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Summary

4th Commandment

DO NOT EMBED RIGID METHODOLOGIES AND PROCESSES IN YOUR SFA SOLUTION.
BE FLEXIBLE.

Back in the early 1990’s everyone was talking about re-engineering the corporation. Then after many people tried to and failed, it became apparent that re-engineering was far more difficult to do than many expected. In fact, some might say that it is largely unnecessary. What is really essential in automating your business processes is that you do not automate bad processes. That is the key. All this accomplishes is making a poor process work much faster – not better.

You can avoid a lot of problems by not trying to embed rigid rules and processes into your software. Some might argue that process-driven software helps to re-enforce consistent and sound work habits across a company. In practice this sounds right, but what do you do when your business processes change due to changes in the marketplace or customer demand? If your software is not flexible, if every step is hard-coded into your application, then you will need to stop using your tools and re-invent the wheel (your application) every time your business evolves, either on its own or due to changes in the market currents. As if this re-design is not difficult enough, you must then distribute these updates across your enterprise community, and train them on the changes.

We have seen companies embed very detailed sales methodologies into their software only to discover that the majority of the sales force had stopped using the methodology before the solution had ever been deployed. This resulted in wasted time and money, and confusion and frustration between sales reps and their managers. It all goes back to making false assumptions. 

The sharp increase in mergers and acquisitions can also have an impact on your automation efforts. If you thought trying to integrate the cultures, processes and methodologies between two or more business entities was challenging, just try to automate them – while they are still acquiring, merging, and consolidating. Automating a moving target is near impossible.

If your company is embarking on sales automation for the first time, all the more reason to keep it simple. Make the software work independent of the processes as much as possible. Let people get used to working with the tools, and afford them the freedom to define new and improved processes themselves. 

By way of example, an old college campus was built on the grounds of a woman’s reform school back in the 1950s, and the campus was comprised of a ring of buildings around a large grassy field. When the contractors were brought in to begin the transformation to a university, they were unsure of where to lay the sidewalks. Then someone had the great idea to just let people walk wherever they wanted to, and to watch the paths develop in the lawn. Within a few months, the paths became very clear, and the contractors were able to lay the cement without forcing students to develop new paths to old locations. 

Lesson Two: Let your sales force define the groundwork for your automated processes by allowing them to use the software for a while and then listening to their recommendations for improvements.