Hated to revive a 2-year old dead horse…so I’ll start a new thread. The question is updates on using Markate as a CRM (especially with ResponsiBid integration). Here is the original thread I’m referencing:
Anyone have any updated experience on this? Looking to switch CRMs, and ResponsiBid interface is a non-negotiable for me, it’s just too invaluable for the cost IMO. It sounds like recent changes have made “Markate is Now the Deepest CRM Integration with ResponsiBid”
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So, is anyone still using this SaaS product mix? Would love any feedback.
I’ve used RB with Jobber, but it sounds like Markate now has true 2-way interface with RB, and that has always been a needed improvement. I’m not too worried about Markate’s review features and such, I have SoTellUs for that, and a simple Zapier connection will get that moving. I haven’t delved deeply into the cost, but coming from ServiceTitan everything will feel like a discount to me.
Ive used Markate for about 3 years. Works well and has 99% of what I want. But there are little things that drive me crazy but that’ll be with anything. Their customer support is good. Usually respond within a few hours via Facebook after hours in the late evening.
Definitely take it for a test drive since it’s free. Nothing to loose there. It took a few days to get it all set up the way I wanted & when I decided to go live with it, it was fully customized as such. You can have all your crew members install the app on their phones & assign work orders accordingly. I got convinced I needed a CRM before I ever started then quickly realized a spiral notebook is all it takes for a one man show just starting out. I’ll definitely keep them up my sleeve in case the need arises.
I may. Trouble is my needs are far beyond just the CRM itself. I need it to work with ResponsiBid (which I watched the video how they work together well). It needs to have a good Zapier interface for SoTellUs integration. I’m probably setting up Slack as well, so I’m not sure if/how that will work together. A lot of systems going in at once, so I’m trying to figure out what the package of software looks like to try out. Phones and marketing stuff will play a role too. I had all of those things with ServiceTitan, but $$$$$$, and not really geared to our business and workflow.
I never could get them to return my calls or emails. Lol
I was looking into sales force service crm, but it’s crazy expensive to set up and use. They quoted me $15-40k just for set up.
We are still on Jobber, but scheduling, as you know, is not good for more than about 6-7 guys. Then you have way too much work you have to do in your head, and that’s not easy to teach a CSR to do.
Seriously though, it is by far the most robust CRM out there. A one-stop shop for all you need from lead entry to follow-up campaigns. It really just is lacking in the pricing/client facing proposal segment, and they don’t seem inerested in changing any time soon. If I could keep it, integrate ResponsiBid, and get things to work together (SoTellUs, etc.) a bit more smoothly, and not spend multiples of what I was spending on software before…I’d keep it in a heartbeat. I think a lot of those htings would be workable in time, but I can’t abide the cost to always be figuring out the next “workaround”.
Dude, with your level of conviction & understanding of this business, you could probably just find an IT nerd down that street that would love to put together something all-inclusive that you could sell to the rest of us. Just don’t charge us too much & we may be interested.
Exactly my issue. I’m going to be at 8 techs minimum to start this season, plus Service Manager as a backup, and maybe adding another truck/crew/service area during the season… I know we were leaving a ton of CrewCal’s functionality on the table when I took over…but the ServiceTitan iron was already in the fire, so I didn’t bother fixing any of that.
I also liked the call recording capability, marketing campaign tracking (and we had a good 25-30 phone numbers at this point in our phones setup with them, just in th 6 months we’ve been on it). The only absolutes at this moment are ResponsiBid and SoTellUs, and Airtable if I need to keep it for tracking data, etc. I’m pretty much sold on Slack (we’ve just been using Voxer, but I want more teamwork functionality). Doing a workshop on setting that up later this week.
I’ve been in this business just over 1 year at this point…business in general, and logistics, I’m all over it, but this business, still working on it. If I had to run through a sales call/proposal/booking process with a customer right now (especially in ST), it would probably take me 4 hours to muddle my way throught it… I’d probably eventually be like, “I’ll send you an email with a PDF quote, and run your card in Quickbooks”…but then the sales team sees it and thinks they shouldn’t follow the processes if I don’t. Problem is, I rarely do it, so I can’t do it. lol
You’re a business guy for sure! I’m a one man show which means everything from marketing, sales, tech, quality assurance, scheduling, etc… is all one guy. We’re all geared toward certain things & the business / tech side of it sounds like your wheelhouse, which is a strong trait to have these days. I look fwd to seeing what you come up with! But if I were in your shoes, I’d seek out a tech nerd that builds apps & codes for fun. They are definitely out there.
It sounds good in theory, but if I wanted to take time to develop something, I’d do that with ServiceTitan (if they were interested). That was the impression we were under when we signed on with them. No need to reinvent the wheel… I’ve got too many irons in the fire in terms of expanding into new areas, and adding new services (or more secondary companies really). Need to spend my time there, and on good hiring.
You don’t have to be a one man show for long either. We were started by my buddy in 2016 (1 guy with a Powerline trailer in his garage). We just ended 2021 by breaking $1MM in revenue. But we’re carrying overhead and admin costs that require us to continue to grow massively the next few years, so that’s the focus If you want to be off the truck, it can easily be done within the first year.
The more complicated you make it, the more complicated it is. Before I started scaling back in 2018 I broke the million mark routinely. I washed everyday and run my business off my cell phone, a spiral bound notebook, and a computer that’s about 15 years old with quick books on it. I don’t even accept credit cards. Trying to make the phone ring just means you are tied up talking to people instead of working. Get enough work to last one year, then just repeat it every year. I’ve kept the same customers for about 20 years and just add new ones if one leaves us. Lot more simple that way, and much easier on the guys if they clean the same properties every year.
The trick is do that…then do it another time, while the first one keeps running, lol. More people have good jobs, etc. Or just retire and weld drip pans on cast iron cooktops
I don’t really want to work that hard. And I binged scaling but still am not sure what it means. But, I woke to pee and am getting back under the covers now.
