Many of the people that know me professionally would be surprised to see what I write about. That’s probably because over the years, I’ve slowly migrated from “suit and tie” banker to down and dirty consultant. I didn’t think there would be such a difference in perception, but clearly there is.
I clearly remember the day I made the decision to change careers. I was pretty excited to be leaving the super regional bank world and working for a 4 person consulting firm. Basically, I was excited about working with technology as a platform for moving my ideas forward.
Very quickly, it became apparent that my interest in analytics and process was being overshadowed by the urgency of Sales Force Automation. It was a quick sell, a quick install and left me wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. In a nutshell, I became a slick software installer, everything I never wanted in life.
The thing that saved me, and trapped me at the same time, was my ability not only to design creative solutions to business problems, but also to create them. I was turning into a decent programmer. My vendor even hired me to create the solutions they delivered which led to a PC Magazine Award (the solution, not me personally). Even IBM hired me to create a solution for one of their high profile clients. Everything I never wanted in life 
As the CRM world emerged from the SFA trash heap (literally) I saw opportunities for me to be a one man show. I could basically do it all, from immersion into the business discussion to lonely hours creating tools to support the solutions. Time was the only enemy. How can one many possibly do it all. Totally unscalable.
Eventually, I decided that there was a great deal of parity between the [CRM software->] platforms of the day so I made a move to a brand new platform that seemed to get it at the time, SalesLogix. I’ve stuck with it ever since because being focused on business issues and customer issues didn’t leave me the room to constantly pursue new platforms and programming languages (psst! I’m not a programmer). It gets the job done just as many applications do, for specific scenarios. As a result, I became the “SalesLogix Guy”, and people actually call me that sometimes – everything I never wanted in life (not that there’s anything wrong with it).
Things You’ll Hear As The SalesLogix Guy
- “My Outlook is broken, I need you to fix it”
- “Can you help me replace my hard drive?”
- “Why can’t I get on the Internet?”
- “I can’t log in….to my computer”
And this is just from my mother!
These are all things that come from the “CRM is software” mentality. Somehow, if I work with a tool (software) to assist in the solution of business problems I’m also an IT guy. Frankly, that’s an embarrassment to IT professionals around the world.
Most management consultants don’t involve themselves with the technical details of implementation. At least, I never see any – most of the time I simply have to. What I do see out there is an army of programmers and IT engineers proudly wearing the title of CRM consultant. And I find myself amongst that crowd.
It’s easy to explain, “I write code.” What’s not so easy to explain – “I help companies build frameworks for successful customer outcomes.” Apparently there’s no budget for the latter even though there’s work to be done. If it doesn’t look like software, it’s not a problem.
You Really Need The Customer Experience Guy On Your Team
Are we all ready to agree that installing the latest feature rich [CRM software->] does not solve your problems? If you can’t answer yes and explain why, then you might want to spend some time with a guy like me. I’m a CRM operative. A double agent. I can slip in and out of both worlds. I know what to look for. It’s obvious to me. Nothing about your business looks like C# to me or my like-minded colleagues.
I’m ready to map the customer experience. I’m ready to build the proper customer metrics for relationship marketing. I’m ready to re-align workflows around the customer. I’m ready to bust silos. And I’m also prepared to write some code, or configure some tools to support all of the above. It’s my secret CRM disguise, like Clark Kent’s glasses. It’s amazingly effective…at hiding the truth. I’m not really the SalesLogix Guy Maybe you’d like to get to know me a little better. I’m the Customer Experience Guy.
Mike Boysen
Mike Boysen, founder of Effective CRM, is a strategic consultant in the CRM arena. He brings practical insight to businesses to help them understand customer-centered business strategy: outside-in process design, frameworks for understanding customer needs, understanding the jobs of your customers, market growth through innovation, behavior driven relationship marketing programs and designing systems to support these initiatives. The technology part is simple, so why are you spending so much money on that? Can't answer that? This is not the CRM your friends have been talking about...