Why do companies so often “ask for a solution” before they know how they will use it?

Two weeks ago, I sat in a board meeting. For the first 12 minutes, we watched a CRM demo: pretty cards, colorful charts, "AI" buttons. Then I asked one question: "Which sales process do you want to standardize with this system?" Silence. I knew immediately I was watching a rerun. Companies buy tools because they want results. Not because they have a clear picture of how the CRM will actually change the way they work. Or how that result is even possible. 

The Thesis

Most companies can't calculate CRM ROI. Why? Because before buying, they fail to define the business impact the CRM will enable and which process will change as a result. 

"Shiny Object" Syndrome - Organizational Placebo

It's easiest to flip the order: 

1. "Let's look at the solution."
2. "We'll define the problem later." 

A demo is an organizational placebo. It looks like action. It's politically safe ("we're just looking"). In reality, it pushes the uncomfortable questions to later: KPIs, responsibilities, behavioral change. Deloitte calls this the "Technology Fallacy" - the idea that buying a tool will fix process and cultural gaps. It won't. If you lack data entry discipline today, a $50,000 tool won't fix it. You'll just get proof of your problem faster. 

When a Committee Buys the Tool, but an Army Uses It 

With kitchen equipment, the logic is clear: the cook does the buying. With CRM, a "committee" often buys (Board, IT, Finance, Procurement). But the "frontline" has to use it (Sales, Key Account Managers). The committee looks at reports, control, security, license costs. The salesperson looks at something else: "Will this help me close more deals - or will it steal two hours a week for clicking things nobody uses?" If the specs are written by someone who hasn't seen a client since 2015, you get a system full of features but empty of value. 

80% of Success Has Nothing to Do With Software

CRM isn't an IT project. It's a business transformation project. Technology is about 20% of the story. The other 80% is: 

• Processes 
• Data standards
• Changing human habits 

I hear this too often: "The project was finished on-time and on-budget." That's the wrong KPI. Servers can hum, licenses can be paid - but business-wise, the project is dead if the win-rate hasn't moved a decimal point. If you didn't define how the CRM would shorten the sales cycle by 15% or raise the win-rate from 22% to 28% before buying, you don't have a project. You have an expense. 

Aha Moment: CRM Isn't a Solution, It's an Amplifier 

Here's the truth license vendors won't tell you: CRM doesn't increase sales on its own. CRM increases visibility. It acts as an amplifier. 

•  If you have a good process, CRM will speed it up and make it scalable. 
• If you have a mess where every salesperson does their own thing, CRM will digitalize and accelerate that mess. 

You'll get chaos on steroids. Buying a CRM to "fix sales" is like buying a scale to lose weight. The scale will only tell you exactly how heavy you are. Results come from diet and training - process and discipline. 

CRM Readiness Canvas - Three Questions Before the First Demo 

So: stop watching demos. A demo is theater. Before calling a vendor, do your homework. We call it the "CRM Readiness Canvas." If you can't answer these three questions, you aren't ready to buy: 

1. What are the 3 key KPIs? Not "better sales," but "raising win-rate from 22% to 28%" or "shortening sales cycle by 12 days." 
2. What are the 5 real user scenarios? Describe a salesperson's day: exactly where do they get stuck, where do they lose time, where do they lose deals? 
3. Who owns the business value? Who will answer with their name and reputation that the investment pays off? If the answer is "IT," you're already in the red. 

Conclusion 

A CRM investment is too expensive to leave to shiny presentations. Don't buy pots until you know if you're cooking stew. When you have KPIs, scenarios, and a value owner - then a demo makes sense. And that's when you call me. 

 igor.pauletic@frodx.com 

P.S. If your data isn't clean, any CRM is just a "Garbage In, Garbage Out" machine. We'll talk data hygiene next time.