It’s been a long while since I’ve needed a CRM, but it’s that time again. However, when I test drive CRM options, they all seem like a poor fit. I’m trying an experiment – I’m going to try to use OF4 for my CRM as well as my projects and tasks.
Please offer me your tips and suggestions. I’m just making this up as I go.
Here’s what I’m trying so far:
I have a project called “Contacts” for storing tasks that are contact related without belonging to another project goal.
I have a tag called “Data” for storing facts rather than tasks, and it’s placed on hold so the data doesn’t pop up in task lists
I have a tag hierarchy for my contacts that looks something like this:
CRM
WORK
TimCook
WalterIsaacs
PALS
ToshiroMifune
MarionMorrison
I have a Perspective called CRM that shows all tasks, limits to those containing tags under the main CRM tag, grouped by tag, sorted by date added. I collapse all the non-name tags and just look at each contact name.
I copy text messages into the notes field and tag as Data for a log;
I link to emails and web pages in the notes field, tag as Data for communications history.
So far, it’s been helpful. As the number of contacts I’m tracking increases, I’ve needed to make more subgroups so I don’t have long lists. I think I might make a perspective to show me just the available CRM tasks like a dashboard.
OF isn’t likely a great full-fledged CRM, but yes, I do something similar. Or, at least, I have a hierarchy of people (for me, it’s internal, so it mirrors people I work with in the org chart), so for follow up meetings I can give updates on things relevant to them (which may involve things that people in their team are working on). So ahead of a meeting with someone, I do a quick look at their tag, and see everything relevant.
For me, I’m dealing with maybe 20 people though. I think if you tried to go to hundreds or thousands of people, it would get pretty unwieldy, and scheduling follow-ups per person is going to involve some work on your part – but yeah at a simple level what you’re doing could be workable.
About six months ago I set up a simple CRM in OmniFocus and it has been working rather well for me. Although there are key limitations which I haven’t yet solved and I would be interested in suggestions.
My use-case is that I work for a large financial services firm but am a specialist consultant trying to develop new business in new geographies related to major projects. I’m leaning about new major projects oversees and meeting individuals from potential new clients who have an interest in those projects and might require specialist advice. My firm runs a massive CRM system but it’s too complicated, full of dirty data etc and belongs to them.
So, within my “Work” folder in OF Projects I have a folder structure:
-Business Development
-General
-Opportunities
-Organisations
-[Organisation type 1]
-[Organisation type 2]
-[etc…]
Within those Organisation Type folders I then have Projects for named organisations (clients, potential clients, collaborating firms, competitors). These Projects are tagged with “ORGANISATION” and tag from a hierarchy of tags indicating the global geography in which that firm is active/relevant such as “Global”, Middle East” or “Denmark”.
Within those Projects I then have tasks for individual people I know, have met, know of and am interested in, or want to meet. These are tagged with “PERSON” and one of the same tags from the same hierarchy as above indicating global geography to record where they are based (tends to be more specific than their employing organisations’s relevant geography). I use the notes on those tasks to record their role, when I last met them and key information gathered or points to discuss with them - whatever. If I want to take action in terms of engaging with them then I give them a defer date and those I know I want to engage with regularly they get a repeat cycle so I can tick them as done and they get teed up again in due course.
I have then excluded projects and tasks with “ORGANISATION” and “PERSON” tags from most of my existing Perspectives and created a new Perspective showing tasks tagged “PERSON” that have a defer date and are available. I use a “TODAY” for a main Perspective and I let that Perspective bring through tasks from the CRM if they have that tag.
I then have a geographical folder hierarchy under the “Opportunities” folder and have Projects for real-world major projects where I am targeting clients for opportunities. At the moment I haven’t found a way to integrate the CRM system (orgs and people) with these opportunities - it’s difficult because opportunities might present with multiple clients of different types with any given real-world project.
I hope this is interesting useful to someone and would welcome suggestions to improve it.
