7 Hidden Costs Most CRM Companies Will Not Talk About When Selling Their Online CRM Systems

July 20, 2009 - PRLog -- Great reasons why most businesses are moving towards CRM systems
● Scalability: How well any system fits within your existing technology.
● Low requirements: Lower resource needs for internal IT infrastructure and expertise.
● Lower total costs: Online CRM systems generally save your company money and resources when compared with locally installed systems.

“Recently, I’ve been stunned at what I’ve learned about the things many vendors aren’t telling you about what it really costs to reach your goals with an online contact management or CRM system”, says Craig Klein, CEO of SalesNexus.com.  “We’ve put together a list of hidden costs and unpleasant surprises you need to be aware of and questions you need to be sure and ask the vendors you consider”.

Migrating Existing Data –importing this data is NOT included in the setup of most online contact management or CRM systems.  You’ll probably have two options – import a simple spreadsheet of basic contact data (names, phone #s, emails and addresses) yourself or pay a 3rd party consultant the vendor will connect you with.  Cost: $1,500 plus.

Database and Screen Customization – In order to get your team to use the system consistently, you’ve got to make it fit your business and their workflows.  Believe it or not, most vendors limit the number of additional fields you can add to the database and give you almost no control over where those fields are placed on the screen.  Again, if you want to get this right, you’re likely to be connected with 3rd party consultants. Cost: $2,000 plus.

Standard vs. Premium Support – Unfortunately, many CRM vendors will not take support calls or only commit to a 48 hour response time.  I don’t know about you but, when I need answers to keep my sales team running, 48 hours it too long.  Some vendors, including Salesforce.com, offer “Premium” support as an option.  Cost: $160.00 per user, per year or more.

Contract Term – the most common contract for online contact management and CRM vendors is one year.  Guess what, once you’re in, you can’t get out.  You pay up front for the year and you can’t get a refund if you want out.  Cost: $624.00 per user, per year.

Getting Your Data Back – In many cases, all you get is a bunch of SQL database tables or several separate excel files.  Then you’ll need a skilled database technician to make it useful again.  Cost - $1,500 plus.

Sending Emails – many contact management or CRM systems now offer the ability to “blast” emails to a list of contacts.  However, there are normally limits on how many you can send.  You can’t send over a certain amount at one time (as low as 100) and there’s a cap on the total number sent in a month.  Cost: $0.25 per email (time and resources).

Receive a free complete breakdown of the hidden costs when purchasing an online CRM and specific questions to ask potential vendors – download “7 Hidden Costs of Online CRM”.

SalesNexus
2855 Mangum, Suite 570
Houston, Texas 77092
(800) 862-0134
sales@salesnexus.com
http://www.salesnexus.com/freetrial.php

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SalesNexus is one of the best kept secrets in the contact management CRM arena. The company, founded in 2002 by Craig Klein, is built on the premise that businesses win when their sales staffs implement best practices through efficient contact management.