27% of Technology Advisors Aren't Using a CRM

As the technology advisor (agent) channel moves toward more professionalization and platforms, many firms are still catching up on CRM adoption.

Channel Futures recently released findings from its Q2 Market Outlook survey of technology advisors (agents). The 67-respondent survey sheds light on how partners are leveraging customer relationship management (CRM) platforms – or not using them – in their business.

According to the survey, 27% of tech advisors say they are not using a CRM tool for their business. This is the first time Channel Futures has asked the question, so no data exists on how CRM adoption has increased year-over-year. However, tech advisors and CRM experts share that more and more partners are adopting CRMs.

Vantage's Thomas Collie

"We do indeed see a trend towards CRM utilization by technology advisors, and there most definitely is a need at all levels," said Thomas Collie III, managing partner at the sales and CRM consultancy Vantage Sales Partners. "We’ve worked with individual technology advisors who have just started their practice, large technology advisor firms in business for 20-plus years who still run their business on spreadsheets, and various scenarios in-between."

CRM Adoption

When partners listed the CRM(s) they are using, "none" was the most popular answer at 27%, beating even the number of Salesforce users (25%). HubSpot (21%) and Zoho (15%) followed.

Related:Commission Tracking Tool Reveer Aims for Partner Data Sovereignty

Then came a sharp drop-off for users of other platforms, with Zendesk and Pipedrive in the single-digits. In the "other" category, 3% put the commissions management RPM Telco. Monday.com, Microsoft Dynamics 365, ZoomInfo, Airtable, SugarCRM, The Telecom Vault, Creatio and SAP all got shout-outs.

Q. Which customer relationship management (CRM) tools do you use within your business? (Select all that apply.)

Colleen Passolt, whose platform Reveer integrates with TAs' CRMs, said the results didn't surprise her. However, she's still "shocked" by how many agencies aren't using a CRM.

"From my experience, clients who utilize a CRM system often experience accelerated growth. A CRM provides immediate visibility into their sales process, allowing them to track their progress in real-time," Passolt told Channel Futures. "Additionally, it offers valuable forecasting tools to predict anticipated payments and timelines. Without a CRM, businesses tend to move at a slower pace, getting bogged down in the details and missing out on these efficiencies."

Ronald Berry III, who consults on and implements HubSpot platforms for FlyWheel Consultancy, said he sees TAs evolving from manual processes into CRMs.

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"I've found a lot of agents begin by managing their orders within spreadsheets, but quickly outgrow the functionality of sheets when they dive into reporting on their expected commissions vs what they're actually getting paid on. Once they get set up with a CRM like HubSpot, the reporting capabilities enable a more holistic view on their customers and how to expand their business with top tier accounts," he told Channel Futures.

CRM Use Cases

And how are partners leveraging their CRMs? Unsurprisingly, client management and pipeline was by far the most common use case.

Next came, project management, with 38% of respondents calling it a primary use case.

Then came marketing (28%), which Berry said many partners might not consider.

"Not only does [the CRM] provide insight into customer changes over time, it further allows agents to begin marketing their services through inbound and outbound campaigns, an aspect of business that has often been pushed to the backburner for a lot of agents that we work with and is an area of untapped potential," said Berry, who added that many first-time users are surprised by the number of features in a CRM.

Next came commission tracking (23%). That forecasting capabilities are important for TAs, whose main revenue is based on monthly sales commissions from suppliers.

Content management (14%) and inventory asset management (11%) were fifth and sixth.

Q. What are your business' primary use cases for CRM tools? (Select up to three.)

Partner Perspective

MaryTom Hofer is partner and director of operations at Kairos Data Communications. She said her team has seen the benefits of combining its processes with a CRM that can automate tasks and workflows.

Kairos' MaryTom Hofer

"The fundamentals, like follow up, are vital to being successful as a trusted advisor. Keeping an inventory of customers services, down to the acct numbers, IP addresses, port assignments – you name it – has created massive value and is a time saver for our customers, who rely on us to have this info," Hofer told Channel Futures. "Do you know how much time I would waste if every time a customer called me to get info, I had to call up a supplier versus just having it? I wouldn’t be talking to you right now because I’d be on hold with the supplier yelling, 'Speak to a representative' to try to get it."

A "modernized" CRM will position the partner the source of knowledge, rather than the vendor.

"If you have a great CRM platform and use it at its full potential, couple that with a killer process and you’ll be able to provide an unrivaled customer experience," she said.