[consulting] Customer Relationship Management software

[Bill Fitzgerald]

Has anybody checked out erp?

http://drupal.org/project/erp

Cheers,

Bill

Gary Feldman wrote:
> Lists wrote:
>
>> "Jason Flatt" wrote:
>>
>>  
>>
>>>> So far, nobody has mentioned how they're dealing with this problem 
>>>> *today*.
>>>>     
>>> I'm mostly using bits of paper in heaps, misplaced documents on my 
>>> hard drive
>>>   
>>
>> Ditto. ;)
>>
>> (Oh, and AppleScript and FileMaker.)
>>
>>  
>>
> My take on this is that CRM brings to mind organizations that have 
> dedicated sales people and account managers - which doesn't describe 
> the typical small consultancy.  The reason is that many CRM tools are 
> about sharing information, getting the information to the right 
> internal department, and allowing new people to get up to speed 
> quickly, or coworkers to step in when someone is on vacation.  In a 
> way, sharing is implied by any sort of web-based solution (which, of 
> course, is what a Drupal-based solution is, even if it's just a 
> personal web server running on your laptop).
>
> That doesn't mean there's no need for helpful tools.  Recently, I came 
> across a good deal on Microsoft's new Small Business Accounting 
> package, which includes some customer features, and is likely to meet 
> most of my needs.  For that matter, Quicken's business edition 
> includes customer lists and invoicing, though it lacks the power and 
> comprehensiveness.  Either one should be adequate for those tasks.
>
> It's the todo lists that are harder to deal with.  While I like trac 
> as a tracking tool, for a one-person shop it's hard to beat the 
> Hipster PDA (see 
> http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda/).  
> What it lacks in engineering innovation, it makes up for in its 
> elegant simplicity.  And while you're at it, read David Allen's 
> Getting Things Done (see 
> http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting-things-done/, 
> or go to the horse's mouth at http://www.davidco.com/).  As a jaded 
> techie, I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of requiring 
> technological solutions.  And as a person with severe ADD, who can 
> spend hours researching new tools to keep me entertained while 
> working, I know that nothing has ever worked as well for me as a bunch 
> of index cards in my back pocket.  (I should have patented it 25 years 
> ago, when I was a summer programmer on a compiler project.)
>
> Gary
>
> PS  Since I hate tempting links that aren't close to what you 
> expected, let me provide full disclosure and say that the Hipster PDA 
> is nothing more than relying on index cards and binder clips to keep 
> things organized.  But go to that page, anyway.  It's worth seeing how 
> people are successful with other approaches.  And definitely get 
> Getting Things Done.
>
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----
Bill Fitzgerald
http://www.funnymonkey.com
Tools for Teachers
503 897 7160