As the author of 14 books on various CRM products I receive a ton of questions every week both from my own clients and prospective clients. Here are the top five questions people often ask me about CRMs along with my responses.
What’s a CRM, and do I really need one?
One of the most common questions I get is, “Is CRM worth it, or can I keep using my trusty Excel sheet and Outlook?” My answer might seem a bit snarky but to me the decision comes down to how seriously you take your business and how much time you want to devote to your business.
How do I pick the right CRM for my business?
The last time I checked there were over 2,000 CRM products available. I specialize in Act and Zoho because I feel they give my clients the most “bang for the buck.” Act comes in two flavors, Desktop and Cloud, as well as a hybrid “Cloud & Desktop” model. Act’s pricing ranges from $360-480/user/year. Zoho on the other hand has a variety of products ranging from free to $444/user/year depending on what features and functionality you need.
How tough is it to set up a CRM?
Many of my prospects wonder if setting up a CRM system will it be a pain if their team will actually like using it. There’s no simple answer there. A lot of sales people hate change because they don’t always see that a CRM can save them time, keep them better organized and ultimately more profitable.
Will a CRM really help my sales and customer relationships?
If you have a memory like a steel trap and can rely on it to remember all aspects of your business then you probably won’t benefit from CRM. However, if you’re like the rest of us and are inundated by emails, call and texts, have a pile of notes scattered across your desk and are finding that too many things are “falling through the cracks” then yes, you will benefit. You will also be able to grow your business by reaching out to both your existing customers and the potential new ones!
What’s the real cost over time?
We’re all afraid of the “gotchas” in life. Some companies fail to factor in training and implementation costs; however, once the product is up and running those costs will be a thing of the past. Other companies choose to expand their usage as they become more familiar with the software. Act has a variety of
These are the big questions people have when thinking about getting a CRM. The last time I checked there were over 2,000 CRM products available. I specialize in Act and Zoho because I feel they give my clients the most “bang for the buck.” Not sure which one is right for you? Feel free to reach out!