An effective CRM implementation can streamline your business processes, increase visibility and efficiency, and provide support throughout your organization. A poorly chosen or managed CRM implementation can slow down your businesses, discourage adoption and waste resources.
Is your company considering switching to Dynamics 365, or already committed to a CRM system? What is your implementation resource strategy — utilizing internal staff, contracting with third-party consultants, or a combination of the two? Even for companies that need to implement a full CRM system, it makes sense to involve external consulting resources for the initial CRM implementation.
Here are ten reasons to consider hiring an outside consulting team for your company.
1. Years of Experience That Your Team May Not Have
The first and perhaps the most common, reason that companies hire consultants is to gain access to knowledge and a specialized skill set that might not exist within your team. The years of experience that consultants have in working with Dynamics 365 can greatly help your business.
2. Training your team
An external consultant with years of experience can quickly and effectively train users than an internal resource who is relatively new to the CRM solution. Good user training increases user adoption and can speed up the project completion process.
3. The Cost of Internal Staff Time
Internal business consultants and developers will usually be less expensive than third-party consultants; however, it’s worth considering the time and money it takes to train employees along with the opportunity cost of pulling an internal analyst or developer from a company project.
It’s worth considering whether there is more overall value in keeping an internal consultant focused on company projects, or getting them involved in CRM development. That’s where an external consultant can come in and greatly benefit your company. Employees are able to continue working on company projects without the added stress of extra projects and having insufficient training.
Businesses discover they can save thousands of dollars a week by hiring consultants when they are needed rather than hiring full-time employees. They also save additional money because they don’t have to pay benefits to the consultants they hire. Even though a consultant’s fees are generally higher than an employee’s salary, it is the best choice; ultimately saving the company money, time, and resources.
4. You Need to Make the Jump to Dynamics 365
Your current software or instance of CRM may not be up to date. The consultants at Dynamics Consultants Group know all the ins-and-outs of the software and can help you make the transition.
5. Exposure to the Best Practices in the Industry
One of the factors that are built into the price of CRM consultants is their accumulated knowledge of an assortment of best practices. When hiring an outside consulting team, you’re not just hiring people who are technically certified in your chosen CRM system. You’re hiring a team of people who have encountered a wide variety of real-world business situations over the course of many years and who have seen firsthand which strategies and technical approaches work best.
One should consider the value a consultant brings to the table when considering how to deliver value to an organization. From strategy to problem-solving to long-term solutions, quality consultants won’t leave a business wondering where their money went. Instead, they’ll leave a business thanking them for the positive changes they have developed and implemented.
6. Experience & Knowledge to Solve Issues
Consultants don’t become experts in their fields overnight. It takes several projects and years of effort to obtain the level of knowledge that most consultants have acquired. At that time, most consultants have seen or heard everything, from best practices to downfalls. If they haven’t heard of an issue or need, they will probably have some good ideas on how to address it.
While an external consultant will need to spend time learning about your company’s specific business model, an experienced consultant will likely have encountered some similar issues as your business. The consultant can ease a lot of pressure from your team as they can then provide you with the best approaches to solving those business issues within a CRM solution.
9. Optimized System Design
Today’s CRM applications all have powerful, point and click tools for adding tables and fields and for creating relationships between tables. But, if this power gets into untrained or inexperienced then the design of the CRM can quickly head down the wrong path. The result can be long-term inefficiencies in terms of user interaction, the ability to generate meaningful reports, and more.
10. Pre-Developed Code
For advanced functionality and integrations, third-party consultants often have pre-developed code libraries that can accelerate the pace of CRM development. If an internal developer is new to the chosen CRM system’s development environment, he or she will need to either have to develop every line of code from scratch or spend time researching time-saving techniques and/or public code samples.
9. Consultants have an unbiased and fresh perspective
Consultants don’t work within your organization, and therefore are not influenced by it. If you present them with a problem, their solution is based on the information you gave them and not a personal bias. If there is an internal debate on potential solutions, consultants can help give guidance and provide neutral advice. You may not be able to see the solution, but consultants who come with a fresh perspective can quickly spot issues and resolve them with a solution.
10. Consultants can be Long Lasting Professional Partners
Hiring a consultant doesn’t have to be a short-term commitment. Depending on the type of project, you may find that you need help continuing after completion. If you work with a consultant, you can build a trusting relationship with them. With a trusting client/consultant relationship, you can trust them to give you the best quality results. They are also already familiar with your business processes, and can quickly suggest effective solutions to best fit your needs.
When Do I Need a Consultant?
You need a consultant when your awareness combines with a belief that you can use outside help to move from where you are to where you want to be. You can use consulting to bring about change in your business. Dynamic Consultants Group explores what you can do to help your company move from where it is and get it to where it needs to be.
Contact us today to learn how DCG can help your business. We look forward to helping you find the best fit your budget and address both the current and future needs of your business.
