How to Use the CRM



Let’s take a look at the CRM in the Dashboard. On the left-hand side of the screen you can find the “CRM” tab. Click the CRM tab to view the different modules that exist within the CRM. 

At the end of this article you will find a glossary of terms.


CRM Contact List
The CRM Contact List is where all of your contacts are stored. Contacts can be sorted in a variety of ways. You can re-sort the contact by clicking the arrows next to the column titles.You can also view contacts by Group by selecting a group from the group drop-down menu.

To view a contact just click on the contact’s name. Alternatively, click the Options button and then Edit Record next to the contact’s name.
If you need to search for a specific contact, type the first or last name in the search box. A list of contacts will appear based off of the information that you type into the Search box.


To add a new contact, click the Add New Contact button.


Contact Profile
The profile tab contains all of the information that has been obtained on a contact. The default contact profile provides you with general information on a contact such as name, phone, email, date of birth, address and place of employment.


If you need to add information or edit a contact simply enter the information into the appropriate field and then click the Submit button.


Note: Until you complete and submit the fields within the Profile tab, the other tabs in the Contact window will be unavailable.


Additional Information
The additional information tab enables you to create custom fields for any information that you collect on a contact that is not included in the default profile. This information can be set up using Sections. Information for each section needs to be put in manually for each new contact.


To add a Section, click Add New Field. Then, either select a previously created Section or create a New Section by entering in a new Section name, Field Name, and Field Type.


Groups
Groups are similar to categories for contacts.To add a contact to a Group, click Add to Group and select your group.


To create a new Group, go to your CRM tab and select Manage Groups. Then select Add New Group and fill out the appropriate information. Then go back to your contact and select Add to Group. Now you can select your new group from the provided list.


Groups vs. Tags
Groups and tags should be used together so that you can keep track of your contacts in the most efficient way. But, what’s the difference between groups and tags? Groups are a way to organize your contacts into different categories: geographic location, newsletter subscriber, and so on. Tags, on the other hand, can create a subset of your group. Tags can also be used to search for specific contacts in your contact list.


Tags will help you to manage your contact list. To add a tag, click on the Contact you wish to tag. Directly underneath their profile picture, choose the tags you wish to add to the contact.

Notes
Here is where employees can add notes to a specific contact. An instance where a note can be added to a contact is when a contact calls in on a support issue or request and a note on the conversation can be added.


To add a new note, select Add New Note.


Tasks
Schedule and keep track of ongoing projects or jobs associated with managing accounts, day to day activities and to do’s. Task can be delegated between CRM users.


To create a new task, select Add Task. Fill out all necessary information about the task such as Name, Finish Date, Due Date, Owner, and Priority.

 
 Task Manager
(CRM > Tasks > Manage Tasks)
Here is where individual users can see all of their own individual tasks. Users can manage, create, finish, and edit tasks from this dashboard. Users can also toggle between a List View and a Calendar view of their tasks.


Deals
Deals are a sales tool to assist in sales forecasting and managing a sales pipeline. On this tab you can see if a contact or company is a part of a deal and, if so, where they live on the sales pipeline.
You can also see how much of a deal is worth.


Example: A contact has been identified as a lead for sponsoring an upcoming event. Due to their business size and their community involvement, you suppose they may sponsor your event at $500. You can create a deal in the CRM to take the sponsor through a sales funnel and every stage (New, Proposal, Won, or Lost) of converting the sponsor.


To create a new deal, select Add New Deal, and fill out the appropriate information including the Deal Owner.


Transactions
View and manage all transactions associated with a given client in the Transactions Tab.


Files
This is a place to upload any files that are relevant to a particular contact. To upload a new document, select Upload. To View an existing document, select View under the Options column.


To Delete an existing document, select Delete under the Options column.


Payment Method
View and manage a client's payment methods from the Payment method tab within the Contact window.


Log
Any activity on a contact is documented in the activity log.
Glossary of Terms:

Profile Information: Standard contact information that can be gathered from either the donation page, contact forms, phone conversations or from credit card details.


Additional Info: Any other information that is gathered from the donation process. For example, if a organization wants to ask donors specific questions about themselves, the answers will show up on this page.


Groups: Similar to categories for contacts. For example, if contacts were gathered from a specific event, they will be in a group named after that event. Or, if a contact is a high dollar donor, they can go in the categorized group of “Major Donors”


Notes: Here is where employees can add notes to a specific contact. For example, if a donor calls and is interested in how they can get involved outside of donating, the employee will leave a note similar to, “Mr. Smith called asking about volunteer opportunities. I told him about X, Y, and Z. I have put in a task to contact him in 30 days to see how he has progressed.”


Deals: Deals are a sales tool to assist in sales forecasting and managing a sales pipeline. On this tab you can see if a contact or company is a part of a deal and, if so, where they live on the sales pipeline. You can also see how much of a deal is worth. For example, if a business is interested in sponsoring a nonprofit, their deal could be worth $10,000. Deals can be applied to contacts in the CRM.
Example: A contact or donor is giving $500 per year. The account manager of the donor finds out that the donor’s net worth is $5,000,000 and has the potential to be a major donor at $16,000 per year. The account manager can create a deal in the CRM to take the donor through a sales funnel and every stage (New, Proposal, Won, or Lost) of converting the donor from a $500 per year donor to a major donor at $16,000 per year.


Tasks: Are a way to schedule out and keep track of ongoing projects or jobs associated with managing accounts, day to day activities and to do’s. Task can be delegated between CRM users.


Transactions: This shows a contact’s transaction history, in addition to PDF’s of all known settled receipts.
 
Files: This is a place to upload any files that are relevant to a particular contact.


Logs: This is a log of all recent activity done by both the contact and employees, as it pertains to that contact. Every action on a contact should be logged.