I have no experience with any of those, and this may be leaving the scope of this thread and CRM software in general but…

  ...any software that can feed FA information into it is great in my book.  We are looking at a service that feeds from all the firms we do business with, which provides full contact info on the FA and tracks them as they "move about" the industry.

[quote=FVDA_Trade-PMR]Hi Gang!  I need your help.  I’m helping organize a special local FPA chapter meeting discussing CRM software and wondering if anyone can shed some light on their experiences (good and bad) with:

  1. RedTail 2. Act! 3. Junxure 4. EZ-Data   Thanks for your help!   Fred[/quote]

In my opinion, Salesforce is the best CRM for advisors. I've used Redtail, Act, Junxure, but not EZ Data. Most CRMs for advisors are either enhanced contact management systems (as opposed to relationship management systems) or are built around an assumed investment / sales process that you need to adopt in order to really use the system effectively. Most advisors I've found find CRMs don't fit their practice well. This is why Salesforce is a better approach - because it allows for businesses and users to customize their interface and functions.

Redtail - Interesting and designed for advisors - really ahead of its time when they created a web-based CRM, but it can't compete anymore.  Very inflexible compared to Salesforce. It's main attraction is that it's web based, but so is Salesforce. Unlike salesforce, it can't be customized, but it does have the advantage of being designed with an insurance-focused financial advisor's mindset. Unfortunately, you could pretty much customize all of the same functionality on Salesforce in about 5 hours and modify it to fit your practice better. Great integration with outside technologies (aralia, marketing library, emoney, etc), but that really doesn't mean very much. My guess is that Redtail will migrate over to Salesforce platform and become more of a consulting firm in the next few years. Pros - lots of integrations, very cheap (even compared to salesforce), web based, industry focused, great customer service. Cons - Lack of customization. Undoubtedly the best solution for startup advisors or small teams.

Act! - It's a contact management system. It mainly addresses the weaknesses in outlook as a basic CRM. Various customizations (Act4Advisors, etc) can add some useful stuff, but it's very inflexible and transaction focused. Not a great solution for wealth managers. Customer service depends on which Act you're purchasing. Pros - Large user group, decent selection. Cons - Inflexible, transactionally related, not really a true CRM.  Probably the best solution for a transaction-focused firms.

Junxure - More than the other two - a true wealth management relationship management tool. Integrates well (not perfectly) with Schwab PortfolioCenter (not Portfolio Services), but if you don't use that reporting software, you're giving up quite a bit. Really great system if you buy into the customer service and relationship model of the RIA that owns it and are obsessed with retaining control of the data. Way ahead of it's time 5 years ago, but it hasn't kept up with the lightning fast growth of technology and increasing competition.
MS Access, SQL server (as opposed to web) based, so it's very expensive to install and maintain (~$5-10k installation, ~$250/month maintenance). An employee will likely have to work ~2 hours a day updating data and maintaining the software.
Extremely steep learning curve. Because of the fact that it runs through MS Access, it has a really sort of outdated, clunky feeling. High degree of customization, but customization requires professional programmer. Sort of the SAP of Indy CRMs. Company (CRM Software, Inc.) makes a point of trying to keep up with all industry innovations, but are increasingly having a hard time keeping up. Their initial foray into online document sharing was pathetic, expensive, and was very client unfriendly when it came out initially. Because they have insisted on staying with an "on-premise" approach (advisor owns and maintains servers), this makes them attractive to firms that are interested in maintaining control of all data, but who are also willing to accept that they won't be using state of the art technology any more. Customer service is very professional, but the company was wicked understaffed when we tried using them (more than a year ago)- meaning that a tech support call generally took 24-36 hours to get a response. Pros - Good process, built by advisors for advisors. Cons - Server technology, clunky, expensive, steep learning curve. Probably the best solution for 5-10+ advisor firms with a dedicated technology person on staff. (I don't hold any bad will towards the company, but I wish I'd saved the money I wasted on this tool when I tried to use it.)

noggin:

Look at Upswing CRM.

  However, be apprised that Upswing does not have a seemless integration with one very important partner - LaserApp. If you are dealing from a "startup" or breakaway, you'll likely be populating Upswing, and then trying to export into LA.   Initially, you'll think this can happen only one way; client by client. Unless, of course, you are capable of doing a data export, data cleansing, and then mapping the data into LA. Not an impossible task, but more than I thought would be required.   Otherwise, a good application.

dashover:

Just left salesforce for zoho . it’s free and i like it better.
I set my screens and tabs up identically as in salesforce btw.

Have you ever used redtail or Upswing? If so is it comparable.

noggin:

I used redtail switched to upswing.

  pros/cons of each?

Most Crm’s ; can be tested for 30 days for free.

Use them alongside your current system and see which one you like better.

--------------

Crm concepts for brokers (super low iq approach)

Use Crm alongside google calendar (best calendar imho) Go through all clients and prospects on Thurs/ Fri and make sure you have 7 appointments set for next week. ( 30 month = goal). Call everyone to setup a review or whatever right now and put the date on your calendar If not ready or nothing now and you want to keep name on the list assign a “future action date”. (fad) Do a report of people with no “fad” or one before today and work off that list The goal is to have that list empty. Use Zoho and Google Calendar it’s free and works great


My 2c
Dash
-----------

In the interest of full disclosure,  I am the person who wrote Junxure and I would like comment on the post by San Fran Broker in regards to Junxure. 

  While everyone appreciates comments of people who have experience with various products, it is important to be sure to give our accurate information.  

Junxure 7 was released over 2 years ago and it featured a complete rewrite moving it 100% into the Dot  Net platform.  It no longer users MS Access.   Junxure 8 was released last year so we are far from the days of using MS Access.

  In terms of having to give up using "State of the Art Technology" if you control your own data, I am not sure what he is talking about, because of our move to the Dot Net platform we can now provide access to your data while you are on the road, either thru your smart phone or a web browser.  

His pricing is a bit off, it is actually $350 a year not $250 a month per user.  CRM Software will handle the total installation of the system in your office, for no charge. 

  In terms of being "Wicked Understaffed" (More than a year ago) that was probably during our transition from Junxure 6 (MS Access) to Junxure 7 (Dot Net) and this was a big undertaking.    We have grown from about 8 employees when we were an access program to now over 30 employees. Our callback time has always had a target of a call back within 2 hours and a growing percentage of our calls are direct answer.

<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

 

Ken Golding

Vice President, Junxure

[quote=kengolding]

In the interest of full disclosure,  I am the person who wrote Junxure and I would like comment on the post by San Fran Broker in regards to Junxure. 

  While everyone appreciates comments of people who have experience with various products, it is important to be sure to give our accurate information.  

Junxure 7 was released over 2 years ago and it featured a complete rewrite moving it 100% into the Dot  Net platform.  It no longer users MS Access.   Junxure 8 was released last year so we are far from the days of using MS Access.

  In terms of having to give up using "State of the Art Technology" if you control your own data, I am not sure what he is talking about, because of our move to the Dot Net platform we can now provide access to your data while you are on the road, either thru your smart phone or a web browser.  

His pricing is a bit off, it is actually $350 a year not $250 a month per user.  CRM Software will handle the total installation of the system in your office, for no charge. 

  In terms of being "Wicked Understaffed" (More than a year ago) that was probably during our transition from Junxure 6 (MS Access) to Junxure 7 (Dot Net) and this was a big undertaking.    We have grown from about 8 employees when we were an access program to now over 30 employees. Our callback time has always had a target of a call back within 2 hours and a growing percentage of our calls are direct answer.

<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

 

Ken Golding

Vice President, Junxure

[/quote] How come on your website it says "$1850 first year, $1500 each additional year"