He said he was running into a sales meeting with the President and asked if I could quickly give him my opinion on Salesforce implementation principles that drive Salesforce user adoption.  So I said two things:

1. Implement Salesforce using a Crawl, Walk, Run approach
2. Focus on giving the users REAL value

For the sake of my reader I’ll explain further.  The big idea in any Salesforce implementation, in my opinion, is to find something that truly benefits the user.  In many cases Salesforce, with its tremendous features, provides real value simply because of the capabilities it provides.  That said, many companies still struggle to get the results they want from it.  In my experience most of this occurs because one or both of the principles I mentioned above is violated.

I believe that most companies try to implement too much change too soon and they don’t have a clear picture of what drives real value for a sales user.   In many cases Salesforce is implemented because management wants a software tool for sales management and this takes priority over creating a tool that sales people can use to increase their individual sales.

In my opinion here are a couple of ideas that can help companies identify these benefits that will get sales people excited about using Salesforce.

1. Help them sell more!  This starts by doing a lot of work for the rep.  I’m a big believer in giving reps actionable intelligence from other systems right in Salesforce.  This means using data integration to integrate accounting, ERP Software, and sales data warehouses directly into Salesforce.  But more importantly, it’s formatting or “interpreting” the data in a way that allows the reps to use the info immediately.  By giving them data that is already interpreted for them they can immediately take action on it in their territory.  Here’s an example screen from one of our products that helps reps clearly see sales trends with customers they should know about and take action on.
2. Eliminate Non-Selling Activities!  Salesforce is very easy to tailor to reduce cumbersome or repetitive tasks.  With a little bit of examination it is easy to determine what tasks are being duplicated and workflow or visual force pages can be created that make these tasks one button operations that speed up the rep.
3. Give the rep time back.  Sounds obvious but in many cases reps are asked to do a lot of activities and we can streamline many of these based on what I mentioned before.  But I believe if you tie the use of Salesforce to “Giving time back” and mean it, they will be eager to use the tool because it benefits them.  I included an example of a territory planning tool that we’ve created to help reps maximize their time in territory.
4. Give to Get.  In many cases if we give the reps the tools they need we will also get the information from the rep such as activity or call notes that management also needs.  It’s also so much easier to get this info from a tool that’s being actively used by the reps and provides real value.

In closing the main point here is to identify key business processes that can be implemented and enhanced very quickly and provide real value to users like sales people and help them increase sales and productivity.  With these ideas in mind our clients can drive the sales behavior necessary via analytics and dashboards that help them increase sales and create very happy users.

Well, no one, I’m thinking.  Should I be concerned that I used to have braces and a mullet?

I digress.  But that’s not what people mean when they talk about Social Networking for Business.  I have been struggling for a few years to really understand how Social Networking fits in and I’m not going to suggest by any means that I’ve figured it out.

So I was reading a book called “Eat People” by Andy Kessler a few months ago and he described Mark Zuckerburg’s vision for Facebook.  He relayed a story where Mark had not studied for an art history class, or even been to class, and decided to create a facebook-like page as a “study guide”.

He sent a link of the “study guide” to all the students and asked them to make comments on certain pieces of art, etc.  Long story, short:  Mark got an A in the class, but even more interesting is that the entire class had the highest total score of any class for that subject.

Why did this happen?  Well, Kessler goes on to say that what Mark was trying to create was a way to “absorb” what was happening with the art pictures.  Rather than reading a text book, the web interface he built made it easy for people to absorb or consume what was relevant and important.

This is one of the ideas that’s core to Facebook.  It’s easy to absorb what’s happening with your 600 closest friends.  So does that mean everyone should have a business Facebook page?

That’s not the point I’m trying to make.  What I think is now more possible with tools like Facebook, but not necessarily Facebook, is using the power of collaboration in a way that makes it easy for people to “absorb” what’s happening in their business with customers, employees, vendors, etc.

In the enterprise software world I play in that’s Salesforce’s Chatter.  We are just beginning to see how our clients are using Chatter to collaborate more seamlessly and with less effort.  It’s exciting to see a simple idea provide some real value.

We have recently created a very simple tool that leverages Chatter that allows our clients to improve their internal request process for changes in Salesforce.  This includes basic things like adding fields, data, customizations, etc.

We call this Request/Release and have essentially taken an AGILE development concept and combined it with Chatter to enable our customers to collaborate better internally and enable us to contribute as well.  This accelerates the speed at which we identify and enhance new ideas and include a larger group of people without the complexity of large groups.  It’s a form of crowd sourcing for internal requests that improves the quality of ideas our clients generate and accelerates the implementation of these ideas.

By the way, it’s free!!

I’ll continue to blog on this as we enhance it further.  Please check back for new updates.

Thank you for reading this.  I hope it gives you some ideas!

Developing Customized CRM for Your Business

By collaborating with companies and relevant subject matter experts in individual industries, ISM can create CRM software that’s right for you at a much more affordable cost than new, from-scratch applications. Recently, we’ve partnered with a number of companies in diverse industries to develop industry-specific vertical Force.com applications, including Medical Sales CRM for Salesforce, Contract Manufacturing CRM, Defense Industry CRM, and Private Equity CRM. Our Open Development program for Mobile CRM is available right now.

Choosing the Right Consultant for CRM Software

Here are a few questions from IT authorities who’ve seen CRM failure and CRM success.

Can the consultant provide a complete service package?
ISM specializes in providing everything the customer needs. We don’t just turn software on and disappear – ever.

Does the consultant listen effectively?
Call us up – we specialize in listening to your sales process, concerns, business goals and needs.

Does the consultant communicate clearly?
We’re communications specialists, going beyond the technology to the real reason CRM works: aligning your people and sales processes for success. Check out our free CRM Workshop Planning guide. It’s easy to understand and easy to implement.

Can I work with the consultant?
According to Destination CRM, it’s critical to go with a consultant who fits with your company’s philosophy and culture. Contact us now and see how we can work together to develop a winning CRM for your business.

The right answers to these questions will guide the choice of who you choose to help develop your customized CRM software and implementation plan.  Please call us at 877-553-0485 or email us today to determine which CRM product right for your business.

We’ll be our presenting our new offline iPad app Mobile CRM HD for Salesforce CRM at Dreamforce. We would love to see you and talk to you! Please stop by Booth 33 in the Exhibition Hall to check out our new iPad app that offers disconnected, offline access to your Salesforce data in addition to traditional mobile connectivity.

ISM highlights Industry Vertical Force.com Applications

We’ll also be sharing the vertical industry-specific applications we’ve created on the Force.com platform. Stop by Booth 33 in the Exhibition Hall to check out: Office Suites CRM, Medical Sales CRM for Salesforce, Private Equity CRM, Contract Manufacturing CRM, Litigation Support CRM and Defense Industry CRM. By collaborating with companies and relevant subject matter experts in all of these industries, from administrative offices to defense contractors, ISM produces tailored business applications that meet their needs at a fraction of the time and cost of new, from-scratch applications.

Talk to ISM About Industry Vertical Development of Your Own CRM software

We are known for our consulting and development excellence and we’re looking for industry partners that can help us develop industry vertical CRM software with potential beyond just one company. We focus on the alignment of people, process and technology, developing not just an application that works, but an application that helps your employees to work better and your business to thrive. If you’re looking to develop CRM software within Salesforce.com that you think could also work for others in your industry, we’re interested in talking to you, the subject matter expert, to co-develop a customized, marketable Salesforce.com application.

Book at an appointment with us while you’re at Dreamforce here, or just stop by and meet us at Booth 33.  If you aren’t attending the conference, you can click here to contact us or call us at 877-553-0485.

Overall, the idea of turning work into play with rewards is catching on, especially with the iPad. In July, the most popular presentations at the Mobile Health World Conference in Boston covered “gamification” in mobile healthcare apps for iPad. Gamification is the idea that you can include the elements which make games fun and addictive in work that isn’t traditionally thought of as a game. Great iPad apps for healthcare or sales can use game play mechanisms for non-game applications to make the app for iPad stronger and help people to accomplish more.

Use Carrots not Sticks for the iPad to Build Sales Performance

Traditional methods of incentivizing or motivating sales reps for better performance include “stick” methods like “walls of shame” or using basic statistics from their Salesforce to identify sales “winners” and “losers.”

ISM is focused on creating relevant apps with great data that reps can share in a way that makes it easy for them to use. When we give data to a rep in a CRM system, including Mobile CRM HD for iPad, we’ll automatically build in quick, easy ways to know whether it’s valuable for sales reps to pay attention to or not. You’ve got talented salespeople and employees. In a lot of cases when you look at what they’re actually doing, you find they spend too much time on things that aren’t really important. You can make it easier for them and more fun to perform by offering a lot of different “carrots” combining information and incentives. We’re big fans of “carrot” concepts at ISM.

Making a Great Sales App for iPad

According to motivation/performance guru Daniel Pink, “Gamification could go either way — toward 2.0 if the rewards are the point of the exercise, towards 3.0 if the rewards are a form of feedback, information, and a way to make progress and achieve flow.” In other words, the “game” part of the App should fit with the work that’s being done and make it easier, not harder, for sales reps to do their jobs.

This is where ISM’s experience comes in. We’d like to hear how you see the iPad working to improve your sales and work for your sales reps. If you have any stories about “walls of shame” or a “gamification” of your sales process where the sales reps came out as winners, post a comment below, or we want to hear from you. We’re gearing up for Dreamforce, August 30 – September 2 in San Francisco, where we will showcase our Mobile CRM HD iPad App.  Let us know if you are going, we’d love to meet you.

To learn more, please visit our Mobile CRM page.  Or call us at 877-553-0485, or email us!

Being visionary is part of what makes Salesforce.com CEO Mark Benioff so motivational and successful. Mark talks about “Cloud 1″ and “Cloud 2,” and according to Mark, we’re in the middle of Cloud 2, even though some enterprises aren’t fully-aware of it. The big motivator for moving to Cloud 2 is the iPad, Benioff told TechCrunch. “The iPad shows us what now is really possible,” Benioff said. “It shows us we all need to go faster.”

ISM’s Mobile CRM HD App for iPad

ISM’s Mobile CRM HD App for iPad uses Salesforce.com’s powerful functionality in a genuine iPad app. ISM’s Mobile CRM HD App is continuing to evolve and is in an open development phase. Currently, the iPad app allows sales reps to manage and schedule their accounts, and they can quickly note what was discussed, schedule follow-up calls, and take notes. Everything sales reps are working on can be accessed in the field. With the current Mobile CRM HD App for iPad, reps can also identify what product they want to order, what quantity, and enter payment information.

iPad Apps Should Be Flexible and Fun Like Facebook

According to Mark Benioff, “Our industry has gone through many shifts, but ultimately, the big ones have always been about software, not hardware. Now, we are seeing a simultaneous software and hardware revolution. This will result in a new generation that looks more like Facebook on the iPad than Yahoo on the PC.”

What Apps look like is important, but what they do, and what you can do with them, is the aspect that we know is important to you. We’re interested in your Salesforce/iPad experiences! This is a great place to share them – good, bad, or in-between. Our products aren’t designed for ISM, they’re designed for you and your sales enterprise. We also have a more formal way for you to participate in the development process for Mobile CRM HD for iPad, and we want to hear from you. Your input could help make the best app for Salesforce.com on iPad. Another place to talk with us about moving into Cloud 2 is at Dreamforce, August 30 – September 2 in San Francisco.  We’ll be at Booth 33 and we’re looking forward to meeting you!

For more information on the iPad Apps we are developing, please visit our Mobile CRM page.  Or Contact Us via email or call us at 877-553-0485.

Steve Snapp from Integrated Sales Management introduces our new Salesforce.com iPad Application.  This video includes an overview of the capability of the Salesforce.com features that have been added to the Offline iPad Application.  Salesforce.com users can now access critical Salesforce.com data “offline” or when an internet connection in unavailable.  Steve will also quickly mention our Open Development Project with Salesforce.com and the iPad so you can contribute and participate in the ideas and features that are added to the product.

The Mobile CRM HD for Salesforce CRM app, the offline iPad app for Salesforce users, is going to launch at Dreamforce 2011 this year (Aug 30 – Sept 2, 2011 in San Francisco, CA)!  Sign up here to get on the list for notification once the app is available on iTunes for download.  We want your comments, thoughts, opinions and suggestions once you start using the app.  We will enhance this app experience when we find out what YOU want.  You can be a part of our community from our Mobile CRM Open Development page.

For more information on the iPad apps we are developing, please visit our Mobile CRM page.  Or Contact Us via email or call us at 877-553-0485.

Steve Snapp from Integrated Sales Management shares some insight into how the iPad is changing the game for Medical Sales Professionals.  This video explores the idea that as sales people struggle to maintain access to critical physicians there are tools and techniques available that will enable the rep to establish and maintain a relationship as a relevant subject matter expert.  Steve explores how the iPad technology combined with intelligent “apps” can become more relevant to the physicians they deal with.   This video explores some basic ideas of combining CRM or Customer Relationship Management with the simplicity and ease of use of the iPad platform.   Learn how you can use Salesforce.com and the iPad to achieve better sales results and get the most from Cloud Computing.

You can start a free trial of our Medical Sales CRM offline iPad app for our Medical Sales CRM product then download the Medical iPad app for free on iTunes today!  Once you are using the offline iPad app, provide us your feedback on our Mobile CRM Open Development page.

For more information on the iPad apps we are developing, please visit our Mobile CRM page.  Or Contact Us via email or call us at 877-553-0485.

On a slightly different note, you can take a break from planning your next trip back in time in order to organize your sales route, check your leads, add new contacts, and list and review your product catalog from inside Salesforce with ISM’s Mobile CRM HD App for iPad. Best of all, you have offline access to key data stored on your iPad. You can use the Mobile CRM HD App for iPad even if you don’t have wireless connectivity.

Working with the Customer with Mobile CRM HD App for iPad

In addition to sales reps managing and scheduling their accounts, they can record activities on the Mobile CRM HD App for iPad. The app allows the rep to quickly note what was discussed, schedule follow-up calls, and take notes. Everything sales reps are working on can be accessed in the field. With the current Mobile CRM HD App for iPad, reps can also identify what product they want to order, what quantity, and enter payment information.

Looking Forward with Mobile CRM HD App for iPad

ISM is working on the next phase of development for the Mobile CRM HD App for iPad. The next generation of the app will include full account creation abilities and lead management capability. In the field, reps will be able to add, edit or convert leads. Account management capability will have deeper capability, enabling reps to add in-depth sales information. Taking advantage of the iPad’s powerful content capacity, the next phase of Mobile CRM HD will include sales videos, brochures, spec sheets and other product information. The content will be totally relational, able to be evaluated for effectiveness through Salesforce.

If you have ideas about what you’d like to see included in a Mobile CRM HD App for iPad, we’re eager to hear from you. Your input could shape the perfect app for your sales enterprise. We’ll be at Dreamforce, August 30 – September 2 in San Francisco at Booth 33. If you’ve been thinking about going, this is the cloud computing event of the year in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Save your “flux capacitor” App power for time travel, and register for the full conference pass at Dreamforce using priority code ECMISMSYS and receive $100 off!  Or register for the Keynote & Expo only pass for free using priority code EXOISMSYS.

Please Contact Us via email or call 877-553-0485 to learn more about our iPad app for Salesforce CRM.

ISM invites you to be part of the “co-opetition” in developing its offline mobile CRM HD app for the iPad for a variety of enterprises, including Medical Sales. For a limited time, you’ll be able to use ISM’s offline mobile CRM HD app for the iPad for free by partnering in the open development process.

ISM is currently offering two different mobile apps for the iPad: one specifically designed for medical CRM, and another offline mobile CRM HD app using the iPad for a variety of sales/CRM purposes. If you want to try the iPad medical sales app and already have Salesforce, ISM will need to configure Salesforce for you before you try the iPad app. If you don’t have Salesforce, you’ll need to start the Medical Sales CRM 30-day trial and then download the iPad app from the iTunes store. ISM invites you to join in our customer satisfaction conversation regarding the offline iPad development.  Take advantage of and participate in this open development program by creating topics, making comments, and/or giving feedback which directly influences feature development.  And then vote for what matters most in your mobile CRM experience!  We are all ears and want to know what the community wants – so we can enhance the app accordingly.

The iPad is not just the latest new technology. It’s a game-changer for many industries, including the healthcare/medical industry. For sales, service, training and cross-enterprise applications, 86% of the Fortune 500 is deploying or testing iPad apps, and almost half of the Global 500 is deploying or testing iPad apps. Companies like Medtronic and Boston Scientific are developing a broad range of iPad apps providing services across their enterprises. “Co-opetition” in the open development of ISM’s mobile sales CRM software for the iPad gives you the chance to have a mobile sales application for the iPad, including access to customization. ISM wins the “co-opetition” too, by making its iPad apps as strong as they can be through partnering with customers in the development process.

Please Contact Us via email (info at ismsystems.com) or call 877-553-0485 to learn more about our iPad app for Salesforce CRM.