The Difference Between The Pro And The Amateur

October 16, 2007

Not too long ago, we renovated our home office. It was simple stuff…fixing up the walls in preparation for painting, fixing floor trim, putting up shelves…easy stuff. My wife Jen and I put together out budget, bought our supplies and got to work on what we thought would be a pretty straight forward day. Once again, I was about to be reminded of the parallels between amateur home renovations and companies doing CRM projects.

Now, when it comes to home renovations, you need to understand that despite our willing nature and hours of do-it-yourself TV watching, we are amateurs.

 

Once again, we had underestimated the budget (cupboard handles cost HOW MUCH??!!) and underestimated the time by half! (Oh yeah, we also totally underestimated if not forgot going into this little project the sore muscles!)

In the end, we got what we wanted (minus a few paint mishaps) and are pleased with it. Did it matter that we goofed on estimating this project, not really. We’d still have done it because it was worth it and we’re only talking in the magnitude of $50 and an extra day.

So, why am I talking about my home renovation project? Very simply, it demonstrates the difference between the Pro and the Amateur.  

A Pro, would have done our room in probably a 1/4 the time and his estimate would have been 100% accurate. A Pro would have known exactly what he was getting into and wouldn’t have forgotten from the budget the things we did.

Same thing with CRM projects. Except, CRM projects are way more complicated and can spiral out of control very quickly. Most companies implementing CRM are amateurs and don’t know what they don’t know. They forget things (important things) from the budget, they underestimate the time, they pick the wrong software, etc.

Relying on their salesperson, the “expert”, for the kind of clear insights into the project is just a bad idea. A company selling CRM software has a vested interest in closing the deal. Unless there is a gross misfit between their offerings and a company’s needs, they’re not going to tell a qualified prospect to go look at a different package and lose the deal. It’s not the seller’s fault; it’s a reality of the sales/prospect relationship.

What the amateur CRM buyer needs is an independant industry insider to take them through the buying process and point out the traps, hazzards and often forgotten details along the way. That’s one of the founding ideas of the Insider’s CRM Success System.

Perhaps it’s why I love Home Depot’s slogan: “You can do it. We can help.”