It’s hard to believe that baseball spring training is already coming to an end and opening day of the regular season is only a few days away! Our beloved Detroit Tigers' opening game is against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, April 5th. We’re expecting a fantastic season opener and predict the Tigers will take us all the way to the World Series this season!
There are a lot of things that go into a successful opening day in baseball and a championship season. Preparation during spring training teaches positioning fundamentals, repetition, and gives players a chance to learn at a slower speed than in regular season play. And of course, key players need to be in place to make the entire operation run smoothly.
Besides being passionate Tigers fans at The TM Group, we are passionate about helping companies improve their businesses with Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP solutions. “I help a lot of companies in their strategy and execution of Microsoft Dynamics CRM,” explains Solution Architect Kevin Alexander. “I don’t care what size the company is, from small to large, it’s like spring training for a knock-out baseball season. Similar to baseball, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation requires a lot of the same strategy, preparation, and training.” And like baseball, the strongest indicator for success is the identification of two MVP players within your organization:
- A CRM Project Needs a Champion: A champion is someone within your team that has a strong aptitude for the CRM solution. They should also understand the overall concept of how to use CRM for specific goals and objectives. We could call this person the “power user.” Just like Jim Leyland, Manager of the Detroit Tigers, the champion takes part in the overall strategy and has the skills to lead the team with this strategy in place. The champion is usually that “go to” person within your team. If you have questions about how to use a specific solution, they know the ins and outs and actually enjoy being the advocate, leading the team to greater success and increased user adoption.
- A CRM Project Needs an Executive Sponsor: An executive sponsor drives the many phases of implementation because they essentially own the project and its overall impact on the organization. Similar to Dave Dombrowski, President and General Manager of the Detroit Tigers, the executive sponsor identifies key players within the team, recruits the right talent, and enforces requirements of the staff so that your CRM solution works to its prime ability. Without an executive sponsor, it’s likely that not everyone will take the implementation seriously, thus gravely affecting user adoption and lowering your ROI from the start.
One of the first steps we take when meeting new clients thinking about using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for their sales, marketing, even operations is that we ask them to help us identify these two key players. No matter the size of the project, from a , it’s crucial to have these players in place so a CRM implementation stays on track, keeps within project timelines and budget, and focuses on achieving overall success for the company.
Strategic identification of these two players is essential and so is having a trusted implementation consulting partner with whom to work. Although a champion and executive sponsor are the internal resources needed to see an implementation project through to completion, seasoned Microsoft Dynamics CRM experts are fundamental to achieving long-term results and benefits from your solution. Your CRM software partner can .
If you want to experience a successful “opening day and winning season” for your Microsoft Dynamics CRM software implementation, contact us at jennifers@tmgroupinc.com or 888.482.2864. Don’t forget to watch the season opener on April 5th. Go Tigers!! I’ll be there!
By Kevin Alexander, Solution Architect, The TM Group, .
