Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) system and strategy is a major milestone, but it’s not the finish line. Without ongoing guidance, user adoption can stall, and valuable features go underused. That’s why every organization needs a CEO for CRM, a resolute leader who owns CRM success during—and beyond—the launch.
The CEO for CRM is the internal champion who drives adoption, process alignment and long-term results. They are tasked with changing people’s habits. That is no easy task. But technology is just a conduit. It’s how we use technology that drives sales growth. That’s why you need someone who understands the business and can ensure the CRM system is tailored to the company’s needs right from the start.
This role can be filled internally or by an external partner, but the key is finding someone with the right mix of sales experience, influence, and focus.
Sounds like a tall order. Not necessarily. The best candidate is a high-level executive with organizational respect who can lead the cultural shift required for CRM success. Ideally the person is in a sales management position and understands the sales process and the needs of the sales team.
So, let’s say you’ve accepted you need the vital role of CEO for CRM, found the right CRM vendor, led a team of super users, and launched the system.
Job done? Not even close. This is when the real work begins.
One of the biggest mistakes I see with CRM rollouts is thinking of it as a software project with a start and end date. Once the project lead marks the work complete, they move on to the next company initiative.
But CRM is designed to be an ongoing tool to manage customer relationships. As both customer and business needs evolve over time, so should your CRM’s capabilities.
After implementation, a CEO for CRM must:
- Focus on constant improvement. The CEO of CRM is responsible for planning additional phases of CRM development. Use the “one-hand rule.” Focus on no more than five improvements at a time. This involves prioritizing updates, evaluating new features, and ensuring that the CRM system evolves to meet the changing needs of the organization.
- Work closely with the sales management team to ensure internal collaboration. The CEO for CRM must collaborate to establish KPIs and enforce role-specific expectations for CRM usage. This ensures that all team members understand their responsibilities and effectively use the system.
- Hold weekly or monthly meetings with the sales management team to discuss CRM adoption. These check-ins identify challenges, uncover successes, and help maintain alignment across the organization.
- Monitor data integrity and standards in the CRM. One of the primary responsibilities of the CEO for CRM is to ensure data integrity. This involves implementing and enforcing data entry protocols, conducting regular reviews, and ensuring that the data remains accessible, accurate, complete, and dependable.
- Work daily with the primary CRM dashboard to stay focused and proactive. This practice enables quick identification of trends, issues, or opportunities that require attention.
- Communicate success stories and ensure users get coaching and training on the “how” and the “why” of CRM. This ensures that all users understand not only the technical aspects of the system but also its strategic importance to the organization.
It’s tempting to want to close the chapter on the CRM project and celebrate a job well done. But many post-implementation situations will require your attention.
Some call them challenges. I call them opportunities. When the CEO for CRM stays engaged, the organization benefits from strategic alignment, continual improvement, and early intervention so problems are addressed before they have an impact. It also supports stronger cultural integration and better customer insights.
Whether you’re just launching or years into your CRM journey, having someone who champions adoption, drives continuous improvement, and keeps CRM aligned with business goals is critical. Don’t treat CRM as a side project. Assign it the leadership it deserves.
Brian Gardner, the founder of SalesProcess360, is the author of CEO for CRM: Your Roadmap for CRM Success, a guide to putting the right people and processes in place for long-term CRM adoption. Brian served as a sales manager for a major regional industrial distribution rep company for 15 years before building Selltis, an industrial sales team CRM solution with roots in process improvement. He took his passion for sales process improvement to the speaking and coaching world with SalesProcess360. He is also a frequent guest speaker on CRM at Texas A&M University’s Industrial Distribution department and the LSU Professional Sales Institute. Reach him at brian.gardner@salesprocess360.com.