Choosing a CRM – 10 common mistakes and how to steer clear of them

If you can measure a process, you can improve it – that’s the power of a CRM. The key is to pick the right one. 

At Livespace, we’ve seen firsthand how using the right system can improve sales processes. To give you an example, one of our clients increased their sales efficiency 4 times after moving to our platform from another popular provider. 

That said, selecting a CRM that fits your company’s sales pipeline, internal processes, and business objectives requires careful consideration.

With that in mind, here are some of the key mistakes we’ve heard about from clients switching to Livespace. We also chatted with 9 experts to get their insights on the things to consider when choosing a CRM system. 

1. Not understanding the root cause of why the existing solution doesn’t work

If we were to pinpoint one of the most important things to consider when choosing a CRM system it would be understanding where your current platform falls short. Does it lack specific functionality? Or, maybe, are its integration capabilities poor? 

Whatever the reason, you need to be aware of it before switching to another tool. Otherwise, you might end up repeating the same mistake. This happened to Davender Singh, the Growth Marketing Manager at Sapaad. 

He told us they may have made a mistake by not fully understanding what they needed from the platform. 

“The CRM we use is great, but there are some features we don’t use and don’t really need, yet we’re still paying for them, which adds extra cost. Also, I think training is something we should improve. Most of the time, we only train the core team, but it would be better to include everyone so they know how the CRM can help them work more efficiently,” added Singh. 

Tip: Before switching to another platform, take time to identify the exact problems with your current system. Talk to your team and analyze the system’s performance. We also recommend mapping your sales process before deciding which CRM platform to go with. 

2. Not including the end users in the buying process

It’s surprisingly common for companies to choose a CRM without consulting their sales. If the selected tool doesn’t align with your teams’ daily workflows, you can expect to see high team resistance, underuse of features, and, ultimately, wasted investment.

Marcjanna Bronowska, Head of Marketing at Brainhub, told us that’s what happened at a previous company she worked at. They chose a CRM that was far too advanced for the existing skill level of the team who were supposed to use it.

“The sales department said that insufficient attention was given to training, leaving them ill-equipped to leverage the system’s modules effectively. The outcome? The CRM essentially became an overpriced contact list—a glorified Excel spreadsheet—failing to deliver the value it was intended to provide,” Bronowska added. 

A similar situation took place at TechnoLynx. The company’s Founder and CEO, Balázs Keszthelyi, told us that they chose a system with a variety of features, believing that this would actually drive the team to use the CRM effectively. “However, we soon realized that the complexity of the software led to frustration among team members, which resulted in low adoption rates”, Keszthelyi said.

In hindsight, he admits that the company’s leadership focused too strongly on what they thought met the company’s needs, without seeking input from customer-facing teams. “We should have also prioritized a user-friendly interface over the number of tool capabilities”, Keshzthelyi concluded. 

Tip: Make sure the CRM solutions you’re considering work for your sales and customer service department’s daily tasks. Learn about what they see as must-have vs nice-to-have features – ideally, even before you start researching CRM systems. You can either organize a meeting or run a survey. 

3. Treating price as a deciding factor

When considering how to choose a CRM system, affordability is always a crucial factor. But going with a tool just because it has the lowest cost out of all options (or is free in its basic version) could quickly backfire.  

Andrew Lokenauth, Founder of TheFinanceNewsletter.com and Fluent in Finance, says he fell into this trap in the past. “I forgot to factor in training costs, didn’t consider the hidden fees for extra users, and missed calculating integration costs with other tools”, he said.

Kevin Huffman, Owner of Kriminil Trading, had a similar story. He told us that the decision to choose a solution based on its price led the sales team to a radical move, i.e., abandoning the CRM altogether and going back to spreadsheets and email. 

He says that initially, for the number of features it offered, the price of the tool seemed very attractive.

“Marketing automation, powerful reporting, project management tools – we had all that under one roof. But it quickly became clear that this feature overflow wasn’t a fit for our business. Also, the reporting in the CRM, while extensive, was unsuited to our requirements. We were drowning in data that wasn’t useful and it was challenging to calculate KPIs and track sales performance. The long-term complications weren’t worth the attractive price tag.”

Tip: Focus on finding a CRM that offers the best value for your business, balancing its cost with features and flexibility. Check it against your most essential business needs, like simple contact management or sales metrics reporting. Additionally, if possible, try to schedule a demo of the tool before making any choices.

Also, pricing transparency is a good sign. At Livespace, for example, we have a simple payment model, where you only pay for what you need. Our lowest package starts at $19 monthly, making it ideal for smaller companies who want to have their customer data under control.

4. Picking a one-size-fits-all solution

While a “generic”, feature-packed CRM might initially be very appealing, it might not address the specific needs of your industry or processes. So, if you’re wondering how to choose a CRM system, then be sure to prioritize flexibility and customization. 

Scott Chesarek, Co-founder of J&S Transportation, fell victim to choosing a generic CRM system. “Last year we adopted a cookie-cutter CRM instead of an industry-specific one. Although we were able to get the job done, we weren’t seeing any significant improvement in our operations. Those typical templates weren’t cutting it for us,” said Chesarek. 

The company decided to switch to another CRM that focused only on the Auto Transport industry. It allowed them to get the most out of their buck. 

Tip: Look for a CRM that’s designed for your specific industry or can be customized, like Livespace. It’s able to perfectly mirror your sales process, and you can have as many processes as you wish. And if you want to standardize your sales operations and improve the probability of winning deals, then you can use Livespace’s inbuilt and ready-to-implement sales process. 

5. Forgetting about customer support 

No matter which CRM you choose, high chances are, at some point, you’ll run into problems and will need help. That’s why it’s so important to check the quality of customer support. That’s something that Naomi Clarke, Head of HR & Chief Diversity Officer at Flingster, learned firsthand. 

“We chose a system that checked every box in terms of features—automation, analytics, integrations—but when we ran into setup issues, their support team was slow and unresponsive. What should have been a two-week onboarding process stretched into two months, costing us time and frustrating our team,” said Clarke. 

Flingster underestimated how critical it is to have reliable support, especially when transitioning workflows. “A CRM can be feature-rich, but if you can’t get timely help to resolve issues, it becomes more of a hindrance than a help,” added Clarke. 

Tip: Here is a piece of advice from Flingster. Don’t just test the software—test the support. Send them a few pre-sale questions or ask for demos to see how responsive and knowledgeable their team is before committing. It’ll save you a lot of headaches down the road. It’s also worth reviewing opinions on Capterra, and searching specifically for customer support. It will give you a good idea of what you can expect. 

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6. Not implementing the CRM properly

Here’s the sad truth – even the most incredible CRM will fail without a clear implementation plan and proper training. Emily Hayes, CRM Consultant for ConvergeHub, rightly points out that companies don’t pay enough attention to the CRM’s onboarding process. 

“They introduce CRM very abruptly in the process and do not hold any explanatory sessions with the employees. This leads to slow user adoption and difficulties in aligning the organizational culture with CRM,” said Hayes. 

She added that a lot of a company’s planning for a CRM focuses on licenses, custom development, and deployment. “Onboarding and training, however, are often underappreciated. Training hundreds or thousands of people is tough and expensive, and takes a ton of time. Once development gets delayed and extra costs are added on top, this gets escalated internally and staff immediately gets under pressure,” said Hayes.

Tip: Create a clear implementation plan to support your business goals, and invest in training to help your team get the most out of the system. Also, work with a company whose representatives are genuinely engaged in helping you onboard and set up your tool correctly. At Livespace, we help companies go through configuration and database migration.

7. Not knowing what exact goals the CRM should solve in the short-term

Another thing to consider when choosing a CRM system is whether it can do two things – serve your short-term business objectives and potentially scale with you as your business grows.  

In a Reddit thread on how to choose a CRM system for small businesses, one user who runs a CRM SaaS themselves says the most common mistake they see is companies thinking too far ahead. 

“They think ‘one day I’ll need X, Y, and Z’, and so they try to find a CRM that can do all that stuff”, they said. “This is a huge waste of time and money, and honestly, it’s a big red flag.”  Such an approach doesn’t offer a clear timeline for the return on investment – nor does it hint at how the current sales process can be taken from point A to point B.

Tip: While it’s important to consider if a CRM is scalable, thoroughly check the tool’s ability to solve your immediate goals and pain points. This will help you avoid overinvesting in complex tools you may never fully use.

A word of caution – just make sure you don’t completely lose focus of your CRMs long-term fit. This leads to the next point.

8. Prioritizing short-term needs over long-term scalability

CRM implementation is a long-term game that requires careful planning. So, focusing on short-term wins or goals isn’t the best strategy, as Sandy Meier, Head of Marketing at Contentellect, proved. She told us that their biggest CRM mistake was choosing a system based on their current size rather than on their growth trajectory. 

“We initially went with a rather, in retrospect, basic solution perfect for our initial small team, but that quickly hit its limitations as our writer network expanded globally, pretty quickly. The real pain for us really came when we were trying to migrate a few years of client data. We should have invested in a scalable CRM that could grow with us, even if it just felt like an overkill at first”, said Meier. 

Tip: Consider the switching costs in terms of both time and team disruption. These may far outweigh the initial savings you achieve by choosing a cheaper or free CRM option. 

9. Relying purely on word-of-mouth referrals

At Livespace, we’re not against recommendations from other businesses or professionals in your field. Quite the contrary – a lot of our customers have actually come to us from other companies that had a similar profile and faced similar goals.

What we’re referring to at this point is the mistake of selecting a CRM just because it’s very popular. Some of our clients told us that – before switching to Livespace – they used CRMs which weren’t a good fit, but were onboarded by the business because a new sales manager or C-level leader used it at their previous company. What might work for one organization might not be optimal for your business. For example, one company can rely heavily on email automation, while another does not.

Tip: After shortlisting your options, it’s best to schedule a demo to get a feel of what each CRM can do. For example, at Livespace, we encourage you to join a demo call, during which we walk you through the system. It’s also an opportunity to discuss your goals and ask questions. This way, before you even start using our free trial, you’ll already be familiar with the tool’s capabilities. 

10. Focusing on features over user adoption

While this mistake was already briefly mentioned earlier, as a contributing factor to choice based on tool popularity or price, it deserves its own spot. 

Some companies, including Looka, admit to paying too much attention to features over immediate company needs. Dawson Whitfield, Looka’s CEO & Co-Founder, told us that the biggest mistake they made when considering how to choose a CRM system was not asking themselves about potential usage. 

“We went with a robust system that ticked all the boxes—pipeline tracking, automation, integrations—but overlooked whether our team would use it effectively.” The CRM ended up being too complex for the company and required extensive training and customization. This slowed down the rollout and led to low team engagement with the tool. 

Tip: The lesson that we can take from this story? “Start with a CRM that matches your team’s current workflow and skill set; not just your future aspirations,” Whitfield said. “Simplicity and usability trump bells and whistles every time. A tool isn’t effective if your team resists using it. Today, we’ve streamlined our approach, onboarding platforms that grow with us rather than overwhelming us from the start. The right CRM should enhance productivity, not add another layer of frustration.”

How to choose a CRM – final thoughts 

If we were to name one thing you can do to protect yourself from choosing the wrong CRM, then it’s booking a demo or signing up for a free trial before making any commitments. This lets you get a sense of whether the platform can serve you now, for your short-term wins, and in the future, as your business scales.

The unbeatable advantage of demo calls is that you can also interact with the company behind the CRM and check if they understand your needs – and are willing to support you in making the most of the system.

If you want to check if Livespace is the right fit for your needs, then book a demo with us.