CRM Software Selection Consultant

Viewpoint Analysis is a Technology Matchmaker, we sit between CRM vendors and enterprise buyers, researching the CRM market and helping the wider IT buyer community understand their CRM software options. A key part of what we do is help buyers not only understand a busy technology marketplace, but also navigate the selection process. As a CRM Software Selection Consultant, we provide a range of services all designed to take the weight off the purchasing team and get the right solution every time.

What Does a CRM Software Selection Consultant Do?

A CRM software selection consultant is engaged by the buying organisation, not the vendor, to help find, evaluate, and select the right CRM platform for the business. That can mean building a longlist of realistic candidates, running a formal RFI/RFP process, managing vendor demonstrations, or simply providing experienced, independent input on a shortlist a business has already drawn up itself or is already working through.

Organisations bring in a consultant rather than running the process alone for a simple reason: the CRM market is enormous, every vendor's marketing sounds equally convincing, and a wrong decision is expensive to reverse. An experienced, neutral pair of eyes - one with no stake in which vendor wins - changes the odds considerably and takes the pressure off a team that already has a day job.

Independent, Impartial, and Always Fixed Price

Viewpoint Analysis was built on a single principle: strict neutrality. When we run a CRM Selection Process for you, we work for you, the client - full stop. That is why we take no money, commission, or referral fee from CRM vendors when we run our selection processes, and never will: our fee comes from you, not them, so our advice is never for sale to the vendor with the biggest budget.

That independence extends to how we charge. Every one of our buyer-facing services – the Technology Matchmaker, Rapid RFI, Rapid RFP, 30-Day Selection, Stick or Switch Assessment - is delivered at a fixed price, agreed before we start. You know exactly what the engagement costs are from day one; there is no surprise bill for "extra" vendor calls or additional evaluation rounds partway through.

Making Sense of a Crowded CRM Market

The CRM market is one of the busiest and most confusing corners of enterprise software - global platforms, AI-native challengers, industry-specific specialists, and a long tail of niche tools, all claiming to be the answer. Making sense of that noise quickly and objectively is what we do every day.

What sets us apart is that we don't just watch this market from a distance. We hold direct relationships with technology vendors across the CRM space, and we research and build our own CRM Buyer's Guides and CRM Software Options reports - so when we sit down with you, we're bringing genuine, current market knowledge, not a generic consulting process applied to an unfamiliar category.

That closeness to the vendor side cuts both ways, and it's a real differentiator. We understand how vendor sales teams work - what they need from a process, how to bring them along, and how to get the best out of them - and we run our selection processes so that vendors enjoy being part of them, even the ones who don't win. A vendor that feels respected through the process gives you a better demo, a sharper proposal, and a more honest final conversation. That benefits you as the buyer just as much as it benefits the vendor.

For CRM specifically, our published research gives you a head start before you even talk to us:

CRM Technology Hub - all of our vendor profiles, buyer guides, and more, sit in our CRM Technology Hub, a place where buyers can go to learn about the market.

CRM Software Options 2026 - our independent view of the established CRM vendor market

AI CRM Software Options 2026 - a dedicated look at AI-native and AI-augmented CRM platforms, for buyers whose CRM decision is now really an AI decision

How to Select CRM Software - our full guide to the 20 factors we believe every organisation should evaluate before choosing a CRM, from size and fit through to implementation partners, AI capability, total cost of ownership and - the one every checklist misses - trust. A few of those factors come up in almost every CRM selection we run: getting size and fit right, since an over-specified platform fails just as surely as an under-powered one; pressure-testing AI claims rather than taking vendor marketing at face value; and treating commercial evaluation as something that comes after functional fit is proven, not before it.

How We Run a CRM Selection

We offer several ways to engage us, depending on how much groundwork you have already done and how quickly you need to move - all fixed price, agreed upfront.

Stick or Switch Application Review

If you are not sure whether to stick or switch your current CRM solution, our Stick or Switch Application Review answers the more fundamental question first: is your incumbent platform genuinely no longer fit for purpose, or could better configuration, adoption, or a renegotiated contract solve the problem without the cost and disruption of switching? It's a service no one else in this market offers, and it can save you from starting a vendor selection you didn't actually need to run. Running two parallel streams, whilst working through things with your current vendor, we bring a range of others to present to you – leaving you and your team to decide: do you stick, or do you look at switching to a new solution?

Matchmaker Service

For customers wanting a quick view of the marketplace before selecting who to run a selection process with, the Technology Matchmaker is ideal. Rather than a slow, paper-heavy RFI process, we write up your CRM requirement, take it directly to the vendor community, and host a structured set of vendor presentations so you can see the market and compare options within days rather than months. It is an unusually quick way to move from "we don't really know this market" to a real shortlist that you can then spend time with. We liken it to Dragons’ Den or Shark Tank – your team just needs to sit back and listen to the options - see our Matchmaker Service. It can be a free or paid service, depending on the business's needs.

Rapid RFI

A tightly scoped, fast-turnaround Request for Information process for buyers who want a more formal paper trail than Matchmaker but still need pace - narrowing a long vendor list down to a manageable shortlist quickly. Part of our Rapid Vendor Selection service.

Rapid RFP

Once you have a shortlist, our Rapid RFP process runs a focused, structured evaluation against your specific requirements, so the final decision is evidence-based rather than a gut call based on whoever presented best. Also delivered through Rapid Vendor Selection.

30-Day CRM Selection

For organisations with an urgent deadline, our 30-Day Technology Selection service combines Rapid RFI and Rapid RFP into a single accelerated process, taking you from a standing start to a chosen CRM vendor inside a month. It’s the quickest selection process on the market today and can be a real game-changer. You would be amazed how quickly a vendor selection process can move when all parties (buying team, vendor team, and selection consultant) are pulling in the same direction.

Case Study: ArrowXL

When ArrowXL, the two-person home delivery company came to Viewpoint Analysis, they had little existing knowledge of the CRM vendor market and needed to move quickly. We started with our Matchmaker Service, taking their requirement to a curated set of relevant CRM vendors and running structured presentations so their team could see the realistic options within days rather than weeks. With a clear shortlist established, we moved straight into a Rapid RFP to evaluate the remaining vendors against ArrowXL's specific requirements. In a matter of a few short weeks, ArrowXL went from having no real visibility of the CRM market to a confident, evidence-based CRM decision.

Who This Service Is For

Our CRM Selection Consulting services are built for any business, in any location, and in any industry. Typically we see that customers come from one of the following areas:

• Organisations replacing an ageing or homegrown CRM system

• Businesses who are busy and need an extra pair of hands to run their selection process.

• They may or may not have a procurement team. Often if they have an IT procurement department, they need help to fill resource gaps, or to fill knowledge gaps.

• Teams with limited in-house knowledge of the CRM vendor market

• Buyers working to a tight deadline

• Teams that need a defensible, evidence-based decision to take to their board

• Anyone who would rather not rely on advice funded by the vendor trying to win the deal

FAQs

How much does a CRM software selection consultant cost?

Every Viewpoint Analysis engagement is fixed price, agreed with you before work starts. The cost depends on which service fits your situation - Matchmaker, Rapid RFI, Rapid RFP, or the combined 30-Day CRM Selection - not on how long the process happens to run.

How is Viewpoint Analysis different from a CRM vendor or reseller?

We take no commission, referral fee, or payment of any kind from CRM vendors. Our only commercial relationship is with the buying organisation, which means our recommendations are never influenced by which vendor pays us best. Some selection consultants run this the other way – they charge nothing, but they get a percentage of the deal – if this is something you would rather do, we can accommodate this approach too, but we prefer to ensure that there is no potential for confusion.

How fast can Viewpoint Analysis help me choose a CRM?

It depends on the route you take. The Technology Matchmaker Service can produce a shortlist within days. A full evaluation, from standing start to chosen vendor, can be completed in as little as 30 days through our combined Rapid RFI/RFP process.

Do you only cover the big CRM platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft?

No. Our research and our selection work covers the established enterprise platforms, AI-native challenger CRMs, and industry or size-specific specialists - whichever segment of the market is genuinely relevant to your requirement. It’s important to note that we work with EVERY and ANY CRM vendor – we are not limited because we work for the client – so all options are possible.

What is the difference between the Technology Matchmaker, Rapid RFI and Rapid RFP?

The Technology Matchmaker is the fastest route to a shortlist, built around structured vendor presentations rather than paperwork. When a buying team wants to pursue a traditional RFI/RFP process, our Rapid RFI is a formal, fast-turnaround information-gathering step used to narrow a long vendor list. Rapid RFP is the structured evaluation that follows, used to make the final, evidence-based decision between shortlisted vendors.

Talk to Viewpoint Analysis

If you are starting a CRM selection - or stuck partway through one - request a call with Viewpoint Analysis, or try our free Longlist Builder to get a first view of the CRM vendors that fit your requirement.