On-Site Discovery Session to Determine Business Rules and Processes
One of the most essential factors in assessing the success of an implementation is whether the users of Tour de Force CRM are able to perform daily tasks in a more efficient and productive manner. Tour de Force CRM Business Consultants strive to understand the business processes of the client to ensure all pertinent information that is needed is in Tour de Force CRM. The ability of the CRM Project Team to understand the “how” of a business is critical to a successful implementation.
During the On-Site Discovery Session, the CRM Business Consultant Reviews all of the Sales Processes that exist or are being planned as part of the implementation. The CRM Business Consultant will then prepare a document that outlines the business processes and rules that will be put into practice at the time of the Go Live User Training. Having the entire Client Project Team participate in order to provide feedback on the initial configuration and setup of Tour de Force CRM is critical.
The On-Site Discovery Session is an important way for both the client and the CRM Business Consultant to learn what the critical success factors are for the Tour de Force CRM implementation. With an adequate understanding of the existing and required business processes that may impact the users, the CRM Project Team can properly document the business rules that will optimize the business processes to ensure a successful implementation of Tour de Force CRM.
During the On-Site Discovery Session, the CRM Business Consultant reviews the existing systems and processes that are in place at the client. A series of interviews are conducted with the Client Project Team in order to develop a specific understanding of the business processes that are in operation and the business processes that need to be implemented. As a part of this process, specific bottlenecks that exist with the existing systems and procedures are identified, documented, and improved.
Primary Goals of On-Site Discovery Session:
- Identify the efficient processes that exist and document these processes.
- Identify the inefficient processes that exist, modify these processes based on known best practices, and document the new processes.
As a part of the On-Site Discovery Session, additional topics may need to be discussed that could impact the defined business processes. The following is a list of general topics:
- General Fit – What are the general goals and priorities of the company, and will technology help to achieve these goals and priorities?
- Goals and Objectives – What specifically does the company expect to accomplish with a Customer Relationship Management / Sales Force Automation strategy and solution?
- Organizational Fit/Human Factors – What level of support and resistance is there for the project? Is commitment to the project coming from the top of the organization?
- Current Marketing Methodology / Process – What are the current marketing processes and policies the company is performing that need to be mapped into the solution?
- Specific Requirements – Greater detail regarding the specific needs of the company.
- Training Needs – What are the current computer skill levels of users and the future system administrator of Tour de Force CRM? What logistical issues regarding training are relevant?
- Security and Permission Structure – Who will have access to what information within Tour de Force CRM?
The final step in the On-Site Discovery Session is to identify the reporting that is required to properly measure the performance of the sales team against the new business processes.
After the assessment of the key business processes is completed, the CRM Business Consultant performs the task of mapping the business processes to the Tour de Force CRM application. While performing this task, the CRM Business Consultant determines the appropriate configuration of the Tour de Force CRM forms, features, and views to best support the business processes of the client.
Following the completion of the mapping task, the CRM Business Consultant completes this milestone by documenting the business processes and outlines the specific actions that will be performed by the users of Tour de Force CRM in order to standardize the daily performance of the business processes.
Review the Base Configuration
During the Review of the Base Configuration, we review the base configuration of Tour de Force CRM that has been completed using the information provided by the client in the Implementation Questionnaire. The process of reviewing the base configuration also serves as the base training for the Client Project Team.
During this milestone, the CRM Business Consultant reviews the form configuration of the key records in Tour de Force CRM such as Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities in order to confirm that the proper configurations are in place to meet the business requirements of the client.
Complete Advanced Configuration
Tour de Force CRM is a robust CRM and Sales Force Automation software application, and as such not all of the features, functionality, and modules should be implemented and set up during the Base Installation and Configuration milestone.
Typically, the advanced features are reviewed in more detail throughout the Discovery Phase, and the set up and configuration of the advanced features that will be included in the initial Go Live User Training is completed while the CRM Business Consultant is on-site during the Discovery Phase.
Examples of the advanced features that are typically set up during the Discovery Phase include:
- Advanced Set up of Manager Console
- Asset Management
- BSI Sales Goal Planning
- Contract Management
- Expense Management
- Email Drafts and the Draft Editor
- Event Management
- Line Item Forecasting on Opportunities
- Mailer Module
- Quotes, Quote Templates, and Products
- Support/Case Management
- Task Groups
BSI Reconciliation Begins
When the Business System Integration (BSI) module has been purchased, the Initial Reconciliation of the BSI Data becomes a vital milestone in the Discovery phase of the project. Although the user interface that displays the BSI data is standard for all ERP systems that are connected to Tour de Force CRM, how the data is calculated and populated varies depending on the ERP system. Each system may have variable options on how sales are calculated, and different organizations may have specific variables related to how sales are calculated that other users of the same system do not consider. Due to this variable nature regarding the use of ERP systems, additional modifications may need to be made to the BSI Connector to accommodate the client’s needs.
Once the CRM Project Team installs the BSI Connector on the client’s system, it is critical that the client take the time to properly reconcile the sales and profit numbers against the sales reports that are most often used by the company to measure sales and profitability. One of the most common mistakes clients make is assuming that all the numbers are correct at first glance and not taking the time to closely compare what Tour de Force CRM displays versus what reports generated from the business system display. The result of not reconciling the data before training is the loss of credibility to the users. If users are able to identify discrepancies in the data during the Go Live User Training milestone, the long term credibility of the data is greatly tarnished.
During the On-Site Discovery Session, the CRM Business Consultant will allocate approximately ½ a day to work with the client’s BSI Specialist to step through the reconciliation of the BSI data and identify any discrepancies that exist. Any discrepancies that are identified will be documented by the CRM Business Consultant and given to the CRM BSI Specialist to work with the Client BSI Specialist to correct before the Go Live User Training milestone.
Installation of Tour de Force for Client Project Team
While on-site during the Discovery Phase, the CRM Business Consultant will schedule a 3-4 hour training session with the Client Project Team in order to get them started using Tour de Force CRM and become proficient in the basic navigation. After the Discovery Phase, it is critical that the Client Project Team continues to use Tour de Force CRM on a daily basis so that by the time the Go Live User Training milestone commences, the entire Client Project Team is able to assist the new users with general questions.