As a CRM analyst and consultant, I've seen countless software deployments crash and burn because organizations focus entirely on the technology rather than the people actually using it. That is why talking with Julie was such a breath of fresh air; her focus is entirely on the human element of Acme Brick’s digital transformation. For those who aren't familiar, Acme Brick isn't just any company; they are the largest US-owned manufacturer of brick. They deal in a wide gamut of materials, including manufactured block, stone, tile, and various other wall cladding. It is a sizable operation with around 1,700 employees spread across 13 states.
This coming April, Acme Brick is celebrating its 135th birthday. When a company with that much history decides to overhaul its CRM technology, you know there’s a good story behind it. Even more so, if it is a system replacement story, Julie has been with Acme Brick for two years, and what keeps her up at night is CRM training and ensuring user adoption.
TL;DR
If you do not want to read, here’s the full video interview.
For everyone else, read on.
Having said all this, let's dive into why they made the switch and how they are making it work this time.
The Square Peg, Round Hole CRM Disaster
Before migrating to Zoho, Acme Brick used another CRM system. We won't name names here, but in spite of it coming from a highly reputable vendor, it was a very clunky implementation. Julie described it as a "square peg, round hole" situation. While the tool was a powerful one, it simply did not match their specific business needs and therefore suffered from poor user adoption.
Why? Because it was incredibly click-heavy. A sales rep might have to click 27 times just to input some data or view a specific field. That is simply not tenable. You cannot ask busy sales professionals to spend their precious time working a complicated system. They have better things to do than inputting data while not getting much out of it. Ultimately, the goal of a CRM system is transparency and accountability. Management needs to see what quotes are out there so they can adjust manufacturing or stocking speeds accordingly. But you won't get that transparency if the reps refuse to touch the software.
The Three Traits That Make a CRM a Treat
In my experience, systems either enforce behavior or encourage it. As Julie rightly pointed out, nobody likes to be forced, although imo there is something to be said against using a reasonable carrot and stick approach. She outlined three essential traits that turned their CRM rollout from a nightmare into a treat.
Customizability: Acme Brick is not a tech company; their sales are deeply relational and heavily focused on account management rather than a rigid, step-by-step process. The CRM had to adapt to their relationship-building style, not the other way around.
Intuitive Design: They have highly seasoned reps. Some who have been selling brick at Acme for 35 years or more. While some of them are tech-savvy, others are rather paper-based and cautious about adopting new technology. The Zoho interface won them over because, as Julie said, if you can order from Amazon, you can point and click your way through Zoho.
Management Buy-in: This one is an absolute must. From the executive VP all the way down, management has bought into the system. They are leading discussions, sending messages directly within the tool, and are pulling their own reports instead of demanding standalone spreadsheets from their teams.
Tuning Into Radio Station WIIFM (What's In It For Me?)
Many CRM implementations fail because they are designed to exclusively benefit management. When that happens, not only seasoned salespeople immediately tune into their favorite radio station: WIIFM (what's in it for me?).
Julie’s philosophy here is incredibly pragmatic. A CRM shouldn't just be a strict mandate where reps are threatened with, "If it's not in the CRM, you don't get paid". She actually believes reps shouldn't waste their time tracking tiny, insignificant deals that turn into an administrative time suck. Instead, the real value of the CRM is preventing important details from falling through the cracks. It saves reps from spending 20 minutes hunting through a physical notebook for a three-week-old detail. With Zoho, they can send emails directly from the tool, keeping all correspondence cleanly logged under the relevant opportunity, which is a clear time-saver.
A True IT Partnership
When selecting Zoho from a crowded market, cost was certainly a factor, but a major differentiator was the ability to work directly with Zoho's Enterprise Business Solutions (EBS) team. Acme’s IT department had a bad taste in its mouth from their previous CRM, having dealt with three different implementation partners who had no "skin in the game" and left them with a "take it or leave it" implementation.
With Zoho, the team that implemented Acme’s system is the exact same team providing daily support. Julie noted that they are yet to hear the word "no" from Zoho yet; instead, they get invitations to be beta testers, or "guinea pigs". Currently, they are beta-testing the Graph API integration for Microsoft Outlook. They've also successfully integrated Power BI and industry-specific permitting services that handle commercial and residential builds.
Crawl Before You Run
The system is still very young; Acme Brick is only about two or three months in. They are very much in the "crawl" phase of a "crawl, walk, run" strategy. Julie and two IT staff members serve as the system admins. Julie is happily able to make some system changes herself, like updating drop-down menus, without constantly relying on IT. This shortens turnaround times and has a positive impact on user happiness and adoption.
Looking ahead, Acme is evaluating the Zoho Marketing module. The goal is to capture leads directly from their brick.com website and seamlessly import them into the CRM without incurring massive new implementation costs.
The Honeymoon Phase
Like any relationship, vendor-buyer relationships are much like a marriage; you hope they last a long time. Right now, Acme Brick and Zoho are still in the honeymoon phase. I pushed Julie to tell me the system's biggest flaw or what they didn't get from Zoho to give us a real challenge to discuss.
Her answer? She simply hasn't found the weak link yet. While I always hope for a little dramatic friction to analyze, her confidence that Zoho will handle any future bumps in the road smoothly is unwavering and speaks volumes. As I joked at the end of our chat, hallucinations are for LLMs, not for CRM analysts. I'll take her honest, positive experience at face value and do not doubt it, looking at my own experience with Zoho.
Three Learnings for CRM Success
Looking back at my conversation with Julie, there are three universal lessons any organization should apply to their CRM strategy.
User Adoption Trumps Raw Power: It does not matter how robust a system is or how great the reputation of its vendor is, if your sales team refuses to use it. Acme Brick learned the hard way that a "click-heavy" platform built for a prescriptive sales process is a recipe for failure in a relationship-driven business. A tool must be highly customizable and as intuitive as ordering from Amazon to truly stick.
Always Tune Into "WIIFM": A CRM cannot simply be a mandate or a surveillance tool for management. To win over the users, you have to prove it makes their lives easier. Like preventing vital deal details from falling through the cracks and eliminating 20-minute searches for old notebook scribbles.
True Partnership Beats Transactional Implementation: The difference between a mere vendor and a true partner is ongoing accountability. By working with an implementation team that has "skin in the game" and remains on board for daily support, Acme Brick successfully avoided the frustrating "take it or leave it" trap that plagues so many software rollouts.
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