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There are two parts to the equation when it comes deciding on a company’s CRM plan.  The first is deciding on the platform.  The second is hiring the right consultant.  It is a common misperception that once a company has decided on a CRM platform, that it’s just a matter of technical implementation.  Companies need to take more time to find the right consultant who understands their business objectives.  When deciding on a platform, GoldMine CRM Premium Edition is a top choice.  It is a powerful tool that assists corporations with streamlining their sales cycle, executing marketing activities, and improving customer satisfaction.  As a result, companies can make the most of their sales, marketing, and customer service investments.  While GoldMine CRM is a powerful software solution; in order to use it to its full potential, hiring the right GoldMine expert is essential.  Here are some important questions to ask before making a match:1. Can your consultant step into your business shoes?Being a GoldMine expert means your consultant needs to be able to do more than just implement the software.  A consultant is the architect that designs and manages the project.  They need to listen to your business needs and goals; and design the implementation to fit your business plans.  A proper GoldMine training plan and GoldMine support are critical to help you reach your desired end point.2. Is your consultant a long-term authorized partner?Make sure to hire a GoldMine expert that has been in business at least 10 years and has been certified to work on GoldMine CRM for at least five years.  This means the hold both GoldMine Technical Certification and GoldMine Training Certifications. The longevity is a sign that the consultant has the breadth and depth companies should expect from their GoldMine CRM partner.3. Are your IT department and sales team working together to find the perfect consultant?A common mistake companies make when choosing a GoldMine expert is to leave the decision solely to the IT department, and not involve the business units.  While the tech department may understand the software; the sales, marketing and customer service teams need to articulate their needs and have customization and reporting addressed as part of the project scope.  4. Did you leave room in your budget for GoldMine training?Allocating a sufficient budget for customization and training on the proper use of the software assures that the GoldMine CRM project plan will be adopted by your organization.  You want to make sure that your key sales and marketing people can use your new solution effectively.5. Is your GoldMine CRM expert willing to do a flat fee project or only open end hourly?Consultants may charge flat fees or hourly rates.  However, if you have requested a firm budget plan, and the consultant can not give you a flat budget, then this means they may not have a strong understanding of what the project entails and what it will end up costing.  This is a red flag.  Be sure your GoldMine consultant is confident and competent to deliver on your GoldMine CRM project.Choosing the correct GoldMine expert can ensure that your CRM investment offers a nice return.  Make sure to ask the questions that will lead to a successful match.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Harmen is a writer for Business Automation Solutions, a Frontrange Authorized Solution Partner and Goldmine expert featuring sales, marketing , CRM integration, and Goldmine training. 

In today’s marketplace, a professional search optimizer is a combination copywriter, Web designer, product designer, developer, marketer, advertiser, analyst and entrepreneur. It can be hard to find someone with these qualifications, and if you’re running a business, you may not have the time. Hiring an SEO consultant is in this digital age a must for any business intent on being found in the Internet’s search engines. This can seem like a daunting task as how do you know who is good and who is not?Search engine optimisation is like any other industry and like in any other industry there are cowboys. But if you use the following 5 questions in your search you will quickly be able to sort out who is who and make your decision on who to hire.Before you ask any questions you are going to need to find your SEO consultants to contact. To do this you need to use the search engines to ensure they can practice what they preach. I would suggest using Google, Yahoo and MSN as they are the top search engines and account for approximately 90% of all UK search traffic.You should try searching the phrase “SEO consultant” and contacting the people that seem to keep coming up in the top results. If they can achieve these results for themselves they will know what they are doing and you will just need to ensure they are ethical.Now you have a shortlist of contacts you can now make contact and ask the following questions to ensure they are ethical and the right choice for your business:1. What past successes have you had?Any good and experienced SEO consultant will be able to tell you of an abundance of top results and companies they have worked with. Many will be able to offer you case studies and client testimonials to back up what they claim. It is important to go through their results to ensure that they are correct and that the companies are in good positions on the search engines.2. What will you do for me?Search engine optimisation is an on page and off page process and should involve the optimisation of your website and link building to be effective. You should also consider if you would like the SEO consultant to make all site changes for you or whether you or your web team will be making the changes. If you are expecting them to make the changes ensure that the SEO consultant you choose can make the changes and is skilled to work with the technology your website is built on. You should also ensure is that they have adequate insurance to cover them in the very unlikely invent of a problem.3. Can you guarantee results?This question is a split question and there are actually 2 answers. The first is that no one can guarantee you top results or 1st place listings in the search engines because they do not own them. If someone says they can run a mile and move onto the next prospect because the likely hood is that they will be using un-ethical techniques to try. I do believe that a good seo consultant will be able to guarantee that they will be able to increase your current online presence.4. What reports will I receive?This will differ from one consultant to the next but you should expect a keyword report to start with, proposing the keywords you should target along with why and the search volume (this will ensure that the keywords you are targeting will actually yield traffic).Once you agree on the keywords and your website has been optimised you should receive a complete report detailing what has been done so you can sign of the project.5. What happens next?Search engine optimisation is an ongoing process of testing, measuring and optimising. It is not something that can be done once and left alone so you should expect to have a monthly program with your SEO consultant where they are optimising, link building and reporting on a monthly basis. This is crucial for long term growth and success so be wary of anyone telling you they will do it once and that is all you need.The bottom line is if you have any reservations or you something doesn’t sound right with your potential SEO consultant don’t use them and keep on looking.