Services
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05 — CRM Solutions
Fixed scope

CRM adoption is a process problem, not a licence problem.

Implementation, customisation, sales automation and support desk configuration — starting with how your team actually works rather than with the software's default fields.

Engagement
9–27 weeks
Model
Fixed scope
Training
On site, by team
Chapter one
Overview

Nobody abandons a CRM because the software is bad

They abandon it because the approval flow in the system does not match the approval flow in the building. So the spreadsheet comes back, quietly, and before long the CRM is a reporting fiction that leadership makes decisions from.

We shadow the quote-to-order process in real branches before touching any configuration. That is slower to start, and it is the only thing that makes adoption hold once the launch attention has moved on.

Suited to
Companies holding CRM licences they bought some time ago, with little real adoption
Sales teams keeping parallel spreadsheets for pricing exceptions
Businesses whose forecast never matches what actually closes
Organisations that need the CRM connected to ERP or finance
Chapter two
Scope of work

What the service covers

01
CRM implementation

Platform selection, data model, migration from spreadsheets or a previous system, and training delivered on site, team by team.

02
CRM customisation

Objects, stages, approval flows and permissions shaped to your actual process, including the exceptions people work around.

03
Sales automation

Quote generation, approval routing, follow-up sequences and forecasting that reflects how deals genuinely progress.

04
Customer support desk

Ticketing, SLA rules, escalation paths and a customer portal connected to the same customer record as sales.

Chapter three
Outcomes

What changes on the sales floor

01
The spreadsheet disappears

Because the system finally handles the pricing exception the spreadsheet existed to handle.

02
Quotes go out faster

Approval routing that matches the real chain of authority, rather than the one on the organisation chart.

03
The forecast becomes usable

Stages defined by buyer behaviour rather than by seller optimism, so leadership can plan against it.

04
One customer record

Sales, support and marketing working from the same history, which ends the internal email archaeology.

Chapter 3b
Adoption

Why CRMs get abandoned, in clients' own words

Every phrase below is one we have been given at the start of an engagement. In each case the stated problem and the real one were different, and the difference is what the diagnostic is for.

What we are told
What it usually means

“The team is resistant to change.”

Approvals in the system do not match the real chain of authority.

“We need more training.”

The form asks for far more than the process needs.

“The reporting is wrong.”

Stages were defined by optimism rather than by buyer behaviour.

“We should switch platforms.”

The workflow was never mapped, and a new platform will repeat the failure.

Chapter 3c
Platform fit

Which platform, and when we say so

Salesforce

Complex approval chains, heavy integration, and a team large enough to administer it.

Enterprise
HubSpot

Faster sales cycles, and marketing alignment held in the same record.

Mid-market
Zoho CRM

Cost-sensitive rollouts where the process is already well understood.

SME
Keep what you own

Reimplementing properly on the licences you already hold, rather than buying new ones.

Often the answer

We hold partner status with several of these and no reseller margin that depends on which you choose.

Chapter four
Delivery process

Shadow the process, then configure

I
Discover

Shadowing the quote-to-order process across several locations, plus a data quality audit.

1–2 weeks
II
Plan

Redesigned workflow signed off by the people who use it, then object model, stage and permission design.

1–2 weeks
III
Build

Configuration, integrations to ERP and finance, data migration, and user acceptance testing branch by branch.

6–20 weeks
IV
Launch

On-site training by team, phased go-live by branch, and a floor-walking period after each one.

1–3 weeks
V
Operate

Adoption reporting, monthly optimisation, and a quarterly review with sales leadership.

Ongoing
Chapter five
Tools and platforms

Platform chosen after the process is understood

We implement Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho and Dynamics. Which is right depends on your process complexity and the estate you already run, and that answer comes out of discovery rather than out of a preference we brought with us.

Platforms
Salesforce · HubSpot · Zoho CRM · Dynamics 365
Integration
REST APIs · middleware · ERP connectors
Reporting
Native dashboards · Looker Studio · Power BI
Support desk
Zendesk · Freshdesk · Salesforce Service Cloud

We avoid: replacing a platform when the workflow, not the software, is the problem

See the full technology page →
Chapter six
In practice
[ CRM pipeline view ]
CRM Solutions
Distribution

Sales automation adopted across four branches

Sales teams were running on spreadsheets and manual follow-up, with no reliable way to track customer interactions, approvals or open opportunities. We mapped the approval chain as it actually ran, then implemented a central platform with automated lead management, simplified sales workflows and dashboards for real-time reporting.

+40%
sales productivity
−38%
sales cycle
4
branches connected
Practice: CRM Solutions · Duration: 8 weeks · Team: CRM consultant, business analyst · Technology: Zoho CRM, Power BI
Read the write-up →
Before you buy
more licences

Usually, and it is often the better option. We start with an adoption diagnostic that shows where the process and the configuration diverge. Reimplementing properly on the licences you already hold is a common outcome, and it is the cheaper one.

Whichever fits the process we find in discovery. Salesforce where approval chains are genuinely complex and you have someone to administer it, HubSpot where sales and marketing need one record, Zoho where the process is understood and cost matters. We hold no reseller margin that depends on the answer.

It is audited before anything moves, because CRM data is rarely as clean as people expect and importing it unchanged carries the old problems into the new system. We migrate what is usable, flag what is not, and agree with you what gets left behind rather than deciding that for you.

By configuring it around the process they already follow, so using it is less work than working around it. Beyond that: training delivered on site by team rather than as one all-hands session, phased go-live branch by branch, someone on the floor during the first days, and adoption reported monthly so a team that has quietly stopped using it is visible.

Find out whether you need a new platform or a rebuilt workflow

The adoption diagnostic shows you exactly where your process and your configuration have diverged, and which of the two is worth changing. If the answer is that your existing licences are fine, that is what we will tell you.