I've had Magic Base, ACT!, Showbiz CRM. Set up time is my biggest complaint with all three. Showbiz was my favorite so I'm willing to keep an open mind to Mago.

My current method is to keep all my contacts in Excel by category. Its searchable and I can easily generate mailing labels through Microsoft Word mail merge. That seems to be all I need.

In reality isn't it like most things? If it works for you, and gets your business moving forward and is of benefit to you, then it is crazy not to have one.

But it is certainly not one size fits all. This in no way means I think they suck.

In reality if it IS a benefit to you and your business you must be silly not to use one. Just as you would be crazy to use one if it didn't benefit you.

Great webinar today, on the newly launched Mago Talent CRM, given by its primary creator, Michael Carducci. During this afternoon's webinar (which lasted more than 2 hours!), Michael took the time to clearly explain the many facets (features and benefits) of this very robust and very user-friendly Client Relations Management system, customized by a performer for performers. In short, it looks great. Not for everyone, of course, but for those who like to stay organized and on top of the sales and client-follow-up process, it is highly recommend that you visit the Mago Talent Facebook page, and have a peek at this Mago Talent CRM system, and the insightful User Tutorials that are starting to be posted on this page, with more tutorials and more webinars to come: https://www.facebook.com/MagoTalent/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

Congratulations Michael, on developing such a comprehensive and practical system for tracking, booking and communicating more effectively with past clients, current prospects and MUCH more!

Can't wait to start utilizing and getting familiar with this CRM system and to see what is coming down the pike... including the Mago Talent App!

Some of you may recall a well-respected CRM tool called ShowBiz. Now, Michael Carducci, has revised and morphed this tool into the newly launched Mago Talent CRM Booking system for Professional Performers. (see Michael's own comments on his Mago Talent CRM Booking system in this very same thread, above). The Mago talent CRM Booking system incorporates email marketing and automations into its many practical booking functions. As a beta-tester for Mago-Talent during the pre-launch phase, I can honestly say that this is an exciting, effective and user-friendly booking tool that will make your inputting of valuable prospect, client and follow-up data a breeze.It's actually fun to use (and addictive!). And with template letters, that can be easily customized and sent out to your prospects while you sleep, on pre-set launch dates, you can leverage results exponentially.
I encourage you to check it out asap, as you can sign up now with a special guaranteed 100 % percent refund offer f it does not meet your needs or expectations.
However, I genuinely believe that serious performers that book their own shows will try out this new automated booking system and never look back! Smile
Just click on the link below and check out the "Learn More" tab at the top of the page, and you are off to the races!
https://mago.co/Account/Register?afmc=1o

Should fellow Magic Café members have questions about Mago Talent, the creator, Michael Carducci, highly receptive and responsive to any and all questions.
Simply contact him thru the Magic Café here, since he is a member himself of the Café.

With best wishes,

Jonathan

More than three months have gone by and, IMHO MAGO Talent CRM has proven itself to be a robust, versatile and very practical CRM. Even though I haven't had the time to utilize its immense potential in in terms of the templates, automation/ follow-ups and so much more, I find the monthly fee worthwhile in that I still DO enjoy and benefit from its intuitive features and the way it encourages and enables me to be highly organized with all my leads, gigs, planned follow-ups and contacts --in one single easy-to find place. There are lots of tutorials for those that wish to learn and utilize its full potential. I also find its creator, Michael Carducci, highly responsive to questions and technical concerns. He s working magician that has developed his software specifically for professional entertainers on-the-go. There are also webinars offered for added support and a public forum for its members for Q & A. If I sound keen on it, I am. Of course, as pointed out above, it is certainly not for everyone, but worth checking out at: http://mago.co/Account/Register?afmc=1o

Hi, I’m looking for a good CRM. (I have very basic computer literacy) the problem is I’m over whelmed by trying to pick a good CRM that is easy to understand/personalize/customize and get into using but robust in features (I’d hate to be using one and than find out that other CRMs do something I’d like mine to do but doesn’t) I found this thread and read through it but since it’s about 7 years old and tech moves at the speed of light, I’m hoping that people may be able to give up to date info and advice. Thanks

There are a lot of CRMs, booking systems, and gig organizers out there. They all have different strengths and weaknesses.

I would start with a basic question: What is it you hope a piece of software like this will do for you. What are the pain points in your business and booking process you'd like to eliminate? Let what you actually need drive your decision rather than getting caught up in feature FOMO. It doesn't matter how many features a piece of software has if they don't bring value to YOU. Also, don't get caught up with the CRM FOMO, it may not be something you need at all right now.

Mago is in the process of launching a new program to set EVERYTHING up for you, tailored for your business and how you work. As someone with self-described very basic computer literacy) that might be great because it covers your entire online presence and business process, but that might be overkill - it depends.

Let us know what you hope to get from a CRM or gig organizer, and I (as well as others, I'm sure) will be happy to weigh in. There are easy systems, there are very powerful systems, there are all-purpose systems. Which is right depends on what you actually want/need.

Hey Michael, thanks for this reply as well. So I’m actually just trying to get the business off the ground magic is easy (been doing it for over 30 years) but business is SCARY. I need a way to track and follow up with inquiries. Take payments (ideally be able to run financials come tax season) a way to get contracts signed digitally …. Basically need any and all help in all aspects of the running of the business portion of my magic business

It sounds like what you need first is a business process.

Thank about things like:

1. What kinds of shows/services you want to offer
2. How you will quote them
3. How you will follow up
4. How you will book them (deposit? Contract? Invoice? Payment terms, etc)
5. How you will follow-up/check in prior to the booking
6. How you will prepare for each show
7. How you will follow up after the show
8. How you want to handle your books

I would suggest avoiding "general purpose/universal" CRMs like Zoho, salesforce, and the like (for now). Because they can be used for any type of business and most types of process, they tend to require a lot of customization and personalization. Also, historically a CRMs were designed for a sales team, who would handle outbound/inbound sales, account management, etc. These types of organizations also had Accounts Receivable teams, implementation teams, etc. More and more small business CRMs are waking up to the fact that, for the solopreneur, one person might be responsible for all of these things but a building a complete performer booking flow with a universal CRM can require jumping through hoops.

The performer designed/built systems out there tend to start with some universal defaults. Also, some of the systems out there are very prescriptive about how you run your business. When you're starting out this can be useful because the software basically forces you to adopt a certain set of processes. As long as these processes are compatible with your ideas about how you want to run your business, it can be a very low barrier-to-entry.

Mago takes a different approach. We build Mago because none of the existing software did what we needed. Basically we didn't want the tool to shape how we run our business, we wanted to shape the tool to our business. Historically this has meant that Mago caters to pros at or around the 6-figure mark or well-established part-time pros looking to break through a plateau and scale to full-time income levels. That said, we're in the process of launching an offering where, when you sign up, you get a complete package. Professional website, marketing materials, professional email address, copywriting, a complete business process, and a fully configured tool to support and streamline that process. The whole thing is guided by working pros with decades of experience as well as technical and communication chops.

When you're starting out on the business side, typically it is either time or money that is scarce. If time is in short supply, this option can be a good jump start with a fully tailored "business in a box." If money is scarce, I would recommend starting out with something like Giggio or ManagerSal. Both have raving fans and both are very prescriptive and easy to get started. You'll still have to piece together the rest (website, email, marketing materials, etc) but much of that is just time and there are a lot of services that make these things easier than they used to be.