Excel… a tool to keep track of your clients… ARE YOU MAD!!
Why would you risk this? Why is it a risk? Here are a couple of possibilities:
One computer one place, what happens if its stolen, damaged, hard drive crashes or a herd of Elephants tramples it? You’re screwed (You will have a few more issues if Elephants are in your office, but you get the idea).
If the hard drive get corrupted or computer breaks for any reason, your information is lost and once again you’re screwed!
Data kept in different places by different staff causes inconsistent information, causing delays and possible budget overruns, and again you’re screwed!
Using Excel also limits the ability for you to integrate with other systems, easily keep and maintain client notes, share information and mine the information. I.E. its for numbers so lets keep it that way!
Hope your getting the idea now. Its really simple to fix these issues.
Use a CRM tool or in the very least a Google or Zoho spreadsheet as they store your data on the web in multiple server though out the world “on the cloud”.
Not only that they are free or low cost. So there is no reason not to use them!
Here are a few to help you on your way:
The best thing about all of these tools is you can really start to keep info on your clients and start to market and sell to them more efficiently, forecast your sales and help grow your business.
This is one of the simplest things I do for my clients through Catalyst90 that is an easy win and helps provide them with a view to the future.
Oddly enough it is one of the most common issues I come across when helping companies develop their sales process, systems and methodologies.
For more feel free to drop me a line.
Tom Reidy
tom@catalyst90.com
