"Best CRM Software - Found with These Three Tips"



The best CRM software for you and your company will be successfully found and implemented if you follow these pointers.

First, ask people in your industry about their CRM software. Ask for the name of their CRM. Ask representatives of management, marketing, and sales professionals about the functionality. Ask if there is any push back from any departments, any reluctance to use the system. This will give you an idea as to features, benefits, and potential pitfalls of software that has been promoted as "The Industry's Best".

Second, check out free CRM software. Google will present you with several options. Choose one and try it for two to four weeks. This exercise will give you a working knowledge of CRM software. The hands-on knowledge will teach you what you really want in a CRM and will help you stay focused during the next step.

Third, contact several CRM companies for online demonstrations. These web based demos will give you a chance to compare software used both inside and outside of your industry. Demos are usually conducted by IT programmers and will focus heavily on the benefits and not so much on the features.

Demos can dazzle you with the capabilities of the software, especially so because that is what the programmers are so proud of - and rightly so. However, buyers who get push-back from the frontline users of CRMs have failed to get input from those users as to the ease/difficulty of maintaining the CRM on a daily basis. Do not be one of those buyers! Include representatives of frontline users from each department in the CRM demo meetings

Here are two cautionary notes for you.

First, mainstream CRMs have yet to deal with the cold calling responsibilities of sales professionals. There is one such software that does this and does it well. So if your sales professionals push back - know that cold calling software is available that integrates with CRM software.

The second is that when searching the Internet for best CRM software you will find lists entitled something like "Best CRM Software" or "Top 40 Best CRM Software". Know that these are a variation of a pay-per-click marketing tactics. The CRM vendors who raise their hands and say, "Include my software on your list" also give the marketing-company a whitepaper.

Then, every time someone downloads their whitepaper from the "Top 40" page, the company, pays a fee for the contact information of that prospect. The whitepapers are a good source of information that will support your decision-making process. Just know that these kinds of lists have everything to do with marketing and nothing to do with ratings by customers.


Recommended Resources

Contact Science
Customer Relationship Management System Secrets to Success
Driving Superior Results with Performance Insights


Related Articles

CRM Software System Profits from These Metrics
Lead Management Sales Software to the Rescue
What is CRM Software


From Best CRM Software to Customer Relationship Management System