What Infusionsoft Can’t Do

June 28, 2017 by Christine

We volunteer our time up to ten hours per month to help start-ups and entrepreneurs learn how to use our favorite tool, Infusionsoft. These are small group meetings ranging from one to twenty-five. Whoever comes, gets help. It is that simple.

Over the years, we have noticed something in common with the struggling subscribers of SalesForce, Ace of Sales, Eloqua, and even Infusionsoft. First, we admit the learning curve of mastering these tools is very steep. However, there are some expectations that are not being met and I would like to mention what those are and why they may never be met by spending money on such a system.

How do I know these things? I have either done them, expected them to happen, or moreover, been a part of a discussion involving such beliefs. Let's talk about these issues and concerns in the context of the tool I know the best.

Infusionsoft Will Not Maintain Itself

Infusionsoft is a great tool, but it is only a tool. In the end, you are responsible for how you choose to use it. It is not a mind reader, and it cannot derive or extrapolate implied information. As they say, “garbage in, garbage out.”

When you use Infusionsoft, it’s up to you to educate your prospects, clients, and staff on how you can maintain a pristine, clean database.

1. Educate your clients on the use of unique identifiers

For example, Infusionsoft uses the primary email address listed as a unique identifier, much like the government uses your SSN or SIN. When people enter the same email for multiple records or registrations and you have your “duplicate record check” set, you need to understand that new data will overwrite the old data.

Without this understanding, you could be throwing away the information for potential new business opportunities and not even realize it!

2. Check for dublicate records

Keep your data clean at all times. Check for duplicate records every time that you import data, and every month after that. Have your settings on your WebForms and Landing Pages auto-check whenever any data is filled out.

A failure to remove duplicate records could mean that you’re sending repeat messages to targets, annoying and harassing them, and ultimately turning them away from your business.

3. Typos, capitalization, and spelling errors.

How does your prospect know that you bought your list? Probably because you imported it in ALL CAPS, and when you merged the fields it stays in ALL CAPS.

Come on — is that really the kind of message you want to send your prospect? Is that the kind of message you want to receive? Present yourself in a professional manner by eliminating typos and all caps and by using clean, correct grammar in all of your content. Low-quality content simply shows prospects that you don’t take pride in the quality of your work.

4. Erroneous data or field entries

Teach and train yourself and other users to enter the correct data into the correct fields. If you fail to do so, you’re not going to reach out to the correct contacts or will be operating on false information.

Remember: Infusionsoft is not an interpreter — it’s just a parrot, only repeating what you have put into it.

Gather Information Your Prospect is Not Willing to Give

In this day of suspect internet security, many prospects are understandably unwilling to share private information. However, you need this information to fill out your Infusionsoft forms and keep in contact with them.

Therefore, you need to offer them something compelling in return. The more compelling your offer, the more information they’ll be willing to part with, such as:

• Their role in life or career
• Date of birth
• Annviersary
• Spouse or child’s name
• Where they were born or raised
• Employment history
• Personal interests
• Social media links
• Their beliefs that impact your offer

All of this information would allow you to target your prospect better. But how compelling is your offer? Infusionsoft can’t help you there — only you can make sure that you’re offering your prospects a good enough product or experience in return for their information.

Fix a Bad Business

There are certain aspects of your business that simply can’t be fixed with Infusionsoft, meaning you need to take the responsibility for these things yourself before you get started. If a business model does not appeal to the audience in your system, the system will not make millions.

Infusionsoft WILL NOT:

• Tell you how to price an item.
• Close deals by itself. You need to be able to use your own personal touch.
• Single-handedly convey your message in the way you want to get it across.
• Establish morals and ethics that are not present in your business or your prospects’ businesses. This is hugely important!
• Change your personality or the personality of your prospect.
• Change your image.
• Establish sound policy, procedures or processes.
• Plug a cable into your head and download.

It’s easy to look for a scapegoat when your business or software is not functioning the way you want it to. Heck, blaming Infusionsoft is a whole lot easier than looking in the mirror and figuring out the real reasons for your issues.

But if you want to have any hope of finding success with Infusionsoft, you need to take a long, hard look at the problems facing your company before you get started with Infusionsoft and determine which ones you need to solve on your own first.

Measure Inactivity

Guess what: Infusionsoft doesn’t magically fix all of your problems as soon as you purchase it, and it won’t make all of your prospects magically engage with your content.

When your customers don’t get engaged, realize this about Infusionsoft:

• It will not tell you WHY your customers aren’t getting engaged.
• If you hit the wrong button, you will send the wrong message.
• The AUTO RE BUY option might not be the best course of action, especially if you’re doing it just because you need the sales.

Yes, lack of engagement is a problem. Cookies, tracking, and unopened emails are on the rise all over the place, partially because of the sheer volume of emails people receive on a daily basis and partially because of increasing security. Emails used to automatically open images, for example, and now users have to allow images to be displayed, which could lead to the email not being registered as “opened” if they decline the option.

Remember: the best way to make sure that you’re getting loyalty and repeat business out of your customer is by showing the customer that you are dedicated to meeting their needs and that you are committed to putting forward a high-quality product. Those are issues that you have to address outside of Infusionsoft.

Grow a Wallflower

If you’re not being socially active, and if you are not doing everything you can to actively engage with your customers, then there’s not really a point in using Infusionsoft.

Consider the following points:

• If you have a single approach and don’t integrate your message in a 360 degree format, then that’s what it will remain. Social media is SOCIAL first and foremost.
• If you don’t engage with your audience, Infusionsoft won’t do it for you. When the time is right, you need to get personal.
• If you don’t LOGIN, it won’t REPORT to you.
• It won’t demand that you show up for work.
• It won’t turn a passive voice into a confident voice.

Most of all, Infusionsoft cannot execute a marketing plan that you’ve never written!

Get active on social media. Participate in discussions on Twitter and Facebook. Expand your presence on LinkedIn and position yourself as an expert in your field. Be proactive about starting conversations, not just joining them.

If you are a wallflower, Infusionsoft can’t help you. But if you are a social butterfly, then it can be a powerful tool.

Today's sales and marketing automation software are amazing. Buying it is not the part that makes you and me amazing. Breaking bad business habits and treating the tool like the chief in your business is how you really make them hum.

Seeking to attain digital marketing success? Contact us immediately or visit our website to learn more about assisting your company.

Filed Under: Tools & Technology Tagged With: automated relationship marketing, crm, infusionsoft, infusionsoft certified consultant, marketing strategy, saas