Insights / Buying guide
12 questions to ask before hiring a CRM partner
Short answer
Ask who will design and build your system, who will own it, what the smallest first step costs, and when the partner would say no. The answers reveal more than any proposal.
Proposals all look alike: a methodology diagram, a team slide, a timeline. The differences show up when you ask direct questions and listen to how specific the answers are. Here are twelve, grouped by what they reveal, with what a good answer sounds like.
People
Who will design our solution, and will that person be on every call through go-live?
A good answer: A named senior person, introduced now, who stays until the system is in use.
Who actually builds it, and how experienced are they?
A good answer: Specific people and their experience, not 'our delivery team'.
Who do you need from our side, and for how many hours?
A good answer: A concrete estimate by role. If they need almost nobody, they're designing without you.
Ownership
Will everything be built in our tenant and committed to our repository?
A good answer: Yes, from day one, with access you can check.
Can we remove your access on our own at any time?
A good answer: Yes. Partners should have guest accounts you control.
What exactly do we receive if we stop after the first phase?
A good answer: A list: documentation, configuration, designs and data, all usable by another team.
Risk
What is the smallest first step, and what does it cost?
A good answer: A defined step with a fixed price and a fixed end date.
Which part of our project is riskiest, and when will it be tested?
A good answer: A clear answer, usually an integration or data migration, tested early.
How do you price changes once we learn more?
A good answer: A simple, written process, not surprise change orders.
Fit
When would you tell us no?
A good answer: Real examples of projects they turned down, and why.
How will we measure whether people actually use it?
A good answer: Specific adoption measures tracked for months after go-live.
What would you do differently from our last project?
A good answer: Questions about what went wrong before, rather than a pitch.
How we'd answer
The same senior architect designs the solution and stays on every call. Everything lives in your tenant and repository. The first step is a free written first pass, then a fixed-price pre-discovery with a demo, then a six-week proof of concept capped at 10 percent of the project. And if we're not the right fit, we say so in the first reply.
Want a second opinion on your project?
Describe the problem in a few guided questions. You'll get a free first pass within two business days, or an honest no.
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