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Have you implemented CRM at your company but struggle to realize sales performance management benefits? You’re not alone! In fact, studies over the past year have shown CRM project failure rates that have ranged from 25% to 60% of implementations (Souce: Base CRM).

Today we conclude our CRM mini-series with insights into how to get the most out of your CRM software investment.

CRM implementation is still growing strong with small businesses now moving into the CRM industry; however, long time users of CRM are starting to become familiar with one of CRMs major hurdles: adoption.

A main topic of discussion at the Salesforce World Tour in New York was ‘adoption’ (Source: Ancile, 2015). With implementation at record highs, and sales adoption of CRM beginning to decline (Source: DestinationCRM, 2014), a spotlight is being cast on CRM ROI and effectiveness.

Today we examine the declining adoption rates, and offer our suggestions for greater CRM adoption.

In a recent article explaining the top 5 components of any sales stack, we listed CRM as the #1 sales stack technology for any sales process. In 2014 CRM adoption among sales organizations was above 83%, a near 100% increase from just 10 years prior.

But as small businesses (<$50 million revenue) begin to adopt CRM in mass, many lose sight of the fact that CRM is a holistic solution that enables the customer-focused value chain, not a point solution.  Those who fail to appreciate the investment as a broader sales architecture shift are also destined to squander ROI, experience fleeting adoption rates, and induce greater friction for those left using it.

Why should you care? Although business use has been rising, adoption by sales reps has now started to decline! Today we examine the implementation of CRM and offer best practices to ensure your CRM investment sees a measurable return.

Sales enablement is always changing and evolving, meaning that a definition that applied in the past may not accurately depict sales enablement today and tomorrow. As the sales stack becomes more crucial, the sales role more fragmented, and the sales support industry larger, a simple, applicable, and repeatable definition is required.

The sales stack is designed to enhance the sales process and reduce friction. Today we’re seeing more options for sales stack technology but also deterioration of the sales rep at the same time.

Purchasing sales stack technology must be a long term endeavor with strategic decision-making to ensure that the investment is worthwhile.

Today we’ll look at the most essential sales stack components for any business.

The sales stack is a hotly debated topic in the world of B2B. Every week someone has ‘the solution’ to your sales process and the pain points addressed are quite accurate when communicated on a point-to-point basis.

Affordable Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are turning into an executive nightmare as business leaders try to edge out the competition by using the newest and most innovative solutions.

Let's take a look into world of the sales stack to help you find and fix challenges for long term technology enablement.

Earlier we took a look at digital content management lessons learned from the industry players that does content management the best - and yes, I’m talking about Netflix.

Today we look at the most popular ways that you can manage your digital content and the implications of using these methods.

Netflix (and other streaming services like Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go, and etc.) aren’t just altering the way we consume digital content marketing, they’re changing our perspective on how digital content should be organized.

Today we look at some lessons taken from the teams who do it best.

Trade show value, attendance, and most interestingly, first-time only visits, are rising steadily. Many KPIs have now exceeded 10-year highs not seen since 2006. 'Netflix’ization' of the buyer decision journey is steadily conditioning trade show attendees, and exhibitors share mixed views on best practices.

Today we expand on our previous post about trade show trends, and share some best practices for lead generation while attending a trade show.

Trade shows have been a top B2B marketing strategy. While the economics of trade shows experienced a decline during the 2008 financial crisis, rebounding interest and strong growth among exhibitors is sparking new discussions into trade-show lead generation.

Today we examine the current state, opportunities, and challenges of trade shows, and lay a framework for discussion around trade show lead generation and sales acceleration practices.