Did You Choose Your ERP System Based on Your People?

“The sales manager called today and said we got another new sales person. Wonder why they keep losing their good people” It’s not them, it’s the industry. It’s an extremely dynamic industry and quick change and extremes are part of their daily lives.

Why do they leave? Poor sales performers get pushed out and have to move on, great sales performers are recruited by other companies and promised big bucks. The average performers have a tendency to stay in place for a longer period of time.

Think about what makes some salespeople great. And then think about the times you were involved in an ERP software selection. There were probably times when you really wanted to buy a system because you felt everything was right, including the energy. Then there were times you wanted to buy because the software looked and felt like the best fit.

It’s the fundamental difference between a great salesperson and an average salesperson a great marketing message vs. an average marketing message. It’s how they make you feel, not what products they sell. And, in the end, none of that matters because those people go away and the system is yours to keep, so you are the most important resource in the selection and implementation process.

Emotion is why many larger organizations take the buying process out of the hands of the ERP selection committee. For some reason, these companies believe they’ll get a better deal if they remove the emotion. The problem is, they also remove intelligence.

Why is this the #1 vendor? Sure, there are transition meetings, hand-offs, etc, but there’s no way for the ‘non-emotional buyer’ to understand all the ins and outs of the vendor, functionality, and pricing. Only experienced users, the people who work with the system every day, can do this final selection step justice.