We tried a CRM before and it failed. Why would it work this time?
For a UK equipment hire company, a second CRM attempt can work if you first find out why the first one failed. Look at what the hire desk went back to, whether the CRM was connected to the hire system, and who looked after it after go-live. If the cause is fixable, trying again is reasonable.
Start with what the hire desk went back to
When a CRM fails in a hire company, the workaround the hire desk went back to shows which job the CRM didn’t do. Find that out before deciding anything else.
When a hire company tells me their last CRM didn’t work, my first question is what the hire desk went back to. The answer is usually specific.
| What the hire desk went back to | What it usually means | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes in Excel | The quote step didn’t match how you price: rate cards, discounts by hire period, account-specific rates | Build quoting around your own rate cards before anything else |
| Off-hire requests in a shared inbox | Logging an off-hire in the CRM was slower than emailing it | Make logging an off-hire quicker than sending an email |
| Customer notes in a notebook | The CRM asked for more than the hire desk had time to enter, or nobody read what went in | Cut it back to the fields the hire desk will use every day |
| The same record typed twice | The CRM wasn’t connected to the hire system (Syrinx, InspHire or similar) | Decide whether a connection is needed. It is a separate project |
| “Nobody could change it” | Nobody on your team owned it after go-live | Name and train a person on your team before go-live |
These are patterns, not statistics. Your own case may differ, which is why the first step is to ask the hire desk instead of guessing.
Questions to ask about the old system
- Which task did people stop doing in it first? Logging enquiries, quoting or recording off-hires. The first one dropped is the job it didn’t do well.
- Was it ever connected to the hire system? If someone retyped between the two, that was probably the first crack.
- Who could change it when the way you price or run a hire changed, and how long did that take? A system nobody can change gets worked around.
- Did the hire desk see how quotes would be built before it went live? The people using it every day know where the rate cards have exceptions.
- What was it asked to do on day one? A long list of day-one features is a warning sign. Too much built too early is slow to learn and hard to use.
When a second attempt is a reasonable call
Trying again makes sense when:
- You can name the cause. It was the quote step, the missing connection or the lack of an owner, and each of those can be fixed.
- You can say which one job the next attempt must do. For most hire desks that is quoting, because it happens every day.
- The hire desk will help shape it. They know where the rate cards have exceptions.
When trying again isn’t the right call yet
- Nobody can say what the hire desk went back to, or why. Start with the Hire Process Audit, which shows where quoting, availability, off-hire and follow-up stand today.
- The process underneath isn’t agreed. If nobody has settled who owns an enquiry or who is allowed to price what, a new CRM will make the gap visible without closing it.
- The old system worked for the hire desk, and was dropped for a reason that had nothing to do with the software. Find out what that reason was first.
- A hire-specific tool may fit better. If your hire desk mostly needs contacts, quotes and follow-ups and nothing about your pricing is unusual, see Hire-specific CRM or Salesforce?
What a second attempt looks like with the Hire QuickStart
Cloudtal’s Hire QuickStart is built around the causes above:
- It starts with quoting. The quote builder uses your own hire rate cards and duration discounts, including account-specific rates. It also covers customers and contacts, enquiry to quote and MD dashboards, and keeps the first version small.
- Your hire desk isn’t left to work it out alone. Training is mostly remote, with four weeks of support after go-live.
- Someone on your team owns it afterwards. A named person is trained to make day-to-day changes, or you can take an optional support plan.
- Connecting Syrinx or InspHire is separate. It is its own project with its own discovery, so it doesn’t sit inside the fixed price.
For a UK hire company with 1–5 depots, it takes 4–6 weeks for a fixed £4,500–£7,500 + VAT. Salesforce licences are paid to Salesforce separately. Full details are on the Hire QuickStart page, and the cost question is answered in full on the small hire company answer.
Common follow-up questions
Should we try a different CRM instead of Salesforce?
Possibly. If your hire desk mostly needs contacts, quotes and follow-ups, in hire language, from day one, a hire-specific tool can be the better fit. The comparison is in Hire-specific CRM or Salesforce?.
Can we bring our data across from the old CRM?
Moving existing customer and contact data in is part of the Hire QuickStart, with no limit on how much. How much tidying it needs depends on what the old system holds, so ask for an export early.
How do we get the hire desk to use it this time?
Start with the job they do every day, which is quoting, so the system earns its place straight away. Keep the first version small, and ask the hire desk to try real quotes on real rate cards before go-live.
Is it worth trying again if the first attempt cost a lot?
What was spent is spent. The decision is whether the cause is one you can name and fix. A fixed-price first phase keeps the exposure known: the Hire QuickStart is £4,500–£7,500 + VAT, plus Salesforce licences paid to Salesforce.
Not sure what went wrong the first time? The Hire Process Audit shows where your quoting, availability, off-hire and follow-up stand today. It takes about four minutes and needs no email.
See the Hire QuickStart