~by Haley Lynn Gray~
A very powerful tool for managing your business, almost any business, is a CRM, or Customer Relationship Management software. There are so many different CRM platforms out there, that it could make your head spin. Salesforce is one of the most ubiquitous ones, which is used across many different industries, but there are others like Savii, which is specific to the home care industry. Ontraport is very common in many industries, especially where there is a significant online portion of the sale.
CRM: A Powerful Tool
What all of these systems have in common is a list of clients, and a list of their contact information. It also has a list of potential referral sources, so that you can track where your clients are coming from. This is important. You need to know who your clients are, and who sent them to you, or what you did specifically to acquire them.
From a client side, there is a tremendous amount that you can do. You can store information about client preferences, and use that later for data mining. If you are a travel agent, then you can list what kinds of travel a particular client is interested in, and you can even list which cruise lines, or travel companies that they prefer, so that when there are specials that match that particular client’s interests, you can send information to that client. Say you have a client who prefers Disney Cruises and doesn’t like Carnival. You can make sure you send them only Disney Cruise Line offers, and of course, other luxury travel options.
You can invent lots of ways to segment your client lists, and market specifically to clients based on their interests and preferences. It’s also quite possible to market to your referral sources based on the referrals they’ve provided, and the type of information that the referral sources need to be successful.
In short, a CRM is a phenomenal tool for any company that does sales or has clients. Keeping track of how referrals are made, and the contact, and the effort that has been made, is important. It allows you to also draw out metrics, if you can ensure that the data is entered properly.
A good CRM will allow you to grow your business dramatically, and allow you to work on your business, instead of in your business. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can use.
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Meet the Author: Haley Lynn Gray
Haley helps female entrepreneurs create a strategy plan for their businesses – so they can make enough money to spend quality time with their family, pay for their children’s dance lessons, pay bills – and not worry about where the next client is coming from.
Haley is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Leadership Girl. She helps other entrepreneurs build their businesses by sharing the benefits of her business education and experience through Business Coaching.
Whether you want to get a new business off the ground or expand an existing business, Haley can assist you.
Connect with Haley:
- Work with Haley: https://leadershipgirl.com/work-with-haley/
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Leadershipgirl
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleygray
