Jan Visser’s SalesTeamTools (** update – the site’s no longer available sadly) is a great site. Lot’s of useful articles, features and resources.
One area I’ve found very useful recently is the section reviewing and comparing online CRM/contact management tools.
If your contact/prospect list is longer than a handful of people, you really ought to be using something better than a spreadsheet or your normal emai address book. I’m currently using Outlook’s Business Contact Manager which works fine for a small practitioner like me (and came free with my copy of Office) – but for sharing information between sales teams and automating the sales management process you need something a bit more. I also have the problem that Outlook BCM doesn’t sync with my iphone.
The modern trend is toward online CRM and contact management. I first trialled saleforce.com over 8 years ago when it was just starting out – but it’s too big & costly for a small business like me. However, looking at Jan’s reviews has helped me identify a number of different options which would work well for me – including cut-down easy-to-use contact management, built-in pipeline management, and integrated email marketing.
Head over to the site and take a look – and make sure to read the useful comments people have posted on the reviews too – it’s real feedback from real users. Even if you’re not looking for a contact management system, there are also a number of other great posts and resources too.
Ian
I can definitely agree that salesteamtools.com is a great site!
If you’re looking for an affordable online CRM that will sync with your iPhone, take a look at salesnexus.com
Your definitely right about salesforce.com’s prices.. Its the small businesses of today that will be the great monster corporations of tomorrow and thats what the focus needs to be on when it comes to business tools and services. Price for a web-based crm solution needs to be affordable as well as dependable. On-Site crm software can definitely be costly as well as eat up a lot of your time in maintenance and management. Go Web!
Hi,
(Biased opinion!) Maybe have a look at Apollo as well!
http://www.apollohq.com/
Apollo is not just a CRM: it includes project management as well.
So, with Apollo you get contacts (and notes), cases&deals, tasks on contacts, project integration, important dates, etc.
Thanks a lot!
Merc.