
I’ve been keeping an eye on some full scale
CRM programs in the cloud and a number of simple and less complicated CRMs for small business for many months now and have some exciting news to report.
Pipeline Deals, a simple and easy to use
CRM for small business, finally made a big change to their cloud-based
CRM. They integrated a two-way sync with Google Contacts and Calendar. They are also on the Google Marketplace, making signing in a cinch. A two-way sync makes
Pipeline Deals miles ahead of most other online Customer Relationship Management systems. I am surprised that Zoho, Tactile, Highrise, Batchbooks and most other companies have not integrated a two way sync. So why is this such exciting news for small business? If you are like me, I’ve completed switched from Microsoft products to a Cloud-based business. My business is run using the following: a Mac, an iPhone, Google Apps, Dropbox and
37Signals’ Basecamp. I did not use a
CRM, because nothing synced well with my
“Office in the Clouds.” I’ve been testing out Pipeline Deals
CRM and so far…so good! I can make an appointment with Google Calendar, and it shows up in my Pipeline
CRM account. Also, if I create a new contact on my iPhone, that syncs to Google Calendar, which then syncs to Pipeline Deals. I must add
4 items for my
Pipeline wish list to make it an almost perfect program:
- I’d love to see a Native iPhone and Android App, and not web-based. The current mobile version does work well but has its limits. The scheduling of an appointments do not work well on Pipeline’s mobile version, for example. But now I can just continue to use Google Calendar!
- Make the flow of creating a new lead to customer easier (currently a bit confusing where to start and enter data).
- Creating and managing deals (opportunities) are a bit confusing as well. I’d stick to what people are familiar with: Opportunities. I’m still figuring out how to use “deals”
- Make the Mobile Version’s activities (events) with more details: location, time, reminder, (like Google/Outlook details). It is currently more setup for “Task” that activities
All in all,
Pipeline Deals is excellent for tracking your sales on the go! Now that it is one of the first to truly sync with Google Apps, it makes it my favorite! Pipeline will get my business, and I’ll stay with them…especially if they make my wishlist come true. Get a copy for your estimator/salesperson today. It is only $
15 a month!