Podcast Episode 4: What’s the best CRM for your consultancy? (Part 1)

Episode 4: What's the best CRM for your consultancy? (Part 1)



Hey! James here. Welcome to this week’s episode of the HR Marketing Guy's Podcast. This one is a BIG one! 

Want to know what the best CRM for your consultancy is?! 

It's the number one question that I get asked and in this week's main event, I'm going to talk you through the big research project I've taken on to answer this for you. 

You'll hear about my opinions on Capsule and how I'm working with an awesome bunch of HR consultants to create 'The Ultimate Software Stack for HR Consultants'

Plus, in my thought of the week, I'm going to talk you about something that's been on my mind recently and that's burnout in the HR industry.  

You won't want to to miss this one! 

Have a listen and let me know what you think 🙂 



Transcription below:

This week's main event: 

What is the best CRM for your consultancy?

It's the number 1 question that I get asked by pretty much every HR consultant that I speak to.

I know so many  consultancies that are still working off good old fashioned spreadsheets.

And while it's easy to manage at the beginning, as soon as you start growing, your client delivery becomes incredibly difficult to manage in this way.

It's hard to keep track of your clients.

It's hard to know what work you're doing for them.

It's hard to know how long it's taken and what you should be charging.

And if you have a team, or work off an associate model then it's even more chaotic.

Much like HR software helps your clients to organise their HR.

You need software to help you organise your consultancy.

And personally, I know that I would be completely lost without my CRMs and project management software.

The software I use has 100% helped me to run my business and scale more efficiently.

And I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

But for you, I understand that finding the right CRM is a complete minefield.

There are so many out there.

What features do you actually need?

What are the best ways to use them?

How do you go about making a decision?

And is it worth the cost? 

It's probably one of the most difficult decisions that you need to make.

And it's really important that you make the right decision the first time around.

Trying to research and make this call yourself is understandably completely overwhelming.

But there's no need to worry because I'm here to guide you through the entire decision making process. 

A few months ago, a client asked me to help them find the right CRM for them

This kind of snowballed into me starting a big research project with an awesome bunch of HR consultants...

And together we're going to create "The Ultimate Software Stack for HR consultants".

So a software stack is simply a list of different softwares and technologies you could use to run and grow your consultancy.

For me, this is much bigger than just picking a CRM.

Because whatever CRM you pick needs to support the work you do, how you actually work and work well with every other piece of software you use in your business.

Think accountancy, emails, data management, HR software, email signatures, Microsoft 365, video conferencing, task management, case management and CRMs to name just a few...

The list is HUGE.

So it's my goal to not only help you pick the right CRM, but to create some awesome guidance on what software you need and the best software to use to run and grow your consultancy.

Why am I the best person to facilitate this?

Well not only am I the World's go to HR Marketing Guy... 

But I also the Growth Strategy Director for an international marketing company that has over 800 clients worldwide. 

For the last few years, I've turned our marketing service into marketing software... which has been really cool. 

So in the world of software development, I've actually taken on the role of a product manager most recently. 

So throwing software lingo at you right now...

When we say product, we mean the online experience that you're creating - whether that's an app or portal. 

And the product manager is responsible for defining the vision, strategy, and roadmap of the product, ensuring it meets the users needs.

Being user centric is THE most important part of it of being a product manager and creating online experiences. 

And to help me, I've worked with some awesome UX strategists over the past few years and have learnt some really clever frameworks to help me create a user centric approach to my work. 

So helping you find the right software solutions for your consultancy,  is an area that I'm very experienced in. 

So with that in mind, when I started this project,  I kind of took a step back. 

You're asking for a CRM, but what are you actually trying to achieve here. 

"What jobs do you need help with" 

"How do you need to use software"

"What are your software requirements" 

"What software is out there that can best help you" 

And what is the best software stack you need to run and grow your consultancy. 

I'm not going to lie, it's been a REALLY big undertaking and that's why I've called this episode part 1, because there will likely be more to come. 

But, I've made an awesome start and I've got lots to tell you. 

So in part 1 of "What's the best CRM for your HR consultancy? 

I'm going to talk you through the research I've completed so far, my findings, what I'm currently working on and and how I plan to help you in the future. 

So let's start from the very beginning. 

With the help of a close client, we got an awesome bunch of HR consultants together and got a call booked in the diary to discuss all things CRMs. 

Before that call, it was really important for me to understand what the group wanted to achieve as a result of the call and what they wanted from CRM software. 

So I asked them to send me an email with their thoughts. 

I did this because the term CRM can mean different things for different people and this is often the first hurdle that you'll fall at when trying to make a decision about software for your own consultancy. 

As a marketing professional, a CRM is something that primarily helps you with your marketing. 

But for you, when you say you want a CRM, what you often mean is software that can help you manage clients and workload. 

And in my experience, there's not many CRMs that can do both well. 

So that's why it was important for me to clarify exactly what you wanted from the very beginning. 

Everyone was very good and gave me their answers. 

And from the answers I received and subsequent conversations that I had with the group, I was able to create a master list of your requirements. 

This was broken down into the following headings: 

The first requirement is Data management. 

Instead of having all of your client information on a spreadsheet, you wanted software to manage all of your client and prospect data for you. 

The second requirement is centralised communication. 

This is important for team collaboration and comms - You need to be able to share client information safely with team members and for all communications between client and team to be recorded in one place. 

The third requirement is task management. 

So having the ability to manage workflow, create tasks, assign tasks to team members and to track progress of tasks is really important. 

As well as having reminders to follow up on actions too. 

The fourth requirement is marketing. 

This was loosely included within the research. So having the ability to send emails to prospects and to set up marketing automations. 

And the fifth and final requirement is sales. 

So having the ability to integrate with proposal software and track the prospect journey using pipeline functionality. 

So this is a really good list of requirements to get us started and this thinking will definitely help you to clarify what you need from a CRM in the future. 

So once this preliminary research was completed, the group and I then jumped on a call. 

We discussed and confirmed the above requirements. 

And then spoke about all of the different pieces of software and technology they use in their consultancy. 

Think emails, Microsoft 365, accountancy, time tracking, email signatures, proposal software and everything else. 

We also spoke about the different workflows in which you would potentially need a CRM and other pieces of software.

Thinking about how you would manage incoming questions from clients, how you would manage a grievance, or an investigation for instance.  

I did this because I wanted to think big. 

To create the ultimate software stack for HR consultants, I needed to know every scenario in which you would need to use software. 

And as a result of the call with the group, surveys and independent research, I created a list of 30 different software types that you need to use to run and grow your consultancy.

Think emails, CRM, accountancy software, HRIS, email signatures and everything else. 

The complete list of this can be found in the HR Growth Academy.  

So at this stage, I have a master list of your requirements that you have from CRM software. 

And I have a master list of different softwares you need to use to run your consultancy. 

And while doing this, I was also jumping on calls with clients who were showing me around the various different CRMs they were using.  

So I've looked at Capsule, I've looked at Monday.com.  I've looked at Hubspot. And there's also lots of other CRM softwares that I'm previously familiar with. 

So what will the Ultimate Software Stack for HR consultants eventually look like? 

Well imagine a big comparison table.  

On one side you have every situation and requirement you could possibly think of. 

On the other side you have a good, better, best choice of softwares that you could use. 

All of which have been field-tested and approved by successful HR consultants.

Allowing you to pick and choose the best software stack for you and your budget. 

Right now I'm focussing my attention on Capsule and Hubspot. 

Let me give you an overview of my thoughts at this stage, but with a warning that my thoughts haven't been field-tested yet. 

I'm just going off my current understanding of your requirements and what I've seen to date. 

Hubspot is the Rolls Royce of CRMs and from my initial research, it seems to to be able to do everything you could possible need from a CRM - both from an operational and marketing point of view. 

If you wanted something all singing and all dancing from the very beginning, or if you are a bigger consultancy that employed multiple people then I would probably steer you towards Hubspot for now. 

But you would need to keep a close eye on costs. 

If you are a start up, independent consultant or smaller consultancy then I would probably steer you towards Capsule for the operational stuff.

Capsule seems to manage Data management, centralised communication, task management and prospect pipeline quite well. 

And is probably the most popular CRM for operational stuff in the industry for this reason. 

But sadly, it doesn't have the ability to set up marketing automations or broadcasts which is bit annoying. 

They do have integrations though. 

But with software I'm unfamiliar with from a marketing point of view. 

Which is why I would recommend Active Campaign or Mailchimp for that stuff at this stage. 

So to help me with my research, I'm currently working alongside a software consultant who is setting up Capsule on behalf of a client.

I'm hoping that we'll be able to map out everything you need from an operational point of view and potentially provide you with a set up service.  

Which is all very excited. 

And I'm also in the process of merging all 3 of my CRMs into Hubspot. 

Once this work is done, I'll then be able to add them to my software stack comparison table and share this with you along side any other CRMs that we decide to focus on.

Frustratingly, research like this takes time and it is a really big job. 

But I hope the research I've completed to date and shared with you in this podcast has already been helpful. 

I am 100% committed to creating the Ultimate Software Stack for HR Consultants and if you would like to follow me on this journey then please head on over to my website thehrmarketing.com, go to the top where it says HR Growth Academy and add yourself to my weekly update list for more information as I have it. 

My thought of the week: 

Today I'd like to have a nice little chat with you about burnout.

Since COVID, burnout has become a household topic. 

And working in the HR profession, we often talk about burnout and the importance of looking after employee's health and wellbeing for organisational success.

But when was the last time you thought about your own health and well being?

How often are you experiencing burnout?

And how is this affecting your business productivity and personal happiness?

These are the questions that I'd like to ask you today.

Not to be all doom and gloom, but to raise awareness of it in a supportive way.

For the HR Marketing Box, we create content about burnout on a regular basis and I edit and approve every piece of content that goes out to our members.

So I'm clued up on what burnout looks and feels like.

I'm a business owner. 

I have ADHD.

Burnout is something I dance with on a regular basis.

I've been burnt out in the past and I'll likely be burnout in the future too.

I think it's inevitable to some degree. 

But what I've recently realised is that I seem to be stuck in a bit of a high performance / burnout cycle.

It's a pattern.

I've started to recognise behaviours that are keeping me stuck in this pattern.

And I think it would be silly of me to not address this in order to try and flatten out the curve for myself.

Since realising this, I wanted to talk you about it in this podcast episode because I wonder if you're the same? 

Burnout is super common in business owners. 

The stats about burnout in the HR profession is actually really worrying.

75% of the industry is women.

Women are statistically more likely to have higher personal responsibilities than men - I can see the strain that summer holidays are having on my friends who are working mums for instance. 

And women are statistically more likely to mask symptoms - not only to other people, but most worryingly to themselves. 

So it doesn't take a genius to think that you, as a HR consultancy owner listening to me right now,  might be suffering from burnout and trapped in a burnout cycle too.

I talk about this stuff not because I think that I'm an expert.

It's something that's been on my mind. I'm super open about this stuff.

And helping others fulfil their potential is what matters most to me.

In last week's episode, I asked you if there was anything stopping you from fulfilling your potential.

And maybe burnout is something that you're struggling with.
 
So burnout is more than just being tired or stressed.

It’s a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by lots of different factors. 

Feelings of burnout will vary person to person, but you might feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

You'll know what burnout feels like for you. In your mind and body.

Burnout isn’t something that just happens overnight too - which is why it can easily creep up on you.

It's a gradual process and the first step in breaking the cycle is recognising behaviours or situations that can lead you to feeling burnt out. 

And then you can figure out what preventions you can put in place to break the cycle. 

This is where I've kind of got up to... 

I don't think preventing burnout is a big task.

For me, I think the key to managing burnout is more of a daily habit. 

So I've looked at what I can do on a daily basis to prevent me from feeling stressed and exhausted. 

Back to back calls throughout the day stress me out way too much. 

So in my calendly, I've put buffers in and I'm more strict on how I manage my diary. 

I also know trying to give myself too many things to do in each day really stresses me out. 

So instead, I now only give myself 1 or 2 big things to do in each day. 

In reality, I know I have hundreds of tasks to do but why am I pressuring myself into doing way more than I know it physically possible. 

Feeling time pressured is also another stress factor for me. 

So now, if I've got something important to do, I block out big chunks of time in order to get it done. 

And I've stopped putting pressure on myself to work in the evenings. 

I hate doing it. And I kind of have to apply so much pressure to force me to do it which isn't healthy at all. 

Instead, I make time to go gym, go for a walk or connect with friends. 

So maybe there's a few things that you can do each day to help you stay a bit more chill. 

Like I said, I'm not here trying to be an expert on burnout. 

It's just something that has been on my mind recently and wanted to chat about it incase it's something that's been affecting you too. 

Like me, you might put a lot of pressure on yourself to run and grow your business so if there's anything I can do to support you, then please drop me a message and let's have a virtual coffee or hug if you need one. 

I also follow Kelly Swingler "The burnoutologist" on LinkedIn - I  like reading her posts and have reached out to her to chat more, so maybe give her a follow on LinkedIn too.