Be a CRM Scientist First, Then Be The Artist

People are right when they say there's an art and a science to customer relationship management. The problem is they usually get mixed up which is which. The principles, the dull, unoriginal, tried and true principles, that's the science. Learn that. Then--how you do that when faced with a live customer--that's the art. That's where the creativity comes in.
Source: CRM Daily, http://www.crm-daily.com