Nimble.com; the social crm

One of my readers asked if I had used nimble.com and what my thoughts were. I hadn’t and was very interested in trying a CRM that had reportedly deep social ties. I spent some time connecting my social accounts and moving around in the software and here is my take.

The Good: First, it’s incredibly easy to get started and to get your social accounts, Google Calendar and e-mail account/s connected. I might even say it’s kind of fun – but that might just be me. Once you have your accounts connected the application brings in contact information from the various social accounts – this is just cool.

Here’s an example . . .

Now that the information is in nimble.com I can add tasks, calendar activities, and even log previous activities. Better yet, I can send an e-mail, LinkedIn Message, and other social messages via the “Quick Actions” menu. I can even see my contacts social stream on the same page.

The rest of the software is incredibility easy to use; from adding activities and deals to viewing your full social stream. Another easy to use and very useful feature is found under the Messages tab. If you connected your e-mail (IMAP) account/s to the software it displays all your messages in one stream – including all your social messages. Don’t worry, you have the option of choosing specific message types from the tabs – All, Email, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

The Ugly: The product is pretty new on the scene and requires significant updates before it’s what I would consider fully functional. The first and biggest sin is its inability to send you e-mail reminders when tasks come due. This is a pretty basic feature that resides in any good CRM system. The only thing that might persuade me that this is not necessary is the fact that nimble can act as my e-mail client as well. The problem is its low level of functionality as an e-mail client.

First, there is no way to create sub-folders in your e-mail accounts. This might not be so annoying if you could sort by any of the columns; however, as far as I could tell you can’t. When composing a message there are no formatting options; so, you’re stuck with plain text. One other annoyance with e-mail is the fact that while you can add multiple e-mail accounts – which I like – you can’t have multiple signature files. So, your signature has to be one size fits all.

In closing, while I won’t do a full switch to nimble.com from my current Zoho account it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on as they develop some of these important features. I’ll certainly keep my account open and might even use nimble.com to communicate to some of my social networks. It’s a cool product and definitely shows the other guys why integrating social media into CRM is really important and useful.

Because of the current economy...

I have to be honest; I’m getting a little tired of hearing “because of the current economy…”  I’ve even heard myself saying it on a few occasions and don’t like the taste of it one bit. Ok, the economy sucks compared to other times in our history. Keep in mind that it’s not so bad compared to others.

This whole economy thing should teach us one very big lesson – in my humble opinion: It’s up to each one of us to turn it around with innovative solutions and hard work. Yes, I said it – hard work. I refuse to believe that Americans are lazy; complacent – maybe. This is my call to myself: I refuse to be comfortable with status-quo and will do whatever it takes to rise above my own limiting thoughts.

Here are three key things I face moving forward in this new economy full of opportunity and how I’m handling them . . .

Sales: For the first time in a very long time I have to be the sales-guy that brings business to my practice. I have one word for how I felt about being that guy – Yuck! That is until I allowed myself to lean on concepts (thanks to a friend and family member) that I learned a long time ago about the kind of sales-guy I can be. I don’t have to use trickery and slick sales techniques. I just need to be me; be honest; and let people know I exist and really frickin’ love what I do!

Conversation Tracking: Since I’m doing most of the leg work myself for my consulting practice I need a really easy way to track the conversations I have, attach related documents, and store customer and potential customer information. That’s were CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software comes into play. The best advice I can give here is – go to the cloud my friend. There are so many products on the market that can do everything you need.  Choose the right one and you can even customize it to meet your specific needs.

Website and Social: KISS. Yup, the old concept spill holds water – Keep It Simple Silly. I have a very simple website that is clean and easy to navigate. No bells and whistles for me; I want people to come to my site; browse around reading just a few quick lines here and there; and get an idea of what I do and who I am. When it comes to social – well, I’m figuring it out with the rest of you. I can tell you that the free resources (some kind of salesy) on many of the LinkedIn marketing groups have given me ideas that I would have never thought of myself.

BTW: There’s nothing wrong with bells and whistles on your website. The question you have to ask is how those bells and whistles will add value to your potential clients visit.

What are you doing in this new market full of opportunity to start or grow your business? 

A few thoughts on online CRM solutions

I have used many CRM solutions and spent many hours researching and testing solutions for some of my customers. I have found that there are a few options that work really well depending on what you're looking for.

Salesforce.com:

The Good: This is an excellent CRM and sales management tool. The level of customization that can be done is more than sufficient and the fact that it's an industry standard means there's plenty of help out there for it. The layout and most of the functionality is straight forward and easy to jump in and start using it right away.

The Ugly: I have two problems with this product. First, the expense - it's probably one of the more expensive products available on a per user bases. Second, is the fact that several of the plug-ins are built for the most expensive model. Sure, you can get the group model which is not so expensive. However, the level of functionality is greatly decreased and makes the product not such a great choice.

Sugar:

The Good: It's open source! You can download it onto your own server and run the whole thing yourself. The level of customizing you can without code knowledge equals - in my opinion - that of Salesforce. Additionally, since you're running it on your own servers you have even greater flexibility. Last time I checked they also have paid plans. However, if you're tech savvy and want a free CRM this is probably the way to go.

The Ugly: It's Open source! The amount of time you'll end up putting into doing all the little technical stuff you need to do in order for it to work the way you want may very well make it more expensive than some of the paid products available. However, if you have a tech team in place to take care of it or you're a tech and love messing with stuff like this it's worth a go.

ZOHO CRM:

The Good: I just started using this one recently and have been pleasantly surprised. I'm able to do many of the customizations that I was able to do with Salesforce. Also, I have access to lots of functionality for only $12.00 a month per user. They also have a free version for 3 users that has some limitations. However, if you just want to give it a go that's the best way to get started.

The Ugly: I haven't found much ugly with this one yet. I will say that the new interface is so much better than the previous. One downfall of the free version is the inability to setup e-mail reminders on tasks. Now that I'm paying though I can do this and have found it to be an excellent tool. I'm still exploring this one and may have more ugly a few months down the road. However, I have been using it for about 4 months now and have really enjoyed its interface and functionality.

Hmm, I know I left it somewhere

For some reason I just can't seem to find it today. I've actually been looking for it over the last few days and have come up lacking each time. If only I could remember where I had it last that might help; then again - maybe not. It's that little thing called inspiration. The World English Dictionary describes it as ". . . special or unusual activity or creativity".

So, today I decided to spend a couple of hours on the tech news sites hoping it might be lurking in an interesting article. Sure, there were some interesting stories out there today.

Probably one of the more disturbing articles concerned a lawsuit against Absolute Software for capturing a couples sexy time via email and IM. It appears that a laptop with Absolute Software's LoJack was purchased by a teacher from a student. Little did she know that it was stolen and all jacked up and capturing her extra special communications. You can read more at http://bit.ly/n9jsUV.

Then there's the news that Groupon's traffic is down 50% and both Facebook and Yelp have decided to get out of the daily deal market all together. Some say this indicates the death of the daily deal and others think, not so much. Do a Google search on "Death of the daily deal" to find a bunch of articles. Here is one such article: http://cnnmon.ie/n6dRcs

Then there's the news about Windows 8 and how cool it's going to be and the re-launch of the 'Dead' HP tablet. Interesting maybe - inspiring; not really.

I'm still looking for my lost inspiration and am hopefull that I'll find it hiding somewhere nearby. Maybe I left it in my car only to be descovered on the way home. Only one way to find out . . .

Self directed effort is the best kind - by Seth Godin

I spend a little time each day reading posts from other bloggers. Doing this is a great way to get you thinking about things differently or to get you asking yourself questions that will ultimately lead to the brilliant ideas that make you a great entrepreneur. 


Today, I read a great article by Seth that really gets you thinking about self directed effort. So, where does your source of effort come from; is it an internal drive or external? Check out the article and let me know what you think. It's a quick read and a great way to get you thinking . . .


http://bit.ly/m34uvq


Do you have examples of an external motiviation that has become a crutch? Or, do you have an example of when your effort was self directed? I would love to get your feedback on this.

Conflicting Compromise

Sometimes I feel like we've built a world where everyone is telling everyone else what they want to hear. From the political correctness we so desperately hang onto, to the concept that the customer is always right. I want to tell you that the customer is almost always wrong. OK, before your heart jumps out of your chest from dismay – hear me out a little further. There is definitely a right way to treat people; whether they are family, friends, clients or even enemies. However, I think we cross a very dangerous line when everything that comes out of our mouth is exactly what the other person wants to hear.

I think of shows like Hell’s Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares, both by the very friendly and always cordial Gordon Ramsey – ya right – and wonder how he gets away with being such a great guy all the time. The fact is, when he walks away from one of those business owners they absolutely love him. And, he shows a great deal of compassion for many of them. Now, I know that TV – even reality TV – isn’t necessarily real. And, we as business people could never – and should never – get away with the verbal beating he gives out on his shows. But there is something to be said about a person that is willing to tell it like it is.

I started thinking about all my past bosses or clients and the ones that I had the best relationships with. I remember one boss back when I was selling trees for a living (long time ago in a land far-far away; Florida). One day not long after I started he brought me into his office and started getting upset about a deal that went down. Imagine being a fresh-faced young man getting reamed by an Irish accent standing behind a large wooden desk – the kind that looks like they cut a tree in half and polished it. After several minutes of being berated by his words – some of them harsh – I realized that this was either going to end by me apologizing or arguing with my boss. Having noticed how he treated the other sales people in the office – not bad; just not with great respect – and how they interacted with him: I decided to give him an argument. After forty-five minutes of going back and forth he conceded to a few of my points and I conceded to a few of his.

Had we not had that confrontation there would have been no opportunity for compromise. Don’t get me wrong, while it did get heated at times I always talked to him with respect and any emotion of argument was not in that I had to be right; it was that I wanted to do a great job for this company and my customers. After working there for several years my family moved to a location that did not allow me to continue with the company. I remember him pulling me into his office on my final day to let me know that he held me in very high respect and that I was a great asset to him and the company. This, after several years of heated debates – which I later learned he very much loved.

If you’re going to tell people things they don’t want to hear there are a few very important things to remember . . .

One: Love thy customer; I can’t stress enough how important this is to a successful relationship that involves confrontation. If you don’t truly care about your customer they will sense it and every confrontation you have with them will translate as either you having to be right or getting your way somehow. The point of confrontation is to help them reach the full potential you know they have. When you truly care about your customer – talking to them and treating them with respect also comes more naturally.

Two: Know your audience; you need a clear understanding of how they see the world and how they want the world to interact with them. If they don’t like confrontation it doesn’t mean you don’t confront. It simply means you take it a little slower and find ways to confront that will allow them to hear you.

Three: Pick your battles; you’re not always right and you can always learn from your customers. Additionally, there are some bad habits or areas of disagreement with your customer that are not detrimental to what you’re trying to achieve together. You don’t want to spend a lifetime picking on the little stuff – it just won’t serve you.

Any time I take on a new client I first spend time getting to know them and asking a ton of questions. I don’t judge what they or the business is doing and I don’t pretend to understand why they do things the way they do. Honestly, I normally take a good month or so of just asking questions and listening to my customer before I start offering any kind of advice. Doing this allows me to really understand who they are and where they’re coming from. It also gives me time to build that very important relationship of trust and mutual respect.

Only after we have built that foundation will I start telling them things they don’t want to hear. My favorite clients are the ones that tell me they really didn’t want to hear what I was telling them but that hearing it was what helped them go from ok to great. Keep in mind the purpose of compromise through confrontation – it is to build a win-win situation.

Until next time, focus on what you know and keep doing a better job of what you love to do.

PS: I would love to hear your stories of effective confrontation and how you reached amazing compromises that resulted in win-win situations for you and your customers.

NOTE: I want to thank Seth Godin for his short and yet very inspirational blog post today: http://bit.ly/k51wYQ

I Don’t Want Happy Customers

I came across a great question in one of my LinkedIn groups today that asked “How do you define achievement / success in Project Management?” Many of the responses were very technical and focused on the metrics of a project and the meeting of deadlines and making sure they achieved the final deliverable. While all that is great and key to having a successful project, I don’t think it defines how to be successful overall. It really got me thinking about all the different thought industries today and how each one has its own definition of how to be successful. Then, it hit me – the answer really is the same across all industries as it always has been. It’s a not so simple choice.

As a consultant you have a choice to make. You can take the road of least resistance or you can do the hard job – the one that needs to be done. The road of least resistance involves going into a client and listening to what is needed. Then, you build a plan to meet that need and work tirelessly to achieve the goal that has been given you. You might be thinking to yourself that’s exactly what I do and I do a great job for my clients. The thing you should be asking yourself is if you have happy customers. If you do – I’m sorry to say that’s no longer enough.

The hard job is to go into a client and listen to what they need; then, to dig deeper and figure out why they have decided on that need. It’s the “why” that makes the difference. It’s the why that’s going to tell you if what they say is needed truly is. The solution they are presenting may be perfect. In most cases though; it’s either lacking a few important ingredients or maybe even way off and will never be something that truly answers the why.

So, now you have the why from them; what do you do with that? This is when you start working with them and co-creating the solution that will meet their “why” on every level. This can be anything from pointing out areas in their given solution that don’t seem to meet what they really want and letting them talk it out while you mediate; to presenting possible solution for them to discuss and integrate into the solution.

Do you see the difference? You just went from being the person that will get them to their defined solution to being a part of that defined solution. You are now such a valuable part of the process that they cannot imagine moving forward without you. And, at the end of the project they will no longer be a happy customer – rather, they will be raving fans.

Keep in mind that a happy customer is not going to evangelize your business. However, a raving fan is going to talk about you every chance they get.  In today’s business climate you need to be a much bigger part of the solution to build a fan base that will go out and tell the world you’re different and that difference is what made their company or project great.

Until next time, focus on what you know and keep doing a great job of what you love to do.

PS: Do you have a great example of turning a customer into a raving fan? If so, Please leave a comment.

Loss

I have to be honest; I’m having a really hard time dealing with loss today. I’m feeling a great sense of loss over something that was very close to my heart – my latest blog post. While I say that a little tongue-in-cheek; I also really kind of mean it. Anything I put time and effort into I feel a little emotionally attached to; especially something I sat down to dig into my thoughts and past to create. So, I was a little saddened – ok a lot saddened – when I found out that blogger (due to a technical issue) lost my and several other peoples most recent posts.

I then proceeded to spend the entire morning looking for ways to retrieve my post. I wonder if the post is in Feed burner or maybe I have it in e-mail somewhere. How do you contact support for Blogger to yell at them and let them know they lost a little piece of your soul? Well, none of my methods worked and my blog is still gone – off into the ether – likely never to be found. I know, had I only started my posts in a word document; save them; and then posted them - I would be fine right now. 

Having wasted my morning in search for that which no longer existed, I started thinking about all the other losses I have experienced in my business life. I have lost employees from time to time; I have lost money; I have lost time; and I have almost lost my mind now and again. So, what has all this loss gained me over the years? Experience.

It is perhaps the most valuable thing I have as an entrepreneur and especially as a business consultant. The experience of my losses has given me the ability to be a great asset to my clients. It’s those experiences that I lean on when giving someone advice or even just a shoulder to complain on from time to time. Each loss has come with its own priceless lesson – a lesson that has helped me make better decisions. It really is a messy world out there full of pitfalls and opportunities to make mistakes and experience loss.

So, what’s the big lesson from losing my post? Well, I guess its best put as learning to count my losses as gain. While it’s never easy to lose; sometimes it’s the best way to gain perspective and new understanding. Sometimes, it’s the only way to grow as a person and an entrepreneur.

Until next time, focus on what you know and keep doing a better job of what you love to do.

PS: I would love to hear your story of loss and the lesson you learned!

Lean In

I had a fight with my wife first thing this morning. I won’t get into the details; let’s just say it wasn’t a great way to start my day. To be fair, it wasn’t a great way to start the day for either of us. As an entrepreneur I find it pretty important to start my day with a positive attitude; knowing that I’m going to go out there and conquer the world – one problem at a time. Unfortunately, the rest of the world simply isn’t always on board with my need for peace and serenity in the morning. Whether it’s someone taking their ever-loving time in the fast lane; the coffee barista that obviously wants to be somewhere else; or a fight with someone close to me – sometimes it can seem like the world just won’t let me get off to a good start.

Angry and frustrated; I had a decision to make. I could decide that the day was a loss and move through it as quickly and painlessly as possible – with fast food as my guide – or I could figure out a way to move past my frustration. So, I opened my Evernote to read some affirmations that I’m supposed to read on the daily. They all started making me feel a bit better and then I read – and re-read – the following . . .

“I accept that life is difficult and that leaning into the struggle adds to my balance” – Unknown

I’m not exactly sure who the author of that little line is – whoever it is, thank you. It’s important to remember that it’s not what comes into our day that makes us who we are – rather, it’s how we respond to it. So, I gave myself the time to sit and reflect on what had happened. I realized that part of what happened may have nothing to do with me directly and the part that did can likely be resolved by listening and understanding her point-of-view. I also realized that the situation was important but did not define me or my day and that I could move forward with what I wanted to accomplish.

Taking time to reflect on a difficult situation was a great way to lean into the struggle and the result it provided truly added balance to my life. I now have the ability to create my own result for the day rather than giving that power to those around me. While taking time to think about a difficult situation is wise, its action that renders results.

I e-mailed her saying I wanted to hear her point-of-view; a few minutes later we had a conversation about what had happened. Since my wife and I work together in many of our business ventures it’s important on many levels for us to have open communication. We leaned into our struggle and worked out a great balance. So, I guess there are two lessons to be learned that have a great connection to each other – Lean into your struggles and always create an environment of open communication. It amazes me that one little sentence can help affect positive change so much.

Until next time, focus on what you know and keep doing a better job of what you love to do.

PS: Do you have a struggle or difficult situation that you had to lean into? I would love to hear your stories of struggles and the lessons you learned from them.   While this is a business blog – it’s truly amazing how much we can use our personal lessons to build better businesses. So, if you can make a connection from a personal story to a business lesson – even better.

Born This Way

She reminded me of a young and possibly more outrageous Madonna. The eighties flare in her voice and that macho feminine swagger across the stage all brought me back to the bold ’90 release of Vogue. She opened her HBO special by getting ready for her show and gave us a glimpse of the troubled teenager that was unsure of her own worth and treated by those around her as if reaching for her dreams was ridiculous. When she came on stage – each outfit more intriguing and twisted – I saw a girl rising above her own voices and using her talent to show others they can do whatever it is they were born to do.

You might be wondering what a Lady Gaga concert could possibly have to do with helping your business improve. Though the costumes and scenery changed from song to song – the message was always the same: Be yourself. The lyrics to her very popular song “Born This Way” says it best “I’m on the right track, baby – I was born that way”. You might have a sense of who you are – but do you really know the people you’re working with and building your company with? You might have socialized with them from time to time and have a sense of who they are. It’s even more likely that they have hidden talents or work methods that you may have never seen.

Well, there is a great way to get amazing insight on the talents of your core team and an even better understanding of how they best fit into the business environment; and how they tend to work with others. Two tools that I have used for several years in my consulting practice tend to give a well rounded insight into the people you work with. Granted, there are many assessments out there that attempt to give you some of the same insight. However, I have found that the combination of these two tools provide a truly well rounded understanding and great insight.

The first is an amazing work released by the Gallup organization and is titled StengthsFinder 2.0. The actual assessment takes anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to complete. The result is a list of your top five talents. These are the strengths that you were born with – those things that you simply do really well naturally. I can tell you with absolute confidence that this one tends to be a game changer in many peoples’ lives. Once they know what they do well naturally people tend to focus on what they can do rather than what they can’t do.  

The second is called a DISC assessment. This wonderful little assessment can be done completely online – as the StrengthsFinder can – and the result is a very simple matrix of how you tend to interact with the world around you. Talk about structuring a team for the best possible outcome – this assessment will tell you who the natural leaders are and who will make the best team players. It will even help you understand why some people seem flaky – they're usually not; rather they are the amazing creative’s amongst us – and which team members will love repetitive tasks; no matter how mundane those tasks seem to be.

When you decide to take this journey into knowing your team better there are a couple of things I really want you to keep in mind . . .


Be Positive: Never use someone’s strengths against them or make them feel bad because of their strengths. No strength can be called good or bad – it is how you use your strengths that determine a positive or negative result. The same goes with the DISC assessment. Never put someone in a box based on the result – its purpose is to help you work better together. If you’re not sure how to best navigate your teams strengths have a consultant come in and help you – yes, that was a plug.


Own Yourself: Really take some time to understand what your strengths are and how they will help you and your team accomplish whatever goals you have. I would even suggest putting your results in some kind of a frame and hanging it on your wall in the office or at home. Really tune into these super-powers you have. You could even put them on placeholders for a team meeting and spend time talking to others about strengths that are similar to yours or ones that you don’t have to better understand your team.


So, what’s the end game here; what difference will it really make? Well, the more you have people working together that you know will naturally gel, the more they will enjoy their work. The same goes for putting someone in a position to constantly be working in their strengths. The more someone does the things they are really good at naturally, the more they will enjoy what they do. It just feels good to know you’re on the right track because you were born that way. It’s easy to make the connection that happy and motivated team members bring a boatload of productivity, creativity, and heightened efficiency to the team. And we both know that all these things translate to higher profits.

Until next time, focus on what you know and keep doing a better job of what you love to do.

PS: Are there any tools that you use and think will help other entrepreneurs? Any suggestions you have for building a better team are very welcome. Do you have issues with your team that you would like advice about? Post a reply and I’ll be happy to post a response. 

Hello World

I never thought of myself as a “blogger” and so most of my written creations rest comfortably in word documents somewhere. I admit I have tried my hand at blogging now and again – only to delete and re-create my blog account (on several occasions) - in hopes that I might re-invent myself and discover a different point-of-view. I’m now 36 years old and have finally realized that I’ve been on my path all along. With several successful businesses and satisfied clients under my belt I have only now realized that I don’t have to call myself a project manager or a process improvement consultant. No, I am very simply a Business Improvement Consultant; that utilizes my experience doing what I love best – helping businesses do a better job at what they love to do.

Through all of the businesses, jobs, and clients; I have done a few things really well – well enough to be highly recognized and appreciated. I have utilized my love for IT, project management, and process improvement to solve problems that many businesses found difficult to solve on their own. I have also found that I have a true love for the entrepreneurs of the world. Those individuals that may be seen by many as the underdogs and know for themselves that success is a must. The “no matter what it takes” attitude that drives these individuals is the driving force of success in our country and others.

Ok, this is me stepping down from my little soap-box; forgive me – I get a little excited when I start talking about entrepreneurs as I have been one myself almost my entire working life. That being said, I am now looking to expand the ways I can assist entrepreneurs by starting a problem solving blog. I will use this blog to post anything from helpful rants from myself to links to other helpful articles. As my consulting practice expands and I get into new areas of helping businesses I will use this space to provide any insight I might have on helping entrepreneurs. Anything that I know will help small businesses do a better job at what they love to do.

My wife and I have now started Rappa Enterprises to house all of our consulting work. She and I have been partners in many business endeavors. She would provide the highly creative marketing and business development consulting while I held to the improvement side with a bend toward technology. We have now decided to join forces once again and help businesses expand through creative solutions that range from better processes and business structures to assisting companies with acquisitions.

It’s a very exciting time in this country for small business. I know what you might be thinking, with the dragging economy and some governmental institutions making things harder on small business how can I say it’s an exciting time? Well, the excitement comes from what it means to be an American businessperson or an American at all – it is the desire to stand up to adversity and shout “I will win!”. It’s that little voice that says no one gets to tell us what we can’t do. It’s the spirit of the entrepreneur that says the underdog can and will rise to the occasion.

Ok, I warned you before that I get a little excited. Anyway, I invite you to keep coming back and take advantage of all the resources I will be providing every week. And please, feel free to e-mail or post any business issues you might be dealing with. Until next time, focus on what you know and keep doing a better job of what you love to do.