In today's episode, we will be discussing a crucial aspect of CRM - the "where". Many coaches and consultants often struggle with finding the right CRM for their business needs. With numerous options available, it can be overwhelming to make the right choice. But fear not, as I will be sharing the top criteria to consider when searching for the perfect CRM solution. From essential features like contact management and automation to crucial support models and strategy sessions, we'll cover it all. So join me as we explore where to find a great all-in-one CRM and streamline your business like never before.
Takeaways
- Where to find a CRM for coaches and consultants
- Criteria for selecting a CRM solution
- Accelerating implementation and setup
Quotes:
"Focus on your content first, technology second. Create the system in content because it always falls back on that."- Mary Sue Dahill
"CRM system implementation is crucial. Look for the necessary features, useful support, strategy assistance, and seamless migration from existing tools"- Mary Sue Dahill
Featured in this Episode
Mary Sue Dahill
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marysuedahill
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
02:04 - The Advantages of All-in-One CRM for Small Businesses
02:36 - The Rising Trend of All-in-One Software: Simplifying Small Business Operations
03:27 - Balancing Efficiency and Time with CRM Support
04:48 - The Essential Roles of Coaches, Consultants, and Support Teams
05:33 - Creating Comprehensive Systems with CRM Features
06:15 - Aligning Content and CRM Implementation for Seamless System Creation
07:26 - Support and Strategy: The Key Differentiators in CRM Solutions
08:49 - Streamlining Setup, Driving Sales, and Boosting Profits with CRM Tools
10:01 - Unlocking the Power of Technology in Your Business
11:11 - Outro
Product by http://www.heartcastmedia.com
Mary Sue Dahill:
It's the CRM success secrets podcast about productivity with a twist. Hi there. My name is Mary Sue Dayhill, your host. This podcast is for business coaches and consultants tired of working nights and weekends. They are looking for strategies and proven tactics to streamline their business using a CRM and automation. Let's get to it. We are talking about my favorite subject, CRM, and specifically, the 5 w's of CRM. Hi there. My name is Mary Sue Dehill. I am the host of CRM Success Secrets. So the 5 w's are the questions that I most regularly received from coaches and consultants when I tell them what I do. Most have heard of a CRM, but they really don't know how it applies to them, when they would use it or how it would really integrate into their business. So that's what we're gonna cover in this series the 5 w's. What, why, where, when. I feel like I'm missing 1. Who, what? Oh, who? So, those are the 5 w's we've already covered the who and the what in prior episodes. And in this episode, we're talking about CRM. Where do you find a CRM that works for coaches and consultants? 1st, there are lots of CRMs out there. I think if you do a search, you're gonna find, you know, about 400,000,000 listings. So it isn't an easy process to find a CRM. I sell the Work Smarter CRM, which is an all in one CRM. And for my clients.
It is their 1 app that they use outside of their bookkeeping app. So for small business owners like coaches and Consultants, I strongly recommend an all in one CRM. And I know you're gonna get bored of me saying that, but I think it has made a big difference in all of my clients. They're able to actually implement more of their sales and marketing strategy because they're not Having to waste a lot of time and money on figuring out what tool is the best tool because they have a tool that already does everything, and now they can really focus on Their strategies and their tactics. It really makes building out your systems, supporting your systems, and troubleshooting much easier. So when you're looking at the trends in software, all of them are becoming all in one because there are So many small businesses, and they realize that small businesses don't have, you know, they don't have an IT department. So they really need their software to be easier to use, easier to support. So all in one is definitely a big trend, and it is one that benefits you as a coach and consultant. So where do you find a great all in one CRM? If you type into Google all in one CRM, you'll get tons of options available to you. So it's Easy to get overwhelmed with all of the options, and I thought what I would do in this episode is share the top criteria I would use when you're looking for a CRM solution. So some of the must have features in your CRM are Contact management, email marketing, sales management, automation, and payments. To me, if you have those at a minimum, you will be able to get a fair amount done, in your business. I do think there are some other features that I also think you should have, but those are things that you should be starting with. The next must have is support. You need a way of being able to Contact support. Now a lot of CRMs have a chat. They just have articles, But many of my clients, well, actually, I would say all of them prefer that they are able to actually talk to a human on a Zoom call. So I would definitely look at, what kind of support model the CRM that you're looking at has, and will it really work for you, because what you don't wanna do is end up doing what I call DIY, which is drowning in YouTube, where you're just watching YouTube videos on how to make things work in your system, and it's, again, taking up all of your try time trying to make it work.
So after working with lots of coaches and consultants, this business cannot be overrated because you just Don't have the time to be wasting on research when you can really reach out to your support team, And they can answer your question and hopefully point you in the right direction. So make sure you know the cost of, or if they even have an additional kind of support where you don't like, premium support where you can contact a person, and incorporate that in. Now a lot of tools you may be able to find a virtual assistant or your personal virtual assistant already knows how to use the system, and that is great. But make sure that you're not totally relying on them because if they leave, then you're kind of left not knowing how to use your system anymore. So you do need to make sure that the system you choose has a good support process for you. Another must have are strategy sessions. Are you able to talk to an expert to help you design your systems? I mean, help articles are great, but they only go so far because they're just telling you how to, how to use the feature. They aren't really telling you how to create a complete system using that feature, and that's where people get tripped up. So I'll have clients schedule their calls with me, and they'll, say, look. I'm trying to run a 5 day challenge. I want to be Able to send out emails every day, and I'm going to have a workbook, and I wanna do a survey, maybe every day or A couple times during those 5 days, and then I wanna follow-up with selling some offers. And so they know what it is they want to do, but implementing it in the system is a totally different story. So in those strategy sessions, We break down what things they have to build out and what content they have to write to be prepared to build it out. One of my mantras, which I should do a whole series on, is that you should focus on your content first, Technology second. The thing is that you don't have to know all the bells and whistles in your software to be able to Create a system. Create the system first in content because it always real you know, falls back on that. What emails do you wanna send Your contacts, what text messages, what web page, you know, sales page or landing page do they need to be able to take action? It always Comes back to the content. And the technology today is so sophisticated that most of them can handle everything That you're gonna want to be able to do. So always start from your contact, sorry, content, and not waste a lot of time learning how the software works before you implement everything. So let's see. The biggest differentiator between solutions is going to be the support and strategy support. Because, again, as I said, most software is pretty sophisticated today. It can do a lot, and your systems are never going to be, so crazy that they won't be able to handle it.
So the biggest differentiator for you is How can you shorten your time to implementation of a new system or getting set up? Another must have is how do they help you migrate from all of your other technology into Their system. So, I do this with my clients and a lot of software solutions do as well, but usually they're just importing your contacts and maybe an email template, so it's pretty limited. But when I work with my clients, what My goal is that within 30 days from setup to sales, so within 30 days, they're They get their contacts in there. They're able to send nurture emails or newsletters. They're able to start booking calls with people, and they can send invoices and maybe proposals. So all of that, they can start making money within the 1st 30 days using my tool. So Look at how the CRM solution helps you get up and running and if they have kind of a proven process to do that. So like I said, I spend a lot of time with my clients on the strategy part to ensure it fits their business and goals, because you can build out a lot of stuff that doesn't actually relate to anything. It doesn't fit into your normal marketing process, and then you kind of have this silo over here that isn't looped in with everything else. So you wanna make sure that you have kind of a guide in helping you implement your systems in your CRM.
So that's it. Where do you find the CRM? Hopefully, this helps with what you should be looking for. Does it have the features you need? Does it provide support in a way that is gonna be useful to you? How are you going to get some strategy support so that you're implementing it well? And finally, do they help you migrate from all of your other tools into their tools so you can get up and running as quickly as possible. Are your business systems a hot mess? Take the system scorecard quiz at www.worksmartyrdigital.com/quiz. You will receive proven strategies to leverage technology in your business. And when you schedule a systems strategy session with me. I will personally provide you customized recommendations for your business. So, again, that is www.worksmartyrdigital.com/quiz. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the CRM success secrets podcast. Cheers to you, and I hope that your systems are successful.