BUSINESS CRM SOFTWARE STREAMLINES COMPANIES AND PROMOTES GROWTH

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A BUSINESS CRM

• Every business CRM software has advantages and disadvantages. . Look for the solution that fits your “work style” and gives you an overview of your business at a glance. Being able to use a simple CRM system with effective dashboards will let you get the snapshots that you need to manage your business and save you time.
• Whether you are just starting out with a single product or project and you are “the staff”, or you are juggling multiple projects, product inventories, employees, billing and clients, your customer relationship software must accommodate your business as it grows. Ideally, you want to find a CRM system that provides all the features you need or may need right out of the box with low costs to add new user licenses.
• Start with a subscription on a month-to-month fee base with no contract, no set-up fee and gives you a trial period, to make sure it really meets your needs, and if not, allows you to take your data input with you.
• You should be able to access your information from any Internet connection. We all travel at times and feel it is necessary to “check in” to see how things are going. Your employees will always be chasing leads, so make it easier for them with anytime, anywhere access from any device. It’s a fast-paced business world, so make sure that you and your employees are able to access the system during time-sensitive situations.
• Check with your employees for their objective, functionality requirements – you may find that tedious tasks can be quickly automated by business CRM software. An example would be lead scoring. Without CRM in place, you would need to look at which contacts completed desired actions from email or web campaigns, and manually calculate a score and update notes. With CRM in place, you can have the system automatically update their lead score based on completed actions/activities, ensuring greater accuracy of your lead database.
• Make a list of your requirements. Is your business service or product based? Do you have complicated projects that workflow is important in order to keep track of every detail? Does your overhead cost fluctuate constantly and need to be priced into your projects or products? Do you need drag-and-drop calendars to schedule meetings, appointments or follow-ups? Do you constantly have to ask questions of your staff about where a project stands or do they constantly have to ask you what to do next? If this is the case, then also keep in mind the other solutions you’ll need to purchase to manage all of these tasks. You may be able to cut costs and improve workflow by finding a single multi-purpose CRM system.
• Because your customers are the most important part of your business, project and customer intelligence is desirable. Your business CRM software should have the ability to compare similar and past projects to provide quotes and other information, so clients aren’t left hanging for days or weeks.
• Don’t accept any business CRM software that requires double entries. Double entry leads to human error and wasted time. Your leads, sales, spreadsheets, staff and employee costs, overhead, projects with sub-projects and profitability should be fully integrated as one business unit.

Web based business CRM systems used to be for large corporations, but not anymore. The frustration of running a business by several box-packaged software platforms that have to be integrated, with double entries, complicated manuals and glitches is over. Choose a hosted CRM that lets you manage more than just your contacts. As a small business owner you’ll benefit from having a solution that lets you manage customers, sales, projects, and even billing from a single platform.