Selling a home-based or other type of business opportunity or franchise is every bit as challenging as selling any other kind of service or product―perhaps even more so.  No matter how sound your business plan or how well developed your marketing plan may be, at the end of the day you’re still in the business of having to sell what it is you’re offering to just the right prospect at the right price.  And finding just the right prospect always starts with identifying and working a good lead.

In this day and age of internet-based and mobile marketing in particular those leads are likely to come from a myriad of sources―many more than would ever have been thought possible even a decade or two ago.  But the advent of this kind of technology when it comes to identifying a hot prospect has been both a blessing and a curse, for smaller businesses in particular.  Why?  Because managing all that incoming data can be downright overwhelming when it comes to your time.  And time, especially given any small business’ limited resources, is money!

That’s where CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software comes in.

For any business that wants to fully capitalize on its incoming sales leads, finding out more about CRM software, what it is and what it can do is a must.  The list of CRM’s capabilities when it comes to organizing leads and integrating and sorting them at every juncture along the sales continuum is very impressive.

And let’s face it, given that it can easily take anywhere from eight to twelve contacts with a lead before a sale is made, you need all the help you can get, right? 

CRM software enables you to initiate, manage and maintain your company’s prospect and ongoing customer relationships with greater efficiency than you ever imagined and therefore lower your costs.  In fact, it’s a modern staple of business management in the making.

Thanks to CRM software, you’ll be able to save countless hours on such cumbersome tasks as data entry, cross-referencing and identifying targeted contacts to receive specific information, to name just a few.  In addition, it’s a great way to not only identify your customers but to find out just how they’re responding to your marketing efforts and target each one in a more specific and tailored way to increase the likelihood of your ultimate success and make the sale.  In fact, a number of studies have shown that a good CRM software solution can actually increase response rates and ultimately sales to a significant degree.

So where do you start?

Choosing the CRM software solution – even for a cheap startup business – that is best for your business can be a challenge.  That’s for sure.  There’s just so much to choose from and pretty much every company offering these kinds of services makes the same claim―that theirs is the best.  Fortunately, there are many resources available free-of-charge on the internet that will guide you in your quest for the perfect CRM software solution to meet your business’ specific needs.  All it takes to get started is a little curiosity coupled with a willingness to ask questions and learn something new. 

Keep in mind that a number of companies offer free-trial CRM software solutions, which are especially helpful for small business owners who are trying their hand at CRM for the first time.  This is a great way to find out more about what software applications are available, what each one can do for you and which ones you may need most―all before you spend any real money.