Thursday, February 5, 2009

One Million Acts of Green

Last fall, CBC and The Hour have mobilized Canadians to commit One Million Acts of Green. In partnership with Cisco, and the power of their 'Human Network Effect' the collective goal is to change how we live and how we treat the planet, one act at a time.

What is One Million Acts of Green?

One Million Acts of Green is a massive, nationwide environmental movement. It's not about overhauling your life it's about doing one single act.

The campaign officially kicked off on Tuesday October 21, 2008 at 11pm on The Hour. See http://green.cbc.ca/default.aspx

One Act of Green...
...Increased Our Bottom Line


We went green by virtually eliminating paper trails. With Infusionsoft, a customer relationship management software for small to mid-size companies. More low-cost / no-cost solutions at the bottom of this email.

No more paper... no more sticky notes... no more cocktail napkins (alright, maybe just the occasional one when my iPhone is low on battery juice...)

Saving 1 Day a Week
while increasing Conversion Rates
and Tripling Efficiency

In a nut shell, we do more in less time, not only have we gone green but we are now saving 1 day per week thanks to an automated, streamlined, organized system that keeps us accountable, increases conversion rates and triples our efficiency.

What is CRM?

If you've attended one of my Marketing Workshops (www.MarketingWorkshops.ca), you've heard me say "Your Database will Make You Rich, Your Products and Services will not." To say it's true is an understatement... I have over 300,000 records (contacts) in BC alone; Over a dozen landing pages (websites that capture leads); Hundreds of Email Templates, Documents, Faxes, and a Operational Procedures Manual that I've taken digital. Whether you have only a shoebox of contacts, lists with hundreds of entries, or an organized database of sorts, a CRM system will help you do more in less time.

According to DestinationCRM.com, "CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a company-wide business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability by solidifying customer loyalty. True CRM brings together information from all data sources within an organization (and where appropriate, from outside the organization) to give one, holistic view of each customer in real time. This allows customer facing employees in such areas as sales, customer support, and marketing to make quick yet informed decisions on everything from cross-selling and upselling opportunities to target marketing strategies to competitive positioning tactics."

Simply put... you can put your follow up on steroids while your conversation rates and profits soar.

Business Benefits
of Customer Relationship Management


The UK Government's Small Business Services Department offered this practical advice:

"Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) solution might involve considerable time and expense. However, there are many potential benefits."

  • Increased Client Base
  • Increased Sales
  • New Profit Streams
  • Repeat Sales
  • Effective Target Marketing
  • More Personal Approach
  • Improved Profitability
  • Reduced Expenses
  • Reduced Cost of Client Acquisition



Three CRM Picks
that are low-cost and even no-cost

There are plenty of CRM systems out there. ACT and Maximizer for example have been on the market for a very long time. They require software to be installed on your computer while Saas (Software as a Service) aka hosted CRM solutions, they require just a browser, are accessible anywhere from any machine, and your data is backed up, and secure. Take it from someone that has implemented sales & marketing strategies wtih CRM for over 15 years at mom and pa shops and private swiss banks. You will want to go with a hosted system. Here are three picks, plenty more out there. I recommend you start by watching a demo that outlines the power that you can unleash with your CRM system. Infusionsoft has a great demo, FreeCRM and Salesforce offer free editions.