Sage CRM

This is thanks to @WayneSchulz but I thought it was quite interesting. I loved this comment: ""The best CRM technology in the world will not help you one little bit unless you and your team know how to use it correctly and then actually use it!"" @PeterWolf, any thoughts? http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericwagner/2012/05/22/news-flash-big-company-makes-big-mistake-with-crm/

Too bad Forbes didn't ask Sage what CRM they were using internally...

It says in the article ""Turns out she was using a version of ACT

Or not using, according to the article. ""Turns out she was using a version of ACT, but had no idea we were current customers; nor were there any notes on the last conversation with the other sales rep."" I'd say that was NOT using it....

What could my thoughts be except ""it's embarassing""? Sage internal marketing and sales is a fucking mess. All the more reason that Pascal's drive to sell direct is so sickening. If I was Pascal telling everyone to jump in the car, I would have checked to make sure the wheels were on first.

What's sad is that I'll bet you any amount of money that nearly all of Sage's time spent reacting to this issue will be blaming the reporter for some ""trick"" or not having telling Sage his correct company name, etc. Nobody at Sage will take a fall for this and instead it will be chalked up as an isolated instance from someone ""out to get Sage"".

That might be. I do know that my conversations with Dan Wilzoch and other folks in the Sales department about this issue have made it clear that they are aware of the problem. Atlas didn't help. They were moving to a Sage CRM solution and it was somewhat de-railed. I think it's back on track though and we should see some changes in the next six months. It's funny that it takes them years to fix their systems but when it comes to making a knee-jerk reaction like bending the partners over a chair, that shit happens with little to no deliberation. Pathetic.

I nominate this for 2012 quote of the year: It's funny that it takes them years to fix their systems but when it comes to making a knee-jerk reaction like bending the partners over a chair, that shit happens with little to no deliberation.

One of my favorite lines over the years has been ""it's bad software if you don't know how to use it."" I couldn't even venture a guess at how many times I have said this to customers, prospects and co-workers.

I do find it comical that a company / department within the company of that size (Sage) was using ACT! instead of a more robust CRM package...

The big question is what version of Act are they using??????

Why aren't they using SalesLogix which is way better.

Even SageCRM. Really, ACT? The lowest end CRM product?

Obvously, they chose to self install instead of using a qualified RESELLER to determine their real issues, wants and needs........