Military Veteran

Owned & Operated

5 Star Reviews

Google & Facebook

Book A Call

Latest News

Is a CRM / Marketing and Sales Software Needed In Business?

by | 29 December, 2020 | Business Growth & Strategy

CRM / Marketing and Sales Software
Let’s get real for a second, with the growing popularity of every guru out there saying “Automate your business like a McDonalds burger line and you will succeed”. There are more and more “Automation systems” that many call software popping up. Each claim to do it better, faster and with less headaches. But the burning question is left in the back of our minds. “Does this truly work, Will this really make my business more successful?” “Or is this just a big headache?” Let’s break it all down.

Pro vs Con

Technology In a business comes with some great upside. With that said, there are some downsides to it as well. Not all are the same and with so many to choose from we have some cons to consider. To start let’s take a closer look at the cons associated with technology:

Cons of Technology

\

Time spent

The learning curve to understand how and where to use it can be incredibly time-consuming. We have so much more to focus on, yet to make it work, we have to invest some time in learning it.
\

Online vs mobile

Is the platform something we must sit at a computer for, or is there a mobile application that lets us use it in the field. Software that only functions on line in this fast mobile world is not something many will end up using.
\

Updates

Is the technology updated or is there a constant barrage of updates we must install. I have flashbacks to owning a pc and the non stop updates they go through when booting up.
\

Price

We can’t overlook the soaring cost associated with each piece of technology we add to the process. Every platform brings a new bill our way.
It’s easy to see why many small businesses simply choose to ignore technology when we look at the con side of technology. I mean really, we are trying to find prospects, make offers, get contracts in place, sell products, onboard new clients and enjoy the perfect job all of the employees we hire do for us. Ok, maybe that last one is a little far fetched, but seriously, who has the time to sit and learn some complicated new crm or marketing platform, deal with the different updates and basically be strapped to our computer all day?

This is the number one reason we hear daily from small businesses all over the country on why they never use any form of technology in their business. I get it, you want to close opportunities and bring revenue in, not be strapped to that laptop all day.

However, with this list of cons, technology brings a massive upside with it. Let’s take a deeper look

Pros of Technology

\

Organization

We all could use a little less clutter and confusion and a little more organization.
\

Streamlined communication

Who has time for the endless back and forth emails just to set up a time to talk.
\

Consistent marketing output

It’s no secret, marketing is the life line of a business and consistent marketing is the key to keeping your opportunities for the next investment coming in.
\

Cheap employee

This one always turns some heads. Technology can replace a large amount of tasks that many businesses hire someone to do. Simply put, technology is your new hire without all the crazy calling off sick or excuses why something isn’t done yet.
\

Better experience for your prospects

Your buyers and sellers will feel better about doing business with you simply because the process is clean, organized and feels more professional.
\

Time off

Be honest, did you get into business to work 24/7 or did you start your investment business to have time freedom? Technology gives us that ability to be free and still have things working.
Ok, that’s great, technology can do a lot and make business better for us, but that opens up another question. What platform should we use? What is the best for me? Why should I choose this one over that one?

These are all great questions. Quick answer, the best platform is the platform you feel comfortable using and actually use it. I see it everyday, small business owners with a marketing and crm platform in their business and yet they have no idea what their login information is. No platform is good, no matter how cool the features are, if you are not using it.

Technology and Business

My Thoughts

After years of building multiple businesses, consulting for hundreds of others. I have seen my share of technology in a business. Some great, others not so much. Instead of pointing out everything wrong with specific platforms, let’s take a look at some key elements to look for in your platform of choice. Elements that are proven to create the success you would hope technology is meant to bring.

First and foremost the number one element any technology you choose should have is the ability to customize and configure it to the way you want it to work in your business. The platform’s ability to fit into your marketing and sales process and seamlessly function to the way you operate, is crucial. What I have seen consistently is businesses who simply work differently than the way the technology is designed for and they flat out quit using it. To be consistent and leverage technology, it must fit your style.

Second, the technology should handle more than just one specific element of your business. What do I mean by this? While specific platforms like calendly are great for having a calendar booking software, or Mailchimp for sending email marketing. When these platforms only handle one element, you are left trying to figure out how to get all of them to work together without issues. This in itself is a full time job. Trust us, we have had our fair share of headaches trying to get multiple platforms to work together for our clients. The more you can do for your business under one software, the less stress it brings you and your web developers. Therefore the more you will enjoy using it, I promise.

Third and final must have is the ability to have multiple users. Even as a solo entrepreneur, one man band or the lone wolf in your business, there will be a time when your business expands and others will need to access the system. Being able to expand and grow inside a platform as this happens is critical to staying consistent and not changing platforms every time you add someone on. To go a little further, if a platform allows you to add users without additional charges, now we are talking. Personally, we love Hubspot for this exact reason. More users, means more team members working together inside the same system.

There is more to consider when adding technology into your business. These three are the start. If you’re considering adding, changing or simply ready to make technology a key element in your business and would like some advice on how to make it happen, get in touch and let’s see what is most important for your business and find a good fit. At Top Results Consulting, our focus is helping real estate investors like you lose the headache of running a business and enjoy the fun side of being your own boss. Book a complimentary business breakthrough session on our website. Until next time, here’s to your success!

Get Access To Our FREE Master Class

Related Posts

You might be also interested in