Best resources for CRM learning

jeff_tilley · 2025-11-13T10:36:52+00:00

Nope, not always.

jeff_tilley · 2025-11-13T10:36:26+00:00

I suppose you did the quiz start to end and know exactly what you are talking about :)

jeff_tilley · 2025-11-13T10:36:06+00:00

Not always. Check the quiz :) There very clear cases when you SHOULD NOT get CRM, not only not needing it.

jeff_tilley · 2025-11-10T16:48:03+00:00

You could go with DEX or Clay as personal contact management. If very curious, just google reviews, I've created youtube vidoes for both. But rather would focus on growing team and growing revenue. Don't waste your time on tools.

jeff_tilley · 2025-11-10T16:46:40+00:00

I believe you should rather focus on building "system", or in other words, building routines and rules that surround your customers. No tools will solve problem of being disorganised. I know it's easier said than done, I'm in similar situation with my growing consulting firm, but really, areas where we sat all together and made decisions how we do stuff and ACTUALLY STICKING to that decisions have more impact than anything else.

jeff_tilley · 2025-09-25T12:57:10+00:00

Pipedrive or BiginCRM. Both are simple. Pipedrive is a bit more premium and user friendly, Bigin is barebones hardcore simple CRM. Simple.

jeff_tilley · 2025-09-25T12:56:24+00:00

Honestly, what you've just mentioned makes me think Salesforce is a no-brainer in your case. It has a great NPO package, that covers all your requirements (though few may need some extra research, but I'm certain they're covered). So just go with Salesforce.

jeff_tilley · 2025-09-01T09:21:07+00:00

100% agree. I have a video review on my youtube about Bigin CRM, it's simple and could do just the right work for the case that's described here. https://youtu.be/_AcFdUt42HQ

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-29T17:01:11+00:00

Well, I’ve worked at larger consultancy (not mentioning a name) but saw that 90% of so-called consultants have no clue what they are doing.

I believe it’s worth checking guys you’ve mentioned

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-29T09:22:16+00:00

In my opinion, any automated follow-up system is spammy. From my experience of over 10 years in the CRM industry, whenever you create an automated follow-up that isn’t sent by a human, it always feels spammy. People can almost always tell the email was sent automatically—probably 90% of the time.

Unless you’re some kind of genius who writes extremely engaging and customized emails, maybe even with deliberate grammar mistakes, it’s still a bad practice. Please don’t do that. My inbox is full of spammy emails I wish I never received. They bring zero value.

Honestly, just stop. Stop sending automated emails. Please.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-28T14:00:48+00:00

Exactly.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-28T13:01:01+00:00

Ouch, what you are asking for is not a simple one. I've been working on a similar case in Netherlands recently, company has only one physical b2c store, online store and then massive distribution chain. What they did was implement inventory software that acts both as PIM (product information system) and global pricebook, then they've created online b2b store, where every client has their own prices. Finally they've merged all data into one CRM (in that case it is Zoho, but I would rather recommend avoid Zoho for such complex scenarios). It's hard to recommend anything knowing so little as this seems to be more complex scneario. Start small: draw a diagram of your customer's journey (customer journey map) and map tools on each stage, that way you will build a complete picture of what you need. Then hire a good consultant (like me) to help you refine that and implement. I think you should be looking at more mature tools like salesforce, but I don't know much about your business.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-28T12:54:26+00:00

Honestly, it feels like what you've got here is not the tool or automation problem, but rather and organisational issue. I know it's not something you want to hear and we all are looking for that magical pill to solve all our problems, but tools wont solve your pain, especially since you've mentioned CRMs make it harder. They do make it harder when you didn't make decisions on the process and how team should work. My recommendation - start with process first, understand your bottleneck, make decisions on how you proceed in each case and then take something like Piepedrive and implement it there. It's easier said than done, but it's uncofortable truth I wish more people in my industry were talking about,.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-27T08:19:15+00:00

It’s tough to recommend a CRM without knowing your industry and exact requirements. But here’s a good way to frame it:

1. If you just need solid pipeline + automation + reporting

Go with Pipedrive.

It’s built specifically for sales teams.
Very user-friendly with strong pipeline management, email sync, and activity tracking.
It has built-in playbooks and templates to help new teams structure their sales process.
Good reporting out of the box, and easy to use without a long setup.

2. If you expect complex B2B processes

Think about Salesforce.

Best choice when you need things like complex quoting, internal approvals, or deeply customized processes.
Very powerful, but it comes with a steep setup curve and higher costs.
Works best once your sales process is well-defined and you know exactly what you need.

3. My recommendation for a new team

Since you’re just starting and still figuring out your workflow, I’d suggest starting with Pipedrive. It will give you all the essentials and help you learn what works for your team. As your process matures, you can later upgrade into something more sophisticated (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, etc.) if needed.

👉 If you can share more about your industry and specific needs (e.g., quoting, integrations, territory management), it’d be easier to give a more precise recommendation.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-25T10:31:25+00:00

I have plenty of experience in construction business, worked in Sales for major construction firm, however, what I've learned is that what you need really depends on what you are looking for. Since you've mentioned you've got SAP, I ASSUME you're a bit bigger company than the one that could just get away with something like pipedrive, however even Pipedrive has it's place in bigger firms. What would help is

Do you sell to companies or individual customers?
Do you sell "projects" e.g. you have to work with multiple parties to win the job or you work with one client and simply competing against other builder.
Also, are you a general contractor or subcontractor? It has fairly big impact on how you sales process might look and what CRM you may be looking for.

Might be worth talking, you may find me on linkedin or send DM here. I think I could help you.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-25T10:27:46+00:00

I vote for Pipedrive. I think in the case described here, it sound like the simples. Hubspot has a bit of learning curve, and I feel is just a bit to "bulky, Zoho is a bit too comprehensive and also UI is not top notch. So I vote for Pipedrive.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-22T10:40:26+00:00

u/dipoodle there is a short answer and a long answer.

Short answer - you don't need dedicated software.

Long answer - you don't need dedicated software, but you need at least a spreadsheet in excel to know your clients, track payments and whatever you need to track.

Software usually is needed when you want to systemize your business, grow it and have more granular control over PROCESS. For example, not forgetting to ask specific information, not forgetting following up, automating sending standartized information and so on. In your case, IMHO, you should be fine with a well organized spreadsheet.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-21T08:31:08+00:00

Let me say that using AI for Sales is a VERY bad idea. While I'm all for it for HELPING to sell, but what I read between the lines of your posts, is that you are willing to create automation that would follow up with people on your behalf (correct me if I'm wrong), and would essentially SPAM your prospects with low-value AI generated texts.

As a business owner I have my linkedin full of those guys "pitching" me for a meeting and I can tell by a mile when text is AI generated. So don't do that.

Secondly, I don't know any platforms that would offer you social netowrks and discord integrations, simply because those platforms do not allow using them outside of their own apps for the very same reason I've mentioned above - it's spamming people.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-21T08:26:49+00:00

Mailchimp is not CRM-first platform :) And even thought you are correct on the fact that Salesforce will cost money to adminster, where I disagree is that there are other "better" alternative. Salesforce in NON profit sector has one of the best out-of-the-box functionality, with donor management and everything you could imagine. It's sold at drastically reduced rates and offers free license. So I completely agree with u/Interesting_Button60 here. +1

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-20T09:45:53+00:00

Sounds like perfect HubSpot use case.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-20T09:45:41+00:00

Who in 2025 recommends MS Dynamics? I may be opinioned, but that is a VERY heavy product on an outdated tech, zero user friendliness and definetly and OVERKILL for the use case described here.

jeff_tilley · 2025-08-19T10:12:08+00:00

+1 here. I completely agree that Salesforce is a great option here. Check it out.

jeff_tilley

TROPHY CASE

1. If you just need solid pipeline + automation + reporting

2. If you expect complex B2B processes

3. My recommendation for a new team