Most people have never heard of a CRM. Or if they have, they may not be sure what all the fuss is about.

First let’s be sure everybody knows what CRM stands for.

A CRM is a Customer Relationship Manager.

Corporations pay big bucks to utilize them for business development.

I spent part of my career at JPMorgan Chase working in the fiduciary group. Even 10 or 15 years ago, CRMs were a really big deal. We were under a lot of pressure as employees to enter daily contacts into this tracking mechanism.

Business development people used the CRM to track not only contacts but to log details about interactions and prompt them to take action.

What I failed to realize then was how critical a good CRM is to a professional home business…regardless of the nature of that home business.

So How Can a CRM Help You?

1. Professional Rolodex and Lead Funnel

You cannot underestimate the importance of being able to capture the information about your prospective business partners and customers in one place.

And no…your folder with lots of pieces of paper and your cell phone with countless numbers and emails do not count.

They do not count because they are not examples of organization, and they do not give you the leverage you need.

What if you put information you collect at a networking event into a CRM? Instead of just having the business card and the information in your phone, you have all of the contact information plus details from your original conversation stored in a way that allows you to go back to them in an instant.

And you will always know WHERE your leads came from because a CRM allows you to track the source of all of your contacts.

I found a CRM that has all the bells and whistles of one that I used at JPMorgan, and you can check it out here.

2. Task Manager

Do you find yourself working from lists?

It is great that you actually MAKE lists, but what if you could not only make lists but actually schedule specific tasks…and even make those tasks contact specific?

That is a key function of a CRM that is missing from less professional resources.

And the system can give you reminders of the tasks you scheduled.

It is also true that the money is in the follow-up. If you fail to control your schedule to stay connected with people and complete tasks necessary to your business, the lack of execution will kill you.

In fact, execution is the difference between those who only dream and those who turn dreams into reality. A CRM is an execution partner.

3. Relationship Builder

CRMs allow you to customize the storage and retrieval of information that you possess about people. For example, you can add their social media links to the record you have created about them. You also have the ability to record details of calls so that you have things fresh in front of you the next time they call or before you reach out to them.

And any good CRM allows you to send customized emails to your contacts. As you build relationships, you better meet the needs of these contacts and can send them things specific to their interests or desires. That is the key to turning any prospect into either a customer or business partner…or both!

Why?

Because people could care less about you until they KNOW that you care about them. What says caring more than remembering their dog’s name or that their child was ill during the summer?

So Do You Need a CRM?

If you intend to build a meaningful business, a CRM is an invaluable tool.

I understand fully why large corporations use them and why successful entrepreneurs model that one characteristic of traditional business. A CRM separates you from those not serious about a business.

And the fun part is that you don’t have to be a six or seven figure earner to start using one. In fact, you get to those income levels BY using one.

If you’d like to check out a CRM, I recommend the one that I use. You can take a 10-day trial of the system and dig into the CRM to decide if it’s right for you. Do that by clicking here.

Be sure to reach out to me and let me know your experience with the CRM. Your success is important to me.

I wish you many happy contacts! Don’t forget to take care…and go light your lamp.

God bless.

Lynne