5 posts tagged with "crm"

Before starting this article, I would like to wish you all a happy new year 2023!

Whether you are entrepreneurs, employees, retirees, housewives or house-husbands, students, whatever your status: Happy New Year and I wish you a good health! 🎉🥂

If you are reading this article, it means that this year you have decided to become freelancer! First of all congratulations! 🥳 It's not easy to take this step, to put their fears aside, to brave the thoughts of their friends or family so for that bravo ! 👏

Becoming freelancers, this idea has been in your head for a while, you have thought about it, asked the "pros and cons". You did not find your place in companies, the market for your activity is very attractive at this time, you want to start a new professional life. The choices to become freelancers are multiple and personal but do not forget becoming independent is not without risk if you do not prepare for it.

The advice I can give you is to surround yourself well: lawyer, accountant, etc. All of these professionals will help you choose the best structure for your business.

Now that you have your professional status, here you are on the entrepreneur market. 🚀 (The rocket emoji is too much in 2023?! 🙊)

Your first step to start as an entrepreneur is to make yourself known to your future customers (we call them prospects) and your suppliers.

There are several methods for this:

• Use your address book
• Make your activity known on your social networks (Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook, TikTok,…)
• Go to fairs related to your activity and meet your future customers
• Join local business associations

Whichever method you choose, the idea remains the same: target your market and meet your future customers.

Once you get started, meetings go by and the difficulty for all new entrepreneurs is to stay in touch with these ephemeral encounters.

How to keep in touch with your prospects?​

On Track, [import] (https://www.track-app.io/docs/manage-contacts/add-a-contact-import) contacts from your address book directly into the app to easily and simply manage your communication with them.

Once your contacts have been added to your Track address book, you can assign activities to your contacts, this will give you an overview of the status of your relationship with the contact in question.

Below is an example of a situation with my contact “Judith PERVENCHE”:

I met Judith on December 2nd at the wedding fair in Troyes. I got his contact details (phone number and email address) which I saved in my Track address book. On December 05, I sent the presentation brochure of my services to Judith. On December 9, Judith, after reading my brochure, asked me for a quote for one of the services offered.

How do I offer a service or product(s) to my prospects?​

Let's stay on the example of Judith PERVENCHE, after asking me by email, I provided her with my quote for the service requested by email.

In parallel, I register in TRACK the ongoing business that I have with Judith.

My business is in "In progress 🚀" status, more exactly in "Quote sent 📤" because the quote for this service was sent to Judith on 09/12. I am waiting for his return to validate this case.

I can add a signature probability: low 🔴, medium 🟠 or high 🟢. In my case, I know that Judith has requested quotes from several competitors, so I'm not sure that she signs my quote.

After several days of waiting, having received no response from Judith, I decide to relaunch it:

Judith replies that she will get back to me before December 23 as soon as all of her group of friends has validated the quote.

On December 19, Judith calls me back and wants to add a 6th person to the workshop and wants to negotiate a new group price. I accept his proposal and send him a new negotiated quote.

I change the status of the current case to “In negotiations 🤝” and I change the probability to “Strong 🟢” because Judith is about to sign.

On December 20, Judith sends me back the signed quote!

I change the status of the current case with her to "Signed 🎉".

This was one of the many examples of how you can use Track.

Track is here to help you organize your relationship with each of your prospects or customers and to organize the follow-up of the business you have with them.

As an entrepreneur, craftsman or self-employed, your income is by nature irregular, unlike employees. And you quickly realize that the contracts you sign with your clients have a direct impact on your remuneration. It is the reason why the negotiation in your sales process is a fundamental element for the proper functioning of your activity and your business. In B2B, there are almost no rules except the law of supply and demand, the monetary value of your product or service is equal to your ability to negotiate. It is this last point that we would like to address today to give you the keys to a successful negotiation. We are not going to give you FBI-type techniques, etc. (see Christopher Voss's book, Never split the difference) here, but rather simple tips to gradually improve your confidence and get the best deals.

First of all, it is necessary to situate the context, are you a supplier or a customer of the service. Track users can use their CRM in both scenarios thanks to the activities

As a Supplier​

As the supplier of the service or product, you are the seller. Your objective here is to sell at the highest price, meaning with the best margin. Beyond the quality of the product and the arguments that you would give to the customer, the first step is to know as much as possible about the context of the customer:

• Current suffering without having your product
• Budget that the client is able to pay (here the idea is to find out what the customer has been able to pay in the past for similar services or products)

The more contextual information you have upstream, the more you will be able to offer and negotiate at the fairest price. During the negotiation phase itself, the idea is to play on the levers, show the customer what he has to gain with your offer and to lose by not taking it.

PS: note all interactions with your customers during the negotiation phase in Track. All the members of your team will know much as you on the context of the customer.

As a Customer​

As a customer, when you are the buyer, the main negotiating lever is competition. Thanks to this, you will first be able to know all the offers on the market both in terms of quality, capabilities and in terms of price. Here, the idea will be to ask the supplier you want to work with to match the cheaper offers of competitors who offer the same product or service.

Same here, the idea will be to keep track of all these exchanges in the Track app by contact thanks to the activities

To summarize​

As a seller:

• We need to kearn as much as possible about the client's context in termes of purchasing capacity
• We use levers such as the benefits of the product/service

As a buyer:

• Leverage competition

Your network is your net worth​

As freelancers or entrepreneurs, « networking should be the first thing to do to grow your business”

Your network will help you by:

• Assessing your products or services
• Connecting you with professionals contacts
• Introducing your company
• Making you feel less alone

Why build a network?​

Have you ever noticed that the best opportunities are always invite-only and never advertised?

Have you ever noticed that the best job offers, apartment listings and other good deals in general are always provided by "friends".

It’s how the world still works for the most part.

And the business world is no exception. If you are looking for the best developer, the best graphic designer, the best accountant, the best supplier you need a network.

Your network will introduce you to the best contact.

In addition, to be in contact with professional contacts who will develop your activity, networking also allows you to meet other entrepreneurs or business creators like you. What to discuss on the tips and tricks discovered during your entrepreneurial adventure or to share your joys and your sorrows.

If there's one thing I've learned since becoming independent, it's that the return on investment in relationships is endless.

How to grow your network?​

First, build the foundations of your network

Start by building the foundations of your network by relying on those around you: friends, family, colleagues, school friends... Do not hesitate to contact them and offer them a coffee or a drink to explain them your project.

At best they will give you advice, or even introduce you to a new circle, at worst they will listen to you attentively and will be a pillar of stability in your entrepreneurial adventure.

Import your contacts into your Track database to start feeding your environment.

This first setp will let you to prepare yourself before starting networking.

The best way to have networking is to go to the places where you can find people like you.

For example, if a garderner wishes to develop his or her network, he/she will be more likely to find contacts in a show dedicated to gardening rather than in a show dedicated to the automobile.

Note that there are not only shows to meet people. Ask your city hall or the services in your region, the goal of many local associations is to put entrepreneurs in touch with each other.

How to take care of your newtorK?​

Once your network is established, it must be maintained. I like to imagine it like a chimney fire, if you don't give it wood to burn, the fire goes out. It's the same with your relationships.

Call them, send them messages, offer them lunches/dinners, and above all return the favour.

A network that works is a network where you get involved, otherwise it dies.

A CRM for freelancers​

Track perfectly meets the needs of a CRM for freelancers, whatever your job:

• Freelancers in Information Technology (IT) whether in the role of consultant, project manager, developer, architect...
• Freelancers in design: UI/UX designer, illustrators, 2D/3D graphic designers
• Freelaners in content management: community managers, copywriters, webmasters...

Your clients ask you for by-day or fixed-price contracts. You need to track your customer requests in an easy-to-use tool. You are solicited by email, by phone but you have very little time to log and take note of your customer requests. Track is made for you.

A CRM for personal services professions​

Personal services, whether self-employed or small businesses, are not exempt from the need for a customers management tool. There are many jobs that need a CRM application like Track:

• Cleaning and ironing lady/man
• Childminder
• Hairdresser at home
• ... All jobs that initially find their clients on jobbing platforms can switch to a CRM like Track once their clientele has been established.

A CRM for coaches​

Professional coaches, whatever their specialty, must make the search of new clients and the follow-up of existing ones a priority. Coaches mainly provide services by the hour and must have enough qualified clients. The different types of coaches who can benefit from a mobile app like Track to manage their clients are:

• Sports coaches (physical preparation, weight loss, freelance at-gym coach, running coach, boxing coach, etc.)
• Personal development coaches (NLP, hypnosis, self-help, etc.)
• The Agile coaches (who can be considered in the IT professions above)

A CRM for beauty professions​

Aesthetics professionals are increasingly independent and use platforms to find their clients. These professions are:

• Eyebrow beautician
• Beautician manicure / pedicure
• Hairdresser at home

Once their clientele is established, these businesses can follow up on their customers with platforms like Track. If their activity were to develop with new partners or employees, the sharing functionality of the Track database will allow all employees to share a common synced database of customers and services/product list.

A CRM for recruiters​

Recruiters do not sell products or services. However, the sourcing (the search) of candidates can be similar to commercial prospecting. Recruiters are looking for a person at a given price (salary). The Track application can be used for this purpose without any problem. The professions concerned are:

• Freelance recruiter
• Head hunter
• Recruiter in agency
• Business manager/developper in a services agency

A CRM for real estate businesses​

Real estate agents, whether in the search for properties or potential buyers, must organize themselves as well as possible so as not to miss any deal. This is the goal of Track, which is perfectly suited to the profession of real estate agents in their prospecting activity. Real estate industry jobs that can benefit from Track are:

• Independent real estate agents
• Independent real estate agents but part of a network
• Goods dealers

A CRM for construction jobs​

The construction jobs are not immune to the gig economy: new workers become freelancers and build up their client base, regular or not.

The concerned professions are:

• House painters
• Carpenters
• Plumbers
• Electricians
• Architects
• Interior designers
• Kitchen designers

The Product functionalities of Track will make it possible to establish a catalog of products and services that the craftsperson can offer to his customers.

A CRM for investors​

Investors (business angels, etc.) are also one of the professions that need a CRM. Between solicitations by email, phone or over a coffee, it is important to miss no deal and to have a deal flow always filled with qualitative opportunities. An application like Track perfectly meets this need. Keeping a list of contacts and interesting projects in terms of investment is essential. They will be able to use the attribution and deal tracking functionalities according to their probability of conversion.

A CRM for sales reps, VDIs, etc.​

Sales representative, door-to-door sales, etc. are the salespeople par excellence. Due to their independence, they may lack specific tools for finding clients. These are the concerned professions:

• Sales reprensentative
• Door-to-door salesperson
• Buyer-reseller, etc.

Everyone can rely on an easy-to-use CRM mobile app like Track to keep track of their business. The reports provided on Track app will allow them to follow their progress towards their turnover objectives.

A CRM for event providers​

Events is a sector with a lot of subcontractors and freelancers. For corporate event, associations events, festivals or simply weddings, it is essential to follow-up on customer requests over time. Especially since the sales cycle is very long on these type of jobs. If you are part of this list of professions, Track can be very useful to you:

• Caterer
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Decorator
• Florist
• Rental of audio-video equipment
• Car rental

Tracking of interactions by customer as well as monitoring of the deals pipeline will allow them to monitor their workload and activity.

A simple CRM​

Over the years, we have noticed that a lot of people: entrepreneurs, craftspersons, freelancers, self-employed, do not have a simple solution for managing their customers and their commercial activity. They struggle using either an Excel file on a computer or an expensive CRM solution whereas their need is simple: to be able to easily manage their customers and their sales pipeline.

A mobile-first CRM application​

These people are not salespeople, and although their activity depends on sales, they still need to be focused on their main activity of craftspersons, entrepreneurs, etc. These professions do not have time, after a day of work, to fill in an Excel spreadsheet on a computer with the information of contacts and potential prospects for the day. They must be able to add or import potential customers live on their mobile phones during their day when they meet them or when they reach out to them.

An affordable CRM​

Another reason why freelancers do not find a solution that suits them is the positioning of existing CRM editors: they only focus on the needs of large companies (or SMEs sometimes) which have dedicated sales teams with plenty of customization and a very high-cost per user per month.

We think self-employed don't need a white elephant. They use these tools only a few times a day. This is why we offer our solution at a ridiculous cost or even for free for most of the use cases.

Track app, mobile and accessible CRM​

This is why we created Track: we empower every entrepreneur, every craftsman, and every freelancer by providing them with an affordable mobile application so that they never forget about any client or any deal and let them fully focus on their core business.

For a glimpse of all the jobs for which Track can be helpful and even be a must-have, have a look at our blog article.