This document provides an agenda and summary for a Meetup event on choosing a CRM system. The agenda includes introductions, announcements about membership growth goals, a panel discussion on selecting a first CRM, and networking. The summary recaps insights from panelists on challenges of adoption, documenting processes before automating, and starting simply with Excel or a contact manager before implementing a full CRM. Tips included starting with a CRM with a free trial and ensuring leads are entered directly into the system. Upcoming related events were also announced.

1. www.siliconhalton.com
linkedin/siliconhalton
@siliconhalton
Meetup #47: Your First CRM
September 10 2013

2. • 7:15 pm Welcome &
Intro to Burlington HiVE
• 7:20 pm Announcements
• 7:30 pm Q&A – Your First CRM
• 8:15 pm Mark Your Calendar
• 8:20 pm Get To Know Your
Members
• 8:30 Open Floor
Agenda

3. Welcome from the
Burlington HiVE
@BurlingotonHiVE
www.burlingtonhive.com
The Hive Prezi: http://bit.ly/1eNUrOc

4. Show of
Hands
• 910+_ members
• 47 meetups
• 7 peer2peer groups
• Hundreds of LinkedIn discussions

5. Announcements

6. Membership Target For 2013
2,500
Invite 2 friends to join!

7. Launch a Workshop

8. Q & A Panel

9. Your First CRM

10. Jim Barnet
Promys Inc.
@PROMYS_PSA
Geoff Hogan
President
Osnium Software Inc.
@OsniumSoftware
Philip Neukom
Profit Analytics Inc.
@PhilipNeukom
Robert Duvall
President,
RDC Networks
@rdcnetworks
Chris Herbert
CMO
MI6 Agency Inc.
@b2bspecialist
Rick Stomphorst
President
SearchVelocity
@stompr
(Tonight’s Moderator)
Tags: @BurlingtonHive #SiliconHalton #BurlON

11. Recap

12. What was shared & learned?
A wealth of knowledge was shared for those considering a CRM. Here is some of it:
Insight
• “If your sole sales person leaves, do you know what is going on?”
• One CRM does not fit all.
• “We have a CRM for prospecting and use another CRM for customer management”
• “Contact Management is a good first step towards adopting a CRM”
• “We tried to write our own CRM twice, and failed both times.”
• Challenge: Adoption within the company. Adoption of the CRM was cited as the largest challenge.
• Someone needs to own the CRM. If everyone owns it, then no one does in reality.
• “Have your leads go directly into a CRM. This will encourage adoption.”
• Cloud CRMs are for the masses. Custom CRM is the future
• “Startups are not trained to be sales people. We need a CRM to train us.”
Benefits
• “A percentage of your contacts matter. A CRM will remind you that they matter.”
• “A CRM can make you efficient”
• “A CRM makes sales reps follow a process.”
• “A CRM will become an information client database.”
Getting started
• “What business process are you trying to automate?”
• Need to document your sales process or a CRM is of little, if any, value
• “If you automate a broken process, you’ll just make mistakes faster with a CRM”
• Start with Excel and learn your sales process. ”I started with Excel, then a Contact Manager, then a CRM”
• “Start with a CRM that has a generous free period, and one that will allow you to extract your data
(should you choose to us it)”
• Use a social CRM if your prospects/clients are using social media

13. Mark Your Calendars

14. Sept. 21, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., The Burlington HiVE
Lean Startup Workshop
When:
Who: Hosted by Jason Little of Leanintuit
Who it’s for:
Startups, solo entrepreneurs and people in
established organizations who want to discover
more effective ways to bring products to
market!

15. Gaining Your Unclaimed
SR&ED Tax Credit$
Audience:
Technology entrepreneurs, professionals
and business owners
Date & Time change:
Oct 23, 2013, 8:00am – 10am
Location:
Hampton Inn, 754 Bronte Road, Oakville
Cost: $35, includes breakfast
Presenter: Raj Phalpher, P.Eng, CMC
Workshop for hi-tech start-ups

16. Content Marketing Workshop
Audience:
Technology entrepreneurs, professionals
and business owners
Presenter: @DonnaPapacosta
Date, Time, Location
Fri., Sept. 27, 2013, 9 – 11:30 a.m.
Hampton Inn, 754 Bronte Road, Oakville
Use promo code earlybird2013 to save 15%

17. Presentors:
• Trevor Hood, Partner & VP @ SB Partners
• Greg Clarke, Partner @ SB Partners

18. #G2KYM(Get to Know Your Member)

19. Innovate Burlington
@InnovateBurl

20. Open Floor