⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

As we bring new customers onboard at Intro CRM, we were thinking about the best way to do it. Along came Arrows, a tool that elevates the customer onboarding process. In this episode, we talk through who needs to think about onboarding, what constitutes a good customer onboarding process, and three things we like about Arrows. Plus, an unexpected use case. Read the episode transcript here.

On the Intro CRM YouTube channel: Customer Onboarding Process Demo of Arrows →
On the Intro CRM blog: Your customer onboarding process with Arrows →
Learn more: Visit Arrows' website to sign up for a free trial →
Meet Daniel Zarick: Follow Daniel on Twitter →
Meet Benedict Fritz: Follow Benedict on Twitter →
Listen to their podcast: Keep Going podcast →

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

The team has been busy and growing over the last six weeks. Harris brought in four new people to help execute the new concierge services offering in Intro CRM, which is that we literally help you with sales. Think building a lead list, qualifying inbound leads, preparing proposals, and more. In this episode, you'll get a sense of where we're going next.

Announcing a new offering from Intro CRM: Introducing Concierge Services →
Meet the newly expanded team: About Intro CRM →
Tyler Tringas explaining Empty SaaS in his 2021 SaaS predictions →
Justin Jackson explaining the Jobs to be Done framework in What is Jobs to be Done →

If you're interested in learning more, find Harris on Twitter @harriskenny.

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

The Intro CRM Basecamp integration was the first one that I announced in 2020, it's live and I want to share more details about how it works. I also talk about Jason Fried, DHH, and some of the other members of the Basecamp team who have inspired my work over the years. 

• Read more about Intro CRM's Basecamp CRM integration →
• Read the getting started Intro CRM Basecamp documentation →
• Learn more and sign up for Basecamp →
• Subscribe to the Rework podcast →

The sales topic today is a challenge for you. How much do you need to know about your product to be successful selling it? In my experience, you might need to know a lot less than you think. So does it make sense for people to be so focused on getting their salespeople to be more active in Slack, attend more meetings, and more involved in internal processes? Maybe not. 

Lastly, I made a series of upgrades to the equipment that I use to record this show. Are you experiencing any issues with the audio? If you're a regular listener, do you notice a difference? Please let me know. 

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

Let's talk about what made it into the beta release and the problems he's trying to solve with Intro CRM. Learn how freelancers and entrepreneurs can quickly add deals; integrate with tools like Basecamp, Trello, and Asana; and forecast your cash flow.

The overall theme for the episode is making the most of the leads you have. If you have a leaky funnel, it's not much good pouring more leads into it—particularly if you're bootstrapping.

Harris is looking for ideas and feedback about how to make Intro CRM better. He's been able to generate interest and traffic, convert sign ups, but once people are in the app they aren't as active as he'd like to see. He needs to get folks to activate and use Intro CRM before leaving. Setting up their account, adding deals, etc. He shares how he's doing it right now and past approaches... But now clearly it's time for something new. Get a sense of the current process by signing up for Intro CRM.

Sign up for Intro CRM →
See how the Basecamp CRM integration works →

There's also a new social platform called Clubhouse. Harris received an invitation and is trying to get the hang of it. Are you on Clubhouse? Find him @harriskenny.

This show also won an award! Pipeline Meeting was given Honorable Mention in the 2020 SaaS Podcast Awards. Sincere thanks to the MicroConf community for their support. There were so many good shows, including a few that I listen to regularly:

IndieHackers by Courtland Allen →
Build Your SaaS by Justin Jackson and Jon Buda →
Software Social Podcast by Michelle Hansen and Colleen Schnettler →
See all the award-winners and honorable mentions →
Learn more about MicroConf →

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

Harris shares new updates to the Intro CRM alpha that's being tested right now. New updates include a host of UI and accessibility improvements, single click importing, and the ability to configure deal stages to refine your sales and go to market process. There's also a big announcement:

Alpha testers will get one year of Intro CRM for free. If you are interested in trying Intro CRM, you have until the end of December to join the alpha testing group! The project will move into private beta in January.

Harris also talks about grants! Do they count as sales? He recently learned of the MakerPad community's Creator Grants program for nocode projects, which he applied for.

But there are lots of other grant programs too. In the United States, things like the SBIR program and Coronavirus relief at the state and local level. How should you think about non-dilutive sources of funding like this? Harris also shares one example from a current client.

Creator Grants by MakerPad →

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Pipeline Meeting is a podcast brought to you by Intro CRM, a simple, privacy-friendly CRM for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Hosted by Harris Kenny.

Intro CRM Website →
Twitter Profile @IntroCRM →
LinkedIn Company Page →

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

In this episode, Harris talks about how selling to people you know can jumpstart your business. It can also be a source of frustration as those deals may never close. Whether it's friends and family or past colleagues, these are people you know and who you in return. So, should you avoid selling to people you know? Harris shares two tips that can make this source of sales worthwhile. 

This episode also kicks off a series focusing on tools that you can use to grow your business like Transistor, an independent and bootstrapped company that makes a tool you can use to start your own podcast. Transistor is a great company, they make a beautiful product, and they make it easy for you to publish and distribute your podcast.

Lastly, we touch on the latest features in Intro CRM. These features are built for freelancers, solopreneurs, and early stage founders who may not necessarily think of their deals in terms of revenue. Maybe you don't know what deals are worth, or are focusing on your sales in a different way to hit traction. Maybe your prices are locked in and it's really the number of clients that matters. In any case, Intro CRM makes it easy to track your deals.

How to start a podcast -->

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Pipeline Meeting is a podcast brought to you by Intro CRM, a simple, privacy-friendly CRM for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Hosted by Harris Kenny.

Website: https://introcrm.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/introcrm
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/introcrm

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

In this episode, Harris shares some big personal news featuring a special guest from an eight-week old guest whose arrival caused the show to go on a short hiatus. 

Next an update on Intro CRM. The CRM integration with project management tools like Basecamp, Asana, and Trello is complete and available for alpha testers. Harris talks through the rationale of how the integrations work today. If you don't want to spend all day in your CRM, then this tool might be for you. Whether you are a solopreneur or small team, you might want a CRM for small business. 

Finally, Harris recaps his pipeline and how his strategic plan for 2020 shaped up. He took some big chances in changing the business model to ensure that it was providing the lifestyle he wanted—how'd it go? What's next? And how are you thinking about your business going into 2021?

Learn more about the project management tools at their websites below:

https://asana.com/
https://basecamp.com/
https://trello.com/

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Pipeline Meeting is a podcast brought to you by Intro CRM, a simple, privacy-friendly CRM for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Hosted by Harris Kenny.

Website: https://introcrm.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/introcrm/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/introcrm/

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

In this episode we explore the question of who are you selling to?

Building on who you are—as we explored in our last episode—it also matters who they are. Who is on the other side of the table? That can affect whether or not a deal is viable from the get-go. There are red herrings, or false leads that may present as quality leads but that don't materialize. We explore an example of that. 

We also begin to explore the concept of customer development. And the differences in needs for a needs a CRM for a single person business; perhaps a solopreneur, or someone with dreams to hire more people. Customer development is what happens in the early days. It's how you discover repeatability.

Once you have repeatability, you're ready to lock in the sales process and scale the sales organization. What does it look like to use a tool that's built to support that use case, and how are we thinking about that in Intro CRM?

See the new OSHdata website by visiting: https://oshdata.com/

Harris mentions Simon Sinek's iconic TEDxPuget Sound talk "Start with Why" which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA

Learn more about EmailOctopus and support Intro CRM by using this referral link: https://emailoctopus.com/?ali=40e81749-ec6f-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a

---

Pipeline Meeting is a podcast brought to you by Intro CRM, a simple, privacy-friendly CRM for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Hosted by Harris Kenny.

Website: https://introcrm.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/introcrm/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/introcrm/

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

The theme this week is simple: Be yourself. 

Can you think of ways that embracing yourself (or your business) might help you? Whether it's closing a deal, hiring someone, or just navigating a tough situation with a little more grace. 

This episode features the first guest submission from friend of the show Alex Medick. Alex is a freelance full stack digital marketer—or at least, that's how he describes himself these days. Learn about that evolution and how his business is up nearly 50% as a result.

Learn more about Alex's work by visiting his website: https://alexmedick.com/ You can also find Alex on Twitter @alexjmedick.

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Pipeline Meeting is a podcast brought to you by Intro CRM, a simple, privacy-friendly CRM for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Hosted by Harris Kenny.

Website: https://introcrm.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/introcrm/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/introcrm/

⚠️ Please note: This is an old episode of the Pipeline Meeting podcast. In August 2022, the show relaunched in a new format. For the most recent episodes, please visit the podcast page. 

•••

For the first full episode, Harris put together a worksheet that you can use to go through and audit your pipeline. Whether these leads came in before or during the Coronavirus pandemic, it's worth taking a step back and getting a sense of what you're really working with.

He put together a framework that will help you put those leads into one of six buckets, so you get take control. If you have leads that feel stuck, try this out. Listen to the episode or read the episode transcript.

Download the spreadsheet in XLSX or ODS format below:

https://introcrm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/covid-pipeline-audit.xlsx
https://introcrm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/covid-pipeline-audit.ods

Harris shares his planned the format for the show, his own pipeline, and some exciting personal news.

This episode includes references to:

Justin Jackson and Jon Buda's podcast Build Your SaaS. (They're the co-founders of Transistor.fm!) Listen to the referenced episode:
https://saas.transistor.fm/episodes/talking-about-an-acquisition

Harris' other podcast, Hello Blink Show, which he co-hosts with Shawn Hymel and you can find online here:
https://helloblinkshow.com/

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Pipeline Meeting is a podcast brought to you by Intro CRM, a simple, privacy-friendly CRM for entrepreneurs and freelancers. Hosted by Harris Kenny.

Website: https://introcrm.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/introcrm/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/introcrm/