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Why You Need to Look Out for Infusionsoft Alternative
Posted: Aug 13, 2015
"What is the best Infusionsoft alternative"? As a coach and a consultant, this is the number 1 question I’m asked by new online marketing professionals and seasoned sales veterans alike.
In this day and age, it’s not a matter of whether you should have an online automation system like Infusionsoft because this is a foregone conclusion for anyone that understands the immense power of a good customer relationship manager (CRM).
The real question is whether your small business should consider using Infusionsoft or if your business sales automation would be more profitably served by a better Infusionsoft alternative?
But before you can decide if Infusionsoft is right for you, it’s important to understand what you need the sales system to do for your business and also what resources you, or your, business must commit into the implementation and maintenance of the CRM automation.
Before you can run, you need to walk, and before you can sell, you first need to "set up". Often times this first decision hurdle dictates the rest of the decision making process because it depends upon your technical skill level and your upfront financial position.
It’s truly impossible to separate the "financial" from the "technical" because with Infusionsoft the two items are inextricably intermingled. In other words, the lower your technical expertise, the greater the need for Infusionsoft consultants and hence the greater the financial need and budget that you must take into consideration.
How Much Does Infusionsoft Cost On Day 1?
This is a tricky question because to get to this answer, you need to queue up the sleazy "used car" salesman music and strap on your aggressive negotiating hat.
The common Infusionsoft sales technique is to throw out an outrageous number (also known as their published costs) and then see if you’re naïve enough to agree.
Naturally, anyone that accepts this first offer, just like the first offer from the used car salesman, is going to be sold an entire host of additional features that they need to pay for upfront. It’s the equivalent of the "paint protection" package, fabric treatment, rust proofing, and the "low cost extended warranty" price adders that are used as massive profit generators for the dealership… or in this case Infusionsoft.
Assuming you’re not going to fall for the first offer and pay list price (only the most naïve ever do), let’s look at what people are typically paying on day 1 of their Infusionsoft experience.
Large Upfront Fee – Starting at $2,000 and then working down to a more common $1,000. The important thing to remember is that this is a NON-REFUNDABLE fee so once you say "yes" to Infusionsoft, you can kiss your money goodbye forever.
This is where the red flags should start for you.
Imagine walking into a dealership and the salesman tells you that he has the world’s greatest car for you and that you’re going to love it so much that you should just "trust" him and give him a non-refundable check for $1,000 before he lets you take it for a test drive, or even sit in it.
Sounds pretty outrageous when you think of it in these terms but so many people have fallen for this Infusionsoft fee ploy that it’s simply mind boggling.
Now I want you to think about why Infusionsoft makes this fee non-refundable.
If their system is truly the best for your business, would you ever ask for a refund? Or could it be that Infusionsoft needs to trap you with a huge upfront fee to keep you captive once you’ve experienced the truth behind the Infusionsoft complexity?
Infusionsoft Monthly Fee – Just as you thought you were off the used car lot, you discover that the published monthly fee is really nothing more than a "suggestion" that only the naïve pay.
The most common package for the entry level Infusionsoft user is typically the $299 month package but this should really be thought of as a $199 package because that’s the typical "negotiated" price.
Ah, great, this entire pricing issue is finally over and now it’s time to get down to automating your small business – right? Not so fast.
Getting this started is going to require considerable training and now you get to meet the "manager" and his job is to explain why you need to spend at least $1,000 more for some training. After all, the system is complex and without this training, how are you going to maximize the benefits of the CRM system?
Or you may decide to simply hire a professional Infusionsoft consultant to get things rolling even quicker.
Taking the Infusionsoft consultant path is going to require that you add an extra zero to that $1,000 price tag and kick it right up to $10,000. I guess that may explain why there are so many Infusionsoft consultants and coaches promoting the usage of Infusionsoft.
Now I could go on and on about the "not so little" add on fees that you’re going to need to truly use Infusionsoft in the manner you hear others using it. But these add on fees are so numerous that I’ve had to devote an entirely separate article to detail all of them.
And the main point of this discussion is not the true cost of using Infusionsoft, it’s whether Infusionsoft should be used at all or whether you should focus on an Infusionsoft alternative instead?
In the context of this discussion, cost is always a driving factor, but more importantly, it’s the return on investment (ROI) that really determines the best small business automation system. Cost means nothing without examining the return generated.
With this point in mind, I can confidently tell you the same thing I’ve told the vast majority of my clients.
Use Infusionsoft if you think their brand name will generate more sales for your business but use an Infusionsoft alternative if you want to maximize the return on your invest and use an Infusionsoft alternative if you want to self-manage your business and not be dependent upon the lifelong employment of an Infusionsoft consultant.
About The Author: As a web marketing coach and consultant for over a decade, Andrew have decided to share his experience and insights with online business people so that they can know more about smarter business automation system available in the market and save hell lot of money, time and energy.
As a web marketing coach and consultant for over a decade, Andrew has decided to share his experience and insights to help online business people become about business automation systems available in the market to save money, time and energy.