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08.25.05
How To Select A CRM
Solution For Your Small Business
 By
Perry Norgarb
Your buddy at the barbecue tells you how the new Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) software they installed at their company has revolutionized their business.
He waxes lyrical about no more sales leads slipping through the cracks; a much
higher close rate on sales inquiries; more precise and cost effective marketing
campaigns; improved productivity and customer service levels; vastly improved
reporting and so on.
Great! Sounds like just what the doctor ordered for your company. You have been
getting by using Microsoft Outlook to manage your database of sales prospects,
follow-ups, notes, profiles etc. but it's starting to prove woefully inadequate.
Only problem is his business is in an entirely different industry sector to yours,
with a much bigger IT budget to boot. Their CRM solution unfortunately won't be
suitable for your small business.
So now what? A quick search for CRM on Google returns 26,600,000 results! Whoa!
You narrow your search query to Small Business CRM only to get 6,260,000 results.
Put "Small Business CRM" in quotation marks and you get 29,300 results. But now
the fun really starts..
You find there are hundreds of CRM, Contact Management, Sales Force Automation
and other Sales Tracking software tools to choose from. Each of these tools has
a dizzying array of features, some of which won't apply to your business.
To confuse matters even further, you see some of these applications are Web Based
CRM (sometimes referred to as Hosted CRM), or Open Source CRM. Others are the
more traditional CRM software tools you are already familiar with. Yet others
are embedded within Outlook, adding a CRM component.
Many CRM packages now cater for certain industries. That is, these software solutions
may have been customized, or had specific add-on's developed, for specific industries.
One of these tailored solutions might be suitable for your small business.
Which of them should you download to evaluate? How do you go about evaluating
them?
Many at this point realize that they need a more thorough list of all their requirements,
so as to enable them to put together a Request For Information (RFI) or Request
For Proposal (RFI). This will be beneficial if they decide to call on the services
of a CRM consultant to fast track the important decision of selecting and implementing
a CRM solution.
This should be your kicking-off point. So sit down with all your staff and start
drawing up a list of all your specifications. Involve your staff - ensure everyone
has an opportunity to contribute.
Choose the correct CRM solution for your small business, implement it correctly,
and watch your productivity levels increase and your sales soar. After all, what
you can't measure, you can't improve.
About the Author:
Perry Norgarb has specialized in Small Business CRM solutions for the last 15
years. Contact him or find out more about CRM, Contact Management and other Sales
Tracking software tips and solutions for small businesses at: http://www.smallbizcrm.com.
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