StrataNorth | CRM Advisory

Most CRM problems start before you sign.

The software is rarely what goes wrong. Ownership, process, data, administration and adoption decide whether a CRM delivers, and most of them are set before you choose a vendor. Everything we've learned about getting them right is on this page.

Book a CRM Advisory Call See what decides it
Readiness readoutExample result
Executive alignment0
Process and scope0
Data and technology0
Platform ownership0
Adoption and change0
An example readout. It's a common pattern: strong in one area, with gaps in the places projects tend to stall.
26+ years in CRMFrom early enterprise CRM to today's AI platforms
50+ advisory engagementsPlus oversight on 280+ CRM implementations
Fiercely independentWe don't resell software or implement it
The five factors

Five things decide whether a CRM delivers. None of them are features.

Demos sell features. Results come from the people, plans and habits around the software. Pick a factor to see what we look for.

Factor 1 of 5

Executive alignment and ownership

When we're asked to rescue a CRM, our first question is who owns it. Too often, nobody answers.

What we look at: Clear objectives, an executive sponsor who owns the outcome, governance, and who gets to make which decisions.

Score your team on all five
Decision points

Three moments where CRM decisions go wrong, and how to get them right

1Evaluate

Every CRM vendor says yes. Here's how to find out what "yes" actually means.

Why every demo sounds the same, and how to separate a real capability from a confident nod.

4 minute read
2Select

The highest-scoring CRM isn't necessarily the right CRM

Your scorecard winner and the right fit for your business aren't always the same platform.

6 minute read
3Deliver

You chose the CRM. Is your SI delivering what you bought?

Choosing the platform isn't the end of the job. How to hold your implementation partner to what you signed up for.

7 minute read
The CRM Advantage podcast
Episode 1

Building the Foundation: CRM Strategy Before Software

Mario and Lessie Russell on why the decisions that make or break a CRM happen long before anyone picks a platform.

Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube
Start here

Free tools you can use today

CRM Readiness Assessment

12 questions, about 3 minutes. An instant score, and a full factor-by-factor report by email.

Take the assessment

Vendor Capability Matrix

The scoring template we use with clients to compare vendors on what your business actually needs.

Get the matrix

CRM advisory services

How we help, from strategy and selection through independent oversight of your implementation.

See how we help
Mario F. Calisto

Talk to someone with nothing to sell you

Thirty minutes with Mario on where your CRM decision stands and what to do next. No vendor agenda, no implementation pitch, no obligation.

Book a call with Mario

Mario F. Calisto, Co-Founder and Consulting Partner, StrataNorth