Why early-stage teams are initially reluctant to implement a sales CRM solution?

Deciding upon the right sales solution has always been a difficult decision for most leaders, and even complex for early-stage businesses to choose. What has been even tougher for them is the right time to onboard their first sales CRM solution. Early-stage teams have a lot on their plate already, from scaling the business, hiring new team members, team structures coming in place processes maturing, etc. With so much going around, it's essential to triangulate the right solution and identify the appropriate timelines to launch the product. While for seasoned leaders who have implemented solutions in their previous stints, the job is relatively easy, but for others the hesitation levels may be pretty high.

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In the following article, we try to chart out the key reasons why it's a dilemma for a majority of early-stage teams who on one hand wish to leverage the boost productivity of their teams through a technology solution, but also are cognizant of complexities and risks it may bring forth.

• Complexity: Implementing a Sales CRM solution can be a complex process, particularly for early teams with limited technical expertise. They may be concerned about the time and resources required to implement and manage the system. Advanced CRM solutions may be too complex to get going, leading to a high implementation time and learning curve for users.

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• Cost: Cost is often a major concern for early teams, particularly those with limited budgets. They may perceive sales CRM solutions as too expensive and may hesitate to invest in them. This is further accentuated by complex pricing tiers and premiums attached to critical features. Most early businesses frequently chop and change their processes and may foresee significant implementation and change management costs involved.
• Lack of Awareness: Early teams may not fully understand the benefits of a Sales CRM solution or may not be aware of the available options. They may be hesitant to invest in a system they don't fully understand. Sales leaders who may have limited experience working with modern CRM solutions or may not be appreciative of the prowess of technology for sales processes would not generally be early adopters.

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• Resistance to Change: Implementing a Sales CRM solution often requires changes to existing processes and workflows. Early teams may be hesitant to make these changes and may prefer to stick with familiar processes, even if they are less effective. This is where the top management can play a pivotal role to cascade the importance of the implementation and the benefits it would bring forth for them.
• Data Migration and Quality: Early teams may be concerned about the quality of their data and may feel that they need to clean up their data before
  implementing a Sales CRM solution. They may be hesitant to invest in a system when they are unsure about the accuracy and completeness of their data.
• Time Constraints: Many such teams may have limited time to devote to implementing a Sales CRM solution. They may be focused on other
  priorities and may not have the bandwidth to take on a new project. Past experiences and anecdotal references also add to the confusion giving teams cold feet at times.
• Service and Support: Most teams in their early stages have very little bandwidth to invest in planning, implementing, and tracking a new CRM project. They want absolute surety that the support during implementation and maintenance is genuinely good.

Overall, early teams may hesitate to invest in a Sales CRM solution due to concerns about cost, complexity, lack of awareness, resistance to change, data quality, and time constraints. However, by addressing these concerns and fully understanding the benefits of a Sales CRM solution, early teams can make informed decisions about whether to invest in the system.

Chakra Sales is a modern sales solution tailored to make sales execution for early & growth-stage teams frictionless. With a quick and easy setup, easy to operate for users, and a powerful solution connecting all tools used for sales like WhatsApp, Telephony, Email, Facebook forms, Landing page forms, and automating tasks to reduce manual tasks. Chakra Sales becomes the only solution the sales team uses for their operations.

If you are looking for a customized sales solution for your fast-growing organization, do consider a free demo with Chakra Sales.