Great CRM and Project Management tools for our Audio Visual Integration and Production Company.
June 08, 2015
Great CRM and Project Management tools for our Audio Visual Integration and Production Company.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Pro
Overall Satisfaction with Insightly
Insightly has become the backbone for the way we monitor and manage our business relationships with our clients. We use it a CRM, but we also use it for our project management as well. Both our Production/Rental Division as well as our Integration division use the product from the initial contact with a client, through the entire sales process and on through the completion of a project...and even beyond. I can log every customer, document every conversation, set appointments and follow ups, load relevent documents, create projects and manage resources. It has a healthy reporting system as well that allows us to review our past business to look for trends. This is not just a tool....it has become THE tool for the way we manage our business.
- Organization - Insightly easily stores all my client contact information, but also allows me to link my contacts to organizations, opportunities and projects. I can upload documents or pictures, create notes, schedule reminders, add or assign tasks, and even keep email records. All my pertinent information is in one spot that is cloud based and accessible from anywhere.
- Task list - Everyone has a to-do list, whether it is pen/paper based or digital. Insightly's TASK list is the very backbone of how I stay on top of things. I can assign tasks to myself per the client, or the Opportunity or the Project. All my Tasks are available in a single TAB with a link back to the associated source where all the pertinent information is located. I can also assign Tasks to other team members when a portion of their project is due. Monitoring these Tasks is super easy and keeps me from dropping balls.
- Project Management - Our projects are nearly always less that $500k with the majority being less than $200k. We don't need heavy project management tools, and Insightly is perfect for us. We are able to take a project from the initial pre-sale client contact, through the sales process, into the project execution and all the way to project close, all within one application.
- Notifications - Right now, the Notifications are an "all or nothing" process. I can "follow" a project and request notifications, but that means I will get every single notification related to that Project, whether it applies to me or not. My email can get overwhelmed, so I've turned it off. The notifications need to be more specific, so if I post a NOTE, I should be able to assign only the people that need to see that note to get a Notification. As it is, if I post something that is relevant and necessary for someone to see, I have to send a separate email to notify that person.
- Pipeline - There is a pipeline feature that is a great idea, but at this time is completely linear and non-flexible. It assumes that B cannot be completed until A is done. When your project has several things going on simultaneously, there needs to be greater flexibility in managing it.
- The most important effect that Insightly has had on our company is the unified organization of information available to the entire company. If someone leaves the company, or is just out sick, all of the info for their clients and their projects is available for management to use to keep business moving. For instance, I was called away for a family emergency and forgot to reschedule an in-house demo with a client. When the client showed up, my boss (the CEO of the Company) was able to review the client file, read the notes on the product demo and the client's needs and he was able to perform the demo himself. All of the information was right there to get him up to speed on why our client was there and what they needed.
- Efficiency is the next major positive impact that Insightly has brought. As a small, yet growing company, our employees have to be able to wear multiple hats and perform variety of functions. Insightly has brought such organization to my life that I am now able to keep much better track of all my daily tasks and in fact get so much more done in less time. My efficiency and productivity have increased dramatically.
Basecamp is the only other CRM software that we have used. Basecamp was good for managing our sales process, but once it shifted to a project, it didn't keep up with our needs. However, Basecamp had a much better notification system that allowed me to specify the person or persons that needed to be notified any time an opportunity was updated.
Insightly wrapped up the client contact information, sales opportunity, and project management all into a single application that has, to date, met the vast majority of our needs.
Insightly wrapped up the client contact information, sales opportunity, and project management all into a single application that has, to date, met the vast majority of our needs.