General Consultant Discussion

I use Basecamp for managing all of my projects and upgrades. I like it because in many (most) cases I find the lead time to when the conversation starts to when the project (payment rec'd) begins can be months. During the meantime I have lots of things that I track inside of Basecamp so that when I finally get a check 6 or 8 months later I'm ready to hit the ground running. Basecamp just added another feature called client approvals. It's essentially a very clear way to send out an email that shows the deadline by which something needs their approval. I haven't tested yet, but I could see using this for price quotes, upgrade testing approval. Any of those things that ""seem to get lost"" in the daily grind. https://m.signalvnoise.com/helping-clients-and-firms-get-to-yes-f92f2383032d#.ep6c5wwz2

This could also be interesting for prospects where we have been researching open questions leading up to a purchase. It clearly documents our feedback to them and their decision based upon that research/feedback.

I don't use Basecamp, but I'm interested in how you organize the information. Most of the time when I am sent these, there is no organization, just a timeline of comments.

I find that customers mostly don't want to login and participate. So I don't plan on them logging in or participating much though I have started using the new ""Talk To The Client"" which lets you sent out a group email from within BC and so long as they reply directly it goes right back into BC and is saved in the project . I like this a lot and want to use it more. I use Docs and Files to track: - Server location - Contact info (Billy Bob the outsourced IT guy email) - Passwords and access notes - Notes on where Sage is installed - new vs old I use To-dos: - Track the various steps I'll need to re-create when I go live (errors that need fixing) - In essence my To-Dos are often for the go live phase and I create them during testing - Checklist of reports/forms that need upgrading - Notes on ""weird stuff"" that occurred with each report/form upgrade I do very little in other areas though I'm actively thinking of tracking support cases through message boards but the ultimate destination of my help desk notes is very much an open area to investigate.

Cost: - $79/mo - Basecamp with Clients - all-inclusive, no per-user charge, no limit on the number of projects/Basecamps - allows you to keep clients discussions, approvals and feedback inside Basecamp. - $29/mo - Basecamp for Use - all-inclusive, no per-user charge, no limit on the number of projects/Basecamps - no external communication with clients. While a bit pricey, I like that there is no limit to users or projects.

We have been splitting time between Basecamp and Microsoft SharePoint. Basecamp is way easier to use (we are with Basecamp 2 not 3) but it is also much more limited and less expensive. Customers seem to not really use either as much as we would like, but both can provide automated e-mails to the customer when we post content. This is great when you assign deadlines. Business owners also seem to recognize that work is being done when you use a collaboration tool and are not on-site. We also have a huge problem getting third party contractors to use either site making them less effective and appear as separate entities as opposed to extensions of our team (very frustrating to me as I am trying to give them work and they will not follow basic project management principles). We are probably going to keep being split with Basecamp for simple projects and Sharepoint for full implementations. With Sharepoint we are creating templates so our work plan can be pre-loaded and then items removed from scope.

@GaryFeldman We could start a whole discussion on how to coordinate with ISV's so they appear as an extension of the implementation team. We struggle with this.

@alanniergarth #MOTM2017

@WayneSchulz It sounds like your using a project management tool for items that would otherwise be a function of CRM.

I think I am for some portions and in some ways I think having segregated quick projects is beneficial. For example I open a project for web inquiries (which seem less likely to close) because it's awkward when they come back in a year talking to you as if you should remember all of their pains. If I put them into CRM I'd have a lot of junk and wasted time.