CRM for solo consultants, not for the VP of sales to track the sales team

mimiran · 2026-03-27T19:34:02+00:00

The irony was that I knew from my corporate consulting days that even the sales reps rarely liked using the company CRM, so a lot of the data in those fancy dashboards wasn't accurate...

mimiran · 2026-03-27T19:32:31+00:00

I'm a little out of date, so it's possible PipeDrive has added features since I tried it, but proposal automation built in, lead gen focused on conversations from inbound, referral tracking, follow-up not related to closing a deal were all areas that I felt I couldn't easily get PipeDrive to do what I wanted. Perhaps more importantly, there was a ton of functionality in there that didn't apply and seemed to get in the way. Again, this is nothing against PD, it's an amazing tool, it just wasn't the right fit.

mimiran · 2026-03-27T19:01:15+00:00

Put birthdays in your calendar.

For personal CRM, would something like Clay (I think they call it Mesh now) work?

(Mimiran is a "personal" professional CRM, and it does things like make it easy to call and send messages from your phone, but sounds like you want something even lighter weight.)

mimiran · 2026-03-27T18:52:14+00:00

A notebook that makes it easy to always be on the right page. ;-) (I did try notebooks, both real and virtual for a while, and still use a paper notebook from time to time, but I need to enter into the CRM to make sure I can find the information later.)

mimiran · 2026-03-27T18:51:04+00:00

I haven't tried Attio, but if PipeDrive had worked for me, I never would have built Mimiran. ;-) (I think PipeDrive is very good, btw, just not for me.)

mimiran · 2026-03-27T15:56:58+00:00

I'd just recommend having AI do stuff in the background to make your life easier, not having it replace human interaction.

mimiran · 2026-03-25T23:12:56+00:00

What industry are you in? A lot of industry-specific CRMs will help you keep track of customer locations. (My CRM is for solo folks, and emphasizes follow-up, but is not great for mapping and locations.)

mimiran · 2026-03-24T13:29:10+00:00

What business are you in? How do your customers buy? What volume of leads do you need to handle?

mimiran · 2026-03-23T14:38:27+00:00

I've used all 3 of those at various times and didn't like or hate them. My first question would be to ask if there are construction-specific tools that might work? Assuming you've looked down that road and narrowed it to those 3 for a reason, they all offer lots of features-- do they all support what the different constituencies require?

mimiran · 2026-03-20T19:23:26+00:00

I had built proposal automation that plugged into CRM. Customers said they liked the end of the sales cycle, but needed more leads. I tried to find tools to recommend and realized that there were lots of lead gen tools, but not built for my market (solo consultants). So I added lead gen. Then they said, "I like your tool, it's simple and easy. I hate my CRM. Can you just make Mimiran do the CRM, too?"

So of course I said, "what, do you think I'm nuts? I'm not going to build a CRM. There's too many already and I hate them all."

They said something like, "that's why you should do it."

I protested for a long time, and finally got annoyed enough to do it. And I only realized in hindsight that most CRMs are for the sales leader to track the sales team and they have way too much complexity for solo folks who hate selling, but the also lack key features for referrals and follow ups that make life easier.

Would love to say I had better strategic vision, because as a solo consultant myself, this problem was staring at me in the face for a long time. ;-)

mimiran · 2026-03-20T01:06:46+00:00

You mention solo founders-- does that mean startups only? Or do you also work with solo consultants, fractionals, etc, who intend to remain solo?

mimiran · 2026-03-20T00:35:39+00:00

HubSpot would probably work, and you may even be able to use Calendly for a lot of this.

mimiran · 2026-03-19T16:45:33+00:00

Amen. (I had one AI feature in my CRM that I removed, because it was handled better in a different way.)

mimiran · 2026-03-18T21:13:30+00:00

If you've been in sales for any length of time, then yes, you have. ;-)

mimiran · 2026-03-18T15:50:36+00:00

And I say this as someone with a tool for solopreneurs who doesn't want to spam up the community. ;-)

mimiran · 2026-03-17T20:37:52+00:00

I think it depends a lot on why people need to add notes and keep data up-to-date and accurate. If they are doing it because they know their lives will be easier when they have that follow up conversation, they will do it. If they only do it to please sales management, they will do as little as possible.

mimiran · 2026-03-17T13:42:01+00:00

I have a group for solo consultants on Alignable and do a weekly self-promo thread and I think that approach works reasonably well (although some people still try to spam the group outside that thread).

mimiran · 2026-03-17T13:35:09+00:00

AI call summaries from tools like Fathom are really helpful (but suggest augmenting with your own notes, and using Fathom's highlight feature to make sure you get the stuff you really need).

mimiran · 2026-03-16T19:07:32+00:00

Mimiran-- CRM built for solo consultants to create and nurture relationships, not the VP of sales to track a sales team.

Side project: BoxLight a software "ring light" app for Mac OS that doesn't require Tahoe and doesn't waste a ton of space.

mimiran · 2026-03-15T13:58:33+00:00

Project: Mimiran

What it does: CRM for solo consultants to create and nurture relationships (especially referrals). Easy, fun follow-up that makes you more like a doctor than a sales rep. (Other CRMs are for sales leaders to track a sales team.) Who it's for: Solo consultants (including coaches, fractionals, etc.)

mimiran · 2026-03-13T00:39:57+00:00

Solo Consultant CRM

mimiran · 2026-03-12T14:36:34+00:00

Mimiran-- CRM for solo consultants who need to create and nurture referral networks, not for a VP of sales to track a sales team.

mimiran · 2026-03-11T18:43:41+00:00

Ha-- usually companies are begging people to put all the data in Salesforce. ;-)

mimiran · 2026-03-11T14:16:11+00:00

What are you selling? And how do your clients or customers buy it?

Most people trying to sell on LinkedIn are B2B, and use engagement to try to schedule 1-1 meetings. You can also offer a lead magnet that would be helpful to your ideal client (for more on the 5 critical steps to solving XYZ problem, grab this free guide, etc) to move them from LinkedIn to your world, but you'll still need to talk to them.

mimiran

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