Spent $450 on a CRM upgrade and it just made things slower

Back in 2021 I finally caved and paid for a fancy CRM upgrade at my small shop here in Columbus. Thought it would automate everything and save time but instead it took me three weeks just to get the basics working right. Ended up losing a couple follow ups because the system buried old leads in some sub menu. Anyone else ditch a expensive tool and go back to a simpler system?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_barnes1mo ago

Yeah I heard something similar from a buddy who ran his contracting biz off a whiteboard for years.

spencer_sanchez671mo ago

Man I read somewhere that most small shops actually get worse results with expensive CRMs because they're built for huge companies with dedicated IT teams. Your mileage may vary but a simple spreadsheet or even a notebook works better for keeping track of leads without all the extra clutter.