Why I Generally Don’t Do 3rd-Party Nimble CRM integrations

As a Nimble CRM Solution Partner, I am frequently asked by clients to assist them with integrating Nimble with one or more 3rd-party applications. The short answer is … sorry, but I probably cannot. The reasons for this are more detailed.

With probably 100,000’s of business apps available on the web, the chances that I am familiar with your favorite application is probably close to zero. I have not even heard of, let alone worked with, 99.999% of the applications that are out there.

I have been with Nimble for a very long time and I know it very well. That is my focus and it is why I do not represent other CRM’s. I also have chosen not to integrate my Nimble account with any other application other than Google for my email and calendar.

I would not be able to properly advise my clients about their other applications, any 3rd-party data connectors, and how they might interact with Nimble. If they insist on doing this without my help … I’m cool with that, but I’m also not responsible for the results (good or bad). In fact, my attempting to create these integrations could be a disservice to my customers.

I do understand the allure of “connected” systems. Certainly, in an enterprise organization with an unlimited budget and a full-time support team … these things might make sense. Trying to replicate these luxuries as a small or solo business on a limited budget … not good. Attempting to connect two or more applications to Nimble? Chaos.

Largely, it’s a matter of expectations. People hear the term “integration” and their imagination is filled with rainbows and unicorns. Life will be perfect. I’m here to burst your bubble. Integrations may be partial. They may be one-way vs two-way. They may or may not place one application inside the other. Do your homework first!

I personally match the solo business definition and I have a limited budget and even more limited patience. I like things to be simple. Worrying about how two apps “talk” to each other, and managing those “conversations”, is not in my DNA and nor is it in my best interests.

What I can do is to advise my clients of the available options to accomplish their goals. This does not mean that I can implement those. For example, let’s say that you wish to move contacts from an outside web-based source to Nimble. Generally, there will be at least two options …

Export contacts as a .csv file for import to Nimble. If you can do the export, I can assist with the import to Nimble.
Connect your application to Nimble via Zapier. I can advise, however, I don’t know your application, how it works, or how it integrates with Zapier. We would both be learning.

I recently had a fairly high ranking person at Nimble ask me if I would be interested in having them send people to me who needed help with integrations. My answer, of course, was “no”. Even Nimble doesn’t want to deal with it.

Are you thinking about a CRM? If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to www.calendly.com/craigmjamieson .

To learn more about our Nimble training and implementation services, please visit our Nimble CRM training services page. Thank you!

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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!