Implementing a deal management solution is a comprehensive process of including the right people, and asking the right questions at the right time.
From forming a structured data management approach to establishing company-wide buy-in, investment team leaders are in an influential position. They’re responsible for setting practices in place to ensure that internal adoption is high and remains consistent. Early-on, the team must be educated on the platform's full capabilities in order to recognize its value. Only then is the stage set for a highly communicative and collaborative process of bringing forth the tooling needed to help investment firms’ acquisition teams close more quality deals, with speed and confidence.
As a result of our years of experience in implementing projects for commercial real estate firms, we've accumulated a set of best practices.
In this article we’ve identified seven ways, the world’s top investment firms go about implementing tech solutions to ensure high internal adoption:
1. Know your internal team of champions: In the implementation process, it’s vital to name your champions and understand the role that these team members will have in relation to the software.
This team of champions at your firm should be present throughout the selection process of choosing a deal management software, up until its full implementation. In deciding the future of your investment journey, it's critical to have the right people in the room. Participating in the demos and discovery process can lead to a sense of accountability and ownership for the success of the new platform. By being involved in the evaluation process, individuals will have a vested interest in ensuring the platform's success.
2. Align across your organization: Teams using the software should align on needs and product expectations.
Articulating expectations and communicating them widely ensures that no misunderstandings or assumptions are taking place.
3. Determine measures of success: After establishing the challenges that exist in the investment process as an organization, next, it’s vital to express your expectations of the business outcomes you wish you achieve. What is the measure of success? What are your ultimate goals? How much of the features of the product will help you achieve those goals? What sorts of configuration of the product will help you amplify your success?
Some investment firms measure success as:
Your metrics of success may be qualitatively different, depending on deal volume, sector, or specialty, but what’s key is having a shared understanding of what outcomes are being sought out.
4. Start simple and expand: Roll-out the software to solve for the biggest challenges first, as the “must-have” functionalities, test, experiment, learn to work out the kinks, and then move onto implementing additional use cases and features.
Often firms require pipeline management tooling as a necessary element, and then they may choose to add data management features as needed.
Remember, keeping it simple is key. Over-complicating the solution may discourage internal adoption.
5. Compile your data for an easy migration: Structure your data by aligning on what is most meaningful to your team. Come together on the definitions of terms and the nuances in reporting. This helps to streamline fields and aggregate data in a responsible and sustainable manner. Limiting custom fields and standardization helps to improve data quality, to ensure that whatever information is being loaded into the system is clean and never out of context.
6. Create a phased implementation plan: Once your software team has replicated your pipeline, models or process as-is into the new deal management platform, there are a number of ways to build an iterative roll-out.
7. Leverage your customer success team. Reach out to your Project Manager and Implementation Lead to ask as many questions as possible! The team is ready and available to help find solutions, identify configurations and help you create internal playbooks to support your investment processes.
All in all, making the switch to a deal management software to enhance your investment process should not be a daunting task. Investment team leaders are in an important position and must establish practices to ensure that internal adoption of the software is high and consistent. This will allow the software to deliver the value that was promised and ensure that every team member is on board.
By having a plan and carefully listening to what the various stakeholders on your team will get out of leveraging a software like Origin by Altrio, you can begin sourcing the correct set of solutions that suit your firm.
Interested in learning more about how Altrio can help? Request a demo from our team.
