I’m a creature of habit, especially in the morning.
After waking up, I make my kids breakfast and prepare them for school. Then I work out, eat breakfast, grab coffee, walk upstairs to my office, and stand at my desk.
The first thing I do is open my CRM. About a year ago, I started a company, Engine Awesome, with my friend Timothy and I need to stay in consistent communication with customers, potential customers, partners, and potential partners. Essentially, anyone related to our business.
My approach to using the CRM might be different from others. While most people focus on sales leads, I prefer to concentrate on people in general. Anyone even remotely connected to our company is in my CRM. This is exactly why we created Engine Awesome, the ability to quickly build software that works the way you work.
Initially, I look at support requests. Our ticketing system logs this information in the CRM, making it simple to see who needs assistance. Customers are my top priority, so I personally respond to their concerns.
After addressing support requests, I check for new leads that have come in. Our website’s contact form pipes these inquiries straight into my CRM. I enjoy answering each question personally and directly. I’m always happy to provide information about Engine Awesome and honestly assess if it’s a right fit for them. Often, we end up scheduling a Zoom call to discuss their needs. This is one of the aspects of my job I genuinely love – meeting new people.
Next, I focus on users who dropped out of our sign-up funnel. Some provide their email address but never activate their account. We strive to make the sign-up process and application installation a one-click experience, but there’s always room for improvement. I make it a point to personally reach out to each of these individuals to learn about their interest in Engine Awesome and offer assistance. While some appreciate the gesture, others may not respond. They’re marked as “Follow up”, which is the group I check on next.
Every single person in my CRM gets a follow-up date. Seriously, EVERYONE. Whether you’re a customer, lead, partner, or someone I just want to stay in touch with, I set a reminder to check in. It could be weeks, months, or even next year, but I’m committed to staying connected. If your follow-up date is today, you can expect to hear from me.
Like most CRMs, ours allows me to filter on each of these groups, but it was becoming somewhat tedious. I had to click on different facets to get the results I needed. For example, contacts marked “follow up,” where the date equals today or is in the past. During a meeting with Timothy I shared my routine and mentioned that preset search filters would be incredibly helpful for our clients and me. Two days later, he implemented this feature, and within 24 hours, all of our application templates were updated with built-in filters.
This is one of the things I love about having a small company. You can deploy features that have a real impact on your customers’ lives quickly. We immediately heard from customers who appreciated this feature since it saved them tons of time and made it easy for all employees to look at the same information. Bam! Lives changed.
Simply put, our company is more than just a run-of-the-mill product; it’s our way of forging genuine connections and providing outstanding customer care. We keep things personal, ensuring we truly grasp our client’s needs and can adjust swiftly to make their lives easier.
In case you’re wondering, this is the CRM I use every day. We have another one, a CRM Suite, but I like to keep it simple. You can use either one as a starting point and modify them until they fit your workflow.
I’d love to hear about your morning routine. Let me know in the comments.
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