Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

The Pros and Cons of Our 5 Favorite CRM Software Systems

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Today’s guest blog post is from my friend Elizabeth Harris at Resultist Consulting. When I saw this white paper she wrote on CRM’s a couple of weeks ago I KNEW my readers needed to see this. If you have a CRM, are considering a CRM, or don’t know what a CRM is, this post is for you!

pros and cons of our 5 favorite CRM software systemsKeeping up can be difficult but, if we have the processes and tools in place, we ride the wave. With the right CRM software solution, relationships become more than just a name on a list. The ability to listen, serve and move prospects to a win-win improves. Regardless of which is best for your team, CRM software is more than a list, it is a contact list with a brain.

When selecting a CRM software system, choices include a robust CRM software solution, a simple CRM designed for very small businesses or a free version to fit your budget. Wikipedia has a list of CRM software, but it lacks wisdom and is not truly helpful for making a decision that is relevant to you.

Automation is perhaps the most valuable aspect of CRM and it’s a shame that not all software packages offer it. Automation is the software’s ability to remind sales and marketing representatives to follow up with customers at the right time. Automation reminds you—or in some cases, actually handles the task for you – of needed activities such as following up 30 days after a sales purchase with another special offer or calling the sales prospect 10 days after the individual signed up for a trial.

Automation via CRM is a primary reason for pulling away from the old Excel spreadsheet and moving to a new system. The benefits outweigh any small learning curve needed.

Instead of walking through every detail and specification, we considered the pros and cons of each CRM solution and summarized them in a free white paper.

Our favorite CRMs:

  • Easily and cost efficiently integrates with HubSpot
  • Are easy to use (Apple-like intuitiveness)
  • Are reasonably priced (now and with future growth)
  • Offer a depth and breadth of support resources (from the platform provider and the “ecosystem” around the platform)

There are five favorite tools we think will work for most small to medium sized businesses. Here is a link to the brand new CRM white paper resource titled “The Pros and Cons of Our 5 Favorite CRM Software Systems.”

Since specifications and details are already available, I kept the content more specifically to the “pros & cons” with a few random thoughts.

As you consider our five favorite CRM software systems, look closely at your business processes, discuss with employees what they need and want, contrast that with your bottom line, and you’ll quickly have an accurate picture of the right CRM software for you.

Can you let me know your thoughts about this brand new CRM resource?

Elizabeth Harris, Resultis ConsultingElizabeth Harris – Resultist Consulting

Elizabeth Harris is the founder and CEO of Resultist Consulting. She works with small and mid-sized businesses to organize their sales and revenue processes to make them predictable and profitable.

Elizabeth has more than 20 years of experience as a proven driver of revenue, profitability and accountability. She is a complex B2B sales expert; adept improving businesses in competitive and changing market conditions. Resultist is her fifth business. In one of her previous businesses she grew it from $4M to $16M in annual revenues in 3 ½ years.

5 Marketing Tips You Need this Week

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hey it's a sales pipeline!I’ve been talking to a lot of small business owners this week about what they need to do to have better marketing systems in place for the year. Here’s a few things I kept saying…

  1. A CRM – YES, you need a database. NO Outlook isn’t a database. I use Zoho for my CRM – I love it because it integrates easily with MailChimp and I can assign tasks and follow up for people so I don’t have to remember to follow up, Zoho will tell me to. Everyone’s talking about Insightly this week too – I don’t care what CRM you use, I care that you have one AND use it.
  2. Follow Up – why aren’t you getting new business? Because you never follow up with people. For every networking event you attend schedule a half hour the next day to do all the follow up you promised you’d do. I send the follow up notes, make the calls, add people to Zoho, and connect with them on LinkedIn. It’s not hard, it’s a little time consuming, but it totally pays off. I’ve had 4 calls this week that prove it.
  3. Newsletter – I’m not really going to preach on this because I do too often, but once a month is great. Don’t over think it, just give me a tip or two or three, make it look clean/pretty/whatever and be easy to read. Tell you what – I’ll do a newsletter review of your current newsletter for FREE – just email it to me.
  4. Networking – Oh your pipeline is empty? Yeah, mine wasn’t great either. Q4 sucked. But back up on the horse and away we go. Get out of your house and go physically network with other people. My goal this year? 1 event a week and 1 1:1 a week. My pipeline is filling up…
  5. It Takes Time – Oh you’ve been going to that networking group for 3 months and haven’t gotten business yet? Yeah, that happens. Make sure you’re tweaking your message, maybe it’s not resonating. Give away a raffle item – especially if people choose what items they want to win, then you know you’re on to something by the amount of tickets for your item. Do your follow up. Make the coffee dates, make sure you’re maximizing the opportunities within the organization. It’s really yours to lose. But yeah, it takes time.

Tis the Season: 3 Holiday Questions for Your Business

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IMG_2647This is your friendly reminder that the holiday season is here. I’m meeting with a few of my clients this week and on our agenda: The Holiday’s. Here’s a few questions we’ll be discussing:

  • Do you need to order Holiday cards to send out to clients and partners?

    • How many?
    • When will the list be done?
    • Who’s in charge of mailing the cards out?
    • When will this project be finished?

  • Are you sending out a Holiday eCard?

    • It’s cheaper and easier if you don’t have mailing addresses!
    • Do you need your graphic designer to whip up something for you?
    • Do you have all your contacts updated in your newsletter program?
    • Have you let your marketing consultant know you need help getting this taken care of (hint, hint…)

  • Holiday Gifts

    • Are you sending holiday gifts to your clients?
    • Are you doing a donation in their honor to an organization close to your heart or theirs?
    • When do the gifts need to be ordered?
    • When will they be delivered and who’s delivering the gifts?
    • Do you need to include a card?

Depending on your lists and client base you may be getting to the wire here. Take the next few days and make these lists and create your plan for the holiday’s. Keep in mind clients who don’t celebrate the same holiday’s as you – a nice Festivus pole could be a more welcome addition than a wreath this year.

And remember, a Happy New Year card in early January is always a good option too, especially depending on your target market!