Walked into a client's office in Austin and saw their "CRM" was a pile of sticky notes

I visited a marketing firm last month to pitch them on a proper B2B service platform. Their whole client tracking system was handwritten notes stuck to a whiteboard. They lost 3 leads in the last quarter because someone tossed the wrong note. I spent 20 minutes showing them a simple dashboard that would save them 10 hours a week. These people charge 5k a month for services but can't track a followup. Has anyone else run into shops that refuse to upgrade their basics?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyp613d ago

Oh man, this is EVERYWHERE in small shops! My buddy runs a landscaping crew and their "schedule" is a literal legal pad next to the coffee maker. They double-booked three jobs last spring because someone spilled coffee on it. It's wild how people will drop cash on fancy stuff but will fight you on a basic spreadsheet.

grantw412d ago

Honestly that coffee spill story hits way too close to home. I once had my entire week's schedule written on a napkin and my dog ate it mid-bite, so I feel the pain. Ngl, it's funny how we'll spend money on tools we barely use but will fight tooth and nail over a free Google Calendar invite. Tbh, part of me respects the chaos though - there's something weirdly charming about running a business on sticky notes and hope. But yeah, that double-booking mess sounds like a nightmare I've lived through myself more times than I care to admit.

fionafoster3d ago

Honestly @abbyp61, have you tried just breaking down one small step at a time? I had a similar mess with my own schedule and what finally clicked was using a shared Google Calendar with color coding for each type of task. Tbh it took a week to get used to but we haven't double-booked since.