Relationship Management, usually it’s software you use to manage your accounts, clients so that everything is in one place. It’s called a CRM.
When I was in a Sales Position full-time, I used call sheets on paper in folders in my desk drawer, which I filed them either by individual or company name – then I would place their file in a Follow-up next week, 2 weeks or 3 months or back in their main file. Every six months I would give them a follow up call, unless they either told me NO or when a better time would be to follow up.
The other way I used CRM was software is free is called ClickUp or Nimble if it was intuitive enough it would transfer the information I entered into the Contact page into other sections I wanted to know more about or actions that I had taken.
Like a date I called them, I could input the touch points I made to keep a running track. From there it would lead to sales, no sales or more follow-up. It all depended upon the sales cycle of the product or service I was selling.
For me, Flights (no longer available) didn’t work how I thought it would, that’s too bad, because my theory was if I could work it the way I thought I could then I could show others like me how to use it.
As a solo-entrepreneur or any other small business person, a relationship management tool or a CRM is important to have so we can stay in the loop with our connections and customers. Going online to use the platform wasn’t a habit for me, plus keeping in touch with all my LinkedIn connections would take a far amount of time to do all my touch points, whether they were on LinkedIn or Twitter or Facebook.
It took me more time than I wanted to give or had. Yes, it takes time to develop relationships with people, however are they the ones I want to stay in touch with? Were they my targeted audience? It was my experiment. Flights work great if you have a project that you want to keep in touch with other people in that group.
I was just introduced to Zoho.com as a FREE + paid CRM packages..you can upload your contacts and add their information as you go along. Get a 360 degree view of your business, track sales and marketing and do your e-mails in one place. I will need to do some more experimenting with this software.
Currently, most CRM software does a disservice to small business owners..people who most likely don’t have hundreds or thousands of contacts to keep track of. So, far my address book is my CRM. What are your solutions in keeping track of your contacts?
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