Name: J.L. Nave, III
Company Name: Nave Strategies
Company URL: www.navestrategies.com
Location: Nashville, TN
Title: Principal
About J.L. Nave III
Rooted in his time as president/CEO at the Baton Rouge Symphony and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, J.L. Nave launched Nave Strategies to work alongside nonprofits to focus them on an institutional vision to build positive momentum. His arts and cultural consulting consist of advising on marketing, fundraising, staff development & management, and strategic planning.
The Challenge: Keeping Everything Top of Mind
Like many entrepreneurs, Nave only needed a CRM system once he started his business. Suddenly, he found himself responsible for recruiting clients and managing relationships with them. It was a lot to keep track of, and he quickly realized he was over his head.
One of Nave’s most significant challenges was following up on opportunities. He would meet potential clients, forget to contact them later, and “would all of a sudden remember, “Oh my goodness! I was supposed to follow up about a certain opportunity 2 months ago.”
Not following up on time meant he was missing out on potential business, and it was frustrating to feel like he was leaving money on the table.
Another issue Nave faced was the lack of routine that kept him focused on the business development side of his work. As a one-man show, he was responsible for all aspects of his business, and it was easy to get distracted by other tasks. He knew he needed to stay on top of his leads, but it was easy to let things slip through the cracks without a system.
“The biggest challenge is having some kind of system and routine that kept me focused on the business development.”
The Solution: Nimble’s Custom Fields & Activities
After struggling to keep up with the demands of his business, Nave knew he needed a better way to manage his contacts and tasks. That’s when he discovered Nimble CRM, which offered a suite of tools to make his life easier.
One of the first things Nave appreciated about Nimble was how seamlessly it connected to his Microsoft 365. With the calendar integration, he could see all his upcoming appointments and deadlines in one place, making planning his days and weeks easy.
Nave also loved how he could set tasks for himself, which helped him stay on top of his to-do list, create personalized follow-ups, and set reminders. He created custom activities, such as logging in-person conversations and social DMs, to personalize his outreach efforts and make a stronger connection with his clients.
He takes note of every interaction using a combination of Nimble’s “Notes” feature and his custom activities. He uses the Nimble mobile app to log conversations while on the go, ensuring he never misses a beat. Now, he’s always able to stay on top of any opportunity that arises.
He also appreciates how Nimble allows him to do segment searching based on custom fields for outreaches, helping him tailor his messages to specific groups of clients in order to keep his outreaches fresh, personalized, and relevant. Segmenting his contacts based on tags was too broad for his outreach. Nave was excited by Nimble’s ability to segment contacts based on a specific custom field, allowing for a very niche list.
Finally, Nave uses Nimble’s Workflows to help with his prospecting efforts. He creates specific Workflows to monitor possible new leads or stay connected with previous clients. Whenever he hears of a job change or a new person hired, he uses Nimble to create a customized outreach plan to help him connect with these potential clients.
“I have Nimble set up the way that’s best for me, I understand how to use it, and it’s customized for my business”
Why Using a CRM is Crucial for an Arts and Cultural Consultant
As an art and cultural consultant, Nave knows that running a successful business requires more than talent and hard work. It also requires intelligent tools and strategies to help you stay organized and on top of everything.
Nave says, “No one can manage 100% of their business by themselves and do it well.” That’s where Nimble comes in. Nimble provides a structure for his work, allowing him to track everything from client conversations to follow-up tasks and prospecting efforts.
According to Nave, one of the most significant benefits of using Nimble is that it frees up brain power. “It’s a relief because I don’t have to keep all that information I put in Nimble, in my head,” he says. With Nimble, he can focus on the big-picture items that will help him grow his business.
In addition to freeing up brain power, Nimble also provides a wealth of organization tools that make it easier for him to follow up with clients, speed up his outreach and prospecting processes, and stay up to date on deals.
Thanks to Nimble’s powerful CRM features, Nave can now easily manage his business. He can see all his upcoming tasks and deadlines in one place, track his conversations with clients, and even use Nimble’s Workflows to create customized outreach plans that help him connect with potential clients.
Using a CRM like Nimble isn’t just a nice-to-have for Nave—it’s crucial for running a successful arts and cultural consulting business. With the help of Nimble, he can focus on what he does best—providing top-notch consulting services to his clients.
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