Alec, I can recommend you ZOHO crm
Have a nice day Dirk Bar d'Office Deinze Belgium Van: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Namens Alec Grant Verzonden: zondag 25 november 2012 11:45 Aan: [email protected] Onderwerp: [email protected] - Re: [Coworking] CRM recommendation for 4 coworkers? - Found word(s) opt-in in the Text body Rogelio - We're in the process of setting up a coworking space in Surrey, UK and we're looking at a whole host of tools in addition to CRM ones that will help us run the space. I'm also setting up a software consultancy and so need the same set of tools to work for that as well. With my software consultancy hat on my take on this would be that it all depends on the context of the individual business. As we all know, no 2 businesses are a like and so while a particular tool might be great for one company it might not be so great for another. Some of the tools we're currently looking at * SugarCRM Community Edition (our web host provides this as an off the shelf installation) * Nimble (CRM which allows the importing of Google contacts and email and builds a profile based on that information) * Insightly (CRM & project management which provides the creation of opportunities, tasks, organisations etc which can be all linked together) * Capsule CRM (recommended by Tom Lewis from coworking bath) * Podio (Collaboration) * Trello (Collaboration tool created by the well known software developer Joel from Fog Creek Software) * Mavenlink (Project management) * HighRise HQ (as recommended by Jerome & again Tom and is produced by the same company, 37 Signals that created Base Camp the highly recommended project management tool) * Base Camp (as mentioned above) Jerome - while I would agree that there are definite cases for paying for software, again it comes back to the context for an individual business. For a startup with little or no existing client base and limited funds, they need to make a decision between what they do and don't pay for. So I would argue that any of the above tools and others that provide a SaaS product that is free to micro / small businesses with some limitations (number of users etc), are a reasonable choice to start with before moving onto paid versions of these products. In fact for anyone just starting up, if you can get all your contacts (suppliers, leads / opportunities, business partners etc) into Google Apps then that's a good platform to base things on given that many of the above tools and lots more all provide integration into Google Apps allowing you to import / export etc. If anyone is interested, Tom and I are putting together some information about tools (with a slight UK focus) and we would welcome other opinions and support in doing this. This is all part of a bigger effort to follow the lead of the coworking spaces in the US who are actively working together and having shared events etc, and to do something similar for spaces in the UK. Again any input, support and help in doing this is most welcome. Regards, Alec On 24 November 2012 05:33, Jerome Chang <[email protected]> wrote: This might sound blunt, but I think to "crack the CRM nut", you simply have to pay. We use HighRise HQ, but would love more customizability, reporting, etc. But it does generally work for us. There's a $5/mo plug-in for our gmail-based email to connect with HR directly, such as follow-up tasks, etc. Jerome ______________ BLANKSPACES "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself" www.blankspaces.com 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 323.330.9505 (office) On Nov 23, 2012, at 10:55 AM, Rogelio <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm guessing that other coworkers here have cracked the CRM nut > (customer relationship management), so I'm hoping the someone here > could recommend a solution for four remote workers that does the > following: > > 1) is free (zero budget as of yet - total shoe string project!) > > 2) is cool and easy ways to hook into gmail / google apps, preferably > with a way of seeing last emails inside CRM web GUI itself > > 3) has cool ways to remind us on prospects for follow up (since only > first phase of project, we're not really concerned at this point for > building complex funnels, loyalty programs, opportunities, inventory, > etc) > > 4) is web based (two use Windows, one uses Linux, and one uses Mac), > but also has interfaces via a smart phone app (both Android and > iPhone) > > 5) PREVENTS VENDOR LOCK IN! > > For what it's worth, here is what I've put up so far... > > 1) SugarCRM (keep track of contacts) - not always intuitive, but a > small price to pay to have some flexibility later on if/when this > grows. We're not wedded to this, but it seemed like a good first step > while we look for other easier-to-use CRMs with better workflows / > integration features. Super easy (and cheap!) install on Dreamhost. > Daily chron backups because I don't trust them! > > 2) iSugarCRM (iPhone) and DroidSugar (Android) > > https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/isugarcrm/id536162467?mt=8 (the one I use) > http://goo.gl/0YNva > > 3) Boomerang / Rapportive - hooks into gmail and lets us schedule > emails and also see online presence of other ppl in group. Rapportive > is free, but Boomerang isn't (but we each already had that). > > 4) Rondee / FreeConferenceCall / FreeScreenSharing - how we meet > together at different coworking spaces > > 5) Mailchimp / Survey Monkey (once we narrow down someone who is a > good candidate and doesn't mind being a part of what we do). Also > looking into other F/OSS mailing tools once this grows, like PHPlist / > MailMan / OpenEEM (double opt-in, scheduling, click tracking, bounce > management, etc). > > http://alternativeto.net/software/surveymonkey/ > http://alternativeto.net/software/mailchimp/ > > 6) Usual other collab tools -- Skype, Google Docs / PiratePad, Google > Hangouts, Evernote, etc. > > (Goes without saying, but if I can help anyone else here and save > time, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm also on LinkedIn.) > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- Alec Grant The Digital Work Hub Email : [email protected] Twitter : https://twitter.com/#!/digitalworkhub -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
