6 Months In, what CRM is Most Practical

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.

I'm not sure. Scott Burke (Newby) has great things to say about it. I'm less of a fan of desktop solutions vs hosted. I'm also a touch nerdy with things so that makes it easier, but I love being able to access my stuff wherever I am. I have an office, but I do work from home a lot. Wherever I am I have access to just about everything I do because it's all hosted. ZohoCRM is tough to beat, especially because they'll give you the free usage tier to see if it works with you.

A lot of this comes down to what you hope to accomplish with it. Do you need to be able to lookup notes on a client when they call? Do you just want to keep records of your applications in case someone questions them? Do you want to track renewal dates for follow up and reminders? Do you want to track the conversion rates of leads from different sources?

The most full-featured version of anything I've seen would be either SugarCRM or vTiger, both can be hosted online very inexpensively. You can attach documents, track notes, track the status of each lead, track where the leads came from, etc. That's probably the most involved setup (or you could probably just pay someone $100 to set it up for you). ZohoCRM would be the other end of the spectrum.
 
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?

We use salesforce in conjunction with Netdocuments it is great for what I do. For FE I never databased leads,it just seemed to be more work that the actual selling without much benefit, so I just used a filing system and put the ones that I sold in a simple little program called Bento.
 
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.

I've never found anything I like as good as ACT. It's so easy to use and customize anyway you want. I do wish there was a good option for ACT as a web based though.

SalesNexus is the closest thing to ACT as a web based. I like it pretty well too but not as good as the actual ACT program.
 
I really like Your Insurance Office, but I don't know where you can get it or if it is even available now.
Good Luck,
Dan
 
Well it seems perhaps what I have been using is going to be easiest. See attached for if anyone would like to use my concept.
I have used this concept for past few years for my Medicare sales, which was slower though, thought with my FE business thriving I would need something more effective, but this may still be best.

Feel free to use it! :1biggrin:

PS once my "pending" business gets approved and paid for, I then copy and paste over into my "Completed" tab. Pretty simple to keep organized, then you have an ongoing tally of whats pending and whats been paid for the year so far.

Ok nevermind, forum wont allow me to attach this file,,,if you would like to see it, just respond with an email :1baffled:
 
I use nutshell. They have a ton of options and features, everything is online, they have an iphone app and it's only )10/mo. Try them out. I believe they have a 30 day free trial.
 
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.

im using the same tracking setup as you with various tabs to track the stage of the lead. i also track lead source ROI, appts made/kept, written apps,avg premium, closing ratio and just about anything else that i can think of.
 
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