Five years ago, I was a complete mess. No, scratch that. Maybe 6 or 7 years ago, my business was a whole mess regarding keeping track of everything. I was just in the swing of starting my business, and I was trying all sorts of methods to keep booked clients organized. One of the things I didn’t know about when I first started was Customer Relationship Management, or CRM for short. CRM tools were used to keep your business organized by streamlining everything from contracts to collecting payments. It was a tool I was unfamiliar with until much later on.
The first tool I used to organize my business was Paypal. I was already familiar with them, and I knew of plenty of other companies that used them. I set up my business there and went to work. At first, it helped collect payments and create contracts. Yet, I quickly realized I needed a lot more than just a place to collect payments.
Paypal Business is a versatile and valuable program, but it severely lacks in some areas. It didn’t keep track of my sessions, nor did it give my clients the ability to go back and read the contract if they wanted. I had no organization that made me feel like my business was a massive pile of mess on top of my desk. I was overwhelmed with all the missing tools I needed to keep my business going. I then discovered the power of CRM’s and decided to try a few of them out.
Over the next year, I went through several CRM’s which probably confused my clients a ton since I kept swapping from here to there. I tried 17 hats, Tave, and even Dubsado. They all had some fantastic features but not enough to keep me there as I always found a fluke or something that just drew me away. One program that I thought was the one was called Honeybook. It had everything I needed to keep my business organized and workflow streamlined. It was also a heavy contender to Sprout Studio when it came to deciding which one.
So what made me ultimately go with Sprout Studio? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because they designed Sprout Studio exclusively for Photographers. While Honeybook was incredible with its handling of customers, contracts, and booking pages, Sprout Studio took it up a notch. It brought all the tools I paid for separately in other locations into one place.
July 2016, I officially found my dream CRM. I was head over heels with them because I could cancel all of my other tools from different sites since Sprout had it covered. I was so impressed that I left a raving review on them that they happened to see and rewarded me by sending a coffee mug and thank you!
(Yes, I know. The coffee mug has seen better days. But it’s 5 years old, okay? And I still love it!)
It was the best surprise to ever receive from a company and one I never forgot. They showed they valued my business, and I was so happy to be part of their family.
Sprout Studio also did not hesitate to show its support for LGBTQA+ and Black Lives Matter. They’re very much inclusive and intersectional, which is another massive plus. They’re not afraid to show their support for wanting a better life for all BIPOC and pushing boundaries in small ways. That’s more than I can say for a print company I used for years but was dead silent in the wake of everything (Needless to say I don’t use them anymore…).
Since then, I’ve watched as they grew from a tiny, barely known CRM into this widely talked about a program that everyone is slowly starting to see the benefits of using them! It didn’t use to always be like that. Every time I mentioned Sprout to other photographer colleagues, I always ended up being the only one in a sea of people praising other CRMs. I didn’t care. I was happy with them, and I never stopped talking about how much I loved working with them
Sprout Studio has expanded so much that now you have several tiers to choose from, a generous trial program, and just the best team ever. No, I’m not kidding… they’re amazing. They’re always eager to help and quickly answer any questions or concerns raised. I’ve never had a single problem with them. The staff is always pleasant whenever I reach out and eager to assist in everything.
As a Photographer, Sprout Studio is an essential asset to keeping my company running smoothly. I don’t know what I would do without them, and I hope they never leave! I’ll never find a CRM quite as impressive as theirs, and I think you’ll agree once you give them a try.
So what are you waiting for? Click here to sign up for Sprout Studio and save 20% off either an annual or monthly subscription along with 21 days free! Try it yourself. Seeing is believing. It’s easier for you to explore it and decide whether it’s for you than to take my word for it.
I love Sprout Studio as a Photographer. And if you’re a photographer, I think you will be too.
Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links, and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a small commission. I rarely speak about programs like this, so it says a lot that I went out of my way to write about them. This is probably the only one I’m going to write about to this length and support. They didn’t convince me to do this, I specifically asked because I love this company that much.