Are you a small business owner who's buried in your work and just doesn't have time to research the latest and great apps and technology to use at your small business? No worries. Join hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks as they discuss the latest in small business tech and teach you how you can use each tool in your own business.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

Follow Gene on Small Biz Ahead.

Adroll

Facebook Live

Snapchat

6 Great HR Apps You've Never Heard Of

Transcript

Elizabeth: We are back with another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. This is Elizabeth Larkin and I'm here with Gene Marks.

Gene: Hello, hello, hello.

Elizabeth: Hello, hello. Today I just want to give a really quick shout out to my mom, because the day we're recording this is her last day working at Charter Oak State College after 31 years.

Gene: Wow.

Elizabeth: She's finally retiring.

Gene: Wow. That is crazy.

Elizabeth: A little shout out to Linda Larkin. Mom, we're very proud of you, and enjoy your retirement. We will be right back with our first question. This is all about Gene's favorite tech for small business, after we hear from our sponsor.

My mom doesn't listen to the podcast.

Elizabeth: And we're back with our first question. As I was just telling Gene, my mom doesn't even listen to the podcast. I just felt as a child, I had to do that for my parent.

Gene: We're going to make her listen now. She's got a little time on her hands now.

Elizabeth: She's not doing anything.

Gene: Of course.

QUESTION 1: How to Keep Track of New Tech Products and Apps?

Elizabeth: Our first question is from Ted in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Very close to where we're recording in Hartford right now. Hello, Ted. Ted writes:

I recently heard Gene speak at a small business consortium event. That's one of those words I can never ...He talked about tons of great sounding tech products and apps. What's the best way for a small business owner to keep track of them?

Gene: It was a reSET event, yeah.

Elizabeth: ... Hartford, last spring. Gene does all of these speaking events and he comes with a Power Point that's just packed full of tech things. I watched all the small business owners, there were tons of them there, they were rapt with attention. They were taking notes. At the end of it, Gene's like, "I'm going to give you that list."

Gene: Hey, don't worry about it. I learned to tell people in advance, okay, listen guys, you're going to get a copy of this. Just relax. Just listen. You don't have to sit there scribbling away. People taking photos of the screen and all of that.

Elizabeth: We get this question all the time. As a small business owner, it's really hard to stay ... you're running your business. You're not sitting there reading Wired.com every day. It's really hard to stay on top of it.

Are you a small business owner who's buried in your work and just doesn't have time to research the latest and great apps and technology to use at your small business? No worries. Join hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks as they discuss the latest in small business tech and teach you how you can use each tool in your own business.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

Follow Gene on Small Biz Ahead.

Adroll

Facebook Live

Snapchat

6 Great HR Apps You've Never Heard Of

Transcript

Elizabeth: We are back with another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. This is Elizabeth Larkin and I'm here with Gene Marks.

Gene: Hello, hello, hello.

Elizabeth: Hello, hello. Today I just want to give a really quick shout out to my mom, because the day we're recording this is her last day working at Charter Oak State College after 31 years.

Gene: Wow.

Elizabeth: She's finally retiring.

Gene: Wow. That is crazy.

Elizabeth: A little shout out to Linda Larkin. Mom, we're very proud of you, and enjoy your retirement. We will be right back with our first question. This is all about Gene's favorite tech for small business, after we hear from our sponsor.

My mom doesn't listen to the podcast.

Elizabeth: And we're back with our first question. As I was just telling Gene, my mom doesn't even listen to the podcast. I just felt as a child, I had to do that for my parent.

Gene: We're going to make her listen now. She's got a little time on her hands now.

Elizabeth: She's not doing anything.

Gene: Of course.

QUESTION 1: How to Keep Track of New Tech Products and Apps?

Elizabeth: Our first question is from Ted in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Very close to where we're recording in Hartford right now. Hello, Ted. Ted writes:

I recently heard Gene speak at a small business consortium event. That's one of those words I can never ...He talked about tons of great sounding tech products and apps. What's the best way for a small business owner to keep track of them?

Gene: It was a reSET event, yeah.

Elizabeth: ... Hartford, last spring. Gene does all of these speaking events and he comes with a Power Point that's just packed full of tech things. I watched all the small business owners, there were tons of them there, they were rapt with attention. They were taking notes. At the end of it, Gene's like, "I'm going to give you that list."

Gene: Hey, don't worry about it. I learned to tell people in advance, okay, listen guys, you're going to get a copy of this. Just relax. Just listen. You don't have to sit there scribbling away. People taking photos of the screen and all of that.

Elizabeth: We get this question all the time. As a small business owner, it's really hard to stay ... you're running your business. You're not sitting there reading Wired.com every day. It's really hard to stay on top of it.

Are you a small business owner who’s buried in your work and just doesn’t have time to research the latest and great apps and technology to use at your small business? No worries. Join hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks as they discuss the latest in small business tech and teach you how you can use each tool in your own business.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

Follow Gene on Small Biz Ahead.

* Adroll

* Facebook Live

* Snapchat

* 6 Great HR Apps You’ve Never Heard Of

Transcript

Elizabeth: We are back with another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. This is Elizabeth Larkin and I’m here with Gene Marks.

Gene: Hello, hello, hello.

Elizabeth: Hello, hello. Today I just want to give a really quick shout out to my mom, because the day we’re recording this is her last day working at Charter Oak State College after 31 years.

Gene: Wow.

Elizabeth: She’s finally retiring.

Gene: Wow. That is crazy.

Elizabeth: A little shout out to Linda Larkin. Mom, we’re very proud of you, and enjoy your retirement. We will be right back with our first question. This is all about Gene’s favorite tech for small business, after we hear from our sponsor.

My mom doesn’t listen to the podcast.

Elizabeth: And we’re back with our first question. As I was just telling Gene, my mom doesn’t even listen to the podcast. I just felt as a child, I had to do that for my parent.

Gene: We’re going to make her listen now. She’s got a little time on her hands now.

Elizabeth: She’s not doing anything.

Gene: Of course.

QUESTION 1: How to Keep Track of New Tech Products and Apps?

Elizabeth: Our first question is from Ted in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Very close to where we’re recording in Hartford right now. Hello, Ted. Ted writes:

I recently heard Gene speak at a small business consortium event. That’s one of those words I can never …He talked about tons of great sounding tech products and apps. What’s the best way for a small business owner to keep track of them?

Gene: It was a reSET event, yeah.

Elizabeth: … Hartford, last spring. Gene does all of these speaking events and he comes with a Power Point that’s just packed full of tech things. I watched all the small business owners, there were tons of them there, they were rapt with attention. They were taking notes. At the end of it, Gene’s like, “I’m going to give you that list.”

Gene: Hey, don’t worry about it. I learned to tell people in advance, okay, listen guys, you’re going to get a copy of this. Just relax. Just listen. You don’t have to sit there scribbling away. People taking photos of the screen and all of that.

Elizabeth: We get this question all the time. As a small business owner, it’s really hard to stay … you’re running your business. You’re not sitting there reading Wired.com every day. It’s really hard to stay on top of it. What I would actually like to do is start a series where maybe once a month we do an episode where...

For a small business owner, losing an employee can be devastating. It’s an even worse situation if it’s your best employee.  This week join hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks as they help you triage that sticky situation and discuss the best way to invoice clients on this episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

* What to Do As Soon As Your Best Employee Quits

Invoicing

* Zero

* Paypal

* FreshBooks

Transcript

Elizabeth: Welcome to this week’s episode. Gene, how are you doing?

Gene: Doing fine. Oh, I’m thirsty.

Elizabeth: We’re sitting here with some beverages.

Gene: I have in my hand a bottle of Aquafina, but it’s just regular bottled water.

Elizabeth: It’s just plain and regular, so I’m a big fan of the flavored water. I’m enjoying an Aquafina Black Cherry Dragon Fruit that I got at the cafeteria at The Hartford for this.

Gene: Fantastic. Yes.

Elizabeth: We needed a little liquid before we sat down to do this. This week we’re talking about employees quitting and invoicing clients. Obviously those are 2 topics that I’m sure you’ve dealt with in the past.

Gene: Yes.

Elizabeth: What’s harder?

Gene: Employees quitting is the worst. It’s absolutely the worst.

Elizabeth: It’s the worst thing.

Gene: When you lose somebody it’s devastating. It’s happened to me a couple times in the past 20 years. Remember there is only 10 people in my company. Most recently was about 2 or 3 years ago. I had a key person in my company leave. She was great. We left amicably. God forbid when anybody quits, you never burn bridges, and maybe we’ll get into more detail about that, but when she left, it took me a while to recover, but sometimes good things come out of it as well. Depending on the person.

Elizabeth: Definitely.

Gene: You bring in new blood. You learn. You improve.

Elizabeth: New skills.

Gene: Yep.

Elizabeth: Okay, so after we hear from our sponsor we’re going to talk about that.

QUESTION #1: My Best Employee is About to Quit

Okay, we’re back with our first question. This is from Geraldine in Tampa. Gene do you want to talk about your mom?

Gene: She’s back from Florida. She’s fine.

Elizabeth: The joke is that every time we talk about Florida, Gene talks about his mom.

Gene: It brings up my mom. Listen it was a little rainy down there, and then the sun came out. We had a great time.

Elizabeth: All right. Geraldine in Tampa writes,

“I run an accounting business with 3 full time accountants and one secretary. I’m pretty sure my best accountant is about to quit. I’ve tried to meet with her more regularly. What else can I do?”

Gene: My answer. Let her quit.

Elizabeth: Because she wants out.

Gene: Yeah. I mean you can’t put a gun to somebody’s head an...

What is influencer marketing? How much should your small business spend on new customer acquisition? And how do you balance any new clients you attract with your current clients? We answer these questions and more on today’s Small Biz Ahead Podcast with hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

* Vocal Fry video

* At Risk of Running Out of Leads? Here Are the Best Places to Discover New Leads Right Now for Your Small Business

* How Small Business Owners Can Keep Customers Loyal and Coming Back for More

Transcript

Elizabeth: Welcome back to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Gene is here again with us in Hartford today. We’re very excited to have you here, Gene.

Gene: Very excited as well, Elizabeth. I want you to know I am almost caught up on Silicon Valley. I just thought I’d let you know I’ve been binge watching it over the past week. I don’t know why I’ve avoided watching that show. Do you watch it? It’s hilarious.

Elizabeth: No, I haven’t. I can’t stay up that late.

Gene: Well, anyway, it’s on on-demand on HBO. It’s just a hilarious show.

Elizabeth: Once I finish watching Game of Thrones, I’m done for the night. I have to emotionally step away from the TV for the most part.

Gene: Hodor. Hodor. Hodor. Hodor.

Elizabeth: Oh, god, that Hodor episode was terrible.

Gene: Horrible. Horrible.

Elizabeth: I mean, it was a great episode, but it was gut-wrenching.

Gene: Yeah, it was very upsetting.

Elizabeth: And then Veep comes on. Do you watch Veep?

Gene: Love Veep.

Elizabeth: Veep is the most insane show. I love it because I worked in politics for a long time, so I’m like, “Yep, that happens.”

Gene: Is it true? It is. You see that and you’re like, “Oh, great.”

Elizabeth: Yep. All true. It’s all true.

Gene: I say that with my wife, “This can’t be true, man. Jeez, this would be really scary if it was.” Veep is a great show and you can’t do anything else when that show is on. You have to pay attention to every word. It’s so fast.

Elizabeth: No, you have to pay attention and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the most amazing actress.

Gene: Unreal. Isn’t she great?

Elizabeth: I’ve seen her in so many dramatic movies, too, and she’s so good.

Gene: Yeah, she’s great. Do you know that her family, like her great-grandfather or grandfather … They’re the Dreyfus Fund.

Elizabeth: Oh, yeah. She’s a socialite.

Gene: Oh, yeah. She comes from a long line of financial icons. It’s amazing. She’s great.

Elizabeth: Yeah. Must be nice. One time, I used to be … I don’t know if you know this about me, I used to be a television critic.

Gene: No!

Do you need to find a new employee with a specialized skill? Should you respond to every single social media complaint or compliment? Join hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks as they answer these questions and more on this episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

* The Right Way for Small Businesses to Use Social Media (Podcast)

Transcript

Elizabeth: Welcome to another edition of the Small Biz Ahead podcast. I’m here today, as always, with Gene Marks. Gene, how are you doing today?

Gene: I am doing fine, Elizabeth, how are you?

Elizabeth: I’m good. I’m good. Looking forward to the weekend. We’re recording this on a Friday, which is obviously the best day of the week. Gene, you told me recently that you actually work on Saturdays as well.

Gene: Yeah, there’s no … That’s a whole other topic of conversation we’ll have one day. I don’t know. When you run a business, I don’t consider myself taking days off. Yeah, I work on Saturdays and Sundays, at least responding to emails or working on projects or proposals, or whatever.

Elizabeth: Do you still get up at the same time?

Gene: No, I sleep in a little bit more. I usually get up at 5 in the morning during the week. Then, on the weekends, I’ll sleep in a little bit more. It’s much more chillaxed on the weekend. You’re not … You know, not the same level of work that you’re doing during the week. It always makes me laugh when people go away … They have a vacation message. That’s so company thing. You work at The Hartford, I guess you go away, and you have an out of office message. For me, I’ve never ever used an out of office message. I think my clients would be like, what the heck is he talking about? Whenever I travel, or even if I’m on vacation, or whatever, I’ve got this thing called a smart phone. I get emails that way, and there’s this-

Elizabeth: What’s that?

Gene: Yeah. There’s this internet thing that I hear is all over the world. I stay in touch that way as well.

Elizabeth: I’ve been seeing something lately, where people put an out of office message on their email, but instead of saying, I’m out of the office, they say, I only check email 3 times a day at these times. I think that’s a time management trick for them, because a lot of people, I think, just get stuck in their email, and they start responding to emails, and they never get out of it, and start doing their work. Would you ever consider doing that?

Gene: No, first of all. Who cares how often you’re checking your email? I don’t care about that. That’s like a pilot. You get on the plane, and he’s like, we’re going to be taking off to the West, and we’ll be crossing over Chicago, and then we’ll be cutting down to the South. Jerry Seinfeld has a routine on that, where he’s just like, whatever, just get me there. It’s the same thing with your email. I don’t care if you’re checking it twice a day, three times, just reply to my email, that’s what I care about.

Should you confront an employee who you suspect is stealing from you if you don't have any evidence? And what should you do if you are ready to retire and your kids don't want to take over your business? Listen now to hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

BizBuySell

Security Systems:

ControlByNet

Smartvue

iVideon

Transcript

Elizabeth: Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Gene, how are you today?

Gene: I'm doing fine, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Did you read anything interesting on your way up here?

Gene: No, I did not. I slept actually on the way up here.

Elizabeth: Nice.

Gene: We were talking before, I just have to bring this up, about our dogs. You were saying your dog had a problem with barking, right?

Elizabeth: Yeah.

Gene: My dog is a rescue, doesn't bark.

Elizabeth: Doesn't bark?

Gene: Doesn't bark.

Elizabeth: Ever?

Gene: No. I know she can, because if you step on her by mistake or whatever she'll yelp out.

Elizabeth: She barks?

Gene: Yeah. She's the sweetest little dog and she's like five years old. She's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We got her about a year ago.

Elizabeth: What's her name?

Gene: Well, her name is Lavender. Sometimes we call her Penelope. Don't ask why. She's awesome. We live in like an apartment building in Philly, so obviously concerned about dog does not bark as well, so that was ...

Elizabeth: Is she your dog or kids' dog?

Gene: Our dog. Our dog.

Elizabeth: Oh, nice. Nice.

Gene: I mean, our kids love it and all that, but our kids are in college now.

Elizabeth: You didn't have the dog for the kids and then they left?

Gene: We did. We had a dog before. She was actually an insurance dog. We had the world's greatest dog ever named Fudge and we had him for more than fourteen years and we had to put him down in the spring. It was awful. It's just horrible. Fudge our dog, we knew he was on his last legs and about six months before we put him down, we got this other dog, because we knew that we'd be crushed when Fudge went down and we were. At least you have this other dog then to sort of help with the pain.

Elizabeth: You work from home. Does she work with you?

Gene: Yeah, she's around.

Elizabeth: She hangs out in the office?

Gene: Oh yeah, she's around.

Elizabeth: What is your home office set up like?

Gene: It's all a desk and a sofa.

Should you confront an employee who you suspect is stealing from you if you don't have any evidence? And what should you do if you are ready to retire and your kids don't want to take over your business? Listen now to hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

BizBuySell

Security Systems:

ControlByNet

Smartvue

iVideon

Transcript

Elizabeth: Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Gene, how are you today?

Gene: I'm doing fine, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Did you read anything interesting on your way up here?

Gene: No, I did not. I slept actually on the way up here.

Elizabeth: Nice.

Gene: We were talking before, I just have to bring this up, about our dogs. You were saying your dog had a problem with barking, right?

Elizabeth: Yeah.

Gene: My dog is a rescue, doesn't bark.

Elizabeth: Doesn't bark?

Gene: Doesn't bark.

Elizabeth: Ever?

Gene: No. I know she can, because if you step on her by mistake or whatever she'll yelp out.

Elizabeth: She barks?

Gene: Yeah. She's the sweetest little dog and she's like five years old. She's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We got her about a year ago.

Elizabeth: What's her name?

Gene: Well, her name is Lavender. Sometimes we call her Penelope. Don't ask why. She's awesome. We live in like an apartment building in Philly, so obviously concerned about dog does not bark as well, so that was ...

Elizabeth: Is she your dog or kids' dog?

Gene: Our dog. Our dog.

Elizabeth: Oh, nice. Nice.

Gene: I mean, our kids love it and all that, but our kids are in college now.

Elizabeth: You didn't have the dog for the kids and then they left?

Gene: We did. We had a dog before. She was actually an insurance dog. We had the world's greatest dog ever named Fudge and we had him for more than fourteen years and we had to put him down in the spring. It was awful. It's just horrible. Fudge our dog, we knew he was on his last legs and about six months before we put him down, we got this other dog, because we knew that we'd be crushed when Fudge went down and we were. At least you have this other dog then to sort of help with the pain.

Elizabeth: You work from home. Does she work with you?

Gene: Yeah, she's around.

Elizabeth: She hangs out in the office?

Gene: Oh yeah, she's around.

Elizabeth: What is your home office set up like?

Gene: It's all a desk and a sofa.

Should you confront an employee who you suspect is stealing from you if you don’t have any evidence? And what should you do if you are ready to retire and your kids don’t want to take over your business? Listen now to hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

* BizBuySell

Security Systems:

* ControlByNet

Smartvue

iVideon

Transcript

Elizabeth: Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Gene, how are you today?

Gene: I’m doing fine, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Did you read anything interesting on your way up here?

Gene: No, I did not. I slept actually on the way up here.

Elizabeth: Nice.

Gene: We were talking before, I just have to bring this up, about our dogs. You were saying your dog had a problem with barking, right?

Elizabeth: Yeah.

Gene: My dog is a rescue, doesn’t bark.

Elizabeth: Doesn’t bark?

Gene: Doesn’t bark.

Elizabeth: Ever?

Gene: No. I know she can, because if you step on her by mistake or whatever she’ll yelp out.

Elizabeth: She barks?

Gene: Yeah. She’s the sweetest little dog and she’s like five years old. She’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. We got her about a year ago.

Elizabeth: What’s her name?

Gene: Well, her name is Lavender. Sometimes we call her Penelope. Don’t ask why. She’s awesome. We live in like an apartment building in Philly, so obviously concerned about dog does not bark as well, so that was …

Elizabeth: Is she your dog or kids’ dog?

Gene: Our dog. Our dog.

Elizabeth: Oh, nice. Nice.

Gene: I mean, our kids love it and all that, but our kids are in college now.

Elizabeth: You didn’t have the dog for the kids and then they left?

Gene: We did. We had a dog before. She was actually an insurance dog. We had the world’s greatest dog ever named Fudge and we had him for more than fourteen years and we had to put him down in the spring. It was awful. It’s just horrible. Fudge our dog, we knew he was on his last legs and about six months before we put him down, we got this other dog, because we knew that we’d be crushed when Fudge went down and we were. At least you have this other dog then to sort of help with the pain.

Elizabeth: You work from home. Does she work with you?

Gene: Yeah, she’s around.

Elizabeth: She hangs out in the office?

Gene: Oh yeah, she’s around.

Elizabeth: What is your home office set up like?

Gene: It’s all a desk and a sofa. Separate room in the apartment. Very quiet room and that’s it. I have a laptop and a landline. I get questions about landlines now and that’s another topic for another day about communications in a business. I’m coming across more and more companies, don’t have phone systems.

Elizabeth: Yeah.

Are you losing track of customer requests, sales and orders? Are you not sure which of your customers need a follow-up call your email? Have you been thinking about getting a CRM for your business but are not sure how to start? Join hosts Elizabeth Larkin and Gene Marks as they walk you through what a CRM can do for your business and how to get started.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Sign up for the weekly newsletter so you never miss an episode. Do you have a question you’d like Elizabeth and Gene to answer? Submit your question to the Small Biz Ahead Podcast.

Links

Why Every Small Business (Yes, Even Yours) Needs a CRM System

Transcript

Elizabeth: Welcome everyone to another addition of the Small Biz Ahead Podcast. Today we’re going to be talking about Gene’s favorite topic, which is CRMs, which is short for Customer Relationship Management. Instead of answering listener questions today, Gene is going to get questions from me all about the Customer Relationship Management tool, which he sells.

Gene, how are you today?

Gene: I am doing fine, and very excited to talk about CRM because I’m passionate about it.

Elizabeth: I know, it’s your favorite topic.

Gene: Yes, we love it. Every business should have one of these things.

Elizabeth: We’ve referred to CRMs a lot in previous podcasts and we were thinking we should explain what they actually are in case there are business owners out there who don’t know what they are because, Gene, as you’ve written for us, it is a tool that can really change your life.

Gene: Let me tell you a story, I forget if I’ve told this story before, but who cares. My wife and I, Elizabeth, we don’t go out very much on the weekends. We are like home bodies, watch a lot of TV, whatever. Friday nights honestly for the past twenty years we order Sushi in. We have been ordering from the same Japanese restaurant in our neighborhood for years. They have a CRM system. They use a little system called Act, which by the way, Act, A-C-T, that’s been around for a thousand years. It’s one of many that are out there. Here’s the deal, when I call up their restaurant at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, whoever picks up the phone, their phone system is tied in to their CRM system, they get a screen pop that says it’s me calling in. Whoever answers the phone, like, “Oh, hello Mr. Marks. Good to hear from you.” I’m like, “Yes, same order as last week,” and they’re very nice people, but hard to understand. They’re like, “Yes, same order, same order,” because they’ve got the same, my history there as well, and they always get the order right.

Every month I get an email from them inviting me with a coupon for like a free glass of wine if I buy a California roll. Once a year, Elizabeth, I get a card in the mail from my Japanese restaurant wishing me a happy birthday.

Elizabeth: That’s so nice.

Gene: Yeah, I haven’t got a card from my kids in like five years, my Japanese restaurant … And last Christmas, this is a true story, we had a fruit basket delivered to our house from our Japanese restaurant thanking us for being such a good customer. I don’t know if anyone listening here has ever had a fruit basket delivered to their house from their Japanese restaurant.