Considering Which CRM is Right for You?

by Chris Firra and Anthony Cox

Have Sage 300 ERP? Considering a CRM solution? See how Sage CRM compares to Salesforce.com.

We frequently hear from our SMB clients with Sage 300 ERP installed on-premises that the time is right to employ salesforce automation (SFA) to improve their sales processes. We usually find that Sage CRM offers 90% of the functionality that their sales team needs, and that it provides an outstanding platform to easily develop the last 10% of the requirements. Inevitably, the comparison to Salesforce.com arises, which provides much of the same functionality. CFOs must then decide which platform provides the best value.

In almost all cases where the number of potential CRM users is 5 or fewer, the existing hardware infrastructure is more than capable of handling the relatively modest resource demands of Sage CRM. The additional incremental cost of database maintenance is normally insignificant, since normally only a tweak of the current back-up plan for ERP is required. Therefore, in most cases, the total investment is equal to cost of the software plus the cost of implementation.

We usually find that Sage CRM provides the best value for companies that have deployed Sage 300 ERP. This is because the Sage 300 ERP suite includes the Sage CRM Server and the first named user license. It's especially true through June 30, 2013, because of the current buy three get one free promotion. Now, let's compare the feature set and related costs over a 3 year commitment assuming a purchase during the month of June, 2013.

Sage CRM
from BTerrell Group

Function

salesforce.com

Included

Accounts & contacts

Included

Included

Task & event tracking

Included

Included

Email integration Outlook

Included

Included

Opportunity tracking

Included

Included

Customizable sales process

Included

Included

Email templates & tracking

Included

Included

Lead scoring, routing & assignment

Included

Included

Mass email

Included

Included

Campaigns

Included

Included

Product tracking

Included

Included

Real-time quotes

Included

Included

Contract management

Included

Included

Customizable forecasts

Included

Included

Customizable dashboards

Included

Included

Analytics snapshots

Included

Included

Integration & Synchronization with Sage 300 ERP

Not Included

Included

Professional Implementation

Not Included

$3847.80

4 user licenses, 1^st Yr investment

$3120

$667.80

2^nd Yr investment

$3120

$667.80

3^rd Yr investment

$3120

$5183.40

Total 3 year commitment

$9360

Included

Workflow & approval automation

$6000

When factoring in the cost of integration with the ERP system -- which has not even been estimated for Salesforce.com here -- Sage CRM far and away provides the better value for SMB users of Sage 300 ERP.

And, Sage won the Champion and Best Overall Value awards from Info-Tech Research Group.

Want more information or a demonstration? Contact Anthony Cox today.