What do guys think about using http://www.showbizcrm.com/

I'm in the process of switching over to it. Depending on how detailed your process is for handling quotes, contracts, follow-up, etc., it may take a few hours to get everything tweeked to your likings. It's a very robust database that will automate a lot of tasks related to our type of business. Michael Carducci has been very helpful in getting setup. I need to spend another hour or so refining some of my email templates, and I'll be ready to go.

I tried it a while ago, but didn't get a chance to give it a real shot. You have to learn how the system works, etc. But for the money, it really is a fantastic option (especially compared to what other CRM's offer). The only downside is it is a reoccurring fee, as opposed to a software you pay once for. Then again, infusionsoft is $250 a month...

I'm in the middle of trying out aweber and, while its a good service, is strictly limited to an email service. I'm going to sit down right now over the weekend and give showbiz another go, and dedicate the time to understanding it. I'll let you know what my findings are.

I also tried it, but I wasn't able to customize it to my liking. I wanted separate booking forms for each type of show that I do, and I wanted to be able to change the name of the field (ie "Client" or "birthday child") which I was unable to do. I played around with it for a few days, but there were several things I wanted to do, that I couldn't do.

For such a large monthly reoccuring fee, I didn't see how it could directly benefit my business, so I opted not to pursue it.

That being said, I've heard from several people that they like using the client management systems so I'm sure it's something that's useful, maybe I'll give it another go someday!

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

We should talk sometime when you have time. We have always had the option for different booking forms for different shows, and a few months ago made all fields and dropdowns customizable.

We have standing twice-weekly webinars for anyone who wants/needs hands on help getting the most from ShowBiz CRM and also have very active user forums. One of the big benefits of the frequent webinars is they are often one-on-one and we can set a lot up for you on those calls.

Carducci,
You guys have great customer service! Maybe I'll call you here in a few weeks once my shows slow down and we can go over a few things. I tried the software a while ago, it sounds like you've made even more improvements to it. That's great.

When I signed up for the free trial of ShowBiz CRM, I have to say that you guys had excellent customer service.

I'll contact you in a few weeks, maybe we can go over a few things.

Thanks,
Kevin

I can happily recommend it and second the compliments on their customer service.

I've been a customer for six or seven months now and am very happy with the amount of work it has saved me. Just tracking contacts and being able to automate my standard emails has been very useful.

As for customer service, it's actually pretty amazing. The programmers actually care about what their customers think. The program keeps evolving based in part on what we ask for. I can't think of any other program I've ever used--for anything--where that happened. For example, some of us didn't care for the text editor used in the program. They actually took the time to research a better one, solicited feedback on it, and then implemented it--pretty quickly, too.

I wish Microsoft worked that way.

The email drip marketing and automated booking in ShowBiz CRM are amazing. I mostly use it as an autoresponder instead of icontact, but it is so much more powerful. You can go into a particular contact and change the delivery date and customize the content of scheduled emails. I could never do this in icontact. I also use it for some of my bookings that fit well with automated bookings. I evn encourage the client to submit a form with all their info so it is entered correctly for me. I then fill in a few more fields, and I subscribe it to the proper workflow. They receiva a contract, a link to pay for it, confirmation, and thank you. I didn't even know that the fields are now customizable. That's huge!

I tried this right alongside aweber and I'm going to stick to showbiz.

The features in showbiz are amazing. Aweber is limited to email and you can't even add additional information on each person on your list. Showbiz allows complete customization and in depth info on each person.

Be warned, it takes time to set up Showbiz just the way you want it. You have to dedicate yourself to learning each individual feature. It may be an automated system, but it takes effort to make it that way. Luckily, Carducci is around to make it much easier. And, once you get things set up it becomes a breeze.

The price + features + customer service make this a great product.

Hey Gang,

I'm Michael's business partner, and wanted just to say that he's been extra-hard at work deploying new features over the weekend. Check it out if you're already in the trial stage.

If you're not, I'll be a rotten sales person and point out that this product isn't meant for everybody. But if you're making $5k a year or more, it's every tool we could think of, all in one place.

Thanks for looking!

Ok I just signed up for this!

I am totally against paid monthly programs in every fiber in my being BUT what can I say. I thought I would think outside the box.

Next week I will go "all in" and see what it can do for my magic business.

I do have a separate type of business and want to see if I can utilize the same program for both business.

I will give you my step by step experiences on what its really like.

I will update my post shortly.

Hi Folks! Many have been asking how our product matches up against our competitors, and we just finished the complete chart this morning. It's a comprehensive look at what we've built, and Michael & I hope you're game for trying it out (for free!).

We built the product that we as workers wanted but couldn't find. Check it out!

The chart: http://www.showbizcrm.com/index.php/what-itis/features

Here is my review of the System

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......tart=0#4

I applied for the six week trial.

Michael walked me thru the process on how to set up ShowBiz. I found out it can do more than I expected.