Wasted $800 on a fancy CRM tool I didn't need

I fell for a sales pitch for a high-end CRM last year, thinking it would fix all my client follow-up problems. $800 later and I realized it was way too complex for my small operation. All I really needed was a simple spreadsheet tracker and a reminder app I already had. The onboarding took 3 weeks of my time that I could've spent on actual client work. Anyone else get burned by overspending on software that promised more than it delivered? What do you use for tracking clients that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

alext529d ago

The spreadsheet and calendar combo honestly does the job for most small businesses.

lisab329d ago

Oh man, @alext52 totally nailed it. I've seen way too many people jump into expensive project management tools when they barely have 5 clients. A good spreadsheet with a shared calendar can track tasks, deadlines, and payments just fine. It's free or cheap and everyone already knows how to use it. Once you have more than a handful of people or projects maybe then you need something fancier, but for most small operations it's honestly the sweet spot.

blair_torres709d ago

Respectfully disagree with you AND @lisab32 on that one.