Why CRM Implementation Fails—and How to Get It Right
One of the services I offer my clients is CRM implementation.
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) is a database you use to track customers and their sales cycle. When it’s set up and used properly, a CRM can:
Help you increase revenue
Improve customer conversion
Provide data to show where your marketing dollars are best spent
Support your sales team by tracking leads and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks
In today’s business environment, a CRM is critical for any company with meaningful sales volume. But here’s the problem: most companies use only a fraction of what their CRM can do.
Why CRM Implementation So Often Goes Wrong
When you buy a CRM—whether it’s Salesforce, HubSpot, or another platform—you’ll be sold a vision of how it will transform your company. But the reality is in the details.
Too often, businesses spend tens of thousands of dollars on a CRM that ends up underutilized or abandoned. Why? Because of two competing forces inside most organizations:
1. The Sales Team
Salespeople are focused on the leads in front of them. They want tools that help them close the next deal—not systems that slow them down. Left unchecked, they’ll often:
Skip logging calls and emails
Leave out contacts
Create duplicate records
Produce patchy, inconsistent data
That means company leaders can’t see big-picture metrics like:
Average speed to contact a new lead
Number of touchpoints required to convert a customer
Overall conversion ratios
2. The Operations/Tech Team
On the other side, you may have a detail-oriented, tech-minded team member who loves systems. They’ll dive deep into workflows, automations, and reporting capabilities.
But if they take the reins, the CRM becomes too complex. Salespeople get bogged down in rules, processes, and required fields—pulling them away from their core work of prospecting and closing deals.
The Missing Piece: A Bridge Between Sales and Operations
What’s often missing is someone who can bridge the gap between sales and operations.
That’s where I come in.
I spent over a decade in real estate sales and leading sales teams. I also have an operations mindset and experience implementing CRMs for those teams. I understand both perspectives—and I know how to find the happy medium.
Here’s how I approach it:
Assess current usage – How are salespeople using the CRM today? Where are the gaps?
Identify opportunities – What simple changes will support sales while giving leadership better visibility?
Balance automation with practicality – Apply the 80/20 rule. Automate what truly drives revenue; don’t waste hours building automations that don’t matter.
Support both sides – Hold sales accountable for key inputs (like logging calls) while preventing operations from over-engineering the system.
Deliver usable reporting – Ensure management gets clear, accurate data to make decisions.
The Result
With the right implementation, you get:
Reliable data you can use to drive strategy
A sales team that’s supported, not burdened by the system
Operations that run smoothly without getting stuck in over-automation
Ownership visibility into what’s really happening in the pipeline
In other words: your CRM becomes a powerful tool that helps your company grow—rather than a costly system that collects dust.
👉 If you’re considering a CRM implementation (or if you have one that isn’t working the way it should), I can help you get it right the first time.
