6 Months In, what CRM is Most Practical

summerof18

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Being 6 months in on selling FE which CRM program does everyone suggest?

So far I have been using excel and is working just fine, but by mid next year or so I can see it becoming not so efficient.

Any free CRMs any good, or they more pain in the butt than worth it?
 
Sorry, Customer Relationship Management. Keep records of clients, leads, ap, appts, etc :)

I have a file cabinet. Actually several of them. I put my leads in file folders by the counties. Every app I write goes into a file folder and then into the file cabinet once the policy is delivered.

I use a pocket calendar to write down my scheduled appointments and milage for the day.

So I guess I do have one of these CRM thingys. Just din't know what it was called.:yes:
 
I have a file cabinet. Actually several of them. I put my leads in file folders by the counties. Every app I write goes into a file folder and then into the file cabinet once the policy is delivered.

I use a pocket calendar to write down my scheduled appointments and milage for the day.

So I guess I do have one of these CRM thingys. Just din't know what it was called.:yes:


I use the same CRM system as you and Rousemark. Seems like it'd be a lot of work to type all that info after you've hand written the apps, etc.

It's about time to expand my CRM. I'm running out of room...time to add another filing cabinet.:laugh:
 
When I was with Combined they paid for everybody to have a Salesforce account and force fed us to use it. It took way too much time to log all your activities. They talked about how great it was, but I believe it was just a way to monitor us and collect data.

I like my paper calendar and files. :-)
 
When I was with Combined they paid for everybody to have a Salesforce account and force fed us to use it. It took way too much time to log all your activities. They talked about how great it was, but I believe it was just a way to monitor us and collect data.

I like my paper calendar and files. :-)

In a lot of ways it's a matter of preference. From a management perspective salesforce (and similar services) is GREAT!

Every week people ask me about CRMs and I use a common analogy, they're like women (and men for that matter). What's your ideal woman? The answer to that question is different for everyone and CRMs are less complicated, but still vary quite a bit. I love the idea of using technology to make things easier, but I find I use a lot of notebooks and paper for planning purposes. If you have a large book of business that relies heavily on storing information incorporating a CRM is a huge deal.

If you're a bit nerdy SugarCRM can be hosted just about anywhere, even locally. It does allow for emails right from the platform, but it can be a bit heavy on the learning curve. ZohoCRM has a free option which is pretty great.

A number of folks have good things to say about Radius, but I've never looked at it.
 
In a lot of ways it's a matter of preference. From a management perspective salesforce (and similar services) is GREAT!

Every week people ask me about CRMs and I use a common analogy, they're like women (and men for that matter). What's your ideal woman? The answer to that question is different for everyone and CRMs are less complicated, but still vary quite a bit. I love the idea of using technology to make things easier, but I find I use a lot of notebooks and paper for planning purposes. If you have a large book of business that relies heavily on storing information incorporating a CRM is a huge deal.

If you're a bit nerdy SugarCRM can be hosted just about anywhere, even locally. It does allow for emails right from the platform, but it can be a bit heavy on the learning curve. ZohoCRM has a free option which is pretty great.

A number of folks have good things to say about Radius, but I've never looked at it.

How do these compare to ACT! by Sage? I've used it in almost every business I've ever been apart of, but if there is an easier/cheaper way to do it...I'm in. The hosted ACT is pretty pricey for an insurance agent, but single user/1 PC version is only $250 or so.
 
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