Prophet CRM Software from Avidian Superior to ACT!, Goldmine, Maximizer, and Salesforce

When I first started shopping for CRM software, I thought choosing ACT! 2006 from Sage Software would be a no brainer. Even though  I had never used ACT! in the past, I had always heard that it was the best CRM system for small businesses. Yet, when I started poking around, I found hundreds of horrible reviews complaining about buggy, slow, and ineffective software that was giving users fits. Check out  the product review page  on Amazon to see how ACT! 2006 is driving people nuts.

I looked at other CRM systems such as Goldmine, Maximizer, and Salesforce. These systems were all more expensive than my budget allowed, and they all suffered the wrath of many users and media critics. Thanks to Google, I discovered Prophet 3.0, a CRM alternative from Avidian in Bellevue Washington. The positive user testimonials  that I discovered on the Prophet  website were intriguing, and I couldn't find any negative review through the major search engines. Instead, I discovered a lot of positive press that convinced me to buy the product. 

Prophet is simple add-in for Microsoft Outlook which allows me to leverage my existing contact database with cool features such as enhanced contact management; a sales assistant that lets me send pre-set, timed e-mails to my contacts; a workflow engine that helps me automate sales-cycle actions and create consistent sales processes; advanced reporting options; and an opportunity-management console. I was particularly impressed with how easy it was to set up, and I nearly fell out of my Aeron chair when I called the company for assistance and a live service person answered the call on three rings and was able to solve my problem on the spot. Figuring out how to use Prophet has been no harder than learning how to utilize Outlook.

While Avidian might be newer to the CRM game than some vaunted competitors, there is no doubt that it will dethrone some of its competitors. Avidian is a quality product that is so easy to install and use that positve word of mouth is inevitable.

Comments

[Michael B.]

We have also had tons of problems with Avidian Prophet 5.0 - we tried the server-based version and had lots of Outlook freezes, contacts disappearing, etc. Would not recommend this product to anyone.

[ERP]

ACT it is a best CRM system for small businesses.CRM software is used to support processes, storing information on current and prospective customers.It was a very informative.

[Peter]

I have implemented enterprise CRM solutions like Epiphany. I’ve tried out Salesforce.com. “He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail” – A. Maslow. That’s what you get with those types of CRM solutions when 99% of the time a business needs Avidian Prophet. For us, it’s the right tool for personalized campaign management, tracking sales opportunities, and sales automation.

Also nice job with the quote generator. I just modified my template. It's slick. I think you just saved my company at least a few hours week in manual quote generation per person. I think it’s really going to show our clients we are on top of our game.

Peter, CEO of Thinkspace
http://www.thinkspace.com

[Peter]

I have implemented enterprise CRM solutions like Epiphany. I’ve tried out Salesforce.com. “He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail” – A. Maslow. That’s what you get with those types of CRM solutions when 99% of the time a business needs Avidian Prophet. For us, it’s the right tool for personalized campaign management, tracking sales opportunities, and sales automation.

Nice job with the quote generator. I just modified my template. Now, that’s slick. I think you just saved my company at least a few hours week in manual quote generation per person. I think it’s really going to show our clients we are on top of our game.

www.thinkspace.com

[Tobin Hays]

I wanted to thank you for your CRM product, Prophet. My business contacts were becoming unmanageable as I grew my small business.

Your product has improved my workflow and allowed me to be more strategic and successful in the sales process. At my previous companies, I spent thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars, on products that were less manageable and comprehensive.

Your staff is also among the friendliest and openly helpful that I have encountered. It's good to see a company that treats its' customers like customers.

Thank you.

[Fernando Castro]

Hi, i bought PROPHET 5 and i can't use it. I have a problem with installation. The installer sayd that i need to be with administrator rights, and i have it, but the installer says that i don't... so... i wrote to prophet support but still waiting... two days ago... somebody can help me?. Thanks!

[Wong Kai Leong]

Has anyone tried out Pinpoint Tools?
It's new and is something like Prophet
http://www.pinpointtools.com

I'm in the financial advisory business but I am still looking because I do not know if either software (they both are outlook add-ins) can be customised to hold client's insurance data information

[Yasmine Jandali]

Recently upgraded to Prophet 5.0 from 4.0, which we bought in 2007 - We run Exchange Server and Outlook 2003. There are a few really neat features that make the program much easier to use, and it is great that the folks at Avidian took their customer's comments to heart when designing the upgraded version. HOWEVER, we are having lots of problems with the program being very, very slow, freezing up and just being a general pain. On top of that, it seems as though the support folks are overloaded or just plain don't care about responding to support requests in a timely manner. It has been VERY difficult to get someone to help us solve this, they respond with ridiculous automated emails and have yet to solve our problem.

[Sean]

We have used Maximizer for 3+ years. Started with v8.0 now using 10.0 and 11 is on the horizon. Support was not very good. It doesn't play well with Vista or Outlook 2007 despite their website saying that it was fully compatible. It keeps crashing when sending emails and it definitely doesn't look and feel as nice as Saleforce.com Can't really find anything that does everything I want. Maybe custom web-hosted is the best way to go for those needing something more.

[Kevin]

I have been using Prophet for over 3 years now. (Single user). For my small business purposes it works brilliantly. I found the set up to be straightforward and import of data easy. I've recommended it to other small businesses I know over Act & Goldmine which are overpriced and unwieldy for the small business user. Some of the negative posts above should be taken with a rather large pinch of salt I think. Too easy for rival CRM software companies to dis each other anon' on here. Dare say someone will think I'm on Prophets payroll - hmmm - wonder if I could get some commission...

[Chieff]

Since these comments were posted, Microsoft has launched Microsoft Dynamics CRM, including CRM online. Similar to the salesforce.com subscription, the Online version installs itself right into Outlook. That Outlook client also comes with the On Premises model and the Partner-hosted model - it's true CRM, with workflow, service module, email blasts, fully relational data model. Pretty nice.

[DavidS]

UPDATE May 2009. Although there have been problems with earlier ACT! versions, these are now resolved.

In addition, a lot of these problems occurred or were exacerbated by not having a qualified ACT! consultant invloved with the initial implementation. I spend a lot of time being called to ACT! users who have run into problems and found me to ask for help. Most times the problem is easily resolved by correcting a bad/incorrect installation and configuration.

[Bob]

We purchased Prophet 5.0 and the installation which has been well over a year is not finished. The company basically gave up and I have a system which at its worst slows my exchange server down to unmanageable levels. I have only tried to install it on two client machines, mine and the IT person, even though we have five licenses. The application may be decent and in theory looks great but the fact that it slows the exchange server down and we get these messages "searching for the exchange server,etc is a deal killer. basically wasted the money. If the tech support had been willing to get this working well and if it had not slowed our system down to a crawl, we would have purchased an additional 20 licenses. I am surprised they are still doing the same crap to other users.

[Jake]

Prophet on demand was ok. Slow at times but I guess that comes with an online integration. I just cancelled (or should I say am in the process of cancelling) with them which is a joke. You can't call and cancel. You have to fill out a "refund request" form and then fill out more paperwork called "letter of destruction" and send it to them saying you've uninstalled their software. Did I mention this was an online based application?! At that point they have up to 30 days to cancel, that is, if you filled out all the info correctly. They make it easy to sign up but aren't worth the hassle....

[Alan]

We signed up for Prophet on Demand a few days ago. Today, we have not been able to use the system all day. Although it is server-based, you would think that you could use it locally on your computer in the event that you can not connect to the Internet. You can not. All the data I've been inputting into this system is inaccessible while their server is down... and at this point, that has been for six hours.

Kinda pisses me off when I questioned the salesperson about server reliability issues.

I was hoping that this would be the right answer for us... but I am having second thoughts.