"What's the best CRM?"
I get asked this question often and a lot of advisors are surprised by my response.
Not long ago there were very limited options for advisors – Redtail, Wealthbox, and Salesforce were the only Customer Relationship Management systems built for advisors. Now, thanks in part to AI, there are over 30 CRMs that market themselves to advisors. And new apps are entering the market at lightning speed.
With the myriad options available, it's only natural to wonder if you're using "the best" CRM. So it's no surprise that I get this question a lot.
People ask me this question because I've seen - and configured - a lot of them.
I am privileged to work with advisors on all sorts of platforms. Some are migrating out of old systems and into new ones. Others are optimizing their existing CRM to make take advantage of enhanced feature releases. I even have the honor of working with companies who are nearing market release - previewing systems and providing feedback during their alpha testing. I see a lot of cool variances in these systems – different user interfaces, different native integrations, and of course - different pricing models. All this intel means that I can spot a winner.
And after seeing all of these applications, both in-use and pre-production, here's my take:
The best CRM you can buy is the one you enjoy using.
Hear me out, I have a good reason for that recommendation.
I've worked with solo-advisors who have optimized trusty-dusty Redtail so well that they can very effectively serve 100 happy households without breaking a sweat. I've also seen multi-advisor shops using "the latest and the greatest" so poorly that client tasks get lost in the shuffle and their employees aren't sure where to find the information they need.
But at their core all these CRMs are pretty much the same. They are all relational databases - powerful tools for data storage and manipulation. And they're only as good as the data stored in them. So if you want a CRM that does what it's supposed to do – be a single source of truth for your data – you need to invest in one that you'll keep updated and clean.
The fanciest AI, workflows, integrations, or automations aren't worth a crap if the data they are accessing is incomplete, erroneous, or outdated. Which is why I stand by my initial recommendation: The best CRM is the one you enjoy using.
And by "using", I don't just mean using your CRM as a glorified Rolodex and a place to dump meeting notes. I mean USING, as in, optimizing the software to its fullest extent.
- Configuring the CRM to meet the unique needs of your firm and the clients you serve;
- Making full use of tags and user-defined fields for client segmentation;
- Building task templates so your CSA knows how to complete a bene update;
- Designing robust workflows that ensure nothing falls through the cracks;
- Taking advantage of native integrations to reduce repetitive data entry tasks;
- Coding API calls when native integrations don't exist; and for Pete's sake,
- Performing a bi-annual or annual clean-up of the data.
Any CRM can get you where you want to go - but you have to harness the power of the relational database underneath the interface. And so I will say it again. The best CRM you can buy is the one you enjoy using.
If you hate logging into your CRM, call me. I'll help you decide if you can learn to love it or if it's time to start shopping around.