E-Mail Tracking within CRM
The other day, I was asked to draft a scope of work for a new client after a few weeks discussing his business, his processes, his target audience and friction points along the customer journey. Every savvy sales rep or manager knows how important momentum is to matriculate prospects through the sales cycle. I’ve waited anxiously for price and scope responses more times than I care to count. And no one wants to stalk a prospect during crucial points in the business development cycle…over-eagerness is the surest way to relinquish credibility, leverage and flow. Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly when your email was opened so you can time your follow-up accordingly? Wouldn’t your follow-up conversation be stronger if you were able to say, “I see you’ve received the price quote you requested. I’m calling to follow up to see if you have any questions I can answer for you”? Definitely.
Given how sensitive my communications typically are with business leaders, maintaining confidence is essential. I was able to do just that. Unlike Act!, Zoho, Salesforce and WiredContact allow for emails to be tracked in real time. When the message is sent through the CRM, it puts a 1×1 transparent pixel in the email. If that image is “requested,” then the CRM immediately reports the email as opened. No clunky third-party apps or plug-ins.
These CRM systems are fully integrated so critical data is shared with the people who need it, when they need it. We also integrate them with company processes to ensure great and seamless customer experiences throughout the cycle. And no awkward follow-ups. This tool can be used for all emails so communication statuses are always informed, be they price quotes or support sessions or dinner invitations. Like anything else, better information = better choices. Smoother communications = fewer hiccups in your sales cycles and business processes throughout your company.
Act! to Zoho Conversion - Contacts without a Company Name
There are plenty of differences between Act! and Zoho. I am just going to review one about our conversion process from Act! -> Zoho. In Act!, you can have a contact all by itself. However, when we bring it to Zoho using our utility, we make an account record and link it back to the contact.
Screenshot below. Click each one to enlarge.
How to Disable Internal Emails Attaching to Act! Records
Although many Act! users like e-mails attached to Act! records, they may not want internal e-mails to attach to Act!.
Click the image to see a video on how to disable Act! from attaching internal e-mails. To see the screen below, click on Tools -> Preferences -> Admin to get to this screen. If this option it’s disabled, login as the Act! Administrator.
Act! Premium for Web Logs Out without Warning
In Act! Premium for Web, two things could be the cause:
- Press “log off” instead of using the “X” on the browser window instead. Usage of the “X” in the top right corner of the browser app will close the browser, but does not close the Act! Premium for Web application’s session on the server. Hence, so the session counts down anyway. When that countdown hits the end of the 20+ minutes, Act! closes the session and any other sessions that the user may have open at the time.
- Use of cut and paste from MS Outlook and web pages into notes and history. By doing this, there is a likelihood that mismatched HTML code embedded in the text causes the browser to choke and kick out the user. If you need to paste data from these sources, paste as text to eliminate the embedded HTML. In other words, from Outlook, you would copy the message to notepad; then, to Act!. That eliminates the variable, but you lose some formatting.
Customer Experience by The Numbers (INFOGRAPHIC)
Why is a single point of access so important to your company? Because according to this study and many others like it, customer experience is considered the #1 metric in the B2B marketplace. You probably already know why—because it costs 7x more to acquire a new customer than to retain an old one. How many screens do your reps have to flip through to access the data they need to deliver great experiences? Likewise:
- Buyers have more options than ever before
- Given online ratings and reviews, unhappy buyers can hurt you more and worse than ever before
- Ghost Losses—you often don’t know when they’re unhappy or even when they’re leaving you and why
So how well do you know your customers? (Maybe not as well as you think.) Your bottom line most certainly depends on it. Even a 5% improvement in customer retention can increase net profits by 25%
Click here for a nifty infographic that lays it all out for you. If you'd like an 11"x17" PDF version to print and post where your team can see it, just let us know and we'll be happy to send one over to you.