Monday, November 24, 2008

Salesforce "Sigh of Relief" Rally Underscores Importance of CRM Software

Wasn't it great to close out last week with good news about a company? Not just good news, but great news. Over the moon news, if you're a shareholder or a customer of Salesforce.com, one of the leading providers of pay-as-you-go CRM software.

Last quarter, Salesforce generated $276 million from customers that use its CRM software to help their own companies grow their own business. That translated to a profit of over $10 million, making CFOs of other Internet companies blush, fume, or cry.

While analysts typically wish the company had held on to a little more profit, a CRM software company that's in the black telegraphs the strategies that smart sales professionals intend to use over the next year.

It's no surprise, since smart sales professionals understand that affordable CRM software can help them do a lot more with fewer resources in this kind of economy. If you can't spend money on lavish ad campaigns, you can at least find ways to mine you customer database, leverage strong relationships, and grow your orders in this critical quarter.

Salesforce isn't the only game in town, though. While I know plenty of sales professionals that love the service, I know many others that prefer to work with more established players, or prefer to use CRM software that lives on a server that they control completely. Whether you work with Salesforce or with another CRM software vendor, now is a great time to look for quotes from qualified service providers. With competitors looking to steal a little thunder from Salesforce, there are some good deals to be had.

No comments: