The Customer Relationship Management Planning Guide (Plastic Comb)

by Dick Lee (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
World Famous SFA/CRM Guru Spills the Family Jewels.

Most consultants guard their little tricks and methodologies like the priceless family jewels. So I was surprised to see Dick Lee's latest contribution to the genre, The Customer Relationship Management Planning Guide. In this slim publication, Lee spells out, in meticulous detail, the precise methodology he has used to guide numerous clients to successful CRM projects. Many of you call me to discuss the challenges you are having getting your CRM project off the ground. Yet, just as many of you tell me you're not ready to pay a king's ransom to bring in a fancy consulting firm to lead you every step of the way. Well, you should look at Dick Lee's new guide. At just $175, this workbook will save you lots of time and energy. -- Rich Bohn, sellmorenow e-letter, June 1999.

Product Description
The majority of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementations fail. Why? Primarily because implementers treat CRM tactically, as software, rather than strategically, as a new way of doing business. The Customer Relationship Management Planning Guide is designed to help organizations implement CRM strategically and successfully through a planning-based approach.

Using The CRM Planning Guide is as simple as 1-2-3. 1. Assemble a cross-functional planning team. The core team, which attends all meetings, should include at least one decision-maker each from marketing, sales and customer service-plus a "second voice" from each. A wider resource team, which participates on an as-needed basis, should include market and product managers, several field sales reps and service reps-plus marketing's management contact in ITand others directly affecting marketing activities. Of utmost importance is having a team sponsor with the clout to clear your path and the will to use it. 2. Gather necessary information. Review the planning document to identify what information you have in hand and what you'll need to gather. Assign responsibility and resources for obtaining the necessary information. 3. Let the CRM Planning Guide lead you through the planning process. Make sure you follow The CRM Planning Guide in the sequence presented. Much of the power of this planning process comes from evaluating input in the order most likely to create a "compounding" effect where previous considerations help you answer questions to come. Occasionally, you'll want to go back and amend previous observations, which is normal. But avoid skipping around because you have certain information now but won't have some other information until later.

That's all there is to it.

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Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 56 pages
• Publisher: High-Yield Marketing Press (July 15, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 0967375703
• ISBN-13: 978-0967375700
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,470,337 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where's the Value, March 7, 2000

By	Michael G Creamer (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

Perhaps Dick Lee is a guru of CRM and a valued consultant, but the book is not. I was disappointed in the fact that the book claimed to unfold secrets to Mr. Lee's success, but found nothing more than a few basic thoughts. There was no insight into any CRM planning, such as how to initiate contact with a prospect, nor any steps on how to conduct such a venture with a client. Any points that Mr. Lee brought up that might be insiteful, were left unfulfilled. I was expecting more than an advertisement for a seminar. I have no doubt that Mr. Lee is a wonderful consultant, and having worked for American Express, and with 3M, (both companies touted in preface of the book), I am a believer in his work. I have seen CRM have tremendous results. If you are looking to implement CRM there are a number of books to choose from, but this unfortuately is not one of them.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from searchCRM.com, September 18, 2000

By	Carol Smalley (Needham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Customer Relationship Management Planning Guide V2.0: CRM Steps I & II, Customer-centric Planning & Redesigning Roles (Spiral-bound)

After hosting Dick Lee as our Live Expert Q&A Guest last week, I thought I owed it to the registered users of searchCRM.com to take a more thorough stroll through his planning guide. This spiral-bound "how to" manual is divided into four main areas: Barriers and Boundaries, Market View, Internal Information, and Redefining Roles. As Lee states in his opening remarks, "CRM doesn't work when approached as a technology. In fact, some 70% of stand-alone CRM technology implementations crash and burn. And for a very simple reason - they're not carrying out a business strategy." Although it certainly cannot be guaranteed, using Lee's publication may place you in the 30% group of customer-centric companies successfully implementing CRM. Initially, I thought that the price for the book was a little steep. Upon further examination, however, I realized that the book includes a planning diskette to make the process simpler. Perhaps an investment well spent. I would have liked to have seen one additional item added to Lee's publication - a real life example of his planning strategies as applied to a company's CRM initiatives.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing New, May 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Customer Relationship Management Planning Guide V2.0: CRM Steps I & II, Customer-centric Planning & Redesigning Roles (Spiral-bound)

I bought Lee's Planning Guide, Deployment Guide, and Survival Guide as one package. I read through the first two and was dissappointed to find nothing particularly revolutionary. Many of the concepts were ones I learned years ago in basic strategic planning. For $... this and the deployment guide fall way short on value.

That being said, I read the Survival Guide and was extremely pleased. The detail that was lacking in the Kinkos assembled planning and deployment guides was plentiful in the Surival Guide. It was an easy read and clearly and honestly points out the pitfalls of CRM implementation. The survival guide also has much more "how to" and references real life situations with which the reader can identify.

Spend the $... on the Survival Guide and save your money on the rest...unless you know nothing about strategic planning, understanding customer needs, and facilitating team activities.