We've all made the mistake of purchasing software or an online service that we later realized just did not do the job for whatever reason. I have been a dot-com exec for over 11 years now and one thing I have come to realize is that there are enough solutions on the internet now that it's highly possible that there is a solution for your business'no matter what you do.

It used to be that you took the best solution available on the market and made it work for your business but that is no longer the case. Today you can search for ?your industry CRM? on Google and come up with several potential solutions. So the question; what CRM solution is right for your business?

First of all, before selecting any software or service you hope to be intimately involved in your business there needs to be a courting period. The size and internal controls of your company usually decide whether it's a one-hour whirlwind courtship or a protracted, analytically exhaustive process that ultimately exposes a match.

There are services online that want to be the ?Match.com? of the CRM world but before you hop into that foray you should consider what it is you are looking for and what it is you need to do in the long term, not just right now (ideally a partner will move you forward, not just solve your current problems).

Here is a list of some characteristics, features and assets that you should consider when courting a new or replacement CRM (by no means an exhaustive list):

?Compatibility

oAre you a sales, service, manufacturing, support or other type of organization?

oWhat is your primary CRM concern; sales, support or customer service?

oDo you want a web-based solution or PC/Software solution

oGrowth potential ? since you can not change the software (usually), does this software have the ability to grow with the company and can it handle the bandwidth of time/resources you want to spend with it?

oPerformance ? can the system keep up with your demands and high-paced or exhaustive demands?

oAction ? can the system do what you need? Does it meet most, if not more, of the demands or qualities you require to be successful?

?Qualities

oSales Force Automation

?Territory management (assignment & tracking)

?Lead routing (manual, round-robin, automatic based on rules)

?Opportunity lifecycle (from prospecting to closing)

?Always Be Closing ? does the system give the sales team everything they need to close?

?Auto e-mails (can you set up auto email triggers?)

?Auto dialers

?Auto or semi-auto quote, order entry, insertion order, contract, etc.

?Upsell tools ? automatic suggestions and information

?Account history

?Real time credit card or other transaction processing

?Notifications ? for upsell, expiration, new leads, expiring leads, appointments, closures, etc.

?Commission management

?Reporting - know what you want BEFORE you start the selection process. There are plenty of distracting reports.

oMarketing Tools

?E-mail campaign management

?Predictive Dialer ? does this integrate with the sales tools to auto-populate live-transfer data into their screen?

?Direct/Print Campaign support/integration

?Campaign management tools

?Automate repetitive campaigns

?Save a campaign for later

?Web site creation & management tools?for each campaign

?Coupon / Cross-selling, if applicable

?Lead/Contact import and integration (and how easy is it)

?Lead acquisition ? can you purchase new leads from right within your CRM, and are they partnered with your ideal lead providers?

?Lead tracking ? if you buy leads?are they being used effectively and are they making you money

?Reporting ? make sure it can tell you who came in, what they did, why they did it and what can be done better

oCustomer support

?Case Management ? by agent, product, service, time, date, category, etc.

?Communication integration ? does it automatically (or provide other means) to track and capture incoming email, mail or phone communication?

?Self-service support ? can you create content so people can find the solution in your help section?

?Auto & Manual Escalation, notification and management approval

?Search capability ? how easy is it to find a customer with little information

?Security ? how do you protect from fraud and fake customer call-in.

?Reporting ? you should know everything about your agents, management and reps within a couple of screens.

oPartnership Management

?Order / Partnership setup

oExecutive Dashboard

?Can the C-Levels view overall company performance in minutes?

?Can the dashboard be customized by department (or does it have the necessary reports already)

?Industry trend reporting available

?RSS feeds available

?Division / Department drill-down capability

?Must-haves

oCalendaring

oImport and if necessary export of information

oIntegration (with Outlook, Cell Phone, PDA, etc.)

oWeb access ? if desired

oReminders

Obviously there is a lot to consider when looking for a CRM solution. Hopefully you go into this search without any predisposition toward any specific need or requirement, otherwise you can end up with an immediate-need solution that severely lacks in areas that you need in the future.

This is all about success and finding the right partner for your business. Anyone that says they have the perfect solution for every industry is either over-reaching, requires a LOT of customization or is planning on dinging you with a nice consulting contract.

Finding the right CRM can be a love-at-first-sight experience but that usually only happens when you're searching for a solution in the same industry, providing the specific type of solution that makes your business successful, otherwise it can take a lot of work to make the relationship work.

If only finding a CRM were as easy as finding a soul-mate?