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MenuWhich CRM should we use to keep track of fundraising relationships?
We are launching a venture fundraising round that is going to be significantly broader (aka way more conversations, people, contacts) than our previous rounds. Is their a good CRM platform we should use to keep track of people and the process? Personal experience most helpful!
Answers
I've worked with a couple of CRMs; if you are looking for a custom-like solution, I'd recommend Podio.
Salesforce has a lot of options, but tends to overwhelm folks who are not familiar with their tool.
If I didn't go with Podio, I'd choose HubSpot because of the integration with their other sales and marketing services. I don't know any other details about your venture, so it is hard to offer a tool that will grow with you.
I'm happy to discuss more and give you a more detailed answer. Just book a call and we can get rockin'
-Shaun
Honestly I like NationBuilder. It gives you many options to customize both customer facing and the back end. It also integrates with many other SaaS products. If you would like, shoot me an email and we can talk in more detail to make sure you guys understand your options. I have worked with nonprofits and other organizations that fund raise in the past.
Lots of fundraising systems claim to offer a mythological, unicorn-like "360-degree view." However, if they are only storing data about fundraising, they’re only showing you part of the picture. Your best prospects and donors may be involved in your mission as beneficiaries, clients, partners, advocates, online participants and more. Don’t you want to know that? Won’t that allow you to better identify prospects, and build stronger and deeper relationships? You bet it will! And guess what – your constituents expect that the left- and right-hands of your organization talk to each other. Your desk is NOT where prospects turn into donors. If so, your CRM should allow you to easily surface your best relationship opportunities and provide clear, automated pathways for cultivating those relationships.
You can read more here: https://www.salesforce.org/blog/top-3-14159-tips-for-choosing-a-crm-to-meet-your-fundraising-needs/
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
For our nonprofit botanical garden and animal sanctuary, I've been using the Techloyce Nonprofit Success Pack. I like it since you can modify it to your needs and it allows you to have up to 10 members for a very reasonable price. I also like that their Trailhead videos make learning the system and figuring out how to customize it for your individual needs a breeze, or you can submit a ticket to have a Salesforce professional assist you with your modification. My only issue is that some of my other products do not integrate with Salesforce because they were picked years before I started working here (like Vanco for online credit card donations). You can check details at https://www.techloyce.com/zoho-consultants/
As a result, I presently have to manually enter data such as donations and membership fees. Techlyce is well worth the investment because so many products now integrate with it. Aside from that, I believe Salesforce is a really powerful product that is well worth the investment.
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Keep in mind that investors invest for returns. Telling a prospective investor that you want his or her money to grow your business but don't plan on ever generating a liquidation event that pays him or her a dividend is not likely going to work; angel or not. You may be better served with debt financing where returns are generated in the form of interest payments not equity value growth. BUT, if equity financing is the plan, you're going to want to develop a strategic exit plan right from the start. That means identifying prospective buyers, strategic channels etc and characterizing the value drivers for each right up front. You'll find prospective buyers come in a number of forms; competitors, bigger versions of you, strategic partners, private equity, etc. Each will value your business in different amounts for for different reasons. Understanding this is vitally important for you to navigate to securing the right money, from the right sources, with the most favorable terms. Once you've qualified and quantified each of them, then determine what (specifically) you're going to need to do to align your business with those prospective buyers generating the highest returns. This will drive your business model and go to market strategy and define your 'use of funds' decisions. This in turn result in a better, more valuable business whether you exit or not. Do it this way and you'll have no trouble raising money from multiple sources. You can learn more about the advantage of starting with a Strategic Exit plan here: http://www.zerolimitsventures.com/cadredc Good luck. SteveSL
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The more important first impressions to leave a VC with are: 1) That you both are credible and inspire confidence that you can execute the plan you're fundraising on. 2) That there is good chemistry and a great relationship between the two of you; 3) That you can adequately address the concerns/objections/questions the VC raises. The CEO is expected to do most of the talking because the CEO should be the best person in the company at articulating the vision and value of the product and company you're building. If your CTO is comfortable presenting part of the pitch, it would be ideal for the CTO to speak to the product slides. The most important thing is for the CTO not to be a "bump on the log" meaning that you don't want them sitting there for most of the presentation with nothing to say. If you feel that's the case, you really shouldn't bring your CTO. Most VC meetings will not get technical and under the hood. Each question answered should be answered by the person best qualified to speak to that question. You should make eye-contact with your partner and use subtle body language to find a way to cue the other person to speak to that question or simply offer "CTO, would you like to answer that?" Bottom line, make sure that the CTO can speak confidently enough about the product and vision, otherwise -unless specifically asked by the VC - come alone. Fundraising is a big distraction to building and a good VC will always respect that in a first meeting, the CTO can be excused from attending in priority of building product. Happy to talk to you both on a call about helping get you feeling a bit more confident and prepared before your meeting. I was formerly a VC associate for a $500m fund and have raised money from VCs as a serial entrepreneur.TW
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