What CRM software do you use?

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Permalink Reply by Patric Welch on March 12, 2008 at 10:39pm

Wil beat me to the punch. Zoho just released the CRM module not too long ago. They have a wonderful suite of tools besides just the CRM. You should definitely check them out.

One question. If you go to a web based solution like Zoho, why bother syncing with Outlook? You can access the contacts from any web browser in the world. I'm also assuming you can get to the web on your PDAs.

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Hartman on March 12, 2008 at 10:46pm

So, does that mean you don't use Outlook at all? What about your database? Ohhh....I have a headache already!

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Permalink Reply by Patric Welch on March 12, 2008 at 10:59pm

I use Outlook but only because I have to in order to sync with my iPhone. Otherwise, I wouldn't use it. What database are you referring to? If you use Zoho CRM then that is your database.

Personally, I haven't tried out Zoho CRM yet but I'd like to. Being a techie, I just created a couple of tables in Access and I store what I need there. It's worked good enough so far.

There's also another product from 37 Signals called HighRise. I meant to give that a spin as well but haven't got around to it yet. Someone I talked to at a Smaller Indiana meetup said they didn't like it but I want to form my own opinion before making any recommendations.

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Permalink Reply by Hazel "The Queen" Walker on March 13, 2008 at 3:53pm

Cindy:

I use an Online Program called Salesforce.com It is not only a powerful database, it tracks my outlook calendar, my outlook emails are automatically attached to each record, and all documents are attached it syncs with outlook regularly. It track opportunities, closed sales, closing percentages and length of the sales cycle. All customer contact is easly tracked too. There are many reports you can do, the training is great to. Try the free trial www.salesforce.com CJ McClanahann recommended it to me and it has been great for our company.

Hazel

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Permalink Reply by Greg Cross on March 13, 2008 at 11:15pm

Hey Cindy,

Here's my list of the ones that I have tried, and by tried I mean I gave them at least a 30 Day attempt. But keep in mind I abandoned them all and went with one that I now love. Let me also say that the best CRM is the one that you like and use.
I also am rating each one 1 though 5 - with 1 being the best and 5 being run away.

Business Contact Manager - 3.5
Relenta CRM (web-based) - 3 - actually I used this for about 3 months, but abandoned it cuz there were some features that i really wanted but they did not have at the moment.
ACT - 2 - very nice program but WAY TOO MUCH power for what I wanted
Pipeline Deals - 1.5 - Probably the most promising for what I was looking for, however, it still fell short in some areas on some features that I was wanting.

And now for the one that I currently use and I LOVE IT!!!!!!

Oprius - 2 - I love this web-based program. There are still a few things that they don't have that they are working on. The big programming project that they are working on right now is Smartphone Syncronization. Cindy you should give them a try.

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