The Challenge: The System Works – But Not for Me
You’ve launched a powerful, flexible CRM. It’s structured well, reflects your sales logic, and meets the technical requirements.
Still, adoption stalls. Reps continue using Excel. Notes are hidden in Outlook. Deals are tracked in private tools. Updates happen last-minute or only when requested by the management, if at all.
When asked why, you don’t hear resistance – just routine:
“I don’t have time right now.”
“It’s easier the way I’ve always done it.”
“I’ll update it after the meeting.”
The problem isn’t functionality. It’s muscle memory.
The system is new – but the behavior is old.
Where It Breaks: Change Without Enablement
CRM projects often assume people will naturally adapt.
But without enabling that change, users fall back on familiar shortcuts.
If creating a quote in CRM takes longer than pasting from Word, they’ll paste.
If updating a funnel stage requires too many dropdowns, they’ll skip it.
If maintaining a text field is to hard, user write just short texts to check the mandetory box.
If team dashboards don’t reflect the reality of how people work, they won’t look at them.
Eventually, the CRM becomes a passive database – not a steering tool.
The Insight: Systems Reproduce Behavior – and Behavior Reproduces Systems
Lasting change only happens when tools and habits evolve together.
That means:
- Designing interfaces that support how sales teams already work
- Involve user in developing solutions so its “their” system
- Reducing friction in every common task
- Balance data quality and effort
- Standardizing repetitive actions through templates and workflows
- Replacing manual workarounds with faster CRM-native options
- Highlighting how accurate input leads to real, visible value
If users feel the system slows them down, they’ll work around it.
But if it removes effort – they’ll stick with it.
What to Do
Observe real usage. Don’t just train – shadow. Ask:
- Where do reps lose time?
- Which tasks feel repetitive?
- What gets done outside the system – and why?
Then act on it. Streamline where it counts. Align the CRM with how value is actually created – not how processes were once documented.
Because no system succeeds by forcing new habits.
It succeeds by making the right ones easier.
