What is a good free CRM to use?

What is the best way to incentivize sales folks to adequately capture vital information in a CRM tool that others will use?

• This is a follow-up question to .  Sales folks are motivated by cash; the good ones do not need and will typically not tolerate much supervision.  The best ones will want to be compensated on hitting sales targets -- nothing else.  Yet building a solid brand, developing a good reputation, enhancing productive long-term relationships is very important.  In other words, CRM data is an increasingly important long-term asset, even though the sales folks may not want to share "their data" ... what is the best way to manage this contradiction.

• Answer:

  The best incentive, is to only make them gather what is absolutely necessary. If you have 400 fields of data that takes three times longer to enter, than the phone call itself, they won't do it. I know, different departments feel that this particular tidbit is vital. But let's face it, you can overdo it. Back in the 70's, long before CRM's, Burroughs Corp had us fill out "green sheets" These were literally green forms where we had to write down every sales call, with the details of that call. At the end of the week you turned in your sheets. None of us liked doing them. One day in the middle of a sheet I wrote "Does anyone really read this shit?" Turned it in and waited. Never heard a word about it. So, I was none too careful about the data I collected, since I knew they were looking for volume, not quality. So, evaluate the data collected. If it's just being gather because "someone that used to work here three years ago though it was important", and nobody's using it, DON'T FORCE YOUR PEOPLE TO GATHER IT. As salespeople we know data is valuable. We know it can benefit us, and others in the company. If you can show us it has value, we don't resent gathering it, half so bad.