Among our clients, discussions around maximizing the value of their CRM systems are frequent, given the significant investment they often require. However many firms continue to struggle to achieve a strong return on investment, particularly in driving adoption among Deal teams.
We often pose a fundamental question to our clients: “What is the purpose of your CRM?” and common responses include: “to track pipeline“, “to capture meeting notes“, “to generate reports for the Monday WIP meeting“, “to collaborate with team members“, etc…
While these answers are valid, they clearly reveal two recurring issues to us:
- Responses vary significantly from person to person, showing a lack of cohesive messaging and sponsorship.
- The true institutional objective of a CRM is often not understood by the people who use it and should benefit from it the most.
For those considering switching CRM systems to address these challenges – a sentiment we encounter often from technology and operations leaders trying to address this issue – it is important to understand that this is not a silver bullet.
“A new CRM can act as a catalyst for change, but realizing value from such systems is often more fundamentally about people, behaviours, and processes, rather than technology alone.”
Most modern CRM platforms possess the core functionalities required to support operational needs, such as:
- Managing pipelines to track and prioritize potential investments or fundraisers.
- Facilitating prospecting efforts by integrating data from market data providers.
- Organizing meetings and capturing notes to ensure information is accessible and actionable.
Most firms already have a CRM capable of these functions. While certain activities might be happening in the CRM across your organization, the question remains: are you truly maximizing its potential? The answer for most is that they are not.
Let’s return to the basics and explore best practices to help firms unlock the full value of their CRM systems.
- Before that: Holland Mountain is organising an event in London on this topic, on 13 February. Join us to discuss directly with Private Equity peers the innovations in technology supporting fundraising and investments. More info here.
Why is CRM important?
“Your CRM must be the bible of investment and investor relation team activities, institutionalising all company data to benefit the entire firm.”
Past the obvious benefits of capturing data for day-to-day reporting and collaboration, it ensures data is owned by the business – smoothing employee transitions while building a valuable and proprietary dataset which can be enhanced by market data sources – laying the foundation to leverage AI-driven technologies.
Enhanced Collaboration
A robust CRM enables seamless collaboration across different offices, teams, and strategies. How often do your team members ask questions like, “Have we explored this sub-sector before and do we have the documentation available?” or “Do we have a strong relationship with anyone at this company?”…
A well-maintained CRM provides quick answers, reducing redundancy and improving team alignment, and strengthening your brand by exhibiting a more unified firm to the market – something that often goes unnoticed.
Data-Driven Decision Making
An optimized CRM supports data-informed prioritization and focus. It helps:
- Identify high-priority pipeline opportunities and prioritize accordingly.
- Strengthen external relationships, such as those with advisers or intermediaries.
- Detect trends in why deals are lost or declined and how those trends evolve.
- Identify which investors to prioritize during fundraising processes.
- Senior stakeholders use data to oversee the responsibilities of those who are working beneath them.
Competitive Advantage
Firms that leverage their CRM strategically in the long run may find they outperform peers who do not, partially due to their better adoption of digital technology such as CRM systems. The impact of this gap compounds over time—what may seem incremental today could be a defining factor in future.
At the same time, a strong CRM signals to employees that the firm values technology and innovation, making their roles more engaging and efficient.
How to Make It Happen?
1. Sponsorship by senior leaders
Begin by addressing the lack of cohesion in answer to the core question raised earlier, “Why do we have a CRM?” it will ensure senior leaders are aligned on the purpose and work to standardize the organization’s understanding of its value top-down.
Automating the creation and distribution of regular reports designed to provide leadership with an understanding of how key initiatives are progressing is another powerful tactic to achieve alignment and encourage usage across the firm.
2. Incentivization – Carrots, sticks or both?
Tailor incentives based on the role of the user:
- Senior Leaders: Demonstrate the strategic insights they can obtain, make it easy for them to access the data and reports that means the most to them (t – their role as a sponsor is important, but they should also benefit from its use more so than anyone.
- Junior-Mid team members: Highlight how it simplifies workload and improves efficiency, but the more junior the individual of the system, the more likely that more enforcement will be required to achieve good adoption.
You will see that these two things are inherently linked. If the more junior system user does not enter accurate data in a timely manner, the Senior Leaders will not get the value that we describe.
Often it takes the senior users to start using the system and observe some of the issues here to really take to the role they have in sponsoring and enforcing usage by members of their team.
3. Clarify Roles and Responsibilities
Define who is responsible for data entry, validation, and any core recurring processes. Clear ownership ensures accountability and consistency across the organization.
4. Involve Support and Executive Assistant Staff
Do not overlook the importance of support and EA teams. They play a crucial role in maintaining data quality and ensuring data is captured and updated accurately.
5. Leverage AI and Automation Where Possible
Innovations in AI and automation are reducing friction in data creation and maintenance processes. These advancements streamline data entry and upkeep, making it easier for teams to keep information current.
6. Take a white-glove approach to support
Maintaining a healthy CRM requires time and attention, and a lack of clear access to quality support can seriously affect a user’s willingness to use the system. Leveraging a third-party managed services provider like Holland Mountain who understands the needs of your business can free your team from routine tasks like data upkeep, reporting, and system maintenance.
Wider Data and Technology Strategy
The most digitally mature firms make decisions regarding CRM within the context of a wider data and technology strategy, further enhancing the value of their CRM and data to the firm.
Data integration with middle and back office systems can provide CRM users with access to intelligence such as LP investment history while ensuring that identical data points living across multiple systems can be maintained automatically as things change – such as key contact information across CRM and LP portal.
While platform-to-platform integrations are appropriate for certain scenarios, incorporating CRM data into a wider enterprise data strategy can unlock even more valuable data mastering and reporting potential. For example, we’ve worked with firms which have automated the production of monthly portfolio updates in PowerBI drawing portco performance data from portfolio monitoring systems, LP and co-investor data from back office, and CRM data showcasing cross-portfolio and network introductions made during a given period.
When should I prioritize it?
Now. Shaping the right behaviors and establishing effective workflows takes time and effort. To stay competitive, firms need to start building these capabilities today.
Let Us Help
We understand that competing priorities can make it difficult to dedicate time to CRM optimization. Our team of CRM specialists can support your firm by enhancing the people, processes, and technology aspects of your CRM and provide managed services to ensure ongoing support for your team.
Alternatively, an efficient approach is to conduct a CRM assessment, a tried-and-tested process designed to quickly highlight key issues and provide a roadmap outlining recommended steps for fixing or replacing the existing solution. This allows our clients to make informed, confident decisions about the next steps.
Contact our team today to make the most of your technology.
