CRM customers are adverse to investing in services. Software as a service suggests low user fees, and this is true. and we have found that most customers get higher CRM paybackwhen CRM roll-out includes consulting. The cost of consulting is paid back in better CRM set up and CRM training. User get up and running faster and companies receive higher payback. The payback is far higher than the cost of consulting.

Customers that are new to complex CRM solutions can be blind sided by application scope. And in most cases, the CRM can be leaned down, modules and fields not needed can be removed. But the new CRM customer needs to know how to do this. Full documentation may be available yet reading the manual must be daunting since people are adverse to it. 

The best way to learn any new tool is to fire it up and use it. If your Mother's day gift to your wife is a new blender, sure, fire it up. But CRM is a more complicated, like operating a car, and most, would not operate a car without being told how.  Beware high consulting fees. Many CRM vendors will "enhance" what the CRM can do out of the box. The goal is to set the hook and play the fish with more services cost at each turn of the head. These vendors are like crack dealers, give out a little rock to a new customer for cheap, while sharpening the need later. 

In our experience 5 to 10 hours will get the CRM project kick started. The CRM consulting must be controlled and what is given to the customer, made clear. DataForceCRM has a Value Builder process. This has worked well for us and for our clients.