Thoughts on “What Makes A Good (Dynamics) CRM Consultant?”

Introduction

I have recently been reading Joel Abbott‘s post on “What Makes A Good CRM Consultant?“, which is quite an interesting article to check whether or not your on the right path to become a good CRM consultant. Nonetheless, I wanted to add a few qualities.

The existing list

So, which qualities should a good CRM consultant have according to Joel?

• Current Industry Knowledge
• Excellent Communication Skills
• Takes An Agile & Tailored Approach
• Real-World Experience
• Organised & Efficient

Added qualities

Joel noted in his post: “The above list is not exhaustive.”. Which allows for further exploration on qualities a good consultant should have. I’m thinking of following competences:

• Has passion for the job: this seems to be the most obvious competence, as everybody has this! Errr…. think again! How many people have you come into contact with, which just did the job because it’s “just their job”?  A good consultant does his job with passion and will put that same passion into his or her project, making sure it becomes a project on which he/she can look back with proud.
• Is project process-oriented: you can break down a (CRM) project in several different ways. E.g. you can break a Dynamics CRM project down with the Dynamics Sure Step methodology or you can use an Entity Relationship Diagram to get a better understanding of how the entities relate to each other. But at the end of the road, it’s the process you use in the project which allows you to stay on top of it all and to finish it successfully.
• Keeps his/her head cool: carrying out a project is one thing, making it successful another. Things will go wrong during the implementation, the sooner you understand this, the better. Navigating from a current state (how are things now?) to a future state (how will things be when we’re done?) will reveal problems you didn’t think before.
• Is client process-oriented: a good consultant will keep in mind that every project is meant to support the current processes or create new ones within a company. Implementing a Dynamics CRM system which differs to much with the current processes will fail miserably as the gap between the current and future situation is to big.
• Understands objections: as a consultant your main job is to give advice to your customer (A consultant (from Latin: consultare “to discuss”) is a professional who provides professional or expert advice). Ultimately, it is your customer who decides whether or not to follow your guidance. Prepare to meet objections and learn how to deal with them.

Conclusion

A lot of qualities are required to become a good CRM consultant. Moreover Joel’s list and mine are not exhaustive and are definitely subjective. Which brings me to the following question; “Which qualities does a good CRM consultant have according to you?”. Feel free to let me know in the comments section below!

If you are looking for a consultant who fits the outline above, please get in touch, I’m looking forward to hear from you!

Source: Dilbert image