What is a CRM Consultant?

What is a CRM Consultant? OK, first let’s talk about what most people believe is a CRM Consultant. They may believe, in the early stages, that the guy trying to sell the CRM Software is a consultant. Then, the confusion begins when they approve the deal and begin working with a kid who’s going to be doing the customizations. Since this is where all that wonderful value is supposedly being created, he gets to call himself a consultant too.

In fact, neither of these people, at least in the mainstream sense, are what I would call a CRM consultant; but I don’t make the rules. I would call the first a sale person and the latter a contractor. A contractor is someone who’s focus is squarely on the input side of the equation: Tasks, Deliverables, Activities, and Methodology. This isn’t where the results live, therefore it’s not where the value lives. It’s also nearly impossible to estimate the level of inputs required to satisfy a result you and your client have never discussed — which can lea…