Choosing a CRM implementation partner: what to settle before you compare proposals

Choosing a CRM implementation partner is easier, and the proposals are easier to compare, once three things are settled on your side: the sales process the CRM should enforce, the data you will move, and who in the business owns each decision. Without them, each partner fills the gaps with assumptions, and you end up comparing prices for different projects.

This guide is for a sales director or CRO about to hire a partner to implement or rebuild Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, HubSpot or a similar CRM. It covers what to settle first, how to compare proposals on the same scope, how to judge whether the build will be maintainable, and when you need outside help before the partner arrives. If you are still deciding whether the CRM is the real problem, start with our guide to CRM transformation, which covers the order of the work.

What a CRM implementation partner does, and what stays with you

A CRM implementation partner configures and builds the platform: objects, fields, stages, automation, integrations, data migration, testing support and go-live. Some also offer training and ongoing administration. Merlin5's own service page draws the line clearly in its FAQ on CRM implementation: an implementation configures the platform you have chosen, while the commercial design decides what the platform is meant to support.

Some things stay with you whoever you hire. Microsoft's implementation guidance for Dynamics 365 says the business teams "own and design the process flows". It also says the people who know the data best should be the gatekeepers for cleansing it, and that your own stakeholders and users should sign off the tested solution. A partner can facilitate all three. It can't own them.

Settle these before you ask for proposals

Microsoft's guidance puts it plainly: "You must define your business processes before you can work on your requirements". The same page warns against assuming the new system will define your processes. Before you invite proposals, write down the following.

• The sales process. Stages, what each stage is for, and the evidence needed to move a deal on. Our guide to sales process stages shows how to write these as exit criteria. If this work isn't done, see the next section before going further.

• The decisions the CRM must support. Pipeline reviews, forecast calls, territory and capacity planning. List the reports leadership will actually use.

• The data you will move. Which records, how much history, and who will clean them. Microsoft advises migrating only the data that's relevant and useful, and calls migration "complex and time-consuming".

• Integrations. Every system that must read from or write to the CRM, such as marketing automation, finance, quoting or support.

• Business units and regions. Whether they will share one process or each need their own. Microsoft notes that a separate level of customisation for each business unit or region makes the solution harder to scale.

• Owners. One named owner for process decisions, one for data and one for sign-off.

This list is also your readiness check. If you can't fill it in, a partner will either fill it in for you, which is consulting you didn't scope, or build on guesses.

Compare proposals on the same scope

Proposals don't always scope the same work. One prices configuration of your current process. Another includes workshops to design a new one. A third leaves data migration as a client task. Microsoft's guidance warns that a customer may assume the partner will handle an activity "while the partner assumes their customer will handle that activity". It recommends a statement of work that sets out activities, assumptions, roles and responsibilities, and states what is out of scope.

Put every proposal into the same grid before you look at the price.

Look hardest at the lines near the end of the grid. Microsoft notes that activities near the end of a project, such as testing, training and change management, are often the ones cut to meet a budget. A lower proposal that thins out these lines moves that cost onto your team after go-live.

What drives the timeline and the cost

There's no standard figure for either, so this guide doesn't quote market rates. The drivers are consistent, though, and they help explain why two proposals differ.

• Process work. Microsoft separates implementing an existing process from defining or agreeing new ones. The second takes longer and depends on how quickly your teams agree.

• Data. Volume, quality and the number of test migrations.

• Integrations. Each one adds design, build and testing.

• Customisation. Microsoft notes that customisations need more design, coding, testing, training and documentation than standard features.

• Business units. One process for everyone is quicker to build and maintain than several.

• Your availability. Workshops, decisions, data cleansing and UAT all wait for your people.

When two proposals differ sharply on time or cost, check these drivers first, and compare the scope behind each figure before you compare rates.

Judge how maintainable the build will be

A CRM keeps changing after go-live. Salesforce says it delivers "three seasonal releases every year". Microsoft describes weekly, monthly and six-month update cycles for Dynamics 365, and asks customers to plan time to check that customisations and integrations still work before each update. Updates are designed to be backward compatible, but someone still has to do that testing, and every customisation adds to it.

So ask each partner how they decide between configuring a standard feature and building something custom. Microsoft's guidance is "adopt wherever possible, adapt only where justified", and it warns that major deviations from native features "increase technical debt and maintenance costs".

Good answers look like this:

• a fit-gap step before build, with each custom item justified in writing;

• a functional design document that records every requirement and how it was met;

• a handover plan, so your administrator or support team can run the system without the partner;

• named responsibility for regression testing at each release.

Watch for these red flags:

• a demo of a previous client's build presented as your solution;

• custom code proposed before your process has been reviewed;

• no documentation in the deliverables;

• a support model that only the partner can operate.

Microsoft's own guidance warns that "an unresponsive partner can block you from adopting new functionalities". The UK government's guidance on technical lock-in makes a related point. It lists the availability of skills and knowledge as a common cause of lock-in, so make sure your own team can run the build without the partner.

Partner badges and references

A partner tier tells you about the firm. On its own, it doesn't establish the capability of the team assigned to your project.

• Salesforce: ties recognition to project outcomes, customer satisfaction and certifications.

• Microsoft: scores Solutions Partners on certified headcount, customer growth and usage.

• HubSpot: awards tier points on the recurring revenue its partners manage.

All three are useful signals. None of them, by itself, shows whether the consultants assigned to you understand your sales motion, your sector or your integrations.

Ask to meet the named team before you sign, and ask how much of their time your project gets. Take references from clients with a similar scope, not just a similar platform. Ask those clients what went wrong and how the partner handled it.

When you need help before the partner arrives

An implementation partner is hired to build and support the platform. Whether the process you hand it is the right one is a separate question, and it's best settled before the build starts.

Bring in independent help first when one of these is true:

• your stages exist but nobody agrees what evidence moves a deal;

• forecasts are argued over rather than read;

• you're not yet sure whether you need a new CRM at all.

Our guide to hiring a sales process redesign consultant covers that decision.

Skip it when your process is documented, your managers already inspect deals against it, and the job is to build that process into the platform. Then go straight to the partner. If your process is sound but the CRM can't keep up with changes, our guide to keeping the sales process and CRM aligned covers what to do between releases.

Merlin5 sits on the process side of this line. As its approach to CRM work states, it has no licence to sell and no implementation partner to protect, and it has worked across Salesforce, Dynamics, HubSpot and other major platforms. In its work with BPP, a CRM and technology review formed part of a wider commercial diagnostic, before any investment decision. The partners behind this work have held CEO, CRO and VP Sales roles, so they've used the CRM from the sales leader's side.

Where to start

1. Write down the sales process, the data you'll move, the integrations and the three owners, on one page.

2. Ask each partner to price against that page, using the scope grid above, and to list what they've excluded.

3. Meet the named team, and ask how they'll document the build and hand it over.

Frequently asked questions

Should the partner design our sales process too?

They can facilitate it, but the business has to own the design. Separate the design work from the build in the proposal, so you can see what each costs and who decides.

How many partners should we ask for proposals?

Enough to compare approaches, usually a small shortlist. What matters more is giving every partner the same scope document, so the proposals can be compared line by line.

Is the cheapest proposal ever the right one?

It can be, if the scope grid shows the same work. Check first that testing, training, go-live support and handover haven't been thinned out or moved onto your team.

Can we change partners later?

Yes, but it costs more when the build is heavily customised or poorly documented. Plan for it from the start, with documentation and a knowledge handover written into the contract.

Sources

1. Microsoft Learn, "Plan a Dynamics 365 implementation strategy", Dynamics 365 implementation guide, updated 5 January 2024. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/implementation-strategy

2. Microsoft Learn, "Implement a solution based on business processes", Dynamics 365 implementation guide, updated 3 February 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/process-focused-solution

3. Microsoft Learn, "Optimize your implementation with a fit-to-standard and fit-gap analysis", updated 30 January 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/process-focused-solution-fit-to-standard-fit-gap-analysis

4. Microsoft Learn, "Extend Dynamics 365 apps without compromising performance", updated 8 July 2025. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/extend-your-solution

5. Microsoft Learn, "Manage configuration and migration data for Dynamics 365 projects", updated 17 January 2024. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/data-management-configuration-data-migration

6. Microsoft Learn, "Manage your data in Dynamics 365 implementation projects", updated 8 January 2024. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/data-management

7. Microsoft Learn, "Test your Dynamics 365 solution before deployment", updated 7 January 2025. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/guidance/implementation-guide/testing-strategy

8. Microsoft Learn, "Get early access to upcoming updates", Power Platform admin, updated 20 October 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/opt-in-early-access-updates

9. Salesforce, "Salesforce Releases", accessed 15 November 2026. https://www.salesforce.com/releases/

10. Salesforce News, "The Outcome Advantage: Driving Customer Value through the New Salesforce Partner Program", 2 March 2026. https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/rewarding-value-through-new-salesforce-partner-program/

11. Microsoft Learn, "Solutions Partner for Business Applications", updated 15 October 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/partner-center/membership/solutions-partner-business

12. HubSpot, "How do Tiers and Tier Points work?", updated 10 April 2026. https://www.hubspot.com/partners/how-tiers-work

13. GOV.UK (GDS and CDDO), "Managing technical lock-in in the cloud", updated 3 September 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/managing-technical-lock-in-in-the-cloud