10 Common Zoho CRM Mistakes and How to Avoid Them?
The customer relationship management systems have been helping many businesses grow by streamlining the entire sales process. However, the most important requisite for the CRM structure to perform well is a successful deployment of the system. There are many factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the online CRM system. They include ensuring that all the features are included, process-oriented implementation, and correct third-party integrations.
No matter how much prior focus is laid on not making mistakes while CRM implementation, something or another goes wrong easily. When the CRM systems were introduced in the beginning, they offered businesses a long-term strategy to promptly engage and manage customer relationships, close more deals, and automate any kind of recurring tasks.
A common misconception that comes with a Zoho CRM implementation is that it is seen as a one-time event. People make the mistake of thinking that after the implementation of Zoho, all lost leads, broken sales methods, and lack of follow-ups will be repaired. Even though it is true that the Zoho CRM system is designed to support the sales process through and through, it must also be remembered that the system will not by itself cause the business to grow.
Hence, it is necessary to consider CRM implementation as an important long-term and company-wide process as opposed to a one-time event. Oftentimes, the managers have the best intentions but their strategies end up hitting the hard ground during the implementation phase. In this blog, we will see why that is by looking at the 10 common Zoho CRM mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Inability to Underline a Problem
Somehow, this tends to be one of the most common mistakes during the process of Zoho CRM implementation. Understanding that you have a problem is the primary step. You may also have heard this before but let us look at this point in reference to the sales cycle.
You must understand the CRM strategy starts to unfold right when you are deliberating about choosing a CRM system. It is very much possible to think that you do not even have a problem. You must know how to manage all the touchpoints a potential customer can possibly have with your business.
Factors such as knowing how to sift through emails, the important points in your notepad, managing your call records, the customers who are there in your sales pipeline, and the revenue that can be expected next month are all important. If you feel that any of these factors are not understandable or known by you then there is a good chance that there is a problem in your sales cycle.
When you know all the problems, you will be able to use the features offered by the CRM system in a much better way. After all, the CRM systems are there to support you and make your work-life easy to manage. So you must see the problem for what it is and own it because the good news is that there is always a solution.
2. Failure to Purchase the Value of CRM
You must remember that communication is key in this situation. As a manager, you should understand the value that a CRM system is capable of bringing to your business. Once you understand this value properly, you will be able to make a better sense of the big picture and the value that CRM can bring to your organization.
All employees are like puzzle pieces that fit into a bigger picture of your business growth. Getting a better context of how the CRM can support these roles can help employees to buy into the CRM strategy. You can help your team make the most out of the value of CRM by considering factors like the business growth strategy of CRM, the value provided by CRM to each time and organization, and the context of an existing CRM process.
All through this, the important part is to keep in mind that the sales team needs extra attention during the change. You would not want the sales team to think that you are adding a mundane task to their already existing busy day. You can gain buy-in from the experienced sales professional by offering a context of how the CRM system is designed to work on tedious tasks and problems out of the way so that the focus can be on closing deals.
3. Failure to Communicate Goals
Any changes can open a door for misunderstanding, loss of motivation, and frustration. Being a manager you can set expectations from the beginning. It doesn’t matter if your goals are not clear at the moment, you can give your team an idea of where you want to go and how the online CRM system is going to help in achieving that.
It must be clear that a CRM is like a consistently functional strategy that helps a team close more deals so that the business can grow. You can keep your team motivated by answering questions like what is the need of implementing a CRM system, how will the CRM system support the individual roles, and how can a CRM system offer a better context about these processes?
4. No Ongoing Executive Support
Avoid being the professional who has one meeting with the staff only to disappear later. It is necessary to be present and involved in the integration process. This way, you will not just give your employees a new process but you will also integrate a system into an already existing process.
Your employees should be able to trust you and when you are proactive while keeping your team accountable for integrating the process, the online CRM implementation and function become easy. The focus should be to keep the team in the knowledge by facilitating regular communication on how the employees are integrating CRM into the process.
Other than this, you must also be able to schedule individual meetings with employees and ask for their special input on the improvement of processes within the CRM system. In addition, you should also be able to hold the team leads accountable for supporting a long-term strategy with the integration of the CRM system.
5. No Strategy In Effect
It is easy to know that we need a CRM system but it is much harder to implement and use the CRM system in a suitable way. It is possible that you have deployed your CRM system to check off all important items. You could have also created roles and profiles, migrated the correct data, set up the workflow automation, put webforms on your website, scheduled the sales pipelines reports, and set up lead assignments.
However, the main challenges come when you are getting your teams to use it all. You have to give this part due consideration so that the job can be successful. Setting up the online CRM system and deploying it is a small part of the entire CRM strategy. The CRM system implementation actually continues after deployment as well. This is a long-term strategy.
You can consider factors such as how your team will be using the CRM, how the team will support the sales, marketing, and customer support, how the team will be held accountable for updating data constantly, how the employees will be trained, and which online CRM training will make you available to your team.
An effective Zoho CRM implementation strategy will include the development of a company culture where the customers are at the center of a business. You must be dedicated and consistent with your goals and strategy so that the CRM system can support your business growth in the right manner.
6. Taking More Features Than Needed
A common mistake while choosing and implementing the CRM system is getting attracted to multiple features without really understanding if your business requires them or not. There are many users who do not end up using the features of CRM properly.
You do not have to choose the most advanced and feature-rich uses. Rather, it makes sense to determine the most suitable features for you based on the business needs that you have. Make sure that everything is aligned with your budget and priorities.
Before the implementation, make a list of all the features that you want to use. It will also be beneficial if you end up getting the inputs of your end-users while asking them about the workflow pain points that they wish to solve.
7. Not Training the Team
Choosing and implementing a CRM structure is only the beginning of a long battle. A robust online CRM system will not mean anything if no one understands how to use it. Therefore, correct implementation and training the end-users on how to use the CRM system is important.
When you do this, you will help your team understand the need and benefits of using the system and also encourage them to integrate the CRM into their daily tasks. This will help you in having a low adoption rate. Businesses have a long way to go when it comes to CRM adoption.
Businesses must realize the importance that the CRM system is capable of bringing while increasing sales performance. The best way to avoid this mistake is by having a proper training program in the right place so that the end-users can have a chance to explore the system before officially adopting it in everyday activities.
Taking the support of a Zoho consultant can help you train the team for using CRM. You can discover the training tips such as planning, using resources, determining best practices, and creating training modules for making the most out of a CRM investment.
8. Not Using Mobile CRM
The most important benefit of accessing a CRM with a mobile device is that you can do it anytime and anywhere. This is one of the common CRM mistakes made by many companies. You must realize that mobile CRM keeps you on top of your tasks without any need to be in front of the computer at all times.
Not using the mobile CRM app properly can slow down the response time to customers and increase the chance of missing out on important customer updates. Most salespeople who use their mobile phones are able to meet their sales quotas as compared to the ones who do not.
Most of the teams that use the mobile CRMs also end up improving their overall productivity. You can choose a CRM system with an excellent mobile CRM app and ensure that the sales team downloads and uses it.
9. Failure to Maintain Clean and Accurate Data
The customer data is more like the lifeblood of a CRM system. It is necessary to ensure that you migrate and maintain correct and updated customer data into the online CRM system.
Despite understanding the importance of this, many businesses fall into the trap of maintaining bad data that result in inaccurate sales forecasts and outdated customer information. All the missing, outdated, and incomplete data ends up costing a lot to the companies.
To make sure that this does not happen, organizations can create a standard practice on data entry for the team to follow. For instance, the process of identifying mandatory fields that should be filled out when creating a new customer profile so that duplications are removed.
This can include full name, company name, contact details, landline, and mobile details, address, and social media profiles. Other than this, you can also schedule periodical setups to clean the maintenance system. Doing this can help in seeing duplicate or missing information after which steps to rectify things can be taken immediately when the process is done regularly.
10. Lack of Integration
One of the prime benefits of using a business tool and multiple software applications is the ability to integrate tools with each other. Any failure to do the same will end up decreasing the productivity level as it forces the users to use various systems and toggle between different business tools.
As a result, the chances of data duplication and scattered business knowledge will increase. Most people understand that lack of business integrations with other tools is one of the biggest challenges of using the CRM structure.
Before the CRM implementation, make a detailed list of all the business tools and see if they are compatible with each other or not. The CRM providers must have a list of native and third-party integrations available to use the system. If you have a CRM system and are planning to subscribe to other tools then you can do the same by checking if the CRM integrates with these tools or not.
In case you discover that the CRM does not integrate with a business tool then you can also consult a Zoho consultant. The consultant will introduce an automation tool that can connect apps and services. Two or more applications will be easily connected to automate all repetitive tasks without any need to code or depend on developers for integration.
Conclusion
Making CRM mistakes can be costly. They do not just include financial impacts but they also lead to a loss of valuable time and key customer data management. The good thing is that careful research on important aspects such as knowing the right features, integrating them suitably, and following the implementation process can avoid common CRM mistakes.
You can consider all the mistakes mentioned above so that they can be avoided or you can do a better job and take the support of a Zoho consultant. This way, your business will be prevented from making potential hiccups down the road.
I hope that you learned something new .
Cheers!
Abhi
(Seasoned Zoho Authorized and Certified Partner)
Feel free to contact me if you have any queries
Email: abhishek(@)encaptechno(dot)com
Call: +1-416-405-8185
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Abhishek - Zoho Partner
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Prevent Unapproved Quotes from Exporting to Zoho CRM Finance Module
Is it possible to prevent unapproved quotes in Zoho Books from being exported from Zoho Finance module inside Zoho CRM?Default font size for printing is too big
A recent issue in printing e mails is that the default font size is huge. This happens in both Edge and Firefox. In order to get what I would call a "normal" printout of an e mail it is necessary to go into the printer preferences / options and set the scale to 75%, otherwise a short e mail with signature and logos etc printed at 100% can take 3 or 4 pages. The annoying thing is that it is necessary to do this each time a printout is to be made as a change in scale only applies to that particularRequest for Auto PO - Min–Max based Automated Purchase Feature
Dear Zoho POS Team, I’m writing to request a feature enhancement that would significantly streamline inventory management for businesses using Zoho POS — particularly supermarkets, FMCG retail, and multi-store operations like ours. Feature Requested:Export Invoices to XML file
Namaste! ZOHO suite of Apps is awesome and we as Partner, would like to use and implement the app´s from the Financial suite like ZOHO Invoice, but, in Portugal, we can only use certified Invoice Software and for this reason, we need to develop/customize on top of ZOHO Invoice to create an XML file with specific information and after this, go to the government and certified the software. As soon as we have for example, ZOHO CRM integrated with ZOHO Invoice up and running, our business opportunitiesissue with deluge script
i used chat gpt to build this script and I am getting 2 errors which I cannot figure out how to fix: void monthly_sales_order_generation() { try { // ---------------- CONFIG ------------------- analytics_url_1 = "https://analytics.zoho.com/api/<workspaceID>/report/<reportID1>/data";Introducing LinkedIn Apply Connect for Zoho Recruit
Attract up to 3x more qualified candidates and hire more efficiently with LinkedIn Apply Connect. Let candidates fill-in job applications without any redirections, gain deeper insights with applicant highlights within Zoho Recruit, and keep candidatesRecruit paid support?
Hi all, Could anyone who has paid support package advise if it provides value for money with regards to support response times? Exploring the idea as unfortunately when we have faced issues with Recruit it has been a 7+ day timescale from reporting toTicket Status email
Good day, This was discussed in the past, but it would be helpful if we could have the system assign a custom response to a status. We have various statuses for tickets, e.g. "closed due to no response", or "Pending Status", it would be helpful for theFuture Orders - Due Date
Hi In my role, I can receive tickets where the work required is requested months in advance. Using a Future Orders option, which I believe was setup under the On Hold status type, hides the Due Date, in all views/ticket etc. Whilst I understand the reasoningIntroducing Withdrawal Reasons for Offers
We’re excited to introduce a new enhancement to the Offer module that brings more clarity and accountability to every withdrawn offer. The Withdrawal Reason update ensures that each withdrawal — manual or automatic — is backed by a clear explanation,Zoho Creator customer portal users
Hi, I'm in a Zoho One subscription with our company. I'm running a project now that involves creating a Zoho Creater application and using the Zoho Creator Customer Portal. At most we need 25 customer portal users. In our Zoho One plan we only get 3GPS tracking only or Check out facility
Dear Team, Zoho CRM is quite robust CRM but till date i was waiting for the feature of having GPS tracking of Sales employees which is a common demand by all customers for thier field sales executives. We cover them by saying that CRM provides CheckinAppraisals on Employee Information Profile
Is it possible to show completed appraisals on each employee's "Employee Information" page? I would presume at the bottom - similar to the "Related Lists" concept in Zoho CRM. Obviously view access would be limited to employee and appropriate other rolesKaizen #220: Actions API - Webhooks APIs - Part 2
Hello all!! Welcome back to the follow-up Kaizen post of Kaizen #219: Actions API - Webhooks APIs - Part 1. In the previous week, we covered how to configure a basic Webhook and how to include Headers, Body, and URL Parameters using both the POST WebhookStandard Payment Term is not pulled from account to quotation
Hey Team There seems to be something off. I do have "Net 30" as my default payment term in Zoho Books for my customers. If, from the customer overview or quote section, I create a new Quotation, the payment terms field stays blank and doesn't get theManage your invoices from Bigin's mobile app (iOS)
Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that users can now integrate Zoho Books with the latest version of Bigin's iOS app. Zoho Books can be integrated with Bigin only via the web application. Users can view the Zoho Books tab in the detail pages ofSystematic SPF alignment issues with Zoho subdomains
Analysis Period: August 19 - September 1, 2025 PROBLEM SUMMARY Multiple Zoho services are causing systematic SPF authentication failures in DMARC reports from major email providers (Google, Microsoft, Zoho). While emails are successfully delivered dueAccessibility controls and multilingual captcha authorization for Help Center users
Hello everyone, As part of our ongoing effort to improve user experience, we are excited about the accessibility controls and predefined accessibility personas added in the Help Center, similar to what is already available in Zoho Desk. Help Center usersZoho Sign + Zoho CRM : la solution pour simplifier vos accords de vente
La conclusion d’un contrat de vente nécessite de nombreuses étapes : préparation de documents, validations successives et collecte des signatures. Les équipes commerciales passent souvent par plusieurs cycles de collaboration et de révision, tout en assurantItem/service subtotal
Just discovered & really pleased that we can drag to re-order the line items in Sales orders & Invoices, a very nice feature which doesn't seem to be documented? It would be nice to be able to insert a subtotal as a line item to complete this great featureSend email template "permission denied to access the api"
Hello, Per the title, I'm trying to send a Zoho CRM Email template based on the advice given here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/specify-an-email-template-when-sending-emails-in-custom-functions (I'd prefer to send right from Delugehow to Solve Conflict Invoices in Zoho POS
Hello Team, I am facing a repeated issue in Zoho POS while saving a sale that contains service-based items. My products are intentionally created as Service (Non-Inventory) items because I do not want to track stock for them. However, every time I tryCopy, Paste, Highlighted text
when i copy paste text it gets highlighted. Fix this. WTF is with this black highlight ? Fix copy pasting. Some people pay for using this mail service.Pricing Strategies: #6 Common Mistakes while Configuring Pricing
"Why does this month's billing feel messy again?" That was the exact line Priya muttered while staring at the spreadsheet full of edited pricing, one-off discounts and mismatched subscription details. Her business was growing, but the pricing machinePublish to LinkedIn via API
Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks AdrianFSM - Associating and selecting Contacts based on Service Addresses
Hi FSM team, I've come across an FSM limitation I wanted to share for improvement. I'm currently configuring FSM for a client who provides heating system install and maintenance services. The are often sub contracted by building management companies toDo Unpublished Products in Shopify Sync to Zoho POS?
Will an unpublished product in Shopify sync to Zoho POS? I would like to know how Zoho POS handles products that are in draft/unpublished status in Shopify.Problem in Zoho POS frontend ERP.
We are facing some difficulties in our billing and inventory processes and require your support to resolve them at the earliest. Customer Advance Payments We receive advance payments from customers for upcoming sales. Please guide us on how to recordCategorize Items with Item Headers
Hello customers, Did you ever want to classify items based on specific categories to help your customers understand your invoice better? With the new Item Header feature, you can easily categorize items in your invoices and estimates and give them a common title. Item Headers are available in the Invoices, the Recurring Invoices and the Estimates module. It can be carried forward from estimates to invoices at the time of converting the estimates. To add an item header: Go to the Estimates, InvoicesDiscount on the transaction level in POS
"Is it possible to apply a discount on the total bill before tax in Zoho POS?" I want to apply a discount on the total transaction amount in Zoho POS, but the discount should be calculated before the taxes are applied. Is there an option to do this inCreate Tasklist with Tasklist Template using API v3
In the old API, we could mention the parameter 'task_template_id' when creating a tasklist via API to apply a tasklist template: https://www.zoho.com/projects/help/rest-api/tasklists-api.html#create-tasklist In API v3 there does not seem to be a way toSend Automated WhatsApp Messages and Leverage the Improved WhatsApp Templates
Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're excited to announce a major upgrade to Bigin's WhatsApp integration that brings more flexibility, interactivity, and automation to your customer messaging. WhatsApp message automation You can now useJobs at multiple locations
Hi A lot of times we have same job open at multiple locations. So I would like an option where we can create a job and choose multiple locations. Currently we have to create individual jobs for each location. If we can create one job and mention multipleTag Adding Option in Kanban Card Customization Bigin CRM Mobile App
I would like to request an option to add and display tags on Kanban cards in the Bigin CRM mobile app. This feature would make it easier to categorize deals and quickly identify priorities while working on the go.Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individualsAssociating a Candidate to a Job Listing
Hello, I am trying to use Zoho Forms embedded on my website for candidates to apply for a job opening. I want the form then to tie directly with zoho recruit and have the candidate be automatically inputed into Recruit as well as associated with the specificWhatsApp Voice Message Sending Option in Bigin CRM
I would like to request a feature that allows users to send WhatsApp voice messages directly from Bigin CRM. This would help improve communication efficiency and make it easier for teams to respond quickly to customer inquiries.CRM: hosting a single html file in Zoho and displaying it as a widget
I have seen that CRM offers the option of uploading a web project to Zoho itself and displaying it as a widget in CRM. The instructions then talk about setting a development environment with Node and developing an application to upload to Zoho. But IHow to change position button transtition of Blueprint?
Hi Everyone, Look at my screenshoot, it is possible move the reject button to the right? I couldn't find that setting in the blueprint. Thank you.Multi file upload
Hi, I just wonder if one could upload multiple files in one shot, say between one and three files, without adding multiple File Upload fields? Thanks, AlalbanyNext Page