TL;DR
Most CRM failures are misdiagnosed as "technical issues" or "poor user adoption." In reality, the silent killer is a lack of leadership engagement. When leaders view CRM as a budget line item rather than a coaching tool, sales teams treat it as an administrative burden. To achieve success, leaders must move the CRM into the heart of their deal reviews and adopt a strict "value exchange" policy: for every data point a rep enters, the system must give them a strategic advantage in return.
In the mid-market, we spend an incredible amount of time obsessing over CRM features, AI integrations, and automated workflows. Yet, despite these innovations, the same old challenges persist. We blame the software or the sales team’s "resistance to change."
But let’s be honest: most salespeople are overwhelmed. They are naturally wired to find the path of least resistance to get their jobs done. Their priority isand should be spending every possible second in front of customers, building relationships, and closing deals.
When a CRM feels like an administrative burden that gets in the way of that mission, they won’t use it. And if they aren't being held accountable by leadership, why should they?
I often tell my clients that leadership is the most overlooked factor in a Salesforce implementation. It is the silent killer.
If a sales leader isn't using the CRM to inspect the business or make decisions, they are essentially telling their team that the data doesn't matter. I have seen companies achieve massive success when leadership is fully "bought in", not just in terms of budget, but in terms of daily behaviour. These leaders have a crystal-clear vision of the metrics they need to see, and they make it known that if a deal isn't in the CRM, it doesn't exist.
One of the most effective best practices I advocate for is moving deal reviews and inspections directly into the CRM.
If you are a leader reviewing an opportunity with a rep, don't look at a separate spreadsheet or a slide deck. Have them bring the CRM record up on the screen. Talk through it there.
This creates a natural quality check. If, during that review, the CRM isn't showing you the information you need to understand if the deal is on track, you are likely tracking the wrong information. A CRM is a database, yes, but its primary purpose is to add value to the sales process. If it isn't helping you spot gaps or mitigate risks, it’s failing its core mission.
We have to be careful. Every minute a salesperson spends filling in generic, low-value fields is a minute they aren't in the field. This is a double-edged sword. If you force reps to capture data that offers no strategic insight, you aren't just wasting time; you are breeding resentment.
The most successful implementations I’ve led focus on embedding a specific sales methodology into the CRM. We focus on the most critical pieces of information—the ones that allow anyone to jump into an opportunity, understand the status, and spot the "red flags" immediately.
There is a fundamental rule that many organisations overlook during a rollout: For every piece of information we ask a salesperson to enter, we must give them something back.
When you turn the CRM from a "reporting tool for the boss" into a "success tool for the rep," adoption ceases to be a struggle.
Stop looking for the next "killer feature" to save your implementation. Instead, look at your leadership team. Are you modelling the behaviours you expect? Are you using the data you demand?
If you want your CRM to be a success, you have to stop treating it as an IT project and start treating it as the heartbeat of your sales leadership strategy.
CRM success isn't a destination; it’s a discipline. If your implementation feels like an "admin burden" rather than a competitive advantage, the fix likely starts with your leadership strategy, not your software settings. I help mid-market leaders bridge the gap between technical capability and executive accountability. Let’s discuss how to turn your CRM into a platform your team actually wants to use.