Author: CRM Guru

Before investing thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in a new CRM system it’s probably a good idea to test drive at least a couple solutions. Sure, you can read the product feature comparison charts and all the marketing fluff that makes it sound like it’s a perfect solution for you but you won’t know this until you actually try out the system firsthand.

Since most CRM market leaders now provide an on-demand CRM system, it’s very easy to get started. On-demand CRM is basically a web-based application that you login to via your web browser. You don’t need to download, unzip, install, or configure anything — instead you simply fill out an online form with your personal and/or company contact information, set up a username and password, and voila…you’re ready to begin.

Mike Santoro over at ducttapemarketing.com blogged about using the free CRM trials as a tool before making your final decision. He then provides two pieces of advice and lists three CRM online trials you can take advantage of right away. The three CRM trials are from Netsuite, Salesforce.com, and SageCRM.

My advice (especially if you’re currently in the evaluation stage of CRM systems), is to try at least two of the three that he lists and see for yourself which one might work best for you and your company. That way when you later have to speak with management and provide a recommendation on which CRM system your company should use, you can feel confident that you did your due diligence prior to taking action.

I came across a pretty cool CRM information site called CompareCRM.com which has some free tools to help you choose the right CRM solutions. CompareCRM features information about the leading CRM vendors and their website makes it easy to build your CRM shortlist. You’ll find information on the company, key product strengths, modules and more. You can also request a fee demo or trial from most of the vendors.

Their free white papers are packed with tools and advice which will help you negotiate the best CRM deal. Be sure to checkout: “7 Steps to Making a CRM Purchase Decision”, and the “Insider’s Guide to Getting the Best CRM Software Deal”. You’ll have to register for these papers, but they have good information for small and mid-size companies buying CRM software.

Apparently you can also tell CompareCRM your CRM requirements and they will recommend a CRM vendor for you based on your company’s size, functionality requirements, hosted or on-premise needs and budget.

Pretty cool CRM information site overall!

Susan Campbell talks about how Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions can do great things for a company, when they are selected and implemented correctly. She then goes on the say “This is easier said than done, however, and many decision makers are left scratching their heads trying to determine exactly what the company’s needs are and how to select a solution that actually meets those needs.”

Before a company can investigate a CRM software solution, it must first be able to properly identify company goals, strategies and business objectives and what benefits related to these factors they hope to gain from the CRM software implementation. By properly aligning the CRM software selection with business objectives, the focus is put directly on these objectives and not getting caught up in clarifying the company’s IT strategy. Such an approach also enables the company to consider growth objectives and ensure that these are clearly defined. Continue reading “CRM Software Selection Does Not Have to Be Daunting Task”