Why Your CRM Strategy Shouldn't Start with CRM

If you’re starting off your customer relationship management (CRM) journey by evaluating vendors and comparing platforms, you’re missing a crucial step.

I’ve seen plenty of companies dive into the CRM decision process by immediately making spreadsheets to compare platform features. Then, six months later, they’re left wondering why they can’t get their sales team to use their new CRM.

The first question to ask isn’t "Which CRM should we use?" First, you need to define your sales process. Once you have that figured out, you have the foundation you need to decide which CRM will work best for you.

The research backs this up. According to a 2025 study by Johnny Grow, 55 percent of CRM implementations do not meet planned objectives. A study by Vantage Point from the same year found that over 60 percent of CRM failures are due to people-related challenges, while only 10 percent stem from technology issues.

Research by Insightly found that 32 percent of decision makers chose a CRM based on reputation, and 38 percent admitted they rushed the CRM selection process. The study also revealed that over 53 percent of CRM rollouts failed before implementation even began due to a lack of understanding of business processes and unrealistic CRM expectations.

One of the main reasons for these issues? Organizations frequently start their CRM decision-making process by evaluating vendors rather than defining their sales process.

Define Your Sales Process Before Choosing Your CRM

CRM platforms themselves aren’t typically the issue. The majority of them work well, but only for those organizations that already understand how they sell. The issue is that many companies try to fit their sales process to their CRM rather than choosing a CRM that fits their sales process.

To prevent this, clearly define your sales process before starting the CRM selection process. Then, look for a CRM that makes your existing workflows easier to execute. Here are three questions to ask yourself and your team to help accomplish this.

Which activities move deals forward?

Your sales reps do a lot during the day, and some of these activities are more closely tied to revenue than others. Determine the key steps customers take when buying from you and which sales rep activities drive those actions. In this evaluation, don’t focus on your sales playbook. Look for the activities that actually move deals forward.

What information do reps need?

You could track innumerable different data points, but it’s important to determine which ones your sales reps actually need to close deals. I’ve seen CRMs with dozens of custom fields that no one ever references. Figure out what information your team actually needs for your sales process and reporting, and you have a crucial piece of information you can use when choosing your CRM.

How does information flow between team members?

Customer relationships are rarely managed by just one team member or department as they move from lead to repeat customer. Typically, management of a relationship moves between departments like marketing, sales, and customer success. Handoffs between these departments or team members are often where deals either stall or accelerate.

Determining where these handoffs occur and what information needs to flow between team members helps reduce friction in your sales process.

Let Your Sales Process Determine Your CRM Choice

Once you’ve answered these questions, you have solid information to guide your CRM decision. When evaluating CRMs, look for the ones that will best support the activities, data, and handoffs that are essential to how your team closes deals.

With this mindset, your selection criteria tie back to your sales process directly. Rather than focusing on features, you can look for the platforms that will make your process easier and more efficient to implement.

Because you're assessing CRMs based on the actual activities your sales reps complete and the data they need, implementation will be smoother and adoption higher. The tool will fit seamlessly into your existing process.

Insightly’s research confirms this. Their study found that only 27 percent of organizations fully utilize their CRMs, with most using less than half of the available features. This isn’t a technology issue. It’s a mismatch between the CRM’s features and the team’s actual process.

Why Process-Driven Selection Drives Adoption

When you create your CRM strategy around how you sell, adoption is natural.

Sales reps don’t need to change how they work to use the CRM. Instead, a CRM like Nutshell can make existing workflows easier by automating elements like follow-ups, reminders, and status updates. It tracks the right activities, provides the data your team needs, and facilitates smooth handoffs.

This makes the transition to a new CRM much more seamless, increasing adoption.

You’ll also be able to onboard new hires more quickly because using the CRM helps them learn your sales process. Your data also becomes more reliable, improving reporting, forecasting, and sales outcomes.

Start With Your Process, Not the Software

Before you create a spreadsheet and start comparing CRM tools, take a step back and ask yourself whether you can clearly define your sales process. Do you know what activities drive revenue, what data points your team needs, and how information flows between team members?

If you don’t already have a well-defined sales process, a new CRM won’t solve any problems. It’ll simply amplify your existing ones.

The companies that succeed with CRM aren’t the ones with access to the most features. They’re the ones who understand their sales process and choose a CRM that directly supports that, which leads to teams actually wanting to use the CRM.

Your CRM strategy shouldn’t start with deciding which CRM to purchase. It should start with a clear understanding of how your team actually generates revenue so you can choose a CRM that supports that.

Andy Fowler is CEO of Nutshell, which he cofounded in 2009 to help businesses streamline customer relationship management processes and grow. Fowler graduated from Asbury University with a bachelor’s in media communication and cofounded his first company, Paradigm Reborn, in 2004.