Welcome to Part Three of our series on building a business case for CRM. One common objection we often hear is, “We’ve managed for twenty years with our own system. Why do we need to change?” Well, here’s the reason why: Those paper files you’ve been using for years, while valuable and tangible records of past activities, take up space, incur storage costs, and things can easily get lost in them. Now, I’m not undermining the usefulness of paper files—they have their place. However, if you can migrate all that information into a system, where you can track phone calls, appointments, meetings, emails, and have complete updates and reminders integrated into your sales process and customer service, it becomes clear that relying solely on paper files is no longer efficient.

If your business doesn’t have ambitions to grow further, that’s fine. But it’s important to remember that failing to grow means effectively deciding to shrink your business. The world keeps moving, and that’s why it’s crucial to have the right systems supporting your day-to-day operations. A proper business system can do everything paper files do and more. With features like global search, you can search through thousands of pages within seconds, which is simply incredible. It may not be a small task to transition everything from paper files to a digital system, and I won’t downplay its complexity. As humans, we tend to put important information in paper files, scribble notes, and highlight key points. All of that needs to be captured when transferring those actions into the digital system, ensuring it’s organized with the right fields and user-friendly interface.

Investing in a CRM system and a comprehensive business system to underpin your operations is a compelling reason. It allows you to reduce the number of paper files in your business, eliminate the need for extensive searching, and access everything from a cloud-based platform. It might sound like a crazy thought, but it’s definitely worth exploring further and assessing its potential impact on your business. They may call it “digital transformation,” but we see it as a way to solve business system problems and streamline operations.

Remember, embracing technology and implementing efficient systems can lead to significant benefits for your business. It’s worth considering how adopting a CRM system can revolutionize your processes and drive growth.