It ain't bragging if it's true....Raving Fans!

So, there's this.  It felt wrong not to share it.  

Seriously though, a big THANK YOU to all our Raving Fans!  We want to earn your trust every day!

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"We've tried several well known CRM packages from big name providers, and the results have been abject failures, costing us years of wasted opportunity and lot's of money.  When I first saw HaloDASH, I couldn't believe it was actually doing what Halo told me it could do.  At our first meeting, they sat at "my computer," no gimmicks, no pre-loaded software, nothing at all except my existing web-browser, and they walked me through several functions we needed that no other provider was able to demonstrate on either the software we'd already purchased or their pre-configured demo systems.  

After that meeting, I accessed the online HaloDash trial software and found there really were no tricks involved!  I was able to immediately start adding customers, tracking activities, and building quotes within minutes!  My entire team caught on quickly and was blown away with the simplicity of use!  

The service Halo has provided post-sale has been incredible, often adding features or processing change requests within minutes of us submitting them...not weeks or months.  We're so impressed, we're now bringing our service team on-board to help manage our contract work and billings.

HaloDash is truly impressive!  If you're in the market for a CRM solution, HaloDASH is the only one to consider."

What does a CRM Cost? (or, the price of not buying local)

I received a white-paper from SugarCRM today entitled: “CRM’s Dirty Little Secret: How to Avoid CRM Sticker Shock, An Analysis of Fees, Subscriptions and Hidden Costs”

Now, that’s a heck of a title.  It is filled with lots of good information.  Obviously, it is biased towards SugarCRM, just as you could logically expect this post to be biased towards haloDASH {the best CRM and Project Management tool on the planet :) }.  It compares the costs of Microsoft Dynamics (on-premise and cloud), SalesForce, and SugarCRM.  All of these products have their virtues, however, none of their virtues is price or simplicity.  I have provided the grid below to display how haloDASH stacks up in terms of pricing.  A full pricing grid with options can be found here.

It is key to realize that in this paper there is no mention made of necessary setup fees, training, or ongoing support, which tend to add multiple thousands of dollars to a CRM deployment.  This omission seems convenient, as getting these products to a usable state for your business can be time intensive. However, here are some uselful snippets from the afore-mentioned paper (I make no claims to the veracity of their information, I’m just sourcing their whitepaper):

In regards to Dynamics:

“Pricing and licensing of Microsoft Dynamics is complex and can vary based on the existing Enterprise Agreement (EA) a company may have in place with Microsoft…”

In regards to SalesForce:

“…some (but not all) of the editions include full mobile access, a Microsoft Outlook Plugin, reporting as well as customization and integration capabilities.”  “While many CRM systems are sold via a subscription model, customers of Salesforce.com often pay significantly more than the quoted monthly subscription fee due to hidden fees and other limitations that can increase the total cost of ownership.”

In regards to SugarCRM, they actually provide a graph showcasing that in 3 years, Sugar Ultimate is actually the 2nd most expensive option of the 3 platforms.  If they are trying to make the case that SugarCRM is a cost effective option, they don’t seem to be making their point.

How haloDASH compares

Platform	Monthly Subscription per User	Additional Fees
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online	$65	Storage $9.99 per GB
SalesForce Professional	$65	Complete Mobile Access $50 per user per month
Sugar Enterprise	$60	(none listed)
haloDASH Premiere	$29.95

We don’t make it a habit to compete on price; we would rather talk about how haloDASH fits your business with simple elegance. But, when our price and product puts others to shame, what are we to do?  Ask yourself if you’re getting more value for your additional investment.  If you feel that you are, then you’re spending your money wisely.  

CRM is not a mystery, however.  At its core, it is easy to understand: at the end of the day we want to keep track of leads, opportunities, and customer information.  Is it worth it to you to purchase a CRM product that is so feature-bloated with bells and whistles that, if unused, those features actually become detrimental to your productivity?  Or would it be more beneficial for you to use a local vendor who knows you and your goals; a local product that provides the CRM functions that you’ll actually use, and at a price-point that is hard to match?  haloDASH doesn’t require add-on fees for additional contacts, usage fees, or mobile access.  We don’t charge you more money for actually using the product you purchased.  When you need enhancements, you talk directly to the manufacturer.  When you need support, you talk to a developer in your own town.  When you need somebody to make a decision, you speak directly to the owners.

haloDASH is here to provide you with:

1. A great local product that keeps simple things SIMPLE
2. Local support
3. A price that some clients have called “too good to be true.”

I assure you, haloDASH is that good, and Halo is Louisville’s only Local CRM provider.

bwatson@halodash.com

502-276-6352

www.halodash.com

Top 5 Reasons Your CRM is Unused

Having been a project manager and sales lead on numerous CRM deployments, I often hear similar comments across all segments of the marketplace about why companies are less than pleased with the acceptance or usage of their current CRM.  Not even substantial upfront investments guarantee an across the board “buy-in.”  Everyone knows the potential benefits of CRM, so why is yours going unused?

Here are the top five reasons I personally have run across.

1. Big Brother Paranoia:  Too many reps have no idea why a CRM has been introduced.  Without clear messaging from management, the natural inclination is to assume that Big Brother wants to micromanage their every step.  The reality is, at the end of the day, what matters is the numbers.  An abundance of tracking data won’t mask poor sales.  The CRM, it should be communicated, is a tool to help your reps exceed their goals.  A sale is the end result of activity, and the CRM helps you stay on top of your activities
   
2. No selling value:  If the tool doesn’t help you close more sales, then, using it is an exercise in data entry.   Does the CRM reduce redundant tasks?  Does it proactively alert you to significant milestones?  Does it make the completion of a weekly call log a thing of the past?  The CRM should work for you, not you for it.
   
3. Costly Upkeep: Business needs change.  What was great for you six months ago doesn’t necessarily cut the mustard today.  Unfortunately, smaller CRM implementations typically lack the ability to create functionality unique to your business as you grow.  Enterprise level CRM solutions typically provide the ability to create these customizations, but each feature request can require a scope development fee and significant development costs, pushing the ROI of your CRM further down the road.  So, necessary feature enhancements often go un-created, which leads to time-sapping work-arounds, which leads to poor acceptance.  I’ve heard from multiple prospects that are afraid to call their current provider for fear that they’ll receive a bill.
   
   The solution is to find a CRM that provides the best of both worlds: powerful and useful off the shelf CRM functionality, with the ability to make cost effective modifications when necessary as the business needs change.
   
4. Nobody knows how to use it:  Did you do a “do it yourself” CRM implementation?  Did you leave the training of your staff up to YouTube and a user manual?  If you’re going to invest in a CRM, invest a few hours to make sure your team knows how to use it.  It’ll pay you back sooner rather than later.
   
5. No mobility:  Not all sales happen in the office.  Many reps go for days at a time without ever stepping foot in a cubicle.  Because of a lack of mobile access, or painfully slow remote desktop sessions, reps often trick themselves into believing that they’ll enter their data when they are back in front of their computers.  But, when the time comes, nobody wants to dedicate an hour to put in a week’s worth of data.  Your CRM needs to work on that little computer in your pocket without any feature limited apps or proprietary software.  Your CRM needs to help you extend your office, not chain you to it.

What’s your experience been like?  What are reasons your CRM isn’t being used?

Five Metrics Your CRM and Project Management Software Should be Tracking

Every business has a CRM “system.”  Not every business has CRM “software.”  The difference between the two is the level of efficiency and insight that can be gained with proper tracking and measurement. Whether you have created a spreadsheet specific for your daily tasks, are using a free CRM tool, or have implemented an entire ERP solution, the best CRM for your business is one that will make your life easier and transition you from “gut feelings” to “actionable items.”

The following five metrics will help you target the right prospects for your business and identify areas for improvement.  A slight increase in any of these metrics can dramatically improve your bottom line. 

1. Number of leads required:  How do you know if your marketing is working?  It is working if it is generating the required number of leads at the top of the sales funnel.  If you don’t know how many leads you need, you can identify this number by working the math backwards based upon the variables below.  Start by identifying a revenue number that you believe will be profitable to you.  If you have a 50% conversion rate, simply adding 2 more leads will land you a new customer!
2. Average Sales Cycle:  From the initial opportunity until the deal is signed, using your CRM to track how long your average sales cycle is open will allow you to identify the types of prospects or projects which are most likely to close “now.”  Using this data, you can create a few more prequalification steps to eliminate meetings today that would best be held in 30 days.  This would allow you to focus your energy on opportunities that will make an impact on your business today.  A small decrease in time to close can have a big impact on your cash flow.
3. Average dollar sale:  Every business is different; whether you target 100 $1 sales or 1 $100 sale, you need to know which type of opportunity is best for you.  Time spent closing deals that aren’t in your best interest could otherwise be spent landing sales that were.   Additionally, if you could “up” your average dollar sale by only 10%, you could essentially add a “free” client on every 10th sale. 
4. Conversion Rate:  Do different reps have different close ratios?  Of course, but why is that? There are a multitude of factors that can play into the company’s conversion rate, be it better target qualification, less competition for the needed product or service, or the particular skill of the sales rep.  CRM tools can help identify the factors that lead to higher or lower conversion rates.  Enhance your advantages and eliminate the obstacles.  A small improvement in conversion rates will mean less time swinging and missing and more money in the bank.
5. Margins: Have you ever wondered how you could hit your quotas and the P&L still lag behind?  Perhaps it is your margins.  Material and labor costs have risen dramatically.  Have your prices kept pace?  You can close a million dollar sale and be worse off if it costs you two million dollars to deliver the product.  Remember, margins are a factor of profit.  Markups are only a factor relative to cost.  Never forget to keep an eye on the profits.   If you run a service based business, in a perfect scenario, your Project Management system would tie into your CRM, so that you could get a true indicator of a clients profitability based upon not only the sale, but also on the delivery and service of the product.

If you would like to learn more about how you can track these valuable datapoints quickly and easily, please contact me today to schedule a conversation.

Brad Watson

haloDASH.com

CRM and Project Management Solutions

bwatson@halodash.com

Top 5 Reasons Your Current CRM isn’t Working for You! (

We've just uploaded our latest, greatest white paper to help you make the best of your CRM resources.

I wanted to name it, "Top 5 reasons your CRM Sucks,"  but, I decided to keep it professional.

Click the link below, and let us know what you think.

Top 5 Reasons Your Current CRM isn’t Working for You! 

(and what you can do about it)

Keep BOTH New and Existing Clients Happy--with one simple tool!

The quest to gain new business is never-ending.  Most of our sales efforts are geared to get customers into the fold.  If you are utilizing a CRM solution, most of your opportunities and activities are probably focused in that direction.  However, the candidates most likely to purchase your goods or services are those who have already purchased from you in the past.  Existing customers are arguably more important to the future of your business than new customers.  So, it is in your best interest to keep them happy and well serviced.  But, this is often easier said than done.

However, one simple way to treat your existing customers with the same level of follow-up and service that you extend to prospects is to utilize a CRM tool that will manage your customer service as well.  Keeping ongoing service histories and conversations alongside sales opportunities in a centralized database provides the account rep with a holistic view of all the current needs of their contacts.  All too often, a sales call has been torpedoed by the customer asking about the status of their current issue, only to have the account rep have no idea there even was an issue.  Likewise, having your CRM inform you of any completed service requests provides the account rep with another opportunity to follow-up: during which an offer for extended service plans or updated hardware would not seem ill-timed.

haloDASH, the CRM and Project Management solution from Halo Applications, takes customer service to an entirely new level by providing a unique customer service portal for each contact in your database for no additional monthly fee.  This portal allows the customer the opportunity to submit new support requests directly into your customer service queue, while also providing the ability to view the status and history of all completed and in progress requests.  This extra level of transparency can reduce the amount of incoming, "Where is this at...."  calls and keep your team on task.  These submitted requests are also integrated directly with your Sales Dashboard...no double entering of data.

If you would be interested in integrating your customer support and sales functions, visit halodash.com and register for a free no obligation demo, or call us at 502-276-6352.

Avoid the Summer Sales Slowdown

As we near our annual steady stream of 90 degree days, we can be tempted to believe that summertime sadness is upon us.  Summer can be the 2 month stretch where nobody buys anything and where every meeting is delayed, or it can be the season where you turn your frown upside down.  Here are 10 simple ways to avoid the summertime blues.

1. Use vacations as a motivator.  Don't blindly accept the tired, "I'll have to get back with you after vacation" mantra.  The truth is, the decision maker can eliminate one more pain point before they head of town, which means they can truly enjoy their vacation without a nagging perception that a purchasing decision awaits them when they return.  Try to cajole your way onto their calendar before they go.  They may be eager to get it over with.
2. Get out of the office.  Your customers look out the window too, so give them an excuse.  Take them fishing, or golfing.  The allure of a late afternoon meeting that's close to home or that's over by 4:30 may be too much to resist. 
3. Add sprinkles and Gummy Bears.  Here's an stretch, let's make frozen yogurt the new "meet me for coffee."   It just takes one of us to push this idea across the finish line.  
4. Reward your team.  A summer promotion or contest can take advantage of your local area's activities like professional sports, gardening, or music festivals.  One or two extra sales in the summer can move the needle, and staying motivated is the key.
5. Have a  BBQ.  Everybody likes BBQ.  People who don't like BBQ are probably un-American or your worst customers anyway.  Nothing draws more people outside of the office than ribs, so...eat and meet.
6. Don't stop marketing. A slow summer can turn into a bad autumn if you don't stay the course.
7. Don't waste your downtime!  If you do get slow, work on improving your products, marketing, or social media.  You'll kick yourself if you don't.
8. Refuse to lose touch with your hot leads!  Work the process.  Don't stop following-up.  If you do, you'll lose out to the interloper who will marry the woman you've been dating for a year.
9. Don't buy the hype!  If you believe nobody's doing business in the summer, you're deluding yourself. This isn't Greece.
10. Do something!  Anything.  Activity begets activity.  Meet with strategic partners.  Go to networking events.  Call up existing customers.  Just make a commitment to keep moving.  Momentum, once lost, is hard to regain.