Building Relationships with Experienced ERP Users

I targeted CFOs when selling my ERP services – and that was a big mistake My assumption was the following: these guys are signing the cheque and in charge of systems. I should go after them. The cold outreach on LinkedIn was a total disaster. I had less than 5% acceptance rate. But it was getting worse. Out of 100 accepted connections no one engaged in a conversation with me. Nada! So I went back to my friend nicholas thickett who is big on prospecting and asked for his advice. He taught me his mapping the earthquake approach. I was selling ERP implementation and support services to enterprise accounts going through SAP implementation. In the center of the earthquake we placed a persona who was experiencing the pain our solution solved. In my case these were systems analysts who were working on the implementation project and going to a support phase. SAP was new to them. It’s hard to learn. And they were worried about the future. In circle 2 were IT, ERP managers and directors. They cared about the outcomes of analysts’ work. Circle 3 were executives with signing authorities. Equipped with the new knowledge I started my prospecting journey again but now with a few changes. 1.     Outreach to systems analysts And here I had a big success. Much bigger acceptance rate. And also they were willing to engage in a conversation. And they told me a lot about what was going on with their systems and projects. 2.     Shift in focus I was not trying to sell to everybody. This time the goal was to discover if the account was qualified. 3.     Building the business case I gathered all the intel so that I could map the prospect’s pain to my cases and service. It’s also the time when I assessed the risks if something could derail the deal. 4.     Next step was to go up the ladder With internal referrals or cold but with precise message I connected with IT stakeholders. Since I knew so much about their situation, they were more willing to have a conversation. That’s where I identified the champion who helped push through the solution with all the involved parties. It went much easier this time. I was able to close a client that I worked with for the next 18 months. That’s it. Don’t chaise C-suite. They are already bombarded. Try users in trenches instead.

The smartest move I’ve seen in an ERP transformation lately? They positioned key users differently: As internal Change Leaders. Here’s what made it different: Instead of quietly assuming the trained key users would support others “on the side,” the organization made their role explicit, and strategic. - They gave them visibility: people knew exactly who to go to - They recognized them publicly: - They created a support network across teams - They empowered them to speak up, solve problems, and share wins The impact? → Business teams leaned into the change instead of resisting it → Go-live support became peer-led (not ticket-heavy) → Momentum didn’t end with the training sessions, but it accelerated Why it worked: 1️⃣ People trust people they work with. “Anna from Logistics figured it out” beats “the project team says…” 2️⃣ Support was real-time and relevant. Questions were answered in context, not in a 3-day-old email thread. 3️⃣ It shifted ownership. Key users weren’t just recipients of training, they became enablers of transformation. 4️⃣ It built belief. Because seeing a colleague succeed with the new system creates a ripple effect. It’s not new to involve key users. But HOW you involve them makes all the difference. So if you're leading a transformation: ✅ Identify your natural influencers early ✅ Train them deeply, not just on the system, but on the why ✅ Give them recognition, not just responsibility ✅ Connect them into a peer support network ✅ Let them lead the way Because lasting change doesn’t come from external push. It comes from empowered people inside the business who own it. ♻️ Repost if you've seen internal Change Leaders transform user adoption. 👋 Follow Mariya Koteva for more insights on building real user readiness.

If You’ve Built Trust With ERP Users, You’ve Already Won Half the Implementation. This reminds me of a moment many ERP consultants go through. The business owners were genuinely confused. Multiple solutions on the table. Too many opinions. Too much noise. They were not sure which ERP to choose, and honestly, they didn’t even fully understand how ERP should work for their business. Instead of pushing a product, I chose to be blunt and candid. We openly discussed their process gaps, the challenges they were facing at each stage, and the things that would break if they chose the wrong system. We mapped their requirements in detail, showed them POCs with different ERPs, and encouraged them to throw real operational challenges at us, no filtered questions, no “demo-friendly” scenarios. Initially, they started the journey without a clear direction. But through this process, something changed. They didn’t just evaluate ERP systems anymore, they learned how ERP actually works and what it should solve. Did we win the project? Yes, we did. But that wasn’t the most important outcome. What truly mattered was the trust we built along the way. By being honest about their process gaps, challenging assumptions, and walking the team through real scenarios. We became part of their ERP thinking process. And once you do that, whether today or tomorrow, the client will always remember who guided them when ERP finally made sense. That’s the power of trust with users, with champions, and with the internal teams who truly carry ERP projects forward. And that trust? It stays long after the contract is signed. #erp #ERPconsultant #ERPadvisor #Digitaltransformation #ERPSelection