In every industry, vendors should aim to exceed customer expectations. However, in a space like IT consulting, going above and beyond the norm – and the competition – needs to be a standard practice. Clients rely on consultants for everything from operations and customer service to sales and marketing. To uphold high standards for work, complete projects on time and build loyal customer relationships in the process, consultants need to be fast, organized and constantly available.
In other words, disorganized spreadsheets simply won’t cut it. IT consultants can use CRM solutions to help enhance workflow, sales funnels and project management. With these critical operations under control, consultants can focus on going the extra mile when it matters the most – within individual customer relationships. That’s why, according to a recent independent TechValidate survey, more than half of Insightly’s consulting customers paid back their CRM investments in less than three months.
As the survey results show, even for consulting teams as small as one person, a CRM solution can help do the work of an additional employee. Below are X additional insights – and tips for using a CRM for IT consulting success.
- The three biggest challenges for IT consultants are organization, contact management and collaboration. Without up-to-date files and records, consultants can personalize interactions with customers or begin new projects with the client’s history in mind.
- CRM can improve business reporting at the executive level. CRM solutions give consultants an invaluable resource – time and space – which helps improve communications and reporting among team members, and gives executives a clear perspective of every business win.
- Seventy-three percent of consultants noticeably improved business efficiency after adopting a CRM. A CRM system can streamline client projects from start to finish – from lead call notes to automatically populated accounts – which results in happy customers and more profitable work.
- Using a CRM, consultants can deliver interactive, targeted customer support. With CRM data on their side, 71 percent of consultants surveyed grew their sales between 10 and 75 percent.
- It doesn’t take long for a CRM solution to prove its worth. Thirty-seven percent of IT consultants saw their CRM investment returned (and expanded) in less than a month.
In a fast-paced industry like consulting, dropping the ball on a seemingly minor task, such as missing a meeting or duplicating efforts, can sacrifice time, profit or even customers. CRM solutions ensure that every consulting team member has the resources, training and information they need to stand out from the competition and build meaningful client relationships.
Learn more business results reported by consultants that adopted CRM.
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about all of Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
