How to Choose a CRM System That’s Right for Your Company

You may have been told that you need a customer relationship management (CRM) system. It’s possible that you don’t. But bear with me.

Over the last eight years, I’ve spent a lot of time with business leaders who were convinced they needed a CRM system, believing that without one, their business was on the brink of a failure.

They were sold the idea that competitors were right on their heels, about to release something that would soon crush their business.

I have to admit, when I first started my career as a CRM consultant, I followed that narrative. I did what most CRM providers do—played into the fear of entrepreneurs, warning them about falling behind in the market to secure the deal.

But as time passed, as I implemented project after project, and as I experienced a few failures, I learned something important: not all CRM systems are created equal, and not every company needs one.

In this article, I’ve condensed my knowledge to help you help you choose CRM software that could be pivotal for your business growth. If you decide to go with a CRM, you’ll be joining the movement. But if you decide against it, that just means you’ve made a wise choice to maintain the status quo. I respect both decisions, and here’s why.

Three Types of CRM Software

When I was preparing for this article, I did some brief research to see what questions people are actually asking when choosing a CRM solution. 

To my surprise, one question came up that I’d never seriously considered before (well, I had heard it, but I never thought anyone would ask it in earnest): “What are the three types of CRM software?”

At first, the question seemed fair enough, but then I asked myself, what are these types? 

After eight years as a consultant and even a stint as an invited lecturer on Sales Management (which is just another name for CRM software in academic terms), I realized I didn’t have an immediate answer.

After a quick Google search, I came across some interesting articles. For example, HubSpot mentions three types of CRM software:

• Operational CRM system
• Analytical CRM system
• Collaborative CRM system

As an example, the article labeled Zoho CRM tool as “Analytical.”

I won’t dive too deeply into the content of that article, but long story short, I found it quite misleading. 

It was clearly structured to explain why HubSpot’s CRM tool supposedly covers all types of CRM, while Zoho and others do not.

And HubSpot isn’t alone. I found at least twenty similar articles claiming that their CRM solution covers all types, while others fall short.

Let me answer the question based on my experience and what I know today.

There are no definitive “types” of CRM software. This is an outdated categorization, to say the least. I couldn’t trace the origins of this concept—probably from old textbooks—but it’s simply wrong. 

Instead of thinking about strict categories of CRM, it’s more accurate to say there are different functional domains that CRM systems can cover. This is likely where the confusion comes from.

Here’s my first piece of advice. Before you dive into researching how to choose the right CRM for your company, do your homework. And the first step is to stop searching for the “best CRM system” or trying to understand “what types for CRM exist” or anything like that.

Start with WHY

As Simon Sinek says in his book Start with Why, you should begin by asking why you need a CRM platform in the first place.

Yes, this might sound banal and boring, but it’s crucial to first understand the reasons for wanting a customer relationship management (CRM) system for your business. Do you need it to improve your customer relationships, or is it to better manage customer data and streamline your sales processes?

The thing is, marketing campaigns and the efforts of CRM providers have raised awareness about the existence of these systems. And that’s a good thing—otherwise, I wouldn’t have a job. 

However, they’ve also created a “demand” for CRMs that often isn’t justified by any reasonable needs. Instead of being driven by business requirements, some companies just want to jump on the CRM bandwagon without a clear understanding of how it aligns with their business processes.

More often than not, I see customers approaching me with the “brilliant idea” of having a demo of a CRM to “see what it could do for our business.” 

This is a bad idea. You shouldn’t approach it this way. You need to start from an entirely different place. Understanding how your sales and marketing teams work, identifying the gaps in your workflow automation, and evaluating how a CRM integrates with your existing task management systems should come first.

If you begin by watching demos of synthetic sales scenarios that are made to look streamlined, organized, and automated, you’ll end up with unrealistic expectations. You’ll assume that everything you’ve seen is easily achievable in your business with little effort. It’s not.

When you follow the CRM vendors’ playbook, you only see “how the process could look.” 

But have you ever asked the vendor to show how your own customer data looks in their CRM software? I have.

A few years back, I had a conversation with one of our CRM vendor partners (I won’t name the company). I asked how their own internal process was organized, and they responded with one sentence:

• “Jeff, it’s a mess.”

That response told me everything I needed to know. CRM vendors themselves often struggle to implement their own products within their companies, yet they’re selling you the idea of a “clean and streamlined” process.

Don’t follow their playbook. Play your own. Start with why. 

Forget what the vendors are saying for now—you’ll need them later, but not at this stage. First, figure out why you need a CRM. Whether you’re using free CRM software or investing in a more robust solution, the ultimate goal should always be supporting your business growth.

Start Small

Over the years, especially in recent times, I’ve changed my approach when working with clients. Instead of large implementations worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, I’ve shifted to an iterative approach.

A few years ago, I adopted a strategy that actually has a name, though everyone interprets it differently. I’ve chosen my own version. It’s called Agile. 

I work in small chunks, which I call “bite-sized pieces.” We start slow, with a few consulting days per month. I ask clients a lot of questions with one main goal in mind: to give them time to think through their strategy.

Strategy takes time. It’s not something you can finalize in one go. You need to talk it through, put it on paper, discuss it, step away for a while, and then come back to re-evaluate. This process takes time—not always paid time, but the time it needs to settle in everyone’s minds.

Only once we agree on the strategy do we move forward with something small. This is where we create what’s called an MVP—a minimum viable product.

The idea is to take a small part of your business processes, create a hypothesis of how that part should look digitally, and build it with as small a budget as possible to minimize CRM software costs.

Then, you verify the idea. If it’s successful, you double down on it. If not, you adjust the strategy and try again. This is why finding the right CRM system is critical—it allows you to experiment and grow without overcommitting resources early on.

You need to get comfortable with the idea of failure. You should even budget for failure. This can be difficult when you have a lot of stakeholders, but it’s an essential part of the process.

Small Business Owners Have an Edge

One thing I love about my job is working primarily with small and medium-sized companies—most of which have fewer than 500 employees (with rare exceptions).

These kinds of companies have a huge advantage over large corporations in one critical area: they lack internal politics.

In big corporations, you’ll spend 80-90% of your time talking instead of doing. You’ll create PowerPoints, organize keynotes, stage meetings, and negotiate with stakeholders just to decide on the next meeting to discuss how to name the project.

Small business owners don’t have to deal with all that. Typically, I work with one, two, or three people from management. You pick up the phone, make a call, and you get a green light or a firm “no” almost immediately. You get answers quickly.

If you’re a small business, you have the privilege of getting things done. You don’t have to justify to anyone why you’re scrapping three months of work. 

You know you’ve failed, but you’ve learned something valuable. Now, with that knowledge, you iterate. This is precisely how CRM implementation works. It helps automate repetitive tasks and streamline processes, aligning your CRM with your business objectives. CRM software also serves as a powerful marketing tool and enables sales reps to track leads effectively. With smaller sales teams, you can move quickly and adapt faster. Keep this in mind when you’re choosing a CRM system. 

Choose a CRM with a Strong Community

I’m jumping ahead a little, but this is an important point to make.

Once you’ve figured out your why and know what you need from a CRM system, the next step in the CRM selection process is to look at the market. My strong advice is to choose a CRM tool with a large, active community.

You need to iterate quickly, and you need to be sure that your developers or consultants are a good fit. If they aren’t, you should be able to replace them quickly.

If the CRM platform doesn’t have a solid community of consultants, there’s no competition, and you’ll end up spending more time than you should trying to find the right team.

Now you might ask which platform I recommend. Before I answer that, I need to disclose something: I’m affiliated with Salesforce customer relationship management. So, guess which one I’m going to recommend?

Why Salesforce?

Yes, I’m affiliated with Salesforce, but not because they pay more or because they have a better partner program. (Although, to be honest, it is the best-paid platform, and they do have the best partner program.)

However, their partner program doesn’t pay me for simply selling Salesforce. I’m paid for being a good consultant. It just so happens that companies using Salesforce tend to be more successful. Why? 

I don’t believe it’s just because they use Salesforce. It’s because leading companies want the best tools, and they complement each other, creating even more value.

As of today, to my knowledge, Salesforce has the largest global partner network, with over 1,400 consulting partners and even more individual high-quality freelancers.

So, if you ever need to find a replacement, you’ll be in good hands. But I’m not saying Salesforce is the only CRM platform, nor am I saying it’s the best for you. 

It’s the best for me and my customers.

Build Your Strategy

Let’s circle back to where I left off. Remember when I said you need to start with why? Well, that’s just the first step.

Before you approach any platform, any community, or anything else, you have to start with your digital strategy.

Your digital strategy is the way you interact with your customers through technology and is crucial for understanding customer behavior. The best way to develop it is by looking around at what your best competitors are doing. Do they have digital self-service tools? Do they offer apps? Or are they most successful on platforms like Amazon? Understanding these aspects can help you shape your own customer relations approach.

You need to define your own path to success and determine how digital tools will complement your broader business strategy.

For example, if you notice that your industry is shifting its sales channels to B2B portals, that’s a clear sign you should consider doing the same. 

Or, conversely, if your industry is moving from B2B to B2C, as we’re currently seeing in the automotive sector, you should start thinking about making that transition as well. Identifying these trends allows you to align your sales processes with evolving market demands.

You don’t have to do this on your own. You can always hire a consultant (like me) or someone else who can help you develop your strategy.

Hiring a consultant can save you time and help you avoid costly mistakes. Often, people who are new to the digital landscape misinterpret their competitors’ strategies, leading them down the wrong path.

Focus on what you do best, and let consultants help guide you. Just make sure not to trust them 100%. Use them as a resource—like a sounding board for your own ideas. Always make decisions independently, but only after you’ve gathered enough information to make an informed choice. This approach will empower you to make strategic moves that enhance your customer relations and boost your business’s success.

Know Your Options

So, you’ve discovered your reasons, and you’ve developed your strategy. Now what? It’s time to explore your options and understand what to look for in a CRM that aligns with your business needs.

When I was in my 20s, I started working for a large construction company—the biggest in the region at the time. I was hired as a regional manager for a new market we were just beginning to penetrate. The first thing I noticed as we started gaining traction with clients was that we needed a way to store all this customer information efficiently.

I began researching CRM systems and, to my surprise, discovered thousands of CRM offerings. The sheer number of products on the market was overwhelming, and I didn’t know where to begin. Choosing the right CRM provider felt like navigating a maze of options, from basic contact management tools to more complex CRM solutions.

What would have helped me tremendously back then was a digital strategy. Since you’ve already developed yours, your life will be much easier when it comes time to choose a CRM. Understanding your sales process and knowing how you want to boost customer satisfaction are critical steps.

With a solid digital strategy in place, you know where your CRM needs to go. For example, if your industry is conservative, and your sales teams only need simple contact management and opportunity tracking, you can focus on CRM solutions that meet these basic needs. Tools that focus on customer data management and sales forecasting will be essential in helping you stay organized and plan for future growth.

These more basic solutions are likely to be more cost-effective and offer quicker implementation than large, complex systems.

On the other hand, if you know that digital transformation is gaining traction in your industry, you’ll want to consider bigger platforms. These systems can offer features like self-service portals, ecommerce integration, and advanced products like CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote), which may be crucial for your business.

The key point here is that your digital strategy should drive your CRM choice. Your decision shouldn’t be based solely on your current needs, but also on where your business is heading. For instance, if growth is on the horizon, investing in a CRM that scales with your business is a smart move. Look for a solution that supports workflow automation and integrates with your existing marketing tools, so you can focus on long-term success.

While I highly recommend taking small, iterative steps—one at a time—I also encourage you to have a big-picture view in mind. Choose a platform that can grow with you and fully support your long-term business objectives. Then, implement your plan in manageable stages, ensuring each step aligns with your overall vision.

Quick and Cheap

There is one exception to the process I’ve outlined so far.

Sometimes, you don’t have a fully developed digital strategy, but you intuitively understand that your competitors are moving in a digital direction. However, it might be difficult or even impossible to figure out exactly what that direction is. 

For example, in some industries, like construction, there’s a lot of advanced technology being used, but it can be challenging to research what the big players are doing because much of that tech is hidden from public view.

Take drones for measuring roofing areas, for instance. We once had a client who knew their competitor was using drones in some way, but they had no idea exactly how. They had only learned about it accidentally through a conversation with a customer, and they never heard anything more.

We conducted a small industry questionnaire and found that the competitor wasn’t just dabbling in drone use but was actually quite advanced and efficient with the technology. Yet, it was almost impossible to discover the details of their process without crossing legal lines.

So, we took a different approach. We launched three separate, detached projects using three different platforms. This helped us evaluate which CRM features would best support business operations and integrate smoothly with existing systems like accounting software. We knew from the start that we’d probably end up scrapping all three, but the point was to gain knowledge about the tools and techniques that would work in their space.

This approach can be a great way to quickly understand how technology functions in your industry, without committing to a long-term digital strategy right away. It gives you a chance to test your ideas quickly and cheaply.

If one or more of the projects fail, you can write it off as R&D. But if one succeeds, you now have a solid foundation to refine and expand your strategy, incorporating the right CRM software to support your business operations and drive sustainable growth.

Recap

Let me do a quick recap before I share one last thought with you. Today, I’ve shared that you need to:

• Start with WHY you need a CRM system, and only then move on to WHAT you need.
• Understand your strategy before you go to the market for a CRM tool.
• Take small steps—be agile and avoid large, complex projects upfront.
• If you’re unsure, test quick and cheap, then iterate to build your strategy.

But here’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned—something I wish someone had explained to me earlier.

The Adoption Challenge

It doesn’t matter which CRM software you choose. You can have the absolute best CRM software on the market, but if people would rather not use it, it’s just a smart solution to a problem you don’t actually have.

The most important thing you need to focus on is how to get people to adopt the system. Don’t expect them to want to use it. I often hear new CRM consultants say things like, “Let’s make them want to use the system.”

Forget it. That’s not going to happen. People are naturally resistant to change. Accept that. Instead, you need to make the CRM so integral and necessary to their daily work that they don’t have a choice.

But that’s a topic for another day.

Oh, and by the way, if you’d like to have a conversation about choosing CRM software, let me know. My team and I are Salesforce consultants, and we’d be happy to jump on a call for a virtual coffee.

And did I mention? The first consultation is on us.

Also, don’t forget to follow me on LinkedIn! I post almost daily about CRM tools and how to get the most out of them.

On that note, I want to wish you a great day!

Cheers,
J.