Chris Hawkins

About the Author

Chris Hawkins

Chris Hawkins specializes in sales. Before joining Fit Small Business, Chris worked as a digital marketer for Gorilla Group and manager at Avnet.

Chris earned second place in the “Top of the Rockies” contest under the Sports Reporting category.

Chris has an interest in bikes, books, brews, birds, and travel. He and his wife live in an old mining town north of Denver where coyote howls and the hoots of owls still permeate the night air.

Sales Cycle: Definition & How to Optimize Your Sales Funnel

By Chris Hawkins on June 4, 2019 | Sales, Sales Process, What is | Comments (1)

A sales cycle represents the repeatable process of turning a prospect into a customer. For B2B sales, most salespeople follow a common set of steps, such as “prospecting” or “lead qualifying.” Understanding this sales cycle can help your business improve performance, lower customer acquisition cost (CAC), and provide revenue predictability, among other benefits. Free Sales…

What Is a Scrum Board?

By Chris Hawkins on May 30, 2019 | Lean Project Management, Project Management, What is | Comments (0)

A Scrum board is a visual display that tracks projects in either a physical or virtual format. The board is divided into vertical categories showing the progress of a time-based project called a sprint, and events such as sprint planning, sprint retrospective, and the daily Scrum occur as part of managing the board. If you’re…

How to Create a Project Timeline in 5 Steps (+ Free Scope Template)

By Chris Hawkins on May 23, 2019 | How To, Managing Projects, Project Management | Comments (0)

A project timeline is a visual representation that helps companies communicate milestones, required resources, and dependencies as part of a project management strategy. This timeline should be created as part of a larger project scope planning process, which also consists of developing a statement of work, team breakdown structure, and formal list of deliverables. Once…

How to Create an RFP in 5 Steps [+Free Template]

By Chris Hawkins on May 21, 2019 | How To, Sales, Sales Process | Comments (0)

A request for proposal (RFP) is a formal document describing a company’s need for outside help with a project. It outlines specifics such as project scope, goals, budget, timeline, and selection criteria, requesting vendors submit bids. An RFP lets businesses evaluate a vendor’s strengths and weaknesses, helping them choose the best one for the job….

CRM Integration: The Ultimate Guide for 2019

By Chris Hawkins on May 14, 2019 | Sales, Sales Tools, What is | Comments (0)

CRM integration allows you to share information such as customer, contact, and lead details with other business software, meaning data can be viewed, updated, and shared across a company. This exchange of data can be done with a CRM’s native integrations tools, using a software-to-software interface, or hiring a third-party data integration services company. If…

How to Set Up Insightly in 7 Steps

By Chris Hawkins on May 9, 2019 | How To, Sales, Sales Tools |

Insightly is an intuitive customer relationship management (CRM) software ideal for small businesses that want to combine both sales and project management. Setting up the CRM includes understanding its hierarchical structure, constructing a solid foundation with sales functions such as leads, opportunities, and pipelines, creating security permissions, and building custom reports and dashboards. 1. Learn…

Insightly vs HubSpot CRM: Price, Features & What’s Best in 2019

By Chris Hawkins on April 25, 2019 | Sales, Sales Tools, Versus | Comments (0)

Insightly and HubSpot are customer relationship (CRM) software with free and paid upgrades. Both include contact management, sales pipelines, and email integration, among other features. However, HubSpot CRM is more ideal for startups wanting a basic free CRM with unlimited users while Insightly is a better fit for businesses wanting combined contact and project management….

What Is Live Chat Software: The Ultimate Guide

By Chris Hawkins on April 8, 2019 | Sales, Sales Tools, What is | Comments (0)

Live chat software allows a company’s service and sales teams to connect with website visitors in real time, providing an easy way to answer questions quickly. It is a relatively affordable technology investment—$15 to $80/user per month—that can help improve customer service response time and satisfaction and increase sales opportunities. If you’re looking for a…

6 Best White Label CRMs for 2019

By Chris Hawkins on March 22, 2019 | Buyer's Guide, Sales, Sales Tools | Comments (0)

White label customer relationship management (CRM) providers enables agencies, consultants, and vertically-focused companies to rebrand customized software for resale or bundle it with other services for added client value. We compared several options based on setup fees, partner pricing flexibility, and features, arriving at the top white label CRM providers, including the best overall. Top…

6 Best Mortgage CRM Software in 2019

By Chris Hawkins on March 7, 2019 | Buyer's Guide, Sales, Sales Tools | Comments (0)

Mortgage CRM software helps loan officers manage new and existing customers while keeping detailed personal and regulatory information organized. It also automates communication, keeping all parties up-to-date on the lending process. We compared a dozen CRMs based on automation and integration features to find the six best platforms, including the best overall mortgage CRM. 6…