Full Sail Partners Blog | CRM (2)

We encounter many numbers throughout our lives. Over time, perhaps we learn which ones matter to us and which ones are just a number. So, when is a number just a number? One place to look is with Deltek Vantagepoint project numbers.  

After working countless hours with firms for their Deltek Vision to Vantagepoint, some of the more engaging and attention-grabbing conversations include project creation and project numbering. It turns out some firms rely quite heavily on project numbers. While this is technically not wrong, it may just be causing more pain than value. Wait until your Vantagepoint users see how much easier things can be in Vantagepoint when you stop caring so much about the number. 

New Deltek Vantagepoint Projects Hub 

The projects hub has expanded its use in Vantagepoint. It now captures the entire life cycle of a project - from pursuit through awarded and completed project. This means that a project number is assigned from the start.  

Because of this, the project number initially created is just that-a number. It doesn’t really matter. GASP! 

Project Numbers can now be “Dumb” 

In the past, many Deltek Vision users set up “smart” project numbers. Other users may have used numbers so complex; they could call them “brilliant” numbers. Over time, project numbers were heavily relied on to tell a story of the year it was created, the client, the number of projects the firm had with the said client, and so on.  

While some firms invested in scripting to automate the smart numbers, others had their staff complete forms to submit to accounting and perhaps a pair of employees was responsible for assigning the next project number based on a coveted spreadsheet. Get rid of the firm’s project setup forms forever with Vantagepoint! 

Let the System do the Heavy Lifting with Autonumbering  

 Who doesn’t want to make their workday easier? One-way Vantagepoint helps with this is by setting up autonumbering. Deltek Vantagepoint project autonumbering, proper education and training can give users independence to enter and track their own pursuit and project efforts. Talk about streamlining processes!  

 The autonumbering feature in Deltek Vantagepoint automatically generates an identification number for new records, including project records. And, in the autonumbering setup firms can define the structure of the project number to match the business requirements.  

How to Configure Autonumbering 

A Deltek administrator can enable automatic numbering by going into Settings > Workflow > Numbering. See the screenshot below. 

Then hover over the row of the system numbering format to update. For this example, select Project then go to the column called Auto Number Source. See in the screenshot below the various options to create an auto number source including Expression, Stored Procedure or Web Service.  

Below is an example of using the Expression Auto Number Source. When that option is selected, there are a few options. First, is that autonumbering can be set up for Overhead, Promotional and Regular project charge types. Once the charge type is selected, the Project Auto Number Format can be defined by inserting a row for each component of the project number.  

In the example below, this client wanted to show the year the project record was created in four characters, the next project in the sequence beginning at 439 with two leading zeroes, and, finally, a period followed by the project center level of office.  

Below the Project Auto Number Format grid are a few fields specific to which row is highlighted. In this screenshot, the “characters” row is selected so it’s displaying that specific row’s sequence number length, sequence number position and starting sequence number, 439. As each row is built, the sample value field will update.  

Once that is defined and saved, every time a new regular project is created, the number will automatically populate. Users won’t have to think about which project number to use next nor fill out a form to get the “next” project number from a separate log or notebook. See the screenshot below for how this will look for users. 

Autonumbering is defined as a Regular project record. 

 Autonumbering is defined as a promotional project record. 

Don’t Stop with Just Project Numbers 

The autonumbering function is not just available for project records. Deltek Vantagepoint has made autonumbering available for employees, firms, marketing campaigns, equipment and user-defined hubs. And, other areas with numbers can be automated too including phases, tasks, accounts, units, accounts, vendors, company, office, discipline, and more! 

Once you’ve crossed over to the autonumbering dark side, you’ll want to set it up for everything in Deltek Vantagepoint. Click below to learn more about Full Sail Partners Deltek Vision to Vantagepoint upgrade assistance services. 

The Vantagepoint Connect add-in with Vantagepoint CRM provides two-way synchronization of your contacts and calendar items within your Outlook email application. Outlook Connect empowers users across the firm to help nurture client relationships and collaborate with your team. While in Outlook, users can pin the context pane, so it remains visible. This allows the ability to view contacts and firms in the context of the active email addresses to provide quick insight to contact and firm information along with activity, pursuits, projects, and marketing campaigns. This visibility provides the entire team with valuable information while emailing and scheduling meetings. Let's take a look at how Deltek Vantagepoint Connect empowers users at your firm. 

Executives Seeking to Unify Their Team 

Sharing critical data easily across the firm is a key objective, yet a challenge for every executive. Managing and sharing data across the organization increases the ability to make crucial decisions across the business. Accessing data in a tool, like Outlook, that the firm uses on a daily basis eliminates roadblocks and redundancies for users across the company. With Deltek Vantagepoint Connect, Outlook allows users to search for and view information entered in Vantagepoint for any firm, contact, or project while in the tool. 

Increasing Client Communication Tracking for Marketing & Sales Teams 

When different departments approach tracking data in different ways, it adds barriers for marketing and sales to attain a holistic view across the firm. Identifying how to provide quick access to users entering and pursuing business across the firm ensures marketing and sales are able to provide meaningful reporting about the firm’s efforts. While using Outlook, team members now have the ability to create firms, contacts, pursuits, projects and activities within Vantagepoint as they are responding or sending emails. Having client data at your fingertips promotes transparency across the firm and improves communication to ensure departments are no longer working in silos. Outlook Connect integration is a vital tool to connect to your ERP to help marketing and sales strengthen collaboration across the company.    

Improving Project Management Productivity 

Project Managers live by tasks and schedules. During a project, a task is much more than just a to-do. It is also the way project-based firms bill for their time. Project Managers additionally need the ability to schedule and synchronize internal calendars and meetings. With the Vantagepoint Outlook Connect, users can now synchronize calendar items between Outlook and Vantagepoint. This eliminates the need to enter data twice.  

Outlook Connect also streamlines the process of scheduling meetings through the Scheduling Assistant. Through the Scheduling Assistant, clients can see the team's availability and choose a time to meet that works with both of their schedules. The client only sees available times and does not see any other details or appointments on your calendar. Alternatively, project managers can also provide specific times that are available for the entire team and provide defined time slots to the client. Once they choose a time, all internal team members will receive an invitation on their calendar. Lastly, when a calendar event is shared with Vantagepoint, users can log that time to their timesheet. Talk about improving productivity! 

Accessing Financial and Project Client Communication History   

Many times, firms may overlook finance’s need to access client data from Outlook. Finance always seems to be in the ERP system working on billing, AR and financial reports. However, Outlook is something they also use on a daily basis. One key way finance may find value from Outlook Connect is its ability to log email or correspondence related to billing. Outstanding AR, project contract documentation and contract changes should all be logged in your ERP related to the client, contact and project. Documenting correspondence and keeping client communication up to date guarantees all team members have access to the latest client communication history.   

Enable Your Professional Services Team 

Data has the potential to transform professional services firms' business when users share information across their entire company. No matter what role you are in, getting helpful data into the hands of your users enables them to make informed, data-driven decisions. Check out our past mini-demonstrations to see how Deltek Vantagepoint + Outlook is changing the way CRM is managed by professional services firms. 

Click the image below to learn how Full Sail Partners can help you Synchronize Your Business Outlook Calendar with Deltek Vantagepoint. 

For professional services firms to be successful, they need a client relationship management (CRM) system to help them focus their business development strategies to identify prospective projects and to nurture client relationships to ensure they win new projects. Furthermore, an effective CRM system requires firm employees to use the system and this is not just directed to the business development team. This requires the entire firm to be updating client records to ensure the most up-to-date information is available for business development. However, firms that have invested in a CRM system seem to have a common hurdle which is employee adoption. Here are a few things that can negatively impact user adoption at your firm.

The Lack of Defined Processes

Time and time again, firms roll out a new CRM system with the assumption that it’s just requires switching it on, and it’ll take care of itself. However, this is not the case. Firms need to first start off by identifying what goals they want to achieve so they can actually see results. Once they have their goals identified, a formal process needs to be outlined to ensure the CRM system is utilized in a way the benefits firm and aligns with current marketing and business development procedures. Here are some things to consider when defining a process:

• What is a lead and when does a lead become an opportunity?
• Who has the information at your firm that needs to be entered about a contact?
• Who can update contacts and what can they update?
• What role is responsible for cleaning up the CRM database?
• What reports are required for different roles?

Misguided Goals

Goal setting for business development teams are far too often focused on dollar amounts and win rates. However, this thought process ignores setting goals that align with the firm’s strategy for achieving their targeted dollar amounts and win rates. For example, the sales cycle to win a project for many professional services firms can be months to years depending on the industry. Therefore, having a goal that helps the business development team keep up with touchpoints helps ensure client relationships are being properly managed. So when considering goals, it’s important to develop goals that align with your firm’s strategic client management process.

Picking the Wrong CRM Solution for Your Firm

There are several things to consider when selecting a CRM solution for your firm. Firstly, not all CRM systems are the same and have different capabilities to support different industries. For instance, having a CRM system that integrates with your firm’s accounting and project management platforms is essential for professional services firms. Especially if you want all your firm’s data in one central location and your desire is for people to utilize the CRM system. An example of this is a firm that uses Deltek Vantagepoint or Vision for their accounting and project management, the obvious CRM system selection is Deltek CRM.

Additionally, system integration is great, but having a CRM system that has a friendly user interface is important as well to increase user adoption. By selecting a system that is intuitive and well designed, implementing a CRM adoption directive will most likely succeed across your firm.

Increase CRM Adoption

Many firms struggle with getting employees to adopt a new system. However, this does not have to be the case. By setting goals and processes for different teams within your organization to encourage use, your employees will be able to see the value of the CRM system. Lastly, make sure to point out the fact that a CRM system will help your firm continue to grow and be successful in the future.   

The world of professional services firms revolves around clients and projects. It’s a daily process of finding new clients and pursuing them for new work with hopes that all this effort equates to a winning project. While some firms chose to treat this like a rat race, others have learned that it’s more efficient to be strategic and intentional with their tactics. The latter has also likely adopted Deltek Vantagepoint CRM. Which enables professional services firms to use data to make actionable decisions that generate profitable projects.

Use Deltek Vantagepoint CRM to Track Client Relationships

Touchpoints galore! That’s right, professional services firms have touchpoints with numerous people at client firms and the information gained during these interactions needs to be collected and stored in one common place. By having these insights stored in a centralized system, firm marketing and business development teams can identify new pipeline opportunities and nurture key relationships.

Additionally, Deltek Vantagepoint CRM is the only real project-based CRM and supports the “seller-doer” model. The “seller-doer” model is when project managers and/or consultants are responsible for providing their services as well as generating new work. With Vantagepoint, “seller-doers” can easily record client touchpoints since they are in the same system being used to deliver and manage projects and engagements.

Gain Insights into Client Interests

Creating the right messaging and keeping clients engaged is a daily battle for marketers. Each victory is one step closer to winning the war, or in this case, new work. In this modern-day business development warfare, insights into client behavior are the weapons to success. Marketing campaigns in Deltek Vantagepoint can be used to track and measure the success of particular marketing efforts. Initiatives such as email blasts, webinars, industry conference sponsorships and more can all be tracked in Vantagepoint marketing campaigns.

Using these insights, marketers can determine which techniques and messages are working best to keep clients engaged. Business development teams can identify firms and contacts that are demonstrating high levels of interest and know what is getting their attention. As a result, relationships can be nurtured, and proposals can be more tailored to address the unique needs of a client.

Identify Opportunities and Create Winning Proposals

Often, it’s not just about finding new work, but it’s also about picking which request for proposals (RFPs) to pursue. Let’s admit, proposals are time consuming and often require the involvement of staff from several departments. Furthermore, firms often lack a go/no go process that is based on actual data. However, that doesn’t need to be the case if firms are using Deltek Vantagepoint.

Vantagepoint is a single source of truth since it contains project pursuit and opportunity information. Prior to picking which RFPs to pursue, business development teams using Vantagepoint can:

• Identify if internal resources are available to assist with the response.
• Apply lessons learned from previous wins and losses.
• Use quantifiable data to determine if an opportunity is financially beneficial for the firm.

After deciding which new RFPs to pursue, Vantagepoint remains a handy tool for the team responsible for preparing the proposal response. Being a project-focused CRM tool, the new pursuit stage begins by capturing project information in a new project. This allows the team to build an actual project plan with assigned resources, timelines, and budgets to ensure the final proposed project can be delivered in a profitable manner.

Additionally, past project information with descriptions, pictures, budgets and more can be included as reference project information. As is the same for resumes of employees that are identified as key resources for the project.

Automate Activities, Notifications and More with Workflows in Deltek Vantagepoint CRM

Updating data and maintaining clean accurate data is a daily struggle. More importantly, without taking the time to keep data up to date, it eventually becomes useless. Workflows are essential for automating repetitive tasks and notifying people about actions that need to be taken. In Deltek Vantagepoint workflows can:

• Update a client record when a change to the client field is made in a user defined grid.
• Provide an error notification with a user fails to update a required field or uses a wrong value.
• Trigger follow-up reminders for predefined activities in a marketing campaign.
• Automate the RFP go/no go process.

While these are just a few examples of workflows available in Vantagepoint, a Full Sail Partners’ consultant can help identify more workflows a firm can utilize to meet their unique needs. Click here to reach a crew member.

Win More Work with Deltek Vantagepoint CRM

Being that Deltek Vantagepoint is a project-centric CRM, it’s built and designed for the way professional services firms do business. Firms using Vantagepoint CRM gain a clear vision into their business development pipeline, nurture the right client relationships at the right time, and can propose competitive and reliable project bids. Now is the time to adopt Vantagepoint CRM and all its capabilities to win more business.

It seems like déjà vu and it should. It’s the same scenario played out over and over again for every proposal professional. Sitting in a dimly lit room with a lukewarm cup of coffee behind stacks of RFPs with pages upon pages to read. This entire process seems to be on constant repeat as you extract important details to determine which RFP is the winning one for your firm. However daunting and looming the task seems, the process is necessary.

For a proposal professional, the repetitive preparatory tasks are important since they are the gatekeeper that determine which RFPs receive a response. As a result, this responsibility requires analyzing specific metrics and information to determine which RFP your firm can win. In doing so, they utilize the infamous go/no go process to compare the details within the RFP to determine which opportunity is the best fit for their firm. But what if there was a solution that can help select the winning RFP for your firm? Well, there is since Deltek Vantagepoint CRM is more than your average CRM.

Deltek Vantagepoint is Your Source of Truth

A major benefit to starting the go/no go process with the Deltek Vantagepoint is that it already contains project pursuit and opportunity information. By using Vantagepoint early on in the process, you can:

• Identify available internal resources to assist with the RFP response
• Compare previous wins/losses and apply lessons learned for better decision making
• Quantify the go/no go process to make more objective decisions
• Avoid high risk pursuits and projects
• Improve your overall win rate
• Use automatic notifications to stakeholders to inform them of the go/no go decision and next steps

Utilize Vantagepoint User Defined Fields and Workflows

With user defined fields, a go/no go process can be created based on your firm’s needs. From simple to complex, Vantagepoint can be aligned to meet your business goals. User defined fields allow your firm to capture intel during the go/no go process and even apply a numeric score to criteria your firm uses to make a final decision. If your firm chooses to use a numeric score, a workflow in Vantagepoint can be created to determine whether or not to pursue an opportunity. A short list of some great areas to track using a numeric score that can be calculated using a workflow are:

• Experience with type of work in the RFP
• Client relationship type
• Client relationship status
• Past project performance for client
• Amount of work to be subbed
• When did you learn about the opportunity (before advertised, etc.)
• Does the project align with the firm’s strategic plan
• Can we compete with known competition
• Number of competitors
• Is there an incumbent

Implementing Deltek Vantagepoint CRM for the Go/No Go Process

When adding Vantagepoint CRM into your firm’s go/no go process, it’s important to thoroughly evaluate:

• If you’re asking the correct questions and weighting them appropriately
• Past wins and losses to identify what questions you could have asked to make a better go /no go decision
• Ways to simplify the process for others in your firm like project managers and senior management
• Collaborate with others at your firm on questions and metrics that should be included
• Test, test and test again to fine-tune the go/no go process

Start picking the winning RFP for your firm by using Vantagepoint CRM in your go/no go process.

For professional services firms, business development can be completed both with dedicated resources and/or “seller-doers.” Because our firms have touchpoints with multiple people at our client organizations, information gathering and sharing becomes a critical piece to the success of our business development. When our firms can successfully manage the numerous interactions, identify projects that add to our pipeline, and collect the right information to position our firm better than our competitors, we win more projects, improve client satisfaction, and increase loyalty.

The abilities of Deltek Vantagepoint CRM can provide business developers, project managers, marketing staff, and executives with real-time information on all of the client touchpoints, project pipelines, marketing and service efforts. This ensures all firm goals are being met and provides for the shared resource of firmwide data. Deltek Vantagepoint’s CRM strengthens your business development in the following ways:

Record Interactions On-the-Fly

The power of a CRM comes when everyone records conversations or information related to interactions with clients and contacts. Vantagepoint CRM provides users several ways to record these Activities and Touchpoints.

1. Web Brower – You can access Vantagepoint to record a contact interaction from your computer, laptop, tablet or phone using any web browser.
2. Hey Deltek! – Watch out Alexa, because there’s a new voice command in town! Deltek has developed its very own voice automated service. You can use this now in the web browser and coming soon to the CRM mobile app. Simply record an activity by speaking to Hey Deltek!
3. Mobile CRM App – The Vantagepoint CRM app is available for both iOS and Android devices. Access all of your Firms, Contacts, Activities, and Projects inside the app. You can use your phone’s native talk to text feature to automatically log activities and meeting notes.
4. Outlook Connect – Coming in early 2021 is the new Vantagepoint Outlook Connect. This integration includes a contextual email pane to view contact details, search Vantagepoint and create new records from your email. You will also be able to sync your contacts and calendar directly from Outlook to Vantagepoint. Connect also includes a scheduling assistant to help you find the perfect meeting time without all of the back and forth emails.

Vantagepoint makes it easier than ever for busy business development and technical professionals to log the critical information needed to build strong relationships with your clients.

Easily Uncover Client and Contact Relationships

Vantagepoint associates its Hub and Record information throughout the database. There are Hubs for Firms, Contacts, and Projects that are all interconnected. This means that you can associate any firm that is involved in a project – from teaming partners to program managers and general contractors. And, each time a firm is associated to a project, that project then appears on that firm’s record in the Firm Hub. This same association works for contacts and employees as well. It also gives your business development team the insight into the relationships of your firm with your clients, contacts, employees, and projects – all in one location!

Support the Entire Business Development and Project Lifecycle

The business development process often begins with targeting clients, then getting to know contacts at those client organizations. Through this effort, projects are identified. At this point, your team begins preparing for the pursuit of that project through teaming, proposals, and/or presentations. The goal is to win that project and perform so well that you are awarded with repeat work.

Deltek Vantagepoint is designed specifically to support the entire project lifecycle beginning with the earliest business development stages. When you are targeting clients, you will be utilizing the Firms, Contacts, and Marketing Campaigns Hubs. In those you can begin to gather information about contacts and activities.

Then as a project is identified, it’s logged into the Projects Hub in a pursuit stage. You will continue to use this same record through the pursuit and proposal stages. When this project record is created, a plan is also created so your project manager can begin to allocate resources and develop estimates.

When you are awarded the project, you will continue to use that same project record and update the stage and budget. All of the intelligence gathered in the pursuit of the project remains in the same project record you will continue to use to perform the project. This gives your business development and marketing staff the complete picture and history for that entire project.

Bring Everything and Everyone Together

Not only does the Vantagepoint solution encourage a collaborative environment, but it brings all your firm’s business development processes into one unified platform. This enables business developers to do their jobs better. Be sure to check out our entire Deltek Vantagepoint mini-series to see how the product can help your employees and firm.

Have you ever noticed how the proposal process tends to fly by leaving you scrambling as the deadline nears? When producing proposals, project-related information needs to be found quickly. Of course, speed is important in the search, but data accuracy is imperative. Gathering accurate project details in a timely manner is a challenge I hear of nearly every day from marketing and proposal managers at project-based firms. Fortunately, with Deltek Vantagepoint, your teams can easily capture project information and reference it quickly when it matters most– during proposal crunch time. Let’s dive a little deeper.

Identify the Key Project Information You Need for Proposals

The Deltek Vantagepoint Projects Hub will become your one source of truth for the project information you need to rely on to produce winning proposals. The image below shows a project experience page created using Deltek Vantagepoint Custom Proposals. The page was built based on information captured in the Projects Hub and includes fields such as project name, project description, client name, project manager, and square footage along with a few project images.

Capture Information While Pursuing the Project

Using Deltek Vantagepoint, capturing critical project information begins in the pursuit stage. Because Deltek Vantagepoint has one project record that is maintained from opportunity to pursuit to proposal and eventually to a regular project record, the information captured during the pursuit never gets lost or goes unused.

The image above is showing a project in a pursuit stage. We can tell this record is in a pursuit stage because the coloring in the left-hand summary pane is gold and the Stage is labeled as Pending. During this stage, there is common key project information that is typically collected as part of the proposal process.

Much of the information you will eventually need for your project cut sheets and proposals is typically known during the pursuit stage, and thus can be collected and stored inside the project record in Deltek Vantagepoint.

Examples of common key project information include:

• Project Name
• Primary Client and Contact
• Project Location
• Key Team Members, such as Principal-in-Charge, Project Manager

You can also identify other team members, both internal and external to your firm, for the project. See image below.

Over on the Dates & Costs tab, you can begin to capture the estimated project start and completion dates.

You may even have some information about the project from the RFP or client description of the project. Deltek Vantagepoint allows you to easily store an initial project description on the Proposals tab.

Move From Pursuit to Billable Project Without Losing Key Information

Now you might be thinking, why would I want to store this information into a record that is in pursuit? Well, Deltek Vantagepoint makes it seamless to move from a pursuit stage to an awarded project stage. When you make that move, all of the information captured in the pursuit stage stays with the awarded project record. This makes the process more efficient. Information is entered only once and is used throughout the project lifecycle.

Access the Data You Need When You Need It

Once you have won the project and are performing the work, you can easily continue to enter and access key project data:

Key Team Members

Over on the Team tab, Employees are automatically added to the project when they charge time to that project on their timesheet. Then, you can easily update their role on the project.

In the image above, you can also see the number of hours employees have charged to this project. Additionally on the Team tab, you can add external contacts that should be associated with the project. You can even identify who should be the project reference (for future proposals, of course).

Project Descriptions

As the project evolves, you will have more details to include in the project description. That information can quickly be added to Deltek Vantagepoint on the Proposals tab. Deltek Vantagepoint allows you to store different types of project descriptions that you may need for different uses. Examples may include short description, long description, key features, etc.

Firms often have a primary project description that is used on project cut sheets, but then may need a project description that is shorter. The shorter descriptions might be good for resumes or when page limits are tight. You can mark one description as the default by checking the default checkbox. No matter how you use your project descriptions, Deltek Vantagepoint makes it easy to store and use project descriptions for proposals.

Track Project Awards

Chances are you have some award-winning projects. Vantagepoint makes it easy to track what awards your projects win in the Awards grid as shown in the image above.

Project Photos

If you want to use project photos in your proposals, Deltek Vantagepoint allows you to store and manage images and other project related documents on the Files & Links tab.

Information Specific to Your Firm’s Projects

If there is information that is specific to your firm’s project, Deltek Vantagepoint allows you to create custom fields, grids, and tabs. The image below is showing a custom tab called Project Information. On this, I have added custom fields like square footage or number of floors. Other popular custom fields are around tracking sustainability goals such as LEED Certifications.

Drive Success with Deltek Vantagepoint

As you can see, Deltek Vantagepoint allows you to easily track key project information through the entire project lifecycle, from initial lead to project completion. That information can then be quickly used to build winning proposals that drive success for your firm. 

Last year, we conducted multiple CRM workshops throughout the US. We received such great feedback that we wanted to do it again. This year we are offering a virtual experience and it will be a "bootcamp" to get your CRM into shape. This bootcamp is focused on helping your firm discover how to better utilize your Deltek Vision CRM system. If you are considering attending but aren’t sure if the bootcamp is right for you, here are some key reasons to attend.

• Native State of CRM - Many attendees remarked that it was great to see what Deltek looked like before their firm customized it. Many of our attendees did not realize how much their system had been changed by past employees. That insight provided them a baseline of what changes had been made allowing them to rethink some of the custom fields previously added. Now is the perfect time to understand the original form of your system and reevaluate processes prior to upgrading to Deltek Vantagepoint.
• Hands-On - Although delivered in a virtual format, each session will be hands-on and interactive. Users will be given access to a Deltek Vision CRM database to follow along with the presenter during each session. Each bootcamp series is limited to only 20 people to allow for maximum participation and engagement. Each attendee will learn how to better utilize and configure a Deltek Vision CRM system and set-up useful reporting metrics for agile decision making. 
  
• Expand Your Thinking – For best results, firm attendees would include someone who is leading the CRM strategy and someone who is responsible for implementing the strategy. Although this bootcamp focuses on the fundamentals, it also will teach how to define strategies that will help you better recognize and manage client, contact, and partner touchpoints. The best CRM system works in combination with accounting.
  
• Adequate Time for Questions – With this year’s workshop split into four two-hour sessions, attendees will have even more time to play with their sample database and come back with questions. The workshop was already designed to allow plenty of time for this. With the new format, we anticipate even more in-depth and insightful discussions and questions.

What Did Past Attendees Think?

Following the 2019 workshop series, 56.5% of attendees responded to a request for their feedback. Of those that responded, ALL felt the workshop met or exceeded their expectations. Accuracy, Responsiveness, and Schedule received the highest response rate. Each of them received an average of 6.3, which means the workshop exceeded expectations, based on the Client Feedback response rate. Attendees were asked these questions:

There have likely been times where you desired to get healthier and stronger. You cannot just wake up one day, eat well, exercise, and see the results of your efforts instantaneously. You must have the desire to change, recognize the benefits of doing so, keep your WHY at the top of your mind, and identify long-term goals. Just like in your personal life, lifestyle changes are necessary on the business front to see real success, and client relationship management (CRM) is a large part of making that happen.

Professional services firms offer services, and it is all about the knowledge and expertise of a firm’s professionals and trust in the brand. The art of building relationships and earning trust takes time, thought, and coordination within your team. CRM tools keep track of these communications, and consistency is what builds the data. With this data, you can establish long-term goals that you strive to meet. The positive results from choosing to use an effective CRM make it worth your while to change your work lifestyle.  

Accomplish More

The benefits of a personal healthier lifestyle may be having more energy, feeling more confident, and accomplishing goals that have felt distant. Likewise, for businesses, process and habit improvements offer benefits such as boosting productivity, increasing communication with clients, and crushing sales goals. Implementing a CRM helps you work more effectively as a team while adding productivity time back to your schedule. If CRM data is captured timely and correctly, it takes significantly less time to “research” what the latest communications and outcomes were with clients.

Think of employee-client interactions and the information that is gathered as a firm resource. Business resources are meant to be shared efficiently, and that information should be available when others need it. Furthermore, new information is constantly coming in and a CRM tool provides your teams a platform to document and share this information, keeping everyone informed.

Use the Technology at your Fingertips

As new information comes in from various sources, real-time data is crucial. This is achievable with the mobile capabilities of a strong CRM. Therefore, documenting information after each engagement brings consistency and a positive habit. With a firm-wide CRM, you can stay on top of your communications and proactively reach out to clients.

Additionally, as there are web-based apps to track exercise stats, sleep habits, and food intake, there are also apps that streamline business matters. All data from these apps, such as email, can be incorporated and captured into your firm CRM. While technology can help guide us, we are ultimately responsible for holding ourselves accountable for the improvements. 

Use Accountability to Create Consistency 

Just like having an accountability partner in an exercise or health program, employees should be accountable for keeping their colleagues informed. When we have dated action items as a CRM may show, the transparency should drive employees to stay on top of their tasks. However, there needs to be support and enforcement from all levels of leadership to make sure this happens. Consistency is crucial to success.

Get Over the Hurdle

According to the 40^th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture Engineering Industry Study, only 14% of firms planned to invest in marketing intel and CRM systems. Is your firm part of that 14%? CRMs have advanced greatly, and the capabilities of an effective CRM support and encourage accountability, teamwork, outreach, and relationships. After some time, your firm will not remember business without an efficient tool like a CRM. These positive habits will stick with the firm for years to come, just like a lifestyle change for a healthier you.

A CRM system, or Customer Relationship Management system, is a technology tool that allows you to track important details about your customers. Firms need to know which product or service the customer currently has and want the ability to monitor the customer’s buying journey and needs. A CRM system also helps support the firm’s overall goals and strategies within each department. Let’s take a better look at what a CRM system can do for your firm.

Create More Revenue with a CRM

Sales teams use a CRM to conduct research as well as find new leads for future opportunities. A CRM system offers an abundance of information that can increase productivity when it comes to generating new sales. The CRM system can be used to track client communications which enables sales representatives to build stronger relationships with their customers and create new streams of revenue that grow firm profits. Furthermore, a CRM system can provide interactive analytical tools that give the sales force an accurate insight into a customer’s interests and needs. Sales representatives can then have more productive conversations with their leads and continue to develop personal relationships.

Along with building stronger relationships, a CRM solution can help a firm figure out the most effective sales practices and use that information to better their sales team. Staying abreast of proven processes will keep your sales team up to date on the fastest and most effective way to move a lead to a sale. 

Work More Efficiently

Similar to sales, marketing can benefit tremendously from the use of a CRM system. First off, the relationship between the marketing team and sales team is crucial to ensure customer needs are being met. With everyone actively using a CRM system for customer information, sales and marketing results can be seen across the board. Communication between sales and marketing will improve since both teams will have access to the most relevant data.

A CRM system can also be used to track marketing campaign success. The marketing team can evaluate how effective different marketing campaigns were including the costs which can help determine the best use of marketing department funds. With this available data, the marketing team can additionally change certain parts of the campaigns and maybe personalize some better for certain customers.

Improve the Customer Experience

Making sure customers are satisfied with their experience with your firm is very important. The customer service team relies on being able to measure things such as customer retention, satisfaction, and what is and is not working. This data can be tracked using a CRM system. If a customer did not have a good experience, the cause of the problem can be determined, and customer service can figure out what needs to be done in the future to prevent that situation from happening again. This information can then be relayed back to the sales and marketing teams so they can fix the issue on their side.

Why a CRM System is Right for Your Firm!

To be successful in any business, working smarter and most efficiently is very important. A CRM system can provide your firm with the metrics and relevant data to see how well your firm is meeting customer needs. Additionally, a CRM system offers the most accurate and up to date information allowing all department teams to work together seamlessly and effectively. Are you ready to take advantage of a CRM system?