In Need of a CRM
Somebody asked me over the weekend how my business was going. I told them well and that it's getting to the point where I either need an extra pair of hands on deck or I'll have to start turning work away. Before I get to that point however, I am definitely going to need some sort of CRM.
The other thing Rockall could do with is its own line of software products - where the "real" money is apparently. Maybe I could write my own tailor-made CRM package and then sell it on? In reality I don't have time to do this.
Do any of you know of/use/recommend a particular CRM? I don't mind if it's Domino or MySQL based. Free would be good, but not essential. If you've got a CRM as part of your stable I'll plug it if you give me a free copy.
I need to record the usual things companies, contacts, projects, deadlines, reminders, call logs, invoices, upcoming work, potential work. It would be nice if it could manage the actual work as well and contain the specs, to-dos and bug reports for each project. Is this asking too much?At the moment I use a combination of Excel, Action Outline, a (physical) whiteboard and bits of paper stuck to it (when they're not floating around my desk). I've managed until now but it's getting unmanageable.
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Didn't you subscribe to that MS Action Pack? It should include a copy of Microsoft's CRM (though I should add that I've not tested it yet) ...
Good point Jef. I'd not looked in there, but I will do now. Cheers.
I've written 3 (yes, 3 - count 'em) for my work, ranging from the totally simple to the incredibly sophisticated.
All are geared to the firm in questions, but could be 'genericised' with a bit of effort.
None are web front ended, though.
If you're interested, I can send you more info.
Web front-ended would be better than having to use Notes Tim. Are you selling it to me or offering a a free peek?
OpenCRX looks good but I didn't try it for myself. At least it looks very mature...
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CU
Mark
Maybe sugarcrm could interest you:
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Maybe you can try VIC CRM that is hosted at OpenNTF {Link}
I haven't used it in a few years, but Act! for Notes is fairly inexpensive and easy to customize;
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Jake, I've a licensed copy of ACT 6 sitting under my desk - take it - PLEASE!!!
That bad Pat? I don't really want a Notes client-only app. SugarCRM is looking best so far. MS's CRM looks way to complicated and requires Outlook and server installs and alsorts!
Jake how about BaseCamp ?
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Try the free version first and see how you go.
Its more a Project Management tool rather than a CRM but still worth a look.
Mark
Never turn work away, Take it on and sub it out to a notes contractor. This way you still get the business and don't disappont the customer...
Jake, although I don't use it myself (I've always preferred to live in continual disorder), I have friends who run thier own company who use ACT! to manage thier lives. You can download a demo from {Link}
I have had a quick play in the past and it looks quite cool. It even links into Notes (or whatever) to send e-mails so in theory you can do everything in one place.
Jake, my firm uses (and has partnered with, I should disclose) iExtensions CRM which - as the title may imply - is not only Domino-based but also bolts right into your Notes mail and calendar. It adds a special subform to the Notes mail template, and essentially allows you to track customer activities as you do your normal work (i.e., sending mail, setting up appointments, etc.).
I'd urge you to check them out here: {Link}
- Rob
There are two main contenders (there are others as well, of course) in the Domino market (AFAIK). Groupforce and iExtensions.
We're looking at them both at the moment. iExtensions requires a mod to the standard mail template, Groupforce doesn't and uses a folder to transfer information. Both of them are highly customisable and modular, allowing additional parts to be added.
Both have web and Blackberry front ends.
Check out {Link}
I haven't used it myself, but a demo of SalesForce for Lotus Notes made it number one on my CRM shortlist. Another one is EASI CRM {Link}, but that one may be too local (Belgium) to play in a global context.
Dear Jake,
I have a small company like you. What I notice is that emails and their attachments are one of the most important documents to archive / share in a CRM system, since most appointment, meeting minutes, contracts etc. go by mail. I haven't investigated any CRM systems. I thought you were using Notes as your email client. What I would look for is an adapted Notes mail template, that ideally combines sending of an email with storing it in a CRM database. This would save you a lot of time cut-copy-pasting. I don't know which systems of the above offer this functionality, but maybe others can shed some light on this.
Kind regards,
Laurens
If you can pay for it .. have a look at salesfource.com
Thanks guys. I'll investigate them all and let you know which one I like most.
I don't use Notes Mail (client that is). I use Thunderbird for all email. In fact I don't use the Notes Client at all, such is my dislike of it. Every now and then I will replicate codestore.net as a backup procedure. THat's about it. So, a Notes-based CRM is out for me.
I like the look of basecamp but it's not cheap. What I really want is a Domino-based CRM from a company who will give it to me for free if I plug it for them. We'll see.
Watching this discussion with interest!
Not sure if this is something you can use
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If you want to try out the MS CRM in your action pack, I'd be glad to give you a hand with it. Started using it at the office about 6 months ago and love it.
Thanks Trenton, I'll drop you a line shortly.
So far I am liking SugarCRM {Link} the best. It's free, web-based and best of all - I host it where I like. It seems a little too much for my needs, but you can tailor it by removing unwanted tabs and sections. You can even add your own fields and drop-down list items. Nice.
I am really glad this came up. I too tried SugarCRM (thanks for narrowing it down for us, Jake) last night - very slick interface. Does almost everything except billing. I expect that's part of what you get if you upgrade to their payferplay version.
Hi,
An article an some links to OPenSource CRMs
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not an open source CRM but simply the best.
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