CRM suggestions

mileslow

Hi guys,

I work in the office for a small company covering sales, admin, accounts (Tasbooks) and basically whatever needs to be done. For the past year I've stuck to using excel to 'manage' any sales leads/task lists/etc. Not the prettiest file I must admit. I'm now on the lookout for something a bit more manageable, a bit neater, and something that will just focus me/the business on the leads that need following up straightaway.

I have missed out on a number of follow up calls for whatever reason and I just want to tidy this aspect of the business up a little. We have approx. 300 customers. Also, I would want something with an import function (presume all come with this anyway). Do any CRM packages come with something like Mailchimp? Budget-wise I would like to keep it under 100e a year but that might be pushing it?

Peterdalkey

We use GoldMine because it is a great product, integrates with Outlook Email, Mail chimp etc and the ERP software.

thecommander

We use Capsule CRM. Great for what we do, which is mainly keep track of who has and most importantly hasn't been contacted. Can also tag contacts, then generate Mailchimp lists from those tags. There's a sale pipeline functionality built in but we never use. Tried Basecamp, Zoho, SugarCRM and Pipedrive. Capsule is about €8 a month per user. I think there's a free option too.

Best thing is to try as many as possible.

Buttercake

2nd Capsule, great crm and integrates with xero

Avoid Salesforce.com - had high hopes when trying it out but found it very convoluted and pushy account managers getting you to upgrade

pedroeibar1

Whichever product you decide upon, it is CRITICAL to obtain the input of ALL users/potential users before a final decision is made. I once had a CCRM system foisted on me by HO as a 'fait accompli' and it was an absolute disaster because it was chosen with little or no input from frontline staff. Also, by getting them involved in the process will obtain their support in its use.

mileslow

Thanks. I've taken a good luck at Capsule and it seems the best I've come across so far. One or two things that other trials seem to have but I think I'll just contact them and see if it's something I'm just not seeing at the moment.

As for users/potential users, it's just going to be me.

writhen

I use OnePageCRM. Been using it for two years now an find it excellent. Irish company as well.

Zascar

Having worked in the industry for several years, Salesforce is the biggest and best for a reason. I've seen so many horror stories of people going with Sugar, Microsoft and a few other niche vendors and regretting it later down the line. It depends what your requirements are, if you are a very small business then maybe some of the more simple ones will do, but if you want a proper tool for the job, Salesforce is definitely the best. Even if you are a small business, Their group Edition product is incredible value for money. They will tell you on the web that it has a max of 5 users, but if you are nice to them and pay it right, they can extend this to up to 10 users. You won't get marketing, mass email, API or workflow, but if you don't need those - but getting access to the rest of the platform and features of Salesforce, I think its the best value piece of software out there in terms of bang for the buck.

thecommander

Zascar wrote: »

Having worked in the industry for several years, Salesforce is the biggest and best for a reason. I've seen so many horror stories of people going with Sugar, Microsoft and a few other niche vendors and regretting it later down the line. It depends what your requirements are, if you are a very small business then maybe some of the more simple ones will do, but if you want a proper tool for the job, Salesforce is definitely the best. Even if you are a small business, Their group Edition product is incredible value for money. They will tell you on the web that it has a max of 5 users, but if you are nice to them and pay it right, they can extend this to up to 10 users. You won't get marketing, mass email, API or workflow, but if you don't need those - but getting access to the rest of the platform and features of Salesforce, I think its the best value piece of software out there in terms of bang for the buck.

Salesforce is overkill for a single user.

Yurple

We use Zoho CRM with several add ons like Zoho Mail, Zoho Invoice, Zoho Books and everybody involved find it very easy to use. I find it great to manage people, set goals and have the complete overview as it logs everything. Its the first time using a CRM though so unsure how it compares to other CRM's.

onedmc

Ive had a look at a number of crm systems and I'd suggest intouchcrm simple to use, sales and campaigne management.

Easier than zoho, better than onepage, Has mailchimp functionality built in. You might get away with a free account but the campaign management costs.

BnB

What is SageCRM like ?

I would like 1 system that will manage:
Accounts
Payroll
CRM

Sage is the only system that I can see that will do all 3 (with Irish Payroll)

pedroeibar1

mileslow wrote: »

As for users/potential users, it's just going to be me.

Without wishing to seem rude, if the foregoing is the case what you are looking for is not a CRM system.

thecommander

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Without wishing to seem rude, if the foregoing is the case what you are looking for is not a CRM system.

Why?

pedroeibar1

thecommander wrote: »

Why?

Why? Because the OP wants something to manage his/her workflow, not the CRM needs of the business. The basic consideration in designing any CRM system is to identify what are the business needs, not the needs of a single employee.

A CRM system is (or should be!) designed to manage every aspect of customer relationships. It should neother be designed to solely manage the sales process, nor as a problem solver nor as a supervisory tool for senior management. CRM should be designed to bring all appropriate business information together in a way that is usable to all customer-facing staff and management.

I could go on, but you should see the gist of my argument....

Peterdalkey

there are differences and it is indeed unlikely that a very small or one man operation should be looking at CRM but rather at a plain vanilla Contact Management System,. The CMS title has been hijacked by the website folks. Nicely differentiated here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_manager

mileslow

Hmm, kinda liking Capsule so far even though it's not a CMS. Any recommendations of CMSs?

johnackerman

We're using Clevertim.com which I found very easy to use and get my users to use.
I'll have a look at Capsule CRM, but the truth is, once you've got your data in one place, it's such a pain to move - although I can export the data from Clevertim, but not sure how compatible these systems are with each other.

thecommander

mileslow wrote: »

Hmm, kinda liking Capsule so far even though it's not a CMS. Any recommendations of CMSs?

mileslow wrote: »

For the past year I've stuck to using excel to 'manage' any sales leads/task lists/etc. Not the prettiest file I must admit. I'm now on the lookout for something a bit more manageable, a bit neater, and something that will just focus me/the business on the leads that need following up straightaway.

I have missed out on a number of follow up calls for whatever reason and I just want to tidy this aspect of the business up a little. We have approx. 300 customers. Also, I would want something with an import function (presume all come with this anyway). Do any CRM packages come with something like Mailchimp? Budget-wise I would like to keep it under 100e a year but that might be pushing it?

Capsule does everything that you asked for above. The reason for my reply was that everything you're looking for was the same as I was looking for at the time. Are you getting hung up on the name CRM/CMS?

The One Who Knocks

Infusionsoft for a small business, salesforce for a larger one.

onedmc

The One Who Knocks wrote: »

Infusionsoft for a small business.

at 200 a month that's more than salesforce for a small business