A foolproof CRM system - and it costs less than £20.00

I'm going to take you back to the 90's.

I'm an Independent Financial Planner, offering fee-based advice to the Owner-Managers of small businesses.

Around 100 clients, paying me a regular monthly retainer.

There is about 25% turnover on the client-base each year, as people sell their businesses or take a break, and so I have to be constantly recruiting new clients.

Some things never change. 🙄

My CRM system is purchased from and updated by W H Smith every year and works as follows:

• Two plastic boxes;

• Two sets of 3x4 index cards (lined);

• Box #1 - one set of tabs - January to December;

• Box #2 - one set of tabs - 1-31;

• A pencil.

So every time a new prospect appeared over the horizon, I would complete a card with their name, company name, telephone number (we didn't have emails in those days).

After our initial telephone consultation (complimentary) I would propose that they came in to my office for an initial meeting (back in the day, that was free as well).

At the end of the first call I would ask if they wanted to book an appointment:

• Option 1 - let's get it booked - index card completed with meeting notes and dropped back into Box 1 if it was later that month or Box 2 if it were a month or more ahead;

• Option 2 - prospect says "I want to think about it", "I'm not ready yet", "I need to discuss with X" - in which case I ask "When would be a good time for me to contact you again?" - Whatever the timescale - a day, a month, 6 months, a year - meeting notes on the index card and back in the Box;

• At the end of every month, the Box 1 cards are reallocated into Box 2.

The system was foolproof, it never crashed, it sat on the corner of my desk and could be referred to every day.

Every morning, my assistant took the days index cards out of the box and left them at the corner of my desk - I knew how many calls I had to make, and that I had to make them.

I remember one potential client who I called once a year, on the same day, for 5 years - eventually the time was right for the client - and he told me "If this is what it's like being a prospect, it must be amazing to be one of your clients."

It is.

But you get my point - it's not essential to have fancy computers, mind-boggling software, cleverly constructed autoresponders.

I'm not trying to put the CRM people out of business - if your software is working, don't fix it.

But if you need to make start, have a team that are already working their tripe out, already have Practice Management Software and are worried about "yet another platform to log in to", - if you could use a simple solution - pop to Smiths (or on to Amazon) and get started - don't get analysis paralysis trying to choose the right software system.

My boxes never failed me - then I bought a laptop.........