Use of CRM in startups

One of the biggest mistakes (we all make mistakes !!) was not to invest in a CRM solution earlier in our startup phase. The reasons i say this are as follows - a CRM system forces you to manage your contacts - a CRM system makes meeting note capture easier when getting customer interviews - you can extract market intelligence from customer meetings easier (esp when VC's start asking questions around the business plan - "so who exactly have you spoken to") - when you start sales prospecting, it can measure your performance in developing targets - if you get sales meetings, it can help plan + report on the volume of calls/meetings - it helps you forecast sales better..... "excel is ok, but you can be too kind to youself" - anon, 2004 - it makes it easier to communicate your sales process to employees - it also protects you against staff leaving - knowledge is retained in the CRM - finally - a CRM keeps you honest with yourself.. Recommendations - Salesforce - we use it - pricey, but it works really well, esp for teams in numerous locations - Entellium - looks like a good alternative to above - Sage - Microsoft CRM - Sugar - open source