Nathan Gold is Chief Demo Coach at The Demo Coach, a technology training company. He recently wrote to us and said, "I am now a complete convert to Highrise from Salesforce...Thank you again for a really useful product that I was able to get up and running, without training, in less time than it takes to get Salesforce up and running." We asked Nathan to tell us more and here's what he wrote:
Switching from Salesforce
Before finding Highrise, I was a Salesforce.com addict because it is a way to keep all information and communications about every contact all in one place. It was fairly easy to configure and the reporting features allowed me to give management any information they needed about our client and prospect database. The only real problem with Salesforce.com is that it can be expensive, especially when you have 20 people with user accounts. That's $3,900 each quarter since they bill you 3 months at a time.
So, when I needed a CRM to manage my new SOHO business, I started looking around at other less costly alternatives. A friend of mine mentioned 37signals Basecamp, which led me to Highrise.
To my surprise, Highrise turned out to be an amazing SAAS, which allows us to have basically the same functionality as Salesforce. The biggest differences to me is that the user interface is much more enjoyable to work with and the cost is a fraction of what I am used to paying for CRM. I started with the $12 per month version, which allows me to have 3 user accounts and up to 500 contacts in the database.
I was able to get my account up and running within 15 minutes! It would have been faster, but I received a phone call while I was working on configuring my account. Highrise was up and running The Demo Coach business in record time for any SAAS I had worked with in the past.
Highrise is great on the iPhone
The best part of Highrise to me is that I can use my iPhone to get access to all of my contacts no matter where I am. The Highrise user interface rocks on the iPhone. When I leave to go to an appointment now, I no longer have to use MapQuest to get me there. All I do is bring up the contacts name and there is a Map hyperlink already there. When I click on it, the iPhone shows me exactly where I need to go. It's a wonderful feature and has reduced my stress of getting to appointments on time.
Schedule tasks by emailing Highrise
My other favorite feature of Highrise is that I no longer have to write myself notes to be entered when I get back to the office. I can very easily schedule tasks (to-do's) by simply emailing Highrise! They provide a set of special email addresses with my account called Drop Boxes that automagically schedule tasks for me or others whether for today, tomorrow, or next week. It's amazing and has simplified my working life tremendously.
Everything is easily accessible in one place
One more thing…I was recently at the office of a new client. She was telling me that I never sent a response to her questions. Since I clearly remembered sending it, I simply used my iPhone to access Highrise and I was able to show her the email right under her name! Eventually, she found it in her spam folder! But, Highrise saved the day by having everything about the account in one place and easily accessible. I believe her company is now using Highrise too!
Thank you 37signals for making a wonderfully useful and affordable product that requires no installation or software on my computer! I seriously doubt I will ever go back to Salesforce.com. Highrise is now my shining star and secret weapon to run my business.
Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting or noteworthy way? Let us know.
