ET CRM (adpated from https://pixabay.com/en/ipad-tablet-technology-touch-820272/)

Software as a Service (SaaS) based noCRM.io has launched an alternative to CRM under the tagline: “you don’t need a CRM”. The company believes that too may are wasting time managing their customers rather than converting prospects into customers. It delivers lead management through ‘Lead Clipper’, advanced prospecting, conversation tracking and mobile business card recognition.

noCRM.io wants to simplify and improve the way SMEs manage their sales process. To do this noCRM.io focuses on lead management, not on customer relationship management. It has designed a tool which aims to fit the way sales professionals operate. Sunny Paris, CEO, noCRM said: “Frustrated with the solutions that were available to me when I was running sales teams, I decided to fix the problem. noCRM.io is already returning huge value for our 2000+ clients”.

Sunny Paris, noCRM (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnyp/)
Sunny Paris, noCRM

The problem with CRMs

The CRM solution business is full of bulky, complex and data input heavy software. According to noCRM.io this ‘compromises sales professionals’ time’. In contrast noCRM.io:

  • limits data input
  • is mobile friendly
  • focuses only on prospecting, leads and sales reporting plus forecasting.

Traditional sales CRM focuses on contacts – clients or prospects. CRM becomes a contact, people, company, prospect and client database, a record of past interaction. This sounds natural but it comes with a cost. Before being able to start working on a prospect, a salesperson has to create a company record, add a contact, add the opportunity and decide upon a ‘to-do’. For an opportunity that may lead nowhere this wastes time.

For many SME sales people, the opportunity is the most important element. The opportunity represents a specific need which a sale might answer. Thus, a sales application should focus on opportunities. The contacts are the means to reach to future needs. Even if the contact leaves, most opportunities will remain until won, lost or abandoned.

To noCRM.io, a salesperson needs to answer one question every morning: “What are the opportunities that I have to manage today?” If a new opportunity arises, it creates it in seconds from a prospect file, a mobile, a business card or e-mail. CRM tools are based on contact databases create complexity for salespeople.

For SMEs, most CRM solutions are complex, onerous and expensive, wasting selling time by inputting detailed CRM data. Only when all the data is entered can a lead be added. All this diverts the sales person from his or her primary goal: acquiring new customers and making sales. To solve this, noCRM.io built a feature set designed around SME sales peoples’ needs.

What is the appeal?

According to noCRM.io, its appeal comes in three categories.

For sales people the attractions are:

  • the focus is on real leads, not on contacts
  • it is simple to start with and painless to use
  • less time to update means more time to sell and win business
  • there is always a next step – no lead is left aside.

For managers, and sales managers, the attractions include:

  • the ability to follow and support the sales team.
  • global views and detailed reports, which enable managers to keep track of sales business activities
  • customization: the solution can fit each business.

For those responsible in SMEs for IT, the minimal installation, maintenance and lack of hidden costs will appeal:

  • there is no software to install – it is SaaS-based
  • common user ‘devices’ – like browsers, tablets and smartphone – access the application
  • the price includes maintenance, updates and support
  • security: access is via SSL only
  • there is daily data backup (which the noCRM.io customer can export anytime).

What does it mean?

noCRM.io is a plug and play service which allegedly requires minimal set-up. There is no capital cost upfront. Pricing is linear, on a per user per month model. This ranges in the US from $10 to $17 per month, which is not punishing per salesperson. noCRM.io claims to have a switch-on/switch-off, no contract approach. The monthly price includes customer service and data backup.

Does it all sound too good to be true? Most enterprises acknowledge the complexity of their CRM ‘solutions’. Considering that the CRM marketplace is likely to continue growing, a different lead management approach may make sense for SMEs. In noCRM.io’s case, the proof will be in increased seats and increased sales.

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Charles Brett is a business/technology analyst consultant. His specialist areas include enterprise software, blockchain and enterprise mobility tech (including metering). Specific industry sectors of interest and experience include finance (especially systems supporting wholesale finance), telecommunications and energy. Charles has spoken at multiple industry conferences, has written for numerous publications (including the London Times and the Financial Times). He was the General Chair of the bi-annual High Performance Systems Workshop, 2005. In addition he is an author and novelist. His Technology books include: Making the Most of Mobility Vol I (eBook, 2012); Explaining iTunes, iPhones and iPads for Windows Users (eBook, 2011); 5 Axes of Business Application Integration (2004). His published novels, in the Corruption Series, include: The HolyPhone Confessional Crisis, Corruption’s Price: A Spanish Deceit and Virginity Despoiled. The fourth in The Corruption Series - Resurrection - has is now available. Charles has a B.A. and M.A in Modern History from the University of Oxford. He has lived or worked in Italy, Abu Dhabi, South Africa, California and New York, Spain, Israel, Estonia and Cyprus.

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