A Few Nimble CRM Questions Answered

A few months back, a gentleman that I know contacted me and asked if he could speak with me about CRM in general as well as Nimble CRM specifically. What follows are his questions and my answers.

First, a funny but true story! I remember taking a selling skills assessment some years ago and one of the questions was about CRM. To paraphrase … “What does a CRM do?”. This was multiple choice and I answered “It helps you sell more”.

I got it wrong. The correct answer was “It keeps contact records.” That, my friends, is the feature. Stupid me. I focused on the benefit.

How should you use CRM every day?

Check your dashboard and your calendar for activities and recurring reminders. Check your pipeline status. When you create a record, do so completely. When you complete a task, set a new task for follow-up. Do all CRM activities in real-time because you will never remember to do so later. Your contact record is a history of engagement and it is the life blood of your CRM as a sales tool. Watch this video of my recent webinar on YouTube.

Is it integrated with other marketing/sales tools? MailChimp, others.

Varies. Two-way email and calendar sync with Google, Microsoft, and Twitter. After that, it is a 3rd party integration. MailChimp is basically a one-way export to that platform although it can sync via PieSync. Some apps are fully integrated like PieSync and 366 Degrees. Still others might have some level of synchronization or might be connected with something like Zapier. Others might appear as part of the embedded web page (Bing and Bing maps). See Nimble CRM app integrations here.

Do you note every phone call, meeting – Zoom type or in person, emails of all types – email-messages in social media platforms. Add notes and any follow activities needed? Does Nimble automate any of these types of activities?

Emails and Twitter are logged automatically. Facebook and LinkedIn, several years ago, restricted this capability from third-party apps including Nimble. You can and should log these other activities although, via Nimble, this is done manually.

I am one of those few people that try to do all of the above but traditional CRM still is a data entry nightmare.

True but Nimble CRM does assist with contact creation from anywhere on the web including Gmail and Outlook. It fills in discovered data. This includes record updates.

Most CRM companies don’t understand that using a CRM as an inside salesperson and as an outside salesperson, are totally different environments. Entering all the information sitting behind a keyboard with headphones vs. outside salesperson on the move collection several new business cards all while on the move, are two different worlds.

Nimble does have mobile apps. If it helps you to sell more, you will make the time. I am very much a believer in quality actions. Activity vs. productivity.

Any other insights?

Any CRM should be a selling tool. Use tags and recurring reminders along with setting tasks. Nimble also offers extensive multi-value and/or search capabilities for use in exporting, group template messaging with tracking, as well as group updates for things like tagging and recurring reminders. To learn more about Nimble CRM, please check out my courses!

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!