SoloCRM New Look

SoloCRM is sporting a new look these days. We have been busy updating the entire site and we hope you like the new look.

Seven steps to murdering client relationships

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1. Make sure that they know you are smart and they are dumb. That is why they hired you.
2. Once they stop yapping about requirements, kindly inform them what the right version of the product will look like. (be sure to collect your deposit first)
3. Keep reminding them that they don’t need to see or hear anything until you are done.
4. Time estimates are just that, estimates and you can’t rush greatness.
5. Their feedback, input, guidance, suggestions or whatever are most unwelcome at any stage of the project.
6. Be sure to deliver a project that is buggy, unfinished or will be obsolete next month so that you can hook them for another project. ( at the new rate of course)
7. To suggest or even think that you have delivered anything short of perfection is punishable by death from multiple laptop blows.

CRM is not just for sales and marketing.

When many people think of CRM software they believe that these tools are for the sales and marketing department. Some view it in its simplest form as a contact manager while others think of organizing information around the interaction with clients during pre-sale and sale of the product or service. While these are important especially for companies with a sales force they only represent a portion of the customer life cycle. Another important aspect of CRM is the delivery of the service or the product that has been purchased. It is highly likely that your company will spend more time interacting with the client during the delivery phase vs. the pre sale or sale phase. It would make sense that if you are building a relationship with a client that you would ensure that their experience during the delivery of the service is as good as or better than it was when you were trying to sell them.

For companies in this digital age nothing compares to a good client portal for the delivery of services. The client portal should allow you manage all communications with the client, organize all documents and digital content relevant to the client, and it should allow the client to track the progress of their order. Repeat clients are cheaper than going out to look for new business. Therefore putting more emphasis on keeping your current clients happy can translate into more profits at the end of the day. If you were so lucky as to have a full roster of repeat clients that would then eliminate the need for any marketing spend.

Project Compartmentalization

The first step to becoming an organized freelancer is Project Compartmentalization. Each project separated and all associated items in their designated place. This compartmentalization will significantly help to keep track of things such as project communication, content and tasks. Being able to quickly identify where an item is located is a huge time saver.

A graphic designer may be working on five logo projects for five different clients all due next week. An experienced graphic designer will have a set workflow for delivering logos. The workflow is the same but the requirements for each project will be unique. Many designers create a project folder when they begin a new project to keep track of files and use email programs to keep track of conversations. Things get more complicated when you add in your project tasks list and try to attach client feedback to pieces of content. However if you are successful at keeping everything compartmentalized you are guaranteed to see an improvement in your productivity.

soloCRM is a great solution for all these common issues. The program provides a project with your workflow outlined, a dedicated folder for content, a organized client feedback system and a area to organize project conversations. SoloCRM is a great tool for project compartmentalization. All communication, content, tasks, client feedback and more is kept project specific. You can also switch easily between project compartments, so you can jump from project A content to project B content with just one click.

What is Solo CRM?

We just opened our blog today and we thought it would be fitting to answer two questions before we start blogging away. What is Solo CRM software and what is www.solocrm.com?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. CRM software is designed to help companies handle all aspects of interaction with their clients. There are currently two major categories for this type of software, Enterprise CRM and SMB CRM. The enterprise category covers needs of large businesses while the smb category covers the needs of small and midsize businesses. We feel that there is another category to add to these two which is the solo category. The solo category covers the needs of the one person company. These sole proprietorships could include freelance web developers or independent consultants.

The needs of the soloist are different than those of the smb or enterprise company and we felt those needs were different enough to create software that caters to those needs. SoloCRM.com is designed to meet the needs of the independent professional that deals with multiple clients at the same time. Our goal is to allow them to spend less time with project overhead and more time on the actual projects. Working as freelance web developers we have tried to automate and organize the process of working through projects with our clients. We have found that with the software our productivity and client satisfaction have increased while client hand-holding has decreased. The resulting product is now available at www.solocrm.com and we look forward to helping our fellow independent professionals enjoy their independence more.