketing software module. By scheduling repetitive marketing campaigns small to mid-size businesses can be assured that their company, product or service is in front of prospective buyers at all times.

“Today’s basis for business growth is the successful management of long-term relationships with customers on a one-to-one level,” says Caretsky. “When the customer becomes the center of your business, customer-centric strategies, processes and technology solutions can unlock the value of these relationships.”

Image Credit: Free images from acobox.com

Commence has been providing contact management, sales force automation and CRM software for more than two decades and has several thousand customers in more than 22 countries around the world.   The company’s web based CRM software has proven to be a comprehensive and affordable alternative to industry leaders such as Microsoft CRM and SalesForce.com.

The company provides personal demonstrations and free trials of their on-line customer management software.

Take the recent article that appeared in Tech Vibes titled Hui Family takes over Maximizer software. The article indicates that Maximizer CRM has experienced a significant decline in revenue due to recession related issues.  While it’s clear that most CRM companies are not hitting too many home runs, this revenue decline may have more to do with the migration of small to mid-size businesses to Web CRM software than economic issues.  Maximizer does not offer a web based CRM solution.

Commence Corporation had been in a similar space, selling desktop customer management software and sales force automation software to small and mid-market companies. For many years we competed directly with the FrontRange Goldmine product, SalesLogix and later with Microsoft Dynamics after they entered the market, but even at that time it became clear that things were beginning to change in the SMB space.  Software as a service (SaaS) solutions from companies like Salesforce.com were beginning to pave the way for a migration from desktop solutions to web CRM software that were easier to implement and easier to use. While several of the companies outlined above stayed the course, Commence migrated its award winning CRM software to the web and introduced Commence On-Demand, a web CRM solution  specifically designed for small to mid-size businesses. While we still sell our desktop product, 80% of the inquiries we receive each day for customer management software are for our web CRM product and even through the economic conditions are not much improved, Commence On-Demand has experienced growth in both the number of subscribers and in revenue.

It’s clear that this trend towards web based CRM software vs. on premise CRM software will continue and those companies that do not have a “software as a service” or SaaS offering will continue to experience a decline in their customer base and revenue.

It seems like manufacturers of Customer Relationship Management software are doing almost anything these days to add new subscribers.   Some are offering free utilization for the first few months, others money back guarantees and a few are even offering utilization of their software as a monthly service with no contract at all.  Price points are all over the map and they have consistently changed to attract new customers.  It’s gotten so crazy that if you need a CRM system right away some vendors will allow you to enter your credit card and for a few bucks you’ll be up and running in minutes.  In some cases the service is even free.  But wait a minute.  Is this a business solution that is going to address my requirements for improving how I sell and provide services to my customers?  It sounds more like I am buying an out of the box contact manager.

The fast sale & low cost craze must be working however, because CRM vendors like Salesforce and Microsoft — two of the recognized leaders — have continued to repackage their offering and lower their price.  Just a few weeks ago a small company of two people could purchase Salesforce CRM for $9 per user per month.  A few months earlier up to ten users could take advantage of this offer.  Recently the program changed again and now five users can purchase the product for $5 per user.  I appreciate that CRM vendors are having a tough time differentiating themselves, but are they now convinced that the sole driver of CRM decisions among small to mid-size companies is price?   This CEO is not.

Warren Buffet once said, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Seems appropriate here doesn’t it.   My firm Commence Corporation has been providing CRM software solutions to small and mid-size business for two decades. Most of the executives we work with are entrepreneurial and savvy operators.  Sure they want the best price they can get, but they are more interested in addressing their business requirements and improving their business than finding the lowest price.   Sometimes their requirements are as simple as data consolidation.  They may be managing their customer data using excel spreadsheets or a contact manager and are unable to consolidate and share the information with the people and departments that need it to efficiently do their jobs.   Some are frustrated with their inability to organize and manage their sales organization and are looking for tools and expertise to assist them. But one thing is for sure: they recognize that a CRM tool on its own at any price is not going to solve their business needs.  They want a CRM partner.

Value Added Services, the True Differentiator

So what do I get for $5 dollars or $9 dollars per user anyway?  What level of service should I expect?  Do I get a documented installation plan that will ensure the successful implementation of the CRM system?  Do I get assistance with data migration? What about training?  Is the CRM vendor available to assist my staff with best practices for data consolidation and data sharing, sales optimization and measurement of sales performance?  Will I get the services I need to address my business challenges and improve my business?   After all, this is why I began the search for a CRM system in the first place.

CRM Partner vs. CRM Vendor

Addressing your business challenges will not be met by the selection of a low cost CRM solution, but instead by engaging the expertise and domain experience of a true business partner. A partner will take responsibility of the successful implementation and utilization of the CRM system.   A partner will provide a high level of service before, during and after the sale and supply the industry and product expertise to ensure that you realize the maximum value from their solution.  The only problem is you cannot get a partner for $5 per user.

Commence Differentiators

Commence Corporation has taken pride not only in our top rated CRM software, but in the world-class service we have provided to our customers.  For more than two decades Commence customers have relied on our expertise and domain experience to ensure the successful utilization of our product and the growth of their business.  This partnership between Commence and our customers have ensured their success as well as ours.

See what customers say about Commence and take a look at my white paper “Don’t Make a CRM Buying Mistake” at www.commence.com.

A standard approach to pursuing and tracking opportunities is a smart way to assure that all sales activities are aligned with organizational goals and the overall direction of sales management. Consistency also reduces the amount of non-value added sales activities such as drafting letters, writing reports, and having lengthy phone calls to determine what stage is next in a sales opportunity.  Having standard terminology saves time and minimizes confusion.

Sales managers benefit from standardized CRM Sales processes because it is also easier to determine how each salesperson is performing.  Opportunities that are stalled in one stage can be identified and resolved.  Salespeople benefit from standardization because they waste less time determining what information is missing and what the next step should be in the workflow. Sales appointments become more productive because they are only conducted when qualified as part of a planned sequence of events.

The high level steps to implement a sales process are:

1. Document your sales process
2. Design your implementation
3. Train your sales team
4. Support the implementation

Some companies adopt branded systems such as Sandler, Solution Selling, Dale Carnegie or others.  Others develop their own systems with distinct terminology; perhaps a hybrid of popular systems or a mix of the techniques used by the company’s most successful sales performers.

A standard sales process allows companies to more easily analyze events and make sense of trends. As a regional sales manager at a mid-sized organization observed, “The only way to discover what’s working and what’s not is to measure the individual steps of the sales process.  If you know the percentages of prospects that proceed through each stage of the process, you accurately predict how many sales will close in the future, based upon the current pipeline.  You can also compare the performance of team members and take appropriate action, like additional coaching, in order to ensure that the team remains productive.”

Applying Best Practices to Sales

Most organizations are not strangers to processes, systems, and re-engineering.  For example, in the manufacturing industry, plants and warehouses couldn’t operate profitably without them and no business manager would let accounting and purchasing departments improvise. The more complex the task, it’s more likely that the effective principles and processeses for successfully completing that task have been defined and codified.  In other words, much of the business world is already highly process-driven, systematized, and automated.

Yet, oftentimes, the sales department hasn’t been automated.  For example, in a recent study of distributor respondents, eighty-eight percent indicated that they do not have a documented, formal sales process.  Given that sales is fundamental and represents a large expense item, it was quite surprising that written sales processes were non-existent for the majority of the study participants.  Without such a document to provide a consistent road map, executives have no choice but to depend on the creativity, work ethic and luck of individual sales reps and their managers.

Organizations without a documented sales process often exhibit several common symptoms, such as a disconnected and manual approach to selling and a lengthy cycle time to find prospects, get quotes out the door, and close orders.  This may in turn lead to irritated prospects, who expect a rapid response to their inquiries or request for a proposal. .  In addition, top sales employees may become annoyed.  They want to sell, not figure out the best way to put prospects in the pipeline, create quotes, enter orders   and track shipments delivered. Other symptoms of process deficiencies include abundant and costly errors, evidenced by expedited orders and high volumes of returns, and inadequate margin on too many quotes, resulting in deflated profitability.  This may lead to stagnant sales from the most important customers and cause engineering and other departments to be pulled into disarray when the sales team gets a request for proposal or learns about a bid opportunity.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.  Many executives voice issues similar to these, yet the remedy seems to be incredibly difficult.  Sales teams are often extremely autonomous, and management struggles to avoid “big brother” accusations and micromanaging.  Despite these legitimate concerns, it is not that difficult to successfully implement a standard sales process.

When reviewing the various sales methodologies and processes available, make sure your final selection is repeatable, predictable, and scalable.  What you want is a sales process that is simply enough that, over time, it will become second nature to the sales staff. Also, make sure that it isn’t too complicated, or the sales team will not use it.

The elements of a sales process typically include:

• a common vocabulary for describing the activities involved in selling
• clearly defined stages of selling
• an agreed upon checklist of what it takes to move from one stage to the next
• consistent guidelines for information to be gathered and given at each stage
• clear expectations for how long each sales stage should take
• concise definition of suggested next actions

When smart organizations are designing a sales process implementation, they focus on change management, not sales training.  By implementing a formalized sales process, businesses are fundamentally changing the way people do their jobs on a daily basis.  There will be natural resistance.  To develop a change management plan, make sure you can answer the following questions:

• What motivation do sales people have to use the new system?
• What potential barriers are there to implementation?
• How can I overcome those barriers?
• How will I know if the implementation is successful?
• What should I expect during the transition?
• Who can people go to if they have questions?

Follow the Leader

One of the best ways to make sure implementations “stick” is to have the management involved.  One recent study found that when sales training is reinforced by management, the sales skills taught during training produced a 15% permanent increase in productivity.

Management needs to be involved in more than a cosmetic fashion.  A senior member of the management team needs to attend the training, and this same manager should inspect the sales activities for a period of time to make sure they continuously are consistent with the new sales introduced during the training.

At the end of the day, the challenge with adopting a new sales process is getting everyone to follow it.  Sales management must lead by example in sales meetings and on sales calls.  An automated workflow reinforced by a CRM system that quickly prompts a salesperson to enter required information before moving to the next sales stage is invaluable. Standard reports and online visibility into the sales pipeline can help monitor the progress of opportunities over time so that both the salesperson and the sales manager can spot when an opportunity is stalled.

As one sales leader summed up his company’s recipe for success: “Our company can’t grow consistently unless the sales process is repeatable, not arbitrary.  For us, it is a condition of employment – you have to embrace the standards, follow the processes and use the CRM system.”

About Commence Corporation: Founded in 1988, Commence develops and delivers a diverse suite of award winning CRM software that integrates people, processes and technology.  Available on-premise or online, Commence CRM solutions are utilized by several thousand businesses to streamline sales and customer service front office business processes.  As a result, Commence clients increase workforce productivity, generate positive customer interactions and reduce operational cost.

TINTON FALLS, N.J., (October 15, 2009) – Commence Corporation, a leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions, today announced that it is extending its managed services offering to existing desktop customers and offering a complimentary software upgrade with its new hosting service.

“Today’s economic crisis has created an environment whereby companies are finding it difficult to upgrade and maintain their own IT infrastructure,” said Larry Caretsky, president of Commence Corporation. “Some have been forced to reduce their IT staff, making the management of their systems even more challenging. As a result, these businesses may now be working with older, fragile hardware or unsupported software and they are rightfully concerned about the impact this will have on their business.”

Commence Corporation has created a unique Managed Service designed to address this business challenge for existing customers.  The service places the role of managing and maintaining the Commence Server hardware and software with Commence Corporation.  It provides customers with the use of state-of-the-art high-speed server hardware at Commence Corporation’s data center as well as 24/7 management of the system by trained engineers. Customers are also entitled to a free software upgrade and continued upgrades for as long as they remain on the service. This ensures that they are always working with the highest quality server hardware and the latest version of the software.

Abhijit Joshi, president of White Hedge Inc., recently switched over to the service and is pleased with the outcome.  “As a small company I did not have the resources to purchase the equipment and staff necessary to manage and maintain my Commence system,” said Joshi.  “In addition, keeping up with the latest product releases became difficult.  By outsourcing this function to Commence I freed up time and resources to dedicate to growing my business while Commence manages and maintains the hardware and software.”

Joshi, is not alone, several dozen new companies are already utilizing Commence’s managed service. For more information contact Commence sales at 1-877 – COMMENCE.

More About Commence Corporation

Founded in 1988, Commence develops and delivers a diverse suite of award-winning CRM products that integrate people, processes and technology. Delivered via the popular software-as-a-service (SaaS) model or implemented as on premised licensed software, Commence CRM solutions are used by thousands of companies to streamline sales and customer service front end business processes.  As a result, Commence clients increase workforce productivity, generate positive customer interactions, and reduce cost. More information about Commence can be accessed at www.commence.com.

Amazon EC2 is a Web service that provides resizable computing capacity for the “cloud,” enabling users to increase or decrease capacity needed for applications within minutes. In the EC2 environment, Commence’s popular CRM software will be run on secure, shared servers; customers will not need a data center, additional office space, or a technology team. The service will be offered under a subscription model, enabling customers to pay only for the functionality they desire.

“We are excited to leverage Amazon’s EC2 cloud computing environment and take advantage of the increased scalability, high availability, reliability and disaster recovery options that it offers, ” commented Todd Pape, chief technology officer at Commence. “This approach enables us to offer a world-class solution to our customers at a fraction of the cost of implementation on their own. In addition, the service leverages Amazon’s global cloud data centers enabling Commence to further extend our service within Europe.”

Commence provides a central CRM database for capturing, managing and sharing vital customer information, while customers retain ownership of data and business processes. It can be tailored to fit different industries and business requirements and, with the cloud technology, there are no restrictions on customizability. Its adaptable, modular design allows users to select applications from a comprehensive suite of business CRM functions, including contact management, lead management, activity management, sales force automation, marketing and campaign management, quoting, project management and customer service.

Commence Corporation, a leading provider of customer  relationship management (CRM  ) software solutions designed specifically for small- to mid-size businesses, today announced enhancements to its reports  library in the newest version of its software-as-a-service (SaaS) CRM solution, Commence OnDemand.

“While most CRM solutions offer report writing capabilities, the small- to mid-size business sector often under utilizes this capability simply because they do not have the time or resources to design the reports. With Commence OnDemand, users can view pre-built reports immediately with a simple click of the mouse. Sales and marketing management, for example, can easily access strategic reports such as a 30-, 60-, 90-day forecast, sales activity by sales rep or customer account or marketing campaign analysis. Customer service can review the number of open support tickets, who is handling them and how long they have been open,” commented Larry Caretsky, Commence’s CEO. “For many of the reports, users can choose between text-based or graphic formats.”

With capabilities that rival many enterprise-level solutions, Commence OnDemand provides a central database for capturing, managing and sharing vital customer information. Its customizable, modular design allows users to select applications from a comprehensive suite of business functions, including contact management, lead management, activity management, sales force automation, marketing and campaign management, quoting, project management, and customer service. A flexible, Web-based hosted solution, Commence OnDemand provides automatic updates and enhancements and seamlessly integrates with both PC and Mac operating systems.

The enhanced reports library is available immediately to Commence OnDemand customers. More information about Commence OnDemand can be accessed at www.commence.com.

I am delighted to invite you to follow Commence Corporation on Twitter and on our new Commence Blog. More and more businesses and individuals are relying on social networking to convey and receive information quickly and simply. Commence’s new social networking presence via blog postings and “tweets” will enable us to enhance our communication and build closer relationships with customers. Whether it’s the latest news on our flexible suite of award-winning CRM products or news in the sales and customer service industries, Commence looks to educate and inform our customers.

Commence’s Twitter followers were the first to know about our new drip marketing functionality. The newest version of Commence OnDemand, a flexible, Web-based hosted CRM solution, now enables marketing teams to automate, and schedule the delivery of text-based or HTML-based e-mail marketing campaigns. Commence understands that companies are being challenged to do more with less. Commence OnDemand’s breadth of functionality – such as our new drip marketing capabilities – makes it the ideal solution for small to medium-sized businesses that want to have one system that manages CRM, sales and marketing. By following us on Twitter or at our blog, you’ll be among the first to learn about product enhancements and industry news.

Larry Caretsky, Chief Executive Officer

Image Credit: by Tstilz source Wikimedia license Public Domain from acobox.com