Everything I Need to Know About CRM, I Learned from The Bachelorette

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If you’re reading this, you’re either an avid Bachelor watcher (#BachelorNation), use customer relationship management (CRM) software (preferably InterAction), or, even better, you’re an avid Bachelor watcher who uses InterAction (#InterActionforBachelorNation). That hashtag might be a little long, but either way, whatever category you may fall in, The Bachelor/Bachelorette has quite a bit in common with InterAction CRM.

If you’re not familiar with the Bachelor or Bachelorette, it is a reality television dating show that started in 2002. The series revolves around a single bachelor/bachelorette who starts with a pool of romantic interests.

Participants travel to all sorts of amazing locations to get to know each other better, go on dates, the whole nine yards. And, this is all done within a timespan of a little under nine weeks. Over the course of the season, the bachelor/bachelorette eliminates candidates, with the final selection leading to a proposal. I know, nine weeks is almost no time to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, but it does make for excellent TV.

This, of course, is a very brief and generalized guideline, but if you are a member of #BachelorNation, the seasons and episodes can become quite the dramatic event.

With the quick rundown of the show, I’m sure by now you’re asking yourself how on earth can this possibly relate to InterAction?

I’m glad you asked…

Relationship Intelligence and Engagement Scoring

This show, of course, is all about the journey and developing relationships, whether it’s lifelong friends or your soulmate. This is just the same as InterAction, whether it’s long-term client relationships or future prospects.

In either case, it begins with picking the right contestants/potential clients. This season, and my personal favorite, has been all about Bachelorette Rachel and finding her the right partner. Not only do the producers provide Rachel with a group of potentially compatible prospects from which to pick her future husband, her group of romantic interests also form friendships within the group. After all, they do spend more time with each other than they do with Rachel.

Think of this as InterAction’s Relationship Intelligence tool. Everyone shares the information they have in exchange for the chance to benefit from others’ knowledge.

From there, Rachel obviously wants to develop the correct relationships with the contestant most appropriate for her. Our Bachelorette needs to make sure she is targeting the right relationships because her time is valuable and she’s ready to “seal the deal” as she would say.

Rachel wants to make sure that her efforts are focused on those individuals who she feels are her best prospects for becoming her future husband. And if they’re not, as the show’s host, Chris Harrison, would say… “Please say your goodbyes.” InterAction has a similar process. The Engagement Scoring tool assesses how well each contact is engaged with your firm (we can think of the firm as Rachel) and ensures that you are focusing on the right relationships or see what relationships you need to improve. With engagement scoring you’re building the relationship intelligence you need to generate more business, or in the case of the Bachelorette, to create your future life with your soulmate.

Dashboard Reporting

With so many eligible bachelors from which to choose, Rachel isn’t the only one focused on which individuals would be a good or bad fit for her… so is Chris Harrison. Because hello… TV ratings! Nothing can get #BachelorNation going like a good two on one date. Remember Kenny and Lee or Corinne and Taylor? Those were quite the dates.

There’s a lot of expectation from the viewers. When you have a handful of eligible bachelors, you’re going to need assistance from someone to guide you in the right direction. There’s a lot of information that Rachel needs to process before making such a big decision; whether it’s eliminating down to the very last bachelor or in general. No one ever wants the wrong person to go! Like Jason Mesnick, season four. What a nail biter!

Rachel wants to make sure from the very get-go she isn’t giving away her limited selection of roses to the wrong people. And of course, towards the end, she wants to be sure the right final three are meeting her family.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Rachel had a tool that she could use to input all of the information and advice she receives from her interactions during dates, other contestants, former bachelorettes, and more? And, what if all of that information was easily accessible to people like Chris and to her family to see how things are going and to provide advice? This is like InterAction’s Dashboard Reporting tool. You see what I did there?

Think of Rachel as a business development executive. Rachel reports and provides her insights to Chris, her friends, and her family – the executive committee. They may not know every little detail, but Rachel’s reporting and insights provide them, in this case Chris and her sister Constance (and that whole ordeal with her and Bryan was QUALITY TV), with enough information to help guide Rachel in her journey in finding love.

Similarly, dashboard reporting provides your firm with easy-to-understand analytics and reporting to help make the best strategic business development decisions that will help your firm win more business. Exactly how it helps Rachel pick out her future hubby!

Mobility

In the day and age of social media, it’s very easy to learn about (or socially stalk, whichever term you’d prefer) Rachel’s bachelors. Having our phones always handy can make it very easy to get lost in the world of the trending hashtag #TheBachelorette on Twitter or 57 weeks deep into a contestant’s ex-girlfriend’s former roommate’s Instagram. Hey, it happens! No judgment from me. Our phones make it easy for us to pick who we think is the best choice for Rachel based on their social platforms. We can easily see where they are, where they’ve been and sometimes, if we’re lucky, they forget to delete past posts and we get insight on their previous relationships. [Insert meme of laughing lizard here.]

Just like we have access to all the information and Instagram posts we could ever need to determine who is good for Rachel from anywhere (like the comfort of our couch on Monday nights while watching the Bachelorette), InterAction does too, but for your firm. Mobility gives you complete access to all the relationship details needed to keep you connected and informed, from anywhere. The new contact you just met at an event? InterAction can tell you if colleagues at the firm already know the individual. Think of this as Liz during Nick’s season. Hmm… I can think of a few contestants who would have been happy to have had the mobility tool then.

Pipeline Management

From the very beginning, Rachel or any bachelor/bachelorette, needs to properly manage all of the contestants. Getting to know them better, having multiple dates and interactions, selecting the right people for the hometown dates, assessing who she can and cannot have a realistic relationship with, and ultimately finding out who is and isn’t right for her. It’s a process! But it’s critical and quite dramatic.

Just like Rachel managing all of her dates, InterAction Pipeline Management helps firms optimize all of their pursuits from beginning to end. You’ll see which ones are going well (Peter!), which ones may need a bit more work (Eric), and which ones are no longer part of your current pipeline of opportunities (Bryan!!). These are, of course, just my opinions!

InterAction Business Edge provides an in-depth view of your firm’s entire opportunity pipeline that enables you to identify the right pursuits earlier and move them to closure faster.

After reading this, you’re either impressed by the amount of similarities between the two, have learned more about InterAction, and/or you’re extremely captivated by this and have found yourself a new show to watch as well as a new CRM software for your firm. In the end, it all comes down to the shiny Neil Lane diamond engagement ring or, in this case, winning that prestigious new client’s business.

With the final episode days away, tell us who your final pick is by tweeting to us at @LexisNexisLegal using the hashtag #InterActionforBachelorNation.

And, if you’re ready to see how InterAction can help you focus on the right relationships to win more business, visit InterAction.com.

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