We talked to Monica Youssef, CRM and ERP Presales Consultant at SAP. Her role connects business value, technical proficiency and social skills to inspire enhanced synergies between work teams and thus cater for customer needs with solutions which make a difference.
How would you describe the job of a CRM and ERP Consultant? What are the core tasks in what you do?
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) addresses the organisational system which integrates all a company’s processes while CRM (Customer Relationship Management) handles interaction with its customers.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) professional expertise hones the large umbrella solution which plans the company’s resources. In fact, all the organisation’s departments operate under the ERP approach. This means that customer relationship management (CRM) is also part of this structure.
As for me, I map out the solutions I want to sell to customers while analysing their corporate objectives and ecosystem from the standpoint of maximising the value of their business. Another of my roles is to transfer knowledge to two stakeholders: one is the sales team working with me who I help to understand what they are selling. And the other, the most important aspect, is our customers who I have to show in their language the value of the services we are designing for them.
Tell us how you use your CRM and ERP skills to study your customers’ context to offer them successful solutions.
An ERP & CRM Consultant analyses customer needs and optimises resources, people and targets to deliver competitive solutions.
We usually hold webinars to present our digital solutions to our potential customers. We then arrange technical demonstrations to show them the benefits of these solutions. Our usual way of learning about the customer’s challenges is through a Discovery Session to deepen our insight into their requirements by using mind-mapping tools which show us what they are looking to accomplish and also their aspirations for their company. Once we have grasped the requirements, we build the problem-solution narrative: we put ourselves in their shoes and demonstrate how the specific service we offer can help them.
What are the biggest challenges in your professional area?
The first is the challenge of taking in so much knowledge. My role means that I need to know the internal workings, strengths and weaknesses of all the processes in each department I collaborate with. The same goes for understanding the challenges of the individual sectors. The key to success in my job is to actively listen to the person I am talking to. The second challenge, which is no less important, is managing in lockstep the stakeholders in each project I am involved in: sales teams, co-workers and consultants. Each of these departments has specific goals so I have to be able to work with all of them as one, listen to them and unlock synergies to present a unified and consistent strategy to the end customer.
How do you think CRM and ERP will evolve over the coming years?
I think our role will change as customers tailor their businesses to the new digital technologies of the future: machine learning, IoT, AI, crypto-currencies, etc. New scenarios will emerge with new needs.
Finally, what would you say to professionals looking to leverage their talent as CRM and ERP consultants?
It is a role where you learn every day on a technical level and also about how companies work and the rules of the game in their business setting. The job is without question geared towards understanding what is hidden in people’s minds; a good CRM & ERP Consultant draws on their emotional intelligence and social skills to decipher the customer’s language and is then creative in devising and delivering innovative solutions to meet their needs. Every customer is a new story and it is up to you to write it and make it unique.