Voice Expert Arno Fischbacher
Uses Pipeliner CRM and Google Calendar to Stay Organized and Drive Business
What is Stimme.at?
Arno Fischbacher’s website, Stimme.at, is an Austrian consortium of 70 experts who are schooled in the art and science of voice. The company is a one-stop way to find voice training, voice education, practical advice on psycholinguistics and cognition research, and read about using the voice as a tool both to convey and to persuade.
Fischbacher is an expert on the unconscious power of the voice in customer service, conflict resolution, management, and sales. Per Fischbacher — Voice Sells! He’s even writing a book about it!
The Changing Role of CRM for the Solopreneur
“My business is B2B. What I’m selling is voice training, workshops, and speaking engagements. Until recently, my business was developed through public relations, publishing in special interest magazines, and through people finding me through the website and social media. “
“About 2 years ago, I began to see a dramatic change. I needed more than a database and a bit of marketing automation — I needed a sales process to help me drive interest and drive business. Competition was rising and it was obvious that I needed a more structured way to keep my contacts, accounts, and business relationships organized and vibrant. For both existing and new business relationships, I needed a way to nurture those relationships.”
“It became clear that all my business was not going to come to me any longer. I needed help selling to my key personas — that’s when I looked for the right CRM tool. In the end, I found Pipeliner through searching on Google. I had asked colleagues and friends for recommendations, but the software they or their companies used was too unwieldy, complex, and expensive. I needed something manageable for me.”
Pipeliner CRM: The Visual Difference
“I noticed right away that Pipeliner worked differently from the other vendors. It was visual — not dry spreadsheets but instantly understandable in pictures — and intuitive. I didn’t need a thick manual. Nobody thinks in ‘database structures’. I wanted easy and visual — and Pipeliner delivered. I remember saying, ‘Yes, this is what i need! It shows me the sales process and how I move from stage to stage.’ If I need a printed report, well, I can have that, but it’s the ability to just see what’s going on that is most useful to me.”
Pipeliner ‘mirrors’ my behavior. I don’t have to understand all the technical workings — I can just see what I need to know. I didn’t need a big manual; I suddenly have an instant snapshot of my sales stages, what I need to do next, and this motivates me. I’m not a newcomer to tools — I have many tools, and I’ve worked with a lot of tools, but Pipeliner CRM is one of the best tools I’ve ever used. It provides me with peace of mind that I never had before as far as organizing my business was concerned”
Google Calendar Was a Game Changer!
“Stimme.at is situated in a large 5-room office in a beautiful historic part of Salzburg. We use our office rooms for voice coaching, conferences, and meetings. Three years ago, we had a very old-style system for managing all the moving parts of our scheduling of these spaces — a clipboard with a pencil tied to it! If any of us were traveling or trying to arrange a meeting by phone (even in the office!) this process was a nightmare!”
“Until we began using Google Calendar, the process of scheduling was a mistake-ridden juggling act.”
“Say I was on the phone and trying to arrange a meeting with a client. I would have to email my assistant while I was on the phone to ask her to look at the clipboard and see if a meeting room was free. Then I would confer with my client and she would pencil in the time. This was a system that was obviously full of opportunities for problems!”
“We instituted Google Calendar and that rescued us. Now we are completely organized and collaborative. The confusion has gone from numerous daily problems to ZERO. There are no more wrong bookings, there are no more double bookings and no misunderstandings. Another benefit is that we spend ½ the time doing the invoicing for the meeting rooms — no phone calls, no clarifications — it’s cut and dried.”
“I also use Google Drive and Sheets to manage all the pieces of my volunteer work with the members of the German Speakers Association. We use Drive to manage the many working pieces of our activities, events, and projects.”
“About our core Google Apps, Calendar and Sheets, I would say this: ‘No wasted time and no mistakes.’”
The Right Tools for “Tone of Voice”
“My communications are about my business, but ‘tone of voice’ has special meaning in the sales process. Pipeliner and Google are both helping me bring my own unique tone to my interactions with my existing clients and gracefully develop new relationships with prospective ones.”
