by ObiTechie's Team | Jul 17, 2023 | CRM Software, Sales
Every business in the world wants to stand out and beat the stiff competition in the market. To significantly impact the success of the business, it is essential to effectively manage and track the sales process. Close is a comprehensive sales productivity platform focused on empowering sales teams to do just that.
What is Close?
Close is sales customer relationship management (CRM) software developed to improve and align the sales process. Close combines communication channels, customer management, and sales automation tools to save time for sales department teams, drive sales and improve productivity, making it an all-in-one platform. The platform is unique in its functionality, making it the go-to software for many businesses. It is designed to fit the needs of both small and large-scale sales teams, ensuring maximum sales experience irrespective of operations scale.
Key benefits
Integrated Communication
Close has built-in calling, SMS, and email functionality. These functions make it easy for sales teams to reach out to prospects directly from the platform. In addition, it allows the monitoring and management of all business communications, ensuring no vital information is lost.
Sales Automation
Another significant benefit is the platform’s power dialers, predictive dialing, and automated email sequences. These functions are critical to reducing manual tasks and allowing sales teams to focus more on selling and less on data entry.
Robust Reporting
Close provides in-depth reporting and analytics that give real-time insights into sales performance, call activities, and sales forecasts. With this information, business leaders can make quick, data-driven decisions.
User-Friendly Interface
The platform prides itself on its easy-to-use, intuitive interface that allows sales team members to manage their workflows effectively.
Pricing Plan
Close offers four primary pricing plans, covering different business needs and scales:
Starter for $29 monthly per user: Basic CRM features like lead management and two-way email sync are included.
Basic for $69 monthly per user: Additional features include call automation, SMS, and API access.
Professional for $99 monthly per user: Besides the basic plan, this plan adds features such as bulk email sending, customizable sales reporting, and phone number porting.
Business for $149 monthly per user: The plan includes all Professional plan features and advanced features like custom integrations and priority support.
All the above subscription plans come with a 14-day free trial for potential users to test the software before subscribing to any of them.
How it works
Setting up a Close account is straightforward for first-time users. Once you set up your existing account, you can conveniently import your existing contacts or add fresh contacts and leads manually or through website integrations. Close offers a consolidated platform, enabling sales representatives to manage all their tasks without switching tabs, which saves time.
Salespeople can easily reach out directly to leads. The platform has emailing and calling features. You no longer need to store contacts manually because the platform logs all interactions automatically, which supports accountability for all business communications.
Furthermore, Close has a power dialer feature, which salespeople can use to queue a list of contacts. The software automatically dials the following number after each call. The function reduces time wasted dialing manually. With Close, email sequences can also be automated, enabling teams to reach out to leads at scale.
The software also has a reporting feature that provides a real-time sales pipeline view. You can see information like the number of deals in progress, expected revenue and how each sales rep performs. This information is critical to decision-making and strategizing.
Customer support
Close offers extensive customer support to ensure users make the most of their platform. The support team is always available and can be reached via live chat or email during office hours. An extensive online help center with tutorials and guides is also provided on the platform. Besides, the business plan option offers priority support, ensuring faster response.
Additionally, Close offers other significant resources like e-books, webinars and blogs to help users understand the best practices, tips and in-depth knowledge of using the software for maximum sales productivity.
In conclusion, Close is a vital tool for sales management. The platform offers a robust, user-friendly sales CRM platform to help sales representatives manage their leads, automate manual tasks and make data-driven decisions. Considering its features and convenient pricing plans, the platform can be valuable for any business. If you want to make more sales and be more productive to increase revenue, Close is an excellent choice.
Article Source
Free Online Demo (No Sign Up Required) – Close CRM
by ObiTechie's Team | Jul 5, 2023 | CRM Software, Marketing
In the current digital world, marketing strategies must also increase to match shifting consumer demand. HubSpot Marketing Hub has established itself as a key player in this field by focusing on increasing businesses’ marketing efforts. HubSpot is a CRM platform designed to scale your business step by step. HubSpot provides marketing, operations, sales, content management, and customer service features to meet the needs of all types of businesses.
What is HubSpot Marketing Hub?
HubSpot Marketing Hub is an all-in-one marketing engine that consists of several tools on one platform. The software provides everything a marketer requires to launch effective marketing campaigns. HubSpot is part of the HubSpot ecosystem, which brings together separate hubs for sales, operations, and service. These hubs are effectively working together to offer an entire CRM platform.
The premise of HubSpot Marketing Hub is that you attract, engage, and delight customers by using a combination of marketing tools that seamlessly work together. HubSpot is the connected expressway to the market. The platform is an excellent way of linking your experiences and tools to unite your teams. It is all placed on a top platform that connects all your data. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools to support your business growth, from SEO and content strategy to analytics and social media.
Key features
HubSpot Marketing Hub offers a variety of solid features that facilitate effective and efficient inbound marketing.
Content Creation and SEO
HubSpot has easy-to-use content creation tools for blog posts, landing pages, and email newsletters. Once combined with SEO recommendations, these features will help you create content that reads well and ranks well in search engines. This will place you at the top of the market competition.
Social Media
The Hub allows businesses to manage and track social media activities. You can effortlessly schedule posts and engage with your audience from one place.
Marketing Automation
With HubSpot’s powerful automation features, you can automate your business’s repetitive tasks, freeing up time for more strategic efforts and other technical functions that can add to your business’ profits.
Analytics
HubSpot Marketing Hub provides in-depth analytics to measure marketing campaign success. These analytics track visitors, leads, and customers, providing actionable insights.
Plan Pricing
HubSpot Marketing Hub offers four primary pricing plans to choose from, depending on your preferences and business needs. There are four types of plans; free, starter, professional, and enterprise. Each of these plans offers a different level of functionality to match different business needs and sizes.
The free tier offers only basic lead capture features. On the other hand, the starter plan, starting with a $45 monthly pay, advances the free plan with ad management and email marketing tools. The professional plan costs $800 per month and includes A/B testing, automation, and more. Lastly, for the enterprise plan, you need a monthly starting fee of $3,200. The plan provides advanced features such as event-triggered marketing and predictive lead scoring.
Deployment
HubSpot Marketing Hub is cloud-based software. The tool can be simple without IT involvement or complex installation. In addition, users do not have to be at a designated location to access it. With stable internet access, they can access their account from any location, anytime. The platform also offers a mobile app, reliable for on-the-go access.
Customer support
HubSpot recognizes the importance of reliable customer support. Therefore, it presents various resources for its users, such as community forums, a comprehensive knowledge base and courses through the HubSpot Academy. Further, if you subscribe to the professional and enterprise plans, you will enjoy 24/7 phone and email customer support.
Additionally, if you are new to HubSpot, you will access the onboarding services guide to help you set up and use various tools. The service ensures you can effectively leverage your Marketing Hub from the first day.
Article source
Marketing Software for Businesses of Every Size | HubSpot
by ObiTechie's Team | Jun 24, 2023 | CMS, CRM Software
Content Management Systems (CMS) have been popular on the Internet for a long time. They have empowered users and companies to easily create, manage, and update digital content without technical knowledge. Content creators and publishers favor platforms like Drupal or WordPress. However, as technology advances, CMS has evolved, providing us with more and better options. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and other upcoming technologies has profoundly transformed the CMS landscape.
Artificial intelligence and CMS
The most impactful revolution in CMS is artificial intelligence discovery. AI technologies are becoming increasingly accessible, hence more adoption in the CMS space. Technologies have enabled repetitive task automation, enhanced content personalization, and improved content discovery.
Automation
AI’s automation potential can significantly align content creation, editing, and management. AI algorithms automate content tagging and categorization, eliminating human labor. Furthermore, AI can automatically generate content summaries or highlight any necessary changes to the content according to pre-set guidelines or rules, saving.
Personalization
Artificial intelligence can potentially result in highly personalized content experiences by analyzing user behavior and experiences. The data obtained can be used to highlight the most relevant information for every visitor, enhancing user engagement and overall satisfaction. Personalization has been a goal in the digital space for a long time. AI has opened up new avenues to achieve this goal at scale.
Improved discovery
By accurately categorizing and tagging content, AI can improve content discovery in Content Management Systems, making it easier for users to find the most relevant information. AI can easily understand content context and semantics, providing more accurate search results and valid recommendations.
Beyond AI: Other Emerging Technologies
Although AI significantly contributes to CMS’s future, other promising technologies will also impact this dynamic field. Here are some of the best:
Blockchain
Blockchain can provide enhanced security and traceability for CMS. It can help content creators manage and control their digital rights to ensure transparency and secure content sharing. In addition, blockchain enhances content monetization by enabling direct transactions between creators and consumers of content.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
The rising popularity of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will significantly influence the online content we produce and consume. As a result, content management systems (CMS) must adjust to accommodate these changes. The latest functionalities and capabilities will be necessary to handle more advanced AR and VR creation, management, and delivery.
Headless CMS
Headless CMS, separating the content management backend from the frontend demonstration layer, is gaining popularity. The system offers the flexibility of pushing content across various platforms and devices, a vital feature in an increasingly omnichannel digital world.
Conclusion: Preparing for the future
From a clear projection of the future, it is evident that integrating AI and other advanced technologies will significantly shape how we manage and interact with digital content. Companies must keep abreast of current developments, assessing how to incorporate these new technologies into their systems to better their content strategy.
CMS’s future is promising. It predicts a more streamlined, interactive, and personalized content experience than ever before. Embracing these technological advancements would help businesses position themselves at the forefront of digital content management, enabling them to take advantage of these innovations’ opportunities.
As much as technology plays a significant role in content management, it is just one piece of the puzzle. Always create high-quality, relevant content regardless of your technology.
Article Sources
What is a Content Management System (CMS) | Oracle
The Role Of AI In The Future Of Content Management Systems (forbes.com)
by ObiTechie's Team | Jun 13, 2023 | CRM Software
Regardless of how you look at it, customers are the lifeblood of a company. In modern business, staying connected to customers and effectively managing relations is crucial. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the leading solution. This article will explore the basics of CRM software and how it can help our business operations.
Define CRM Software
CRM software is among the current software businesses use to manage relationships and interactions with existing and potential customers. The solution helps companies to track, organize, and manage customer data, communications, and other activities in the company, ensuring they are in one accessible place. CRM can help organize essential data sets such as contact information and communication logs, past purchase records, and meaningful interactions with support.
CRM Software Core Functions:
1. Contact management
The primary function of CRM software is used to manage contacts. The solution helps businesses securely store contact information such as names, physical addresses, social media accounts, and more in a searchable, organized database.
2. Interaction tracking
CRM systems also track interactions between your business and customers, ranging from meetings, calls, emails, and social media communications. The stored records can help build a detailed view of your customer’s journey. Recorded communication data helps businesses reach out to potential customers, making active customers.
3. Task Management
CRM solutions have task management features. The features help businesses assign tasks, track progress, and schedule upcoming assignments. Besides, they monitor deadlines, ensuring timely follow-ups.
4. Reporting and analytics
CRM software solutions also have reporting and analytics features, which provide insights into sales activities, campaign performance, customer engagement, and more. These insights can help your business draw conclusions and make data-driven decisions that achieve long-term goals.
CRM Software Impact on Your Business
CRM technology has changed business operations globally. Below are some vital aspects in which the solution can help your business and help you make more of it.
1. Enhancing Customer Service
Businesses can quickly and accurately provide personalized service by storing and having all customer information and interaction history in one place. In addition, they can respond to customer inquiries in real time. In addition to being prompt and fast in responding to your customers, this also boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty.
2. Streamlining Marketing and Sales Efforts
CRM software allows businesses to categorize customers based on different backgrounds and criteria, facilitating targeted marketing campaigns. Moreover, it enables businesses to track leads and prospects throughout the sales pipeline, increasing conversion rates. CRM software also converts potential customers into active customers, improving business revenue.
3. Improving Operational Efficiency
CRM software automates repetitive tasks, reducing the administrative burden of sales and marketing teams. Besides, it provides collaboration tools and document sharing, improving operational efficiency.
4. Informed Decision-Making
Due to its robust reporting and analytics capabilities, CRM software provides insights about customers and business operations that help make decisions. Businesses can remain on track and focus on their ultimate goal.
5. Boosting profitability
By improving customer service, providing insights, and streamlining operations, CRM software ultimately helps businesses boost profitability.
Choosing the Right CRM Software for Your Business
CRM software solutions offer basic features like contacts and task management. However, advanced features differ from software to software. Advanced features such as price, scalability, integration abilities, and ease of use are uncommon in all solutions. Therefore, consider available resources and business-specific needs when choosing a CRM software solution.
Finally, a CRM software solution can transform your business operations and improve operational efficiency. It can enhance customer relationships and, above all, improve your business’s profitability. Once you understand all the benefits of CRM software, implementing it in your business is wise. You will have set the center stage for your business’s sustainable growth and success.
Article source:
What is CRM Software? A Comprehensive Guide and Historical Overview of CRM – Salesforce.com
by ObiTechie's Team | Jun 6, 2023 | Sales
Every business with a robust sales operation requires a software solution to align its communication. With a common information source, your team will save time looking for data.
In the current digital era, sales software is an incomparable, valuable tool that has helped businesses improve their sales processes. Besides, the solution has enhanced customer relations, critically growing the overall revenue. Even so, with several software options available today, settling on the right software can be overwhelming. In this article, you will find a comprehensive guide to the best solution that will ease your choice.
Understanding Sales Software: What It Is and Why It Matters
Sales software is an application of digital tools mapped out to align and manage sales operations. The software includes several functions, such as customer relationship management (CRM), lead management, performance analysis, sales prediction, Etc. Choosing and investing in the right sales software will help you automate routine tasks. Besides, it will provide you with profitable insights, allowing more time for your sales team to concentrate on selling, boosting profits.
Assessing Your Business Needs
Before you can start checking what solutions are available in the market, you must clearly outline your business needs. What is your sales team size? What does your sales process look like? The type of customers you serve, and what are your key pain points? For instance, if your team does manual data entry jobs, you will need software with automation features. On the other hand, whenever you require help tracking your customers’ interactions, you need CRM-enabled sales software at the top of your priorities.
Key Features to Look For
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): This tool helps track interactions, manage customer data, and stimulate long-term customer relationships.
- Lead Management: This feature in the sales software solution will help you capture, track, and nurture leads efficiently.
- Sales Forecasting: By leveraging past data and trends, sales forecasting tools predict future sales, helping in strategic planning.
- Reporting and Analytics: This feature is critical in providing insights into sales performance, helping identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to help guide decision-making processes, hence improving the business.
- Integration Capabilities: The software should easily be compatible with other systems in your business environment, including marketing software or accounting tools.
Choosing the Right Sales Software: Things to Consider
- Ease of Use: Choose software with an intuitive user interface. It should be straightforward for your team to learn and use daily.
- Scalability: Your business will gradually grow, and your sales software should be able to grow with it. Choose software that can accommodate the increasing volume of data and users.
- Customer Support: When choosing a provider, look for reliable customer support. It will ensure that any issues are resolved promptly and minimize disruptions to your sales operations.
- Budget: Cost is a crucial factor to consider. Do not just go for the best software, but also one that provides value for your money and fits within your budget. Consider the upfront, continuing, and long-term costs.
- Security: Given the sensitivity of your business and sales data, your sales software should have adequate security measures to protect your data.
The Power of the Right Sales Software
Finally, choosing the right sales management software depends on what is suitable for you. The best choice will keep your sales team organized, productive and focused. Go for something other than the one with the most drop-down menus and reports or the most tabs.
As you explore solutions, look beyond the bells and whistles and consider what they can do to profit your business. Does the software match your business needs? Will it be compatible with your sales plan and employee structure? If the answer is positive on these questions, settle for it. Ensure you are clear on your business needs. Remember that your sales team will be using the software daily. Consider customer support, security, budget, and scalability factors for the intended value.
Article source:
https://www.revenue.io/blog/sales-management-software-the-ultimate-guide-to-selection-and-implementation
