“CRM Strategy Sessions update”

Today I sent out an update to the folks who’ve registered for the CRM Strategy Sessions. Below is what I told them.

BTW, if you’ve been meaning to grab a spot, I do have one left. Please shoot me an email to reserve, if you’re ready to think carefully about your CRM strategy.

Hi!

As promised, I'm writing here with some details about your CRM Strategy Session: what to expect, how to prepare, and how to schedule.

How to reserve a time:

(This is the next step for you, so do this now if you can. But please read the rest of this email so you're prepared to get the most out of our time together.)

Scheduling your call is super easy:
1. Visit my Coaching Calendar (https://joineryhq.com/coaching-calendar) and find a "Coaching available" slot that works for you.
2. Hit "reply" on this email to tell me the date and time you've selected.
3. Watch for an email response from me with connection details for our scheduled call.

That's it! Do it now if you can, and come back to read the important info below.

What this is all about:

Community-driven organizations rely on a diverse collection of relationships to achieve their goals. At some point, they grasp the idea that tracking these relationships in a CRM system would have some benefit.

Unfortunately, managing contact records in a software system is not the same thing as building real relationships with real people.

In the CRM Strategy Sessions,  I want to help you get past all the technical jargon and "feature focus" of working in your CRM software, and instead drill down to the real reason you started using it in the first place: building valuable relationships at scale.

What we'll be doing in your CRM Strategy Session call:

First, here's something we won't be doing: clicking through your CRM to discuss features. The CRM Strategy Sessions are about your relationships with your people, not about software.

So on this call, we'll be discussing these topics, in order to help you focus on the outcomes that matter:

1. Who are your people?
2. What do they want?
3. What do you hope for in your relationship to them?
4. How can you nurture those relationships -- at scale -- to achieve those outcomes?
5. What are the immediate next steps, and interim goals, that you can aim for?

Outcomes worth aiming for:

The ideal outcome for your session will be an actionable strategy that's tailored to your goals, limitations, and audience. It's worth noting that, as with any strategic plan, the value comes in the implementation. And that implementation will be yours to do.

Depending on where you're starting from, your first steps in implementation may actually consist of research or internal team dialog. Or, you might already be at a stage where you can begin shaping your interactions with your audience(s).

Either way, be prepared: The intended outcome here is a workable strategy. And that strategy will require someone (surely yourself) to implement it.

Preparing for your CRM Strategy Session:

To get the most out of our time together, I recommend you take some time to prepare. Look through your CRM records; consider your own knowledge of your organization, and your experience so far. And let your mind wander broadly as you consider:

1. Who are your people?

Hint: They're probably not just donors. Are they also: Staff members? Board members? Successors to your own job? Service recipients? Service providers? Sponsors? Vendors? Legislators? Students? Community advocates? Potential (or dormant) contacts in any of those areas? Anyone, in area, may be "your people."

Consider as many categories as you can, and why you believe they're important to your work.

2. What do they want?

People are complicated. Their decisions are virtually never based on any single factor. They have complex motivations and desires.

Put yourself in their shoes. Consider their day-to-day motivations, hopes, and fears. Family, career, health, sense of belonging, curiosity, responsibility, obligation, sense of purpose and fulfillment ... all these things and more shape their decisions every day.

Remember, you're trying to do this from their viewpoint -- you're not looking to force a connection between them and your work. You might eventually find a natural connection, but that comes later. First, start by striving to understand them, as much as you can, through their own eyes.

3. What do you hope for in your relationship to them?

Why are you thinking of these people at all? If you could push a magic button and achieve the relationship with them that you want, what would that relationship look like -- and what would be the result of it?

4. How can you nurture those relationships -- at scale -- to achieve those outcomes?

(You'll notice these questions are getting progressively harder to conceptualize. That's okay. It's simply because each one is farther in the future from where you are now.)

Here's where the ideas start to shape themselves into a plan. This is where your abilities, creativity, and resources begin to intersect with the desires and interests of your people.

But don't get too specific just yet. Don't worry whether you'll have the funding, technical skill, or time to make things happen. Again, imagine you could push a magic button that would allow you to take action, and ask:

What actions could you take to begin building the relationships you want with these people?

If you happen to think of actions that would impact many people at once ("at scale"), that's great. But even if it would mean only reaching one individual at a time ... what actions would help to nurture that relationship in the direction you want?

So, that's the prep work.

I admit, that's a lot of preparation. If you can't get clear on all of it, that's fine. But at least start with #1 ("Who are your people?") and see how far you can get. We'll work through the rest of it -- as far as we can -- together on the call.

"Do I need a web cam for the meeting?"
We won't be screen-sharing on this call, because it's not about your website or your CRM system. So if you have a webcam, seeing each other's faces in real time can certainly help. But if you don't have one (or just don't want to use it), voice-only is fine.

"Will there be a report or written plan after the meeting?"
That's up to you. I won't be creating it, because it will be your plan. I encourage you to take notes throughout the call, and to schedule time afterward (or at least the following day) to go through those notes and actually write up a plan. If you'd like me to record the call, please ask at the beginning, and I'll happily share that recording with you afterward.

"Will there be any follow-up after this one call?"
I would actually love to follow up with you. If you're open to it, I'd like to meet with you again after one month, and then once more after two more months, to help keep you on track, tweak the plan where necessary, and hear about your progress.

"Will you be offering your services to help implement my strategy?"
No. You can always ask me for help if you want, but I will not be suggesting any billable services as a result of this call. (FWIW, this is hard for me. I have a habit of wanting to help, then suggesting solutions, then realizing it would be billable, and then, well, you know. Please forgive me if I have to catch myself mid-sentence on something like this.)


Your next steps right now:

Please hit reply and ask any questions you might have. I'll be glad to answer as quickly as I can.

But first chance you get, please scroll back to the top of this email and follow the steps to schedule your call.  You may feel like you're embarking on a big journey here -- at least I hope you do! -- but any journey begins with the first step. And scheduling your call is your first next step right now.

I look forward to hearing from you!

All the best,
A.