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Heads up if you are contemplating upgrading to Office 2010 and you integrate ACT! and Outlook.
We are approaching the launch of ACT! by Sage 2011 (more about that in the next few days) which will better support Outlook 2010 (but only the 32 bit version, not the 64 bit version), including Contact sync (holy smokes – it’s about time!)
What to do in the meantime, as Microsoft has recently released Office 2010? Here are some pointers on the state of integration;
ACT! 2010 was created prior to the release of Office 2010. You won’t find Office 2010 in the specifications list for ACT! 2010 or for any prior version of ACT! Hence you’ll find only limited ability to integrate :
When you click on Tools, Preferences and look for Email systems ACT will not detect Outlook 2010
It is not possible to turn on calendar integration with Outlook 2010
You will not be able to Export to Excel 2010
You won’t be able to detect Word 2010 as your word processor.
However it is possible to download a new preferences file and have the following capabilities in Outlook 2010 (KB info is available from Sage) :
Send email from ACT using outlook 2010
Record Email history
Quick Attach
Attach to ACT Contacts
In a nutshell: limited integration between ACT! 2010 and Office 2010; this will be reason enough for some of you to upgrade to ACT! 2011 – though there are lots of other benefits to upgrading; there is no integration with the 64 bit version of Office 2010.
I’m frequently asked how to create a Group that contains selected contacts from the Contact List View and so I thought I’d create a quick “How To” complete with a few screen captures using the Snipping tool in Vista.
Sometimes we call these Ad Hoc groups because they are not “data driven” – in other words, we want to select Contacts that do not have the same data value (such as all contacts in CT or all Prospects in MA). Examples might include your Holiday Card List, invitees to a seminar you are having, or any situation where you want to handpick the group members.
In SalesLogix it’s quite simple – just select the Contacts (in List View) and then right click on anyone of them and choose Add Selected Members to Existing Group or Add Selected members to New Group.. to be prompted for a new group name.
If you are using ACT! there are a few more steps: In Contact List view select the Contacts you want (using Tag Mode or your Ctrl and Shift keys to select multiple records) and then click on Lookup Selected as in the capture below.
Next click on the Groups button (or View, Groups) and if your group does not exist yet, then create a new group and name it.
Use the Add/Remove Contacts button on the toolbar, then click on the Contacts… button. At the top of the screen – under Select From choose Current Lookup. Your list of contacts will change to only those in the Lookup you’ve just created. Click on the >>(Add All) button and then click on OK.
It takes a few steps but now you have your group populated.
To view a video tour of Groups and Companies in ACT! click here. Ad Hoc Groups can be incredibly useful and many other CRM tools don’t include this feature. So go forth and create groups!!
Two weeks ago Simon Mackie, in his Technology Column in the NYT, wrote about his 10 favorite Google search tips. I knew most but I sometimes forget to use them. I noticed today that it is still among the most emailed articles.
In conjunction with some other CRM consultants we are contributing to ACT!ion for Haiti – 6 weekly sessions exploring ways in which anyone can be more productive by using CRM software. Although we have completed 3 sessions please join us if you are interested – you will receive a DVD of all sessions. The session this week will cover email marketing within CRM. You can sign up at this link.
A couple of other innovative Haiti fundraisers have come to my attention. A neighbor who is a gym teacher saw TV coverage of kids with no school or organized activities, and is collecting money to purchase jump ropes – 3 can be purchased and shipped to Haiti for every $10 she raises. There isn’t a web site so contact me if you are interested.
And today I heard (from a volunteer at Emergency Communities in New Orleans after Katrina) about a Brooklyn Ambulance Corps which has donated an ambulance to be used in training EMTs in Haiti. They need some help getting personnel to and from Haiti to train the folks there in EMT skills.
It’s amazing to watch folks use their core competencies, in conjunction with their CRM database and email marketing skills, to raise funds for Haiti.
I’ve blogged about Tether before: I use it with my BB phone to connect my laptop or netbook to the internet when I don’t have free WiFi. It’s a great little product. At the time, it was called TetherBerry but as they have incorporated more phones they have changed their name!
They are celebrating their first anniversary and are giving away some BlackBerry and Android phones. If you are interested and willing to divulge an email address then click on the link below:
I’ve recently started using DriveSafe.ly from www.drivesafe.ly with my Blackberry Storm whenever I am in the car and now I can hear my messages.
I turn it on when I get in my car – one press on the icon and then a press of the On button. Each time I receive a new email or text message DriveSafely reads me the first 25 words. In every case I know the gist of the message and if I need to answer I pull over and respond when it’s convenient. Otherwise I don’t pick up my phone.
I am using the free version. However, for a very nominal fee (covers the life of the phone!) the paid version will read you 500 words of each message, though I think that might be too much. As another reviewer said: “13.95 is way less than the sticker price of a new Taurus.” Optionally the app will also auto-respond to new messages, indicating that you are driving and will reply later.
Great use of technology to keep us all safer. It’s in Beta for the iPhone so keep checking!
Every now and then I find a little gem in ACT! or SalesLogix that I should have known about before. I recently discovered that you can Save your lookup as a group in ACT. This is a great feature that has existed in SalesLogix for years.
Perform a Lookup in ACT! It doesn’t matter whether it is Conditional (Lookup State= CT and then narrow with ID/Status = Customer for instance) or an “Ad Hoc” group where you tag contacts in List view and then Lookup Selected.
Then Click on Lookup, Groups, Save Lookup as Group. Fill in the new name for the Group, click on the Add/remove Contacts button on the Contact Tab and voila! I appreciate productivity tools like this!
It must be the New Year – or the New Decade – but over the last few days I have had 6 conversations with friends and customers that centered around the desire to interact with pleasant, happy, appreciative folks whether it’s during business hours or personal time:
We all want to work with folks at companies where there is good corporate culture – people who respect their peers, customers, vendors etc and who are just pleasant to work with. And we find those traits very often at small, entrepreneurial companies.
Some of us are seeing real, positive changes lately – customer service with a smile, expressions of appreciation for a purchase or a job well done or just a helping hand.
The economy has changed our personal lives, put more emphasis on family time, eating at home, exploring our own backyards, but it has also changed the behavior of some sales/vendor folks in a positive way. I was at BB&B today and no less than 6 people greeted me in the first 5 minutes. Yes – Bed, Bath and Beyond!
I had a wonderful experience when purchasing some water bottles for gifts. A google search for “stainless steel water bottle no logo” led me to Element304 in Austin TX. When I ordered they had a space asking how I heard about them so I told them how and mentioned that their Google adwords were working well and that I love Austin. I had an immediate personal thank you from order fulfillment and a little note in my shipment. So I ask you – aren’t you in the market for a high quality water bottle – because I want you to order from these folks!!
Stealing a term from a recent Seth Godin blog entry where he uses the term “hope mongering”: Let’s hear it for less fear mongering and more expressions of appreciation and good will in the New Year. That’s my resolution. And the best to you in 2010!
