Less Annoying CRM

For frustrated entrepreneurs who know a HUGE number of people…

Okay, I WAS going to write this just for entrepreneurs, but after writing the whole thing, I realize I want to share it with EVERYONE.

For entrepreneurs, I just want to share something I have been seeking for YEARS, and finally just found a few days ago. Do you know what a CRM system is? That stands for Customer Relations Management. It’s basically a computerized Rolodex that gives us lots of features to help us keep track of all the customers and prospects we have, and where we’re at with them. It reminds us what they have requested of us, keeps track of our appointments with them, and helps us follow-up and not forget things. There are MANY different systems that do this, and they can run from $0 to around $500 per month. The most expensive systems send automated messages to your contacts, etc., and personally, that is something I hope I never do, no matter how successful I become. Why? Because I find those “personalized” impersonal automated messages really annoying on a social and emotional level… especially the ones that are so well-written that at first I think they are actually personally written to ME!… only to be let down and realize I am a unit, a number, “just” a customer. The cheapest (free) systems don’t allow for much adjustment to suit your own particular business needs… it’s very “cookie-cutter, take it or leave it, one size fits all”.

But in any case, the truth is, I know a LOOOOOOTTTT of people. And I like to keep it personal. And while I like to think I have a good memory, the fact is I can’t keep track of many things that actually do matter to me about each individual I know. My Dad was one of the first people to use a “Palm Pilot” a couple of decades ago, and I discovered, in the most lovely way, how he used TECH to enhance the very personal, caring nature of his relationships. He was always taking a couple of minutes to jot down little notes in this device. I didn’t pay it much mind (“Oh, there goes Dad and his TECHIE stuff.” — insert eye-roll here), but I noticed that he would always remember to ask people things that showed he had listened very closely to their previous conversation, and tried to follow up and help them with their needs and goals.

Many years later (Feb. 2008), when he was on what turned out to be his death bed, my Dad was on life support after a very tragic and dramatic fall. The whole family flew in to pay our last respects and to support one another. We (per my mother and father’s wishes) turned off life support and had a last incredibly meaningful and memorable few moments. We went back to one of the large, cozy rooms this hospital had for family members grieving. The moment came — the announcement that my father had passed, and we were all consoling one another for a good while. We were just barely collecting ourselves emotionally, and suddenly we all heard my Dad’s palm pilot go off. We looked at each other with that, “Oh, dear. Ugh. Powerful sentiment. And what do we do NOW?” kind of look. My sister Mary Pat had brought my Dad’s Palm Pilot for him, and she had planned to re-purpose it. Everyone freaked a little. I asked her to hand it to me, because I would want to see ANYTHING from my Dad at that point.

I opened it up, clicked on the reminder, and up came this one task: “Give Mom Live, Laugh, Love.” I kid you not. So I read it out loud to a stunned room who became an incredibly BLUBBERY room… truly the spitting image of my always-sentimental father. Easy with his happy, loving tears. Walter Bergenn keeps loving and guiding even after his death — that is one COMMITTED DUDE!

Let this be a reminder that while TECH will never replace the human touch, the looking into someone’s eyes and listening; those of us who love “warm, fuzziness”, and “CONNECTION” should really UTILIZE TECH to enhance our ability to serve our highest Purpose. If you really want to help people be happy, healthy, reach their goals, etc… there’s nothing impersonal about being well-organized in how you do it.

That said, here is a link (http://www.lessannoyingcrm.com/a/32) to a system I have just chosen to utilize to make my next big leap in organizing my “customer” relations, which is really about organizing to best meet the needs of EVERYONE I know and care about. It’s on the way-inexpensive side, is service-oriented, and the system is pretty intuitive. Plus it allowed me to upload our Longevity Community Questionnaire! How cool is that?

Thanks for reading! Delight in your business, and share the Joy!

T. Bergenn