CRM Reading Lounge: Useful Documents

Selecting A Suitable Small Business CRM Solutions Provider: Sample CRM Vendor Evaluation Document

This document is intended to be completed by your proposed Small Business CRM Solutions providers. It will assist you in making a sensible and thorough selection of a CRM vendor for your small business, and convey to your vendors you take your CRM project seriously. You are probably looking to establish a long-term relationship with your CRM vendor – you should both be in it for the long haul – and some of these answers will help you determine their resources and intentions.

Vendor Name:
Name of person completing document:
Contact Details:

  1. Client profile and references
    1.1 Number of vendor staff per client.
    1.2 Clients who have shares in the vendor?
    1.3 Clients who have purchased the CRM product?
    1.4 Number of client staff supporting CRM package.
  2. Trading History
    2.1 How long has the company been in business?
    2.2 Have there been any mergers / take-overs?
    2.3 What is the vision of the company?
    2.4 What is the company’s financial position?
  3. Staff (In your country)
    3.1 Please provide an organogram of organizational hierarchy of your company.
    3.2 What are your staff numbers?
    3.3 Are the staff permanent or contract, if there is a combination of both, please indicate the numbers?
    3.4 Please outline the staff’s experience and qualifications.
  4. Resources
    4.1 Who are the Backers?
    4.2 Do you have links to other companies?
    4.3 Who are your shareholders?
    4.4 What is the role of your Shareholders?
    4.5 Do you have alliances to other companies?
  5. Focus of vendor (current and future)
    5.1 What is the vendor’s target market (referring to the proposed CRM application software)?
    5.2 Functional software – software suite?
    5.3 Source of competitive advantage (again with emphasis to their CRM side)?
  6. Senior Management
    6.1 Who are they?
    6.2 Experience?

Some of these questions might be overkill, depending on the size of your company. They will give you an idea as to their overall suitability as a provider of small business CRM solutions with a complimentary vision to yours

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