I caught up with Tony Scelzo in a noisy coffee shop recently, and we talked aobut some of the changes at Rainmakers.  An integral part of the Indy small business community, working with AddressTwo, they have automated the process of making strategic connections and managing contacts. 

 They are, as Tony says, the eHarmony of business.   To learn more, listen to our conversation:

In a blog post a few weeks ago, Chris Brogran admitted, that despite his best intentions, he was not staying in touch with people as well as he would like. He pledged to try to make his business more human in the year to come.  His comments made me think about my own business.

Roundpeg has been around nine years, so it predates many of the popular social media tools.  My relationship building routine, today relies heavily on social media, but has other legs as well.   A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system  has been a part of my business since the beginning. Starting with a data base I built myself in Access, along with their contact information, I tracked, where I met someone and key details about their business and personal life.

I added custom fields filled with information that was relevant to me and the details of every conversation.  ( In the beginning I had a lot of spare time at Roundpeg.)  Over the years I  have tried a number of tools including  Act and Outlook.  Each had pros and cons, but today I use AddressTwo , developed by a good friend Nick Carter.  I like the task features, and the ability to update via email or text.   But most of all, I like it because it helps me strengthen Relationships.

From my perspective, the “R” is the most important part of a good CRM tool.   I can put addresses in a spreadsheet. I can keep job records and communications in client files, but the integrated nature of a good CRM tool, allows me to pull it all together, and create a snapshot of the relationship I have with that person.  In addition, the task feature, helps me remember to reconnect on a regular basis, and the history shows me how long it has been since we chatted.

I think too many people go to networking events collect business cards, dump people in their newsletter database and forget about them.  That is just not enough to build a relationship.  And as a matter of fact, these days, people get so many newsletters, adding someone to your list may actually have a negative effect.

To build relationships takes work.  Staying in touch on social media is fun, but not enough.  So this week, I am going to pull a list of people in my data base I haven’t chatted with in the last six months.  I am going to give them a call.  It may not necessarily lead to a business opportunity, but I find whenever I do that something fun occurs.

What about you?  What will you do this week to strengthen your relationships?

Recently, I sat down with Nick Carter, the owner and developer of AddressTwo, a simple CRM tool for small business owners. More than just an address book, AddressTwo is a powerful tool to help you manage your contact list, transforming a spread sheeting into a marketing engine.

In this interview we talked about the challenges small business owners face, when it comes to “letting go”.

If your business is going to grow, you will ultimately need to hire people and delegate some of the tasks, including contacting and maintaining relationships with some of your clients. In this interview, Nick explains how good information such as well documented contact and status history makes this process much easier.

Click here to listen to the rest of the interview.

Recently, I sat down with Nick Carter, the owner and developer of AddressTwo, a simple CRM tool for small business owners.  More than just an address book, AddressTwo is a powerful tool to help you manage your contact list, transforming a spread sheeting into a marketing engine.

This process begins with segmenting your data.  And as Nick explains, segmentation is not just for big business.  Anyone can improve the quality of their communication by breaking their contacts into smaller groups who share something in common.

To hear the conversation simply click this link

If you would like to learn more, please visit www.AddressTwo.com or plan on attending a FREE preview demonstration  on Thursday, December 10th, from 9:00 – 10:30 AM, It is FREE to attend, but RSVP’s are required

—————————————————————————————————-

At Roundpeg, we are so excited about this product, we are now a Partner Provider. This means we will be helping our clients incorporate this tool into their marketing strategy.

As a small business owner, there are always so many things on my to do list.    Running the business, delivering projects to clients, working with my staff, meeting with prospects, sending proposals, networking, etc.   Sometimes I wish I could clone myself, or work while I sleep.

This week, Barb Jones, of  Stellar Infusionsoft Coaching explains how CRM tools allow a small business to do just that!

Barb explains that contact management software lets you keep track of prospects and clients, but a CRM system allows you to automate the process.  Now you can stay in touch with clients while you are sleeping or working on other projects.  It also allows you to send relevant content to a small group with common interests.

At Roundpeg, we are experimenting with CRM tools and have found the results to be very positive. Our How to Write a Business Plan in Ten Weeks program is fueled by a CRM tool.   We have several people a week enrolling in the program and each person enjoys the benefits of the entire program regardless of when they start.

We are going to look at other applications as well. What about you? Do you use a CRM tool today?