Control the sales cycle with contact-management software
Contact management - a 21st century buzzword for keeping in touch - is no longer a luxury, unless you don't care about losing sales. When you have no contact management program, you're at a loss - or should I say, you've lost. Lost revenue, lost opportunity, lost goodwill, lost market share, lost referral opportunity, lost temper, and sometimes lost job.
Enter, ACT!, a contact management program by Symantec. They've been helping salespeople and entrepreneurs since 1987. I started using ACT! a few months ago instead of my old reliable database, and here's what I've found so far: I have been able to combine my calendar, Rolodex, customer activity, customer history, appointment reminder, word processor, and note taker in one program. The thing that makes me mad is that it's been out there all this time, and I avoided it because I thought it was too complicated (a nice way to say I was stupid).
• It's ready to go. No set up or learning ramp-up time.
• It's easy to search
• It's customizable
• It has automatic history (saves every activity)
• It has mail and fax merge
• It has e-mail contact capability
• It's really easy to use
• It also tracks projects
The advantages of a contact management program make it an overwhelming "no-brainer." If you are asking yourself, "Is this for me," take note of the following advantages.
• You only enter information once, and it appears in a multitude of areas.
• Your daily schedule links information to your contacts. Because most activities link back to people, this is critical in assessing your needs and deeds throughout the sales cycle.
• Your activities have priorities. You want to focus on those things that will increase your business. Contact management software helps you keep tasks and activities under control, and keep them in priority order.
• You are able to expand your contact and customer base, and keep it under control. The more contacts and customers you have, the more likely you are to drop a ball without tight control.
• It gives you instant access to all account information when you make (or get) a call.
• You can print address books, calendars, to do lists, and account cards - every day if you like. For those of you that still carry the traditional hard-copy daytimer, what terror is in your heart if you leave it someplace or lose it?
• It makes communicating with customers and prospects by letter, fax, or
e-mail easier. The address and instructions are a keystroke away. The ease of use encourages a sales person to stay in closer touch, thereby building a stronger relationship.
• It creates sales reports by account and sales cycle activity. Ever spend Sunday night watching TV and filling out the weekly sales report? Ever lie just a little to make it look better? Attention sales managers: What a salesperson does at 10 a.m. on Tuesday is useless information. It's more important to know how the sales cycle is working with each active account. With ACT! you just enter each activity by account, set up the formats of reporting once, select the dates, and presto! A report by account activity. This is a real tool for analyzing sales.
• You have a no-lose policy. That's right, as soon as you enter the information, you "no lose" it.
• You have peace of mind that things are under control. Peace of mind that allows the creative side (the solution side) of your brain to engage. (For those of you non-scientific readers, the creative side of your brain is directly linked to your wallet.)
Contact management brings about sales success because it controls the elements and details that help you make the sale. The right contact management program will change the way you do business by making it easier, more powerful and more fun. The power of a program like ACT! is that it frees your mind from the details and allows your creativity to kick in and find solutions - creative solutions that lead to sales.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. Inquiries should be sent to the Warsaw Business Journal by fax at (48-22) 646-0576 or e-mailed directly to Gitomer at salesman@gitomer.com
Enter, ACT!, a contact management program by Symantec. They've been helping salespeople and entrepreneurs since 1987. I started using ACT! a few months ago instead of my old reliable database, and here's what I've found so far: I have been able to combine my calendar, Rolodex, customer activity, customer history, appointment reminder, word processor, and note taker in one program. The thing that makes me mad is that it's been out there all this time, and I avoided it because I thought it was too complicated (a nice way to say I was stupid).
• It's ready to go. No set up or learning ramp-up time.
• It's easy to search
• It's customizable
• It has automatic history (saves every activity)
• It has mail and fax merge
• It has e-mail contact capability
• It's really easy to use
• It also tracks projects
The advantages of a contact management program make it an overwhelming "no-brainer." If you are asking yourself, "Is this for me," take note of the following advantages.
• You only enter information once, and it appears in a multitude of areas.
• Your daily schedule links information to your contacts. Because most activities link back to people, this is critical in assessing your needs and deeds throughout the sales cycle.
• Your activities have priorities. You want to focus on those things that will increase your business. Contact management software helps you keep tasks and activities under control, and keep them in priority order.
• You are able to expand your contact and customer base, and keep it under control. The more contacts and customers you have, the more likely you are to drop a ball without tight control.
• It gives you instant access to all account information when you make (or get) a call.
• You can print address books, calendars, to do lists, and account cards - every day if you like. For those of you that still carry the traditional hard-copy daytimer, what terror is in your heart if you leave it someplace or lose it?
• It makes communicating with customers and prospects by letter, fax, or
e-mail easier. The address and instructions are a keystroke away. The ease of use encourages a sales person to stay in closer touch, thereby building a stronger relationship.
• It creates sales reports by account and sales cycle activity. Ever spend Sunday night watching TV and filling out the weekly sales report? Ever lie just a little to make it look better? Attention sales managers: What a salesperson does at 10 a.m. on Tuesday is useless information. It's more important to know how the sales cycle is working with each active account. With ACT! you just enter each activity by account, set up the formats of reporting once, select the dates, and presto! A report by account activity. This is a real tool for analyzing sales.
• You have a no-lose policy. That's right, as soon as you enter the information, you "no lose" it.
• You have peace of mind that things are under control. Peace of mind that allows the creative side (the solution side) of your brain to engage. (For those of you non-scientific readers, the creative side of your brain is directly linked to your wallet.)
Contact management brings about sales success because it controls the elements and details that help you make the sale. The right contact management program will change the way you do business by making it easier, more powerful and more fun. The power of a program like ACT! is that it frees your mind from the details and allows your creativity to kick in and find solutions - creative solutions that lead to sales.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. Inquiries should be sent to the Warsaw Business Journal by fax at (48-22) 646-0576 or e-mailed directly to Gitomer at salesman@gitomer.com
