February 2024 Office Technology CRM Survey

Office Technology magazine surveyed BTA's dealer members about the use of client relationship management (CRM) software in their dealerships. Following are the questions and the results from the 97 respondents.

(1) Which CRM do you use in your dealership?

AgentDealer: 11.34% (11 responses)
SalesChain: 33.02% (33 responses)
Sherpa CRM by White Cup: 27.84% (27 responses)
Other (indicate product name): 26.8% (26 responses)
- Other product names listed included: ACT Premium, Ascellerate by ECI, ConnectWise Manage, FORZA/SAP, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, monday sales CRM, Pipedrive, Soaring by Falcon, Tigerpaw and Zoho.

(2) How long have you used your present CRM?

Less than one year: 13.4% (13 responses)
One to three years: 25.77% (25 responses)
Three to five years: 9.28% (9 responses)
More than five years: 51.55% (50 responses)

(3) Which of the following best describes the extent to which your dealership utilizes your CRM for marketing, quoting, data mining, relationship management, automated processes, etc.? (One respondent skipped this question.)

We are using our CRM at far less than its full potential: 40.63% (39 responses)
I am generally satisfied that we are using many of our CRM’s capabilities at a respectable level on a daily basis: 51.04% (49 responses)
We have fully optimized the use of our CRM and its capabilities: 8.33% (8 responses)

Click to view additional comments:

"This is an initiative in our organization and we are working diligently to optimize its usage. We improve every day."
"We use the basics, but haven't done a lot of work with the modules we could add."
"We are optimizing it every month. Great tool. It will never be fully optimized."
"Notes, tasks, contact info and proposals are about the extent of our use."
"We rely on SalesChain a great deal every day. It is a solid CRM, with a view into e-automate for reps [to look] into their own accounts. We also use it for pricing and building deals, but it has many capabilities we have not taken advantage of."
"Last year we started to actively optimize Sherpa and are continuing this year."
"We have integrated it into e-automate and DocuWare."
"Some features don’t work as expected. Others we don’t know how to use."
"Grateful it’s one platform: FORZA's ERP with its own CRM."
"I hate it. It has become the leading excuse in the sales prevention department."
"We will be using it fully once all the customizations are completed."
"We are 18 months into this CRM and are beta testing the fulfillment process automation for rollout in Q2 2024."
"No marketing, data mining, relationship management or automated processes."

(4) How would you characterize your CRM software vendor in terms of its level of support, guidance, training and receptivity to recommendations for improvement?

Less than satisfactory: 18.56% (18 responses)
Satisfactory: 43.3% (42 responses)
Very good: 25.77% (25 responses)
Excellent: 12.37% (12 responses)

Click to view additional comments:

"Support is timely and issues/questions are usually resolved quickly."
"It’s all online interaction, so having a representative of our own would be nice."
"They are a great partner with great support. However, if your business isn’t willing to invest PMT (people, money and time) into the tool, it's crucial to have realistic expectations that you will not see any real significant changes. There's no magic bullet a vendor can provide without a substantial investment in the project. If you're not planning to invest PMT, then consider finding the cheapest and most basic tool."
"They do a good job, but it seems most changes or adds we ask for cost money."
"SalesChain help desk is very helpful."
"Wish they would make the task process easier with less room for error for new reps."
"We have great support; very responsive."
"It’s been a struggle getting them to integrate its full capabilities."
"They always respond quickly, but I do feel issues are more prevalent than they should be."
"Terrible. Nonresponsive."
"Everyone at The Sailor Group is very good at what they do. They are very professional, personal and a pleasure to work with."
"The people we work with are all great. Support tickets and questions are answered quickly and thoroughly. However, we feel very boxed in with having to use the product in its current state. Granted, there is an idea portal, but the ideas that are implemented take a very long time and are split between bug fixes or very remedial corrections. There have also been times when our company was seeking a quote and willing to pay for custom development and we were not able to get traction on it ... "

(5) How satisfied are you with your CRM, in terms of its functionality, ease of use and contribution to your dealership’s sales success?

Less than satisfied: 27.84% (27 responses)
Satisfied: 52.58% (51 responses)
Very satisfied: 19.59% (19 responses)

Click to view additional comments:

Overall, our satisfaction with HubSpot is a testament to its ability to drive growth, improve efficiency, and help us as a company achieve our business goals effectively. really that is why you buy a great CRM."

"User interface could be better."
"We have ongoing problems with synching from e-automate and not sure where the problem is."
"We are getting closer to our goals for this CRM, but it has been bumpy and taken longer than hoped."
"This may have to do with us using a older version of e-automate, so the connection won't work until we upgrade e-automate."
"We can only really use Sherpa for some of our sales and we need to pay for HubSpot for marketing."

(6) Which of the following best describes your sales team members’ commitment to utilizing your CRM on a daily basis?

It’s an uphill battle that is “hit and miss” in terms of our sales reps using the CRM on a daily basis: 35.05% (34 responses)
I am generally satisfied with the level of usage of our CRM among our sales reps: 47.42% (46 responses)
I am very pleased with my sales team members and can say that they fully embrace the use of our CRM: 17.53% (17 responses)

Click to view additional comments:

"This is always a work in progress based on the managers holding the sales reps accountable."
"Our reps hit the basics well (logging activity, updating current sales info, etc.). Anything aside from that ends up being on a rep-by-rep basis. Some will use equipment modules within the system, others will do everything offline."
"We made it mandatory, and as a business, we decided to drive this change without allowing any employee to be a roadblock due to their unwillingness to change. So, we said it's OK if they do not want to use the tool; those who did not want to participate would lose their ability to upgrade current customers. Shockingly, everyone is a valued user today. It's the best decision we've ever made!"
"Usage and commitment to SalesChain also improves every day."
"We have come a long way in terms of entering and updating data. A big win this past year was getting them to actually forecast properly in the CRM."
"My reps utilize SalesChain at varying levels, from top performers who are power users to others who drift away from best practices regularly. Lack of accountability enforcement falls on me, not SalesChain."
"We have Power BI reporting from Sherpa by White Cup. It's integral to our sales system."
"Our usage is limited by limitations of the software and poor support.
"We require usage as part of their job."
"Once they become totally familiar with the CRM, I expect a much more significant embracing of the product."
"Its inability to integrate with VoIP systems to automatically log phone calls is challenging."
"We can't use Sherpa for managed professional services contracts, software sales and other IT hardware, so they have to create many quotes in e-automate."

(7) Would you like for BTA to schedule a session or breakouts on the subject of CRMs at a future district-hosted educational & networking event?

Yes: 77.32% (75 responses)
No: 22.68% (22 responses)

(8) Are there any general comments you would like to share on the topic of CRMs?

Click to view comments:

"[CRMs are] great tools, but only as valuable as the users and organizations make them. It is only as good as what you put into it." — Matt Nix, president, Duplicating Products Inc., Gainesville, Georgia

"I believe it has helped us get more sales data from our ERP software along with our leasing vendors." — DJ Hastings, president, Hogland Office Equipment Inc., Lubbock, Texas

"I view a CRM as a place to hold information on prospects and clients. Ours is a cloud offering and works great for that purpose. It's also very inexpensive; only $10 per user per month." — Reena Philpot, sales manager, Precision Duplicating Solutions, London, Kentucky

"All CRMs have their advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons. SalesChain is good and should do what we need it to do. The most important issue is to commit to a good CRM and optimize its capabilities." — Tom Harrison, COO, UTEC, Ann Arbor, Michigan

"We moved from Sherpa CRM to (browser-based) SalesChain for support and mobility, and have been very pleased with the decision." — Erik Skadberg, president, CPI Business Solutions, Lafayette, Indiana

"CRM use is great and expected. But when it is used as a hammer to micromanage representatives, that is when it fails and also why it has a bad reputation now." — Brian Bence, director of sales, Shenandoah Valley Office Equipment Inc., Verona, Virginia

"Are there any AI options that could make CRM usage more successful?" — Gordon Stapleton, vice president/CFO, Quality Digital Office Solutions, Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania

"CRMs are as good as the data input by the reps and the reps' ability/willingness to follow through the process. More data doesn't mean more sales. Quality versus quantity." — John Kerling, CEO & vice president, United Business Systems, Buffalo, New York

"With AI and how it's evolving, I don't think any interface will matter in the near future. You will speak and it will go into the correct account in the CRM." — Tim Ducat, director of sales, Smart Technologies of Florida, Melbourne, Florida

"I tried a few CRM systems. I found SalesChain to be the best." — Stephen Valenta, president/owner, Offix, Gainesville, Virginia

"Do not get stuck with only things that interface with ECI. Many people mistakenly believe they must integrate with e-automate when, in reality, the true value of a CRM lies in its potential for marketing and sales impact on the business. Buy and use the best tool, not the best integration. [A CRM should provide:]
"Customer Insights: A CRM provides valuable customer data and analytics for a deeper understanding of customer preferences.
"Personalized Marketing: Enables tailored marketing campaigns, boosting engagement and conversions.
"Sales Efficiency: Streamlines sales processes, automates tasks and enhances sales team productivity.
"Data Security and Compliance: Prioritizes data security and ensures compliance with privacy regulations.
"Scalability and Integration: Adapts to business growth and integrates seamlessly with other tools for enhanced efficiency." — Jeffrey Cousins, CEO/founder, Kraft Business Systems Inc., Caledonia, Michigan

"We have tried several CRMs with weak results. They were expensive, time consuming and sales representatives did not utilize them properly. We are currently using independent tools to help with normal CRM tasks." — David Anderson, president, Anderson Business Technology, Pasadena, California

"BDT's [Budget Document Technology's] sales reps embrace our SalesChain system. The integrations with e-automate and leasing partners work very well in providing real-time information to our reps. The vice president of sales provides continuous refresher training and new features relevant to the team every quarter. Management holds reps accountable for using the CRM to its fullest and it shows, as all reps at BDT exceed 100% of annual quota." — Tom Ouellette, president, Budget Document Technology, Lewiston, Maine

"It feels like CRMs are being very responsive versus innovative when it comes to development and the use of CRMs in the sales world. If we're going to attract younger generations into this industry, we need to use CRMs that are fun to use." — Eric McIntosh, senior vice president, WiZiX Technology Group Inc., Roseville, California

"We are moving away from an external/third-party integrated solution, as well as our core solution — e-automate — and replacing the whole lot with one app to cover all areas of the business." — Ron Hulett, president & CEO, U.S. Business Systems Inc., Elkhart, Indiana

"[A CRM is] extremely important to the movement of information within the dealership. Integration with all aspects of the business is also extremely important." — Tim Renegar, president, Kelly Office Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

"We've looked at other options, but as a small dealership, the costs (real and soft) are too much for us to make the jump [to another CRM]. The White Cup support people are very good, and I'm pretty satisfied with their training platform and functionality of the product." — Paul Knoff, sales director, Bauernfeind Business Technologies, Marshfield, Wisconsin

"This feels obvious, but a CRM is only as good as the people who use it (or don't use it). It is definitely a constant battle with sales reps to get them to use anything to its full extent." — Michael Kenny, president & CEO, U.S. Copy Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana

"We stopped using Sherpa for prospecting and client management due to its lack of evolution and innovation. Ideally, we cancel Sherpa when we can use HubSpot for everything." — Dean Swenson, president, The Swenson Group (TSG), Livermore, California

"We would love for there to be another option for calculating commissions from CRM orders other than downloading orders to Excel or SalesScoreKeeper." — Dawna McCabe, president & CEO, Century Business Technologies, Topeka, Kansas

"We are doing a trial with monday.com. It is not fully implemented." — Nick Lioce, president, The Lioce Group, Huntsville, Alabama

"[It is important to] get the sales team to buy into the value of the CRM." — Anonymous

"Support is a struggle." — Anonymous

"I'm glad there are a few good options available geared to our specific industry, especially during a time that our dealership is looking to change." — Anonymous

"Sherpa still seems antiquated. I've used Salesforce in other businesses and it is much more user friendly. Sherpa has too much page navigation between different functions of the software. Salesforce is also much more aesthetically pleasing." — Anonymous

"We will not be with Sherpa much longer." — Anonymous

"BTA should do this based on e-automate and its alternatives. Most of the other business owners I know, myself included, feel handcuffed to e-automate and are not happy. I am a newer member so forgive my ignorance if BTA has done so already." — Anonymous

February 2024 Office Technology CRM Survey

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