CRM for Your Project Career: Network Systematically

Bruce is the founder of ProjectManagementHacks.com, a resource for growing IT project managers.

  Career Development   CRM   Stakeholder Management  

The rise of customer relationship management systems offers the promise of making sales easier and less labor intensive. Twenty years ago, sales professionals struggled to keep track of all their leads, meetings and other sales activities. That whole process has become much easier with CRM systems.

Rather than cover the technical aspects of implementing a CRM for your company, I’d like to present a different perspective. What if you used CRM principles and tools to grow your project management career? If you’re interested in career growth—promotions, more interesting projects to work on or new consulting assignments—read on.

What the Most Successful Sales Professionals Know
In the world of sales and marketing, there are few principles that have stood the test of time. Consider these battle-tested principles, which were developed in sales and directly apply to growing your project career:

• Selling to past customers is easier than to new customers. Past customers already understand what it’s like to do business with you, so it’s easy to work with them over and over again.
• Referrals are powerful. Have you ever asked a friend for a recommendation for a lawyer, real estate professional or dentist? That’s an example of referrals in action. Top sales professionals don’t leave referrals to chance—they systematically …

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