If you ask most small business owners what priority CRM has in their short-term business plans, chances are you'll get more than one blank stare. The fact is that most small business owners don't even know what CRM is not to mention how significantly it can benefit their growing company. This prevailing ignorance of small business CRM (customer relationship management) usually stems from just a few basic causes.

Excuses not to invest in small business CRM The first and most common reason for disinterest in small business CRM is very nature of small business. With limited financial and personnel resources at their disposal, business owners believe they can't afford money or time that a small business CRM system would require to show a significant ROI. Often times chief concern is just staying afloat long enough to sign that big contract or receive a large product order.

Still other owners of new businesses believe that they can build and maintain quality customer relations simply by virtue of their cordial personality or particular market niche. They see small business CRM as an unessential luxury to be enjoyed exclusively by their larger competitors. What these owners often find is that without sufficient small business CRM support their business will never expand beyond number of customer names they can remember. The problem is compounded when company expands into internet sales (an essential move by any growing company) and suddenly finds its present customer tracking system overwhelmed by sheer amount of incoming customer information.

The Bottom Line The bottom line, as all successful small business owners have learned, is that it takes more than one good idea to build long-term business growth and stability. You may be great at attracting new customers to your business, but if you fail to care for, track, and understand your customer base, not only will you hemorrhage your hard-won clientele, you will also fail to capitalize on future opportunities by not anticipating future market trends.

This is first in a series of articles describing 34 Natural Talents that can give a home based business owner “edge” in market place. The purpose of this article is to help home based business owner identify their Natural Talents. The rest of this article will discuss what to do with Natural Talent, once it is identified.

First: examine if are you a LEARNER as we define it. Our definition of LEARNER is: A person that loves to learn. The process, more than content is what is exciting to LEARNER. They are energized by steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of first few facts, early efforts to recite or practice what they have learned, growing confidence of a skill mastered – this is process that entices them. This LEARNER’s Natural Talent does not necessarily mean they seek to become subject matter expert, or they are striving for an academic credential. The outcome of LEARNING is less significant than “process of getting there.

A LEARNER can go into a home based business such as carpet cleaning, and be successful. It is much easier and a lot more fulfilling for a LEARNER to be successful in a home based business that requires a lot of learning about new subjects matter in a short period of time. For example, some aspect of fast moving high tech computer business.

LEARNING is only one of thirty-four Natural Talents that have been identified by Gallup Poll organization. Gallup interviewed 2 million successful people, spent millions of dollars and recorded results for 25 years to identify these natural 34 talents. Tax Moms has integrated these into and is sponsoring a FREE 9-week Experience called “Be Financially Free with Ninergy – Experience. The purpose of Experience is to help home based business owners identify which of 34 Natural Talents they possess and how to use them.