Contact Management (CRM) For Small Business - What Works Best?

Contact management for small businesses is a big deal often having a big impact on your bottom line. After all how well you connect and stay in contact with customers (and potential customers), track and manage your sales and marketing data, and drive business to your company is crucial to your overall income numbers.

Here is a quick "Guide" with strengths and weaknesses of three CRM software packages I'm comfortable recommending:

1. Salesforce.com

PROS: Integration with dozens of 3rd party tools including marketing automation. Hands down the most powerful import functionality of all CRMs. Salesforce.com allows you the most flexibility with mapping of data ..... and gives you full control of what data gets overwritten, merged, and updated. It is also easy to use and quick to navigate.

CONS: Expensive compared to other alternatives. Little to no contractual flexibility.

2. SugarCRM

PROS: Nice interface and powerful customization, most powerful if you count the ability to edit code. Flexible contract terms. More cost effective than Salesforce.com in the OnDemand version and free if you host the Open Source version yourself.

CONS: Little support for third party applications out of the box. Import process is limited in that you can only overwrite, versus update existing data records. This can be bad if you like to regularly update your database and import tradeshow and other marketing data.

3. QuickBase

PROS: Month to month contract terms, ability to host unlimited instances or have unlimited applications. As low as $15 per user per month. Easy customization.

CONS: Tedious import process with no ability to update certain fields versus overwrite. Little to no ability to connect to 3rd party applications.

My friends use Salesforce.com for their sales and marketing. They use Quickbase for delivery of their services.

Tidbits on a few others - Act and Goldmine require more IT resources for multi-user environments, and you will have trouble with people not syncing often enough. I have yet to meet anyone who has used Microsoft CRM and liked it.

Whatever program you choose really depends on what are your priorities and needs within CRM. Is it sales driven, customer service driven, internal help desk driven, campaign management drive. There are always some niche tools that are for specific needs and still people develop custom development. Proposal Making is a separate software in the CRM space for instance.

One thing to always remember when selecting, and integrating any CRM product. Installing and running the CRM is the easy part, no matter which one you chose. The hard part is tailoring the CRM's robust feature set to the unique aspects of your business, your sales goals, and the personality of your sales team. This tailoring will cost far more, take far longer, and incite far more arguments than you could ever imagine.

If it's so hard, then why even do it? Because that IS the payoff for CRM. A lot of people spend a lot of time analyzing all the features and choosing one CRM over another, and my point is, the feature sets aren't what matter.

The real beneit of CRM software isn't the automation, it is that in automating, it forces you to have all those tough arguments, make all those tough business decisions, and have all those debates about sales philosophy.

And if you do it right, you will be richer for it, no matter which software you choose.

CRM isn't simply contact management on steroids, it is your company's opportunity to identify best practices in customer life cycle management, codify those practices into defined processes, and an automated system to help your sales force understand and follow those practices.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications. Michael also authors Small Business Resources Cafe with resources, tools, tips, & insights for small businesses. The Cafe is always open. So .... grab a cup of Joe & sit
awhile!

Where Should Business Owners Focus In Today's Economy??

The times may be tough, but a lot of businesses are facing all the same issues they were before. And some of us are still very busy. I suspect some of your usual programs could be retooled slightly to help people take advantage of the opportunities that are the flip side of any downturn.

Put it this way .... don't panic, calm down, and think strategically. A recession provides many opportunities that only happen once every seven years or so.

LEVERAGE low interest rates, low prices, high commercial real estate vacancy rates to reprice your infrastructure and your supply chain.

ENGAGE in carefully calculated risks to finally acquire that competitor who is struggling much harder than you are right now.

TRANSFORM problems like a supplier's contract breach into an opportunity to renegotiate more favorable terms for the long haul.

Yes, we all need to be wise and frugal, but those who spend this year cowering in fear may later regret missing out on rare windows of opportunity.

Plenty of small business owners are investing in growth and expansion, preparing for new venture launches, and otherwise using this time to make wise competitive moves to come out well-positioned when we reach better days. I believe that the small business sector will drive the recovery again this time, just as they usually do.

To make things simple here's 2 areas worth focusing in on ......

1st, now is the perfect time to change your routine and stop being driven by the tyranny of the urgent, now is the time to really pay attention to working on your business, not in it. It is time to plan for the future and to position yourself for the recovery before it happens. Now is the time to put your energy, as the leader, into making sure your team is aligned and focused on the right goals .... those things that will be valuable to the business in the long term.

2nd, there has NEVER been a better time to buy another company. No company has ever grown into a large company organically. They all grow into large companies by buying other firms. Whether you are large or small, or want to buy someone smaller or bigger than you are, now is the ideal time to do it.

Fighter pilots like to say that "speed is life." Likewise, prudent business owners must believe and act as if "cash is life." Buttressing and improving cash flow should be a business owner's top priority in good times, and especially in turbulent times.

Business owners must also recognize that we are witnessing a massive deleveraging of capital - despite the current bargains we see in interest rates. Over the long term, capital will become much dearer. This will drive well-run businesses to insist upon funding only the most robust projects and spending, those that exceed "hurdle" rates in significant excess to the firm's projected cost of capital.

Finally, business owners must be wary of opportunities predicated upon significant government underwriting (through tax incentives, subsidies, etc.). Many of these will prove to be shorter-lived opportunities than the business can justify. And what the Congress giveth, the Congress can take away - often with breathtaking speed.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications. Michael also authors Small Business Resources Cafe with resources, tools, tips, & insights for small businesses. The Cafe is always open. So.... grab a cup of Joe & sit awhile!

5 Ways To Delegate Without a Payroll

1. Assign Tasks to Kids
Do not underestimate the potential of your kids. Kids can handle some task that you do not have time to do: filing, recording messages, paper shredding documents, etc. My 15 year old daughter is responsible for inputting information from business cards that I collect from meetings, into my contact management system, proof reading documents, filing, typing and other small administrative task. She loves it and it gives her great employability skills and inclusion in my business. It is a great way for kids to receive an allowance and special privileges. It allows me to concentrate on other task without having to hire someone.
2. Trade or Barter Services
If you are in need for a service that requires the expertise of another professional, trade services with the another business owner to avoid any cost. I currently barter by utilizing the expertise of a marketing coach and she utilizes my time management expertise. I've heard of a hair stylist and message therapist bartering each other’s services. It also creates another satisfied customer which will provide referrals for your business. This is a win- win situation.

3. Get Family & Friends Involved
Your family and friends have an abundance of talents that you can take advantage of for a project or task. You can ask for help from a family member or friend and return a favor or take them out for coffee or lunch in return for their solicited help. Notate their special talents for future reference and include it on a spread sheet for when you may need that particular help. You may need babysitting services for an evening speaking engagement or maybe your aunt is an English teacher who can edit your articles or your cousin has an excellent voice that can be used for your voice mail recordings. Utilize the talents of all!

4. List Projects on Elance.com
You can list a project on www.Elance.com. It allows your project to be posted for free and you then receive professional bids on completing the project. You the liberty to decide on the most affordable bid that fits your budget and review the bio and expertise of the person or company completing the project.

5. Contract Projects to A Virtual Assistant
You do not have to hire a virtual assistant to handle all administrative tasks. You can hire a virtual assistant per project, once the project is complicated, the contract is over. The virtual assistant can be hired per project which eliminates hiring a full-time employee, paying health insurance, and it requires no long term commitments.

6. Hire College Students
Call your nearby university, community college or training program for available internships from students preparing to enter the workforce and who are in need of work experience to include on their resume and will also require a letter of reference from you for future employment.
Don't feel that you are not alone when there is no room in your budget for additional employees or delegation. Use the above resources and proceed with your projects.
Remember you went into business to work on your expertise; don't allow other tasks to take you away from that path!

© 2007 Bridgette Boudreaux
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bridgette Boudreaux is a member of BusinessIIBusiness and a Business Coach & Time Management Strategist to Female Small Business Owners & Independent Professionals. Get a copy of her FREE report "Quick & Simple Time Saving Tips" at www.YourTime2Soar.com
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