If you are like most advisors – you’ve at least considered using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
CRMs are not new.
The biggest name in the CRM world is Salesforce and they’ve been around since 1999.
Maybe you’ve never used a CRM before and Spreadsheets and Paper Files have worked just fine up until now.
Maybe you use a CRM but aren’t sure if it’s the best one for you or not.
Either way – if you’re thinking about choosing a new CRM today – you’ll be met with a seemingly endless number of options.
But choosing a CRM doesn’t have to be complex.
There are 3 key considerations that can help guide you to the perfect CRM (for you)!
1 – What are you going to use the CRM for?
Seems like a simple question.
But do you know what you want the CRM to help you with?
If you just want to store contact information and set tasks for prospects and clients – then almost any CRM will do.
This is basic functionality that all CRMs would provide in some way, shape or form.
And in our experience – most advisors are using their CRM primarily for this basic functionality.
In the CRM world – you’ll often see these CRMs being marketed with Sales as a focus.
The idea here is that we take a prospect and put them through a Sales Pipeline – hopefully resulting in a Closed Deal.
As Sales Professionals ourselves – these Sales focused CRMs tend to be our favorite. 🙂
Some of our Top picks for Sales focused CRMs are:
All 3 of those are great Sales focused CRMs that can help you stay on top of new leads as well as stay in touch with your current book of business.
2 – Do you want to use it for marketing?
While the Sales Focused CRMs are primarily geared on the processes that pick up after you “acquire” a prospect – there is a separate set of CRMs that provide more of a Marketing Focus.
Again, you’ll likely see these CRMs being marketed with Marketing as a focus.
In most cases – they’ll also provide the functionality of the Sales CRMs but with an additional component (or components) focused on Marketing.
Some of the bigger CRMs in this space are:
Most of the above actually started out as Marketing Platforms and eventually added a CRM module.
Which means they’ve been marketing focused from the beginning.
Some (like HubSpot) may even give away the CRM functionality for Free – as their business is primarily built around the marketing functionality.
Similarly, Zoho’s entry level CRM called Bigin is free for up to 500 records.
So if you are thinking you’ll want to do heavy list segmentation and marketing then one of the Marketing Focused options might be a better fit for you.
3 – Does it work with your other technology?
The last consideration is how the CRM will interact with your other technology.
- Do you use Gmail or Microsoft for Email? (Does the CRM have a way for you to use those email addresses?)
- Have an iPhone or Android device?
- What about an iPad or Surface Pro?
Make sure that the CRM you choose has an App for those devices or you might not have access to critical information when you need it most.
Almost every CRM is going to have an App that works on these devices.
Therefore, a critical second step is making sure the App actually does what you need it to do.
In our experience some Apps only provide limited functionality or work in a “clunky” manner on your phone or tablet.
This may or may not be an issue for you.
But if you are a road warrior and need the full information from your CRM available at your fingertips while you’re away from the office – you’ll definitely want to be certain the phone and tablet Apps will meet your needs.
Final Thought – Make Use of the Free Trial
The final piece of advice we have when choosing your CRM is to make use of the Free Trials.
This will give you an opportunity to test out functionality, the Email Integration and Mobile App before making a financial commitment to any specific CRM.
With software in general – its not uncommon for some systems to just not “click” with you – while others will be intuitive and easy-to-use.
Your real goal here is to find the CRM that is intuitive, easy-to-use and meets your needs.
If it isn’t, you won’t use it and it won’t be adding any value to your business.
If that all still seems a bit too complex – feel free to use the contact form below to send us a message.
In many ways Evolvd works as a Human CRM for our clients.
We make sure everything is documented and nothing falls through the cracks!
Happy selling!
