CRM Software for Mobile Professionals

mobile_phone_with_handBy “Mobile Professionals” I mean anyone who runs their business while running around, on their phone.

“Running around” aptly describes many people in the film industry! But there are a lot of small business owners who also run their business from their cell phone. Tracking customer interactions and following up on sales can be a challenge if all your tracking software is in the office but you’re on location.

Annoyingly, many CRM softwares are overloaded with features you’ll never use, if only because you can’t figure out how to set them up. I remember a management consulting company I worked for had Goldmine CRM set up, and no one knew how to use it past entering and looking up contact information. Yet it had hundreds of “features.” In the end, the most of the “features” went unused.

Customer Relationship Management for EntreprenuersThen I found Base CRM, created by Future Simple.

The first thing I noticed (and liked) about Base was the features were stripped down to essentials, and everything about it was useful. They rely a lot on customer feedback when designing, not just what they THINK will be awesome. Their market research data collection is built right into the software, practically.

The second feature I liked was the mobile app. Now when a prospect (anyone I have in the Base CRM software as a contact) calls me, the app gives me a “follow up screen” with two main choices: “Add a Note” or “Add a Task,” both of which I simply touch to activate. I can leave as many notes or task as I wish, and date the tasks for completion if necessary.

As simple as Base CRM is, it’s also quite sophisticated. I integrated my email, so every email sent to and from my Base CRM contact list is automatically recorded in their contact file. I do wish text messages could be automatically recorded, but my workaround of copy/pasting each text (the important ones anyway) into the person’s contact record (as a Note) is fine for now.

For those moments when Mr. Big Client calls with several requests, but you’re driving and can’t take notes, Base CRM can automatically record incoming and outgoing calls, storing it right in the Contact’s interaction history. What a great feature for training others on how to call clients, or for Quality Control to see what happened!

If you or your team makes a lot of calls, Base CRM can save time by allowing you to quickly construct a Call List, and do the “dialing” for you. That’s right! After the first call ends, Base waits for 15 seconds, and then automatically calls the next person on the list for you. Meanwhile, if you have a script, it appears on the screen, along with a dialog box to record any notes while on the call.

The usual import/export tools are all there. CSV files, Gmail, Yahoo, etc., integrate seamlessly to get your contacts “on board” and set up is a snap. Companies can be recorded as contacts separately from individual company contacts, while also linking employees to their company so you can see the connection.

Track current sales and forecast future sales while also seeing the source of the sales. It really is ingenious. The trial period is practically indefinite, as it’s based on the number of “Deals” you track. You get 50 deals up front, free, and then after that you have to purchase the software. It’s affordable, and should pay for itself just by preventing losses due to neglect or accidentally letting deals or contacts fall through the cracks.

You can even use a built in Lead Capture Page on your website or as part of your corporate social media network to capture leads straight into Base, saving the time it would take to manually input contact info. Overall I’m very impressed with the software, and can highly recommend it.

Click here for a tour and to check out the free trial. I’ve covered some of what the software can do, but I’m not match for the original! You have to see it yourself to believe it.

- See more at: http://blog.theassociation.tv/blog/the-association/page/2#sthash.mP5wCmNy.dpuf

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