CRM for geographic-focused search?

April 29, 2024

by a searcher from University of Virginia-Darden - Darden School of Business in Spartanburg, SC, USA

I am about to launch my search for a sub-$2M EBITDA business around my home state of South Carolina. Primary focus area is the upstate (Greenville/Spartanburg metro area) with secondary search areas in the lower part of the state.

Because of my tight geographic footprint, my day-to-day will be a little different than that of a national searcher. I will be spending a lot more of my time with in-person meetings and spending significantly less time on cold email outreach. So, I wonder if 1) a CRM would even be useful for this type of search and 2) what options for CRM you all recommend, if any?

If I don't use a CRM, I will probably just keep track of my network and contacts in some master Excel file. If I do use a CRM, most of my contacts in this space have recommended the free version of HubSpot. What do you all think?

Reply by a searcher
from Texas A&M University in Denver, CO, USA

Thanks for the tag ^redacted‌. For a geographically constrained search, this tool worked wonderfully for me ^redacted‌: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/excel?ef_id=_k_Cj0KCQjwir2xBhC_ARIsAMTXk86Mmkej_QD1gXpWIN3VtDsRwmi_UvR9N9CbfRKNi_gtBlFPZo7Zim8aAm95EALw_wcB_k_&OCID=AIDcmm474qp8el_SEM__k_Cj0KCQjwir2xBhC_ARIsAMTXk86Mmkej_QD1gXpWIN3VtDsRwmi_UvR9N9CbfRKNi_gtBlFPZo7Zim8aAm95EALw_wcB_k_&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwir2xBhC_ARIsAMTXk86Mmkej_QD1gXpWIN3VtDsRwmi_UvR9N9CbfRKNi_gtBlFPZo7Zim8aAm95EALw_wcB

Reply by an intermediary
from California State University, San Bernardino in Stratton, CO 80836, USA

I've been using CRMs for over 20 years in other jobs. I also use Excel quite a lot. I think for the purpose you are stating, you will find a simple CRM, like ACT!, more useful than Excel. I'm not a fan of the HubSpot free version.

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