ACT! Software Tips & Insights

When I start helping a client with ACT! it is commonplace to find that the client does everything with ACT! except email.   One of the best features of ACT! is that it can keep a record of all correspondence sent to a contact, including email.

How can you stay completely organized when you are dependent on two software programs to complete one task?   In my opinion you can’t, so allow me to suggest a strategy to work with email and ACT!.

Because ACT!’s email program is mediocre, I advise my clients to use ACT! with Microsoft Outlook, which is an excellent email program.   Together they form a powerful combination.

I use Outlook to check and reply to my email, but with a twist.   I’ve set Outlook to use Microsoft Word as its default word processor (Tools | Options | Mail Format | Use Microsoft Word to Edit Email Messages) because Word can accurately check your spelling and grammar.   Outlook has its own word processor, but it doesn’t have the strength of Word.   In addition, Word has features like autotext and autocorrect, which can make common tasks, such as replying to emails, much easier to accomplish.

Having said that, I still use ACT! to send email when I want to create a record of the event in ACT!’s note and history section. (Note: if you don’t use Microsoft Word as the default word processor, you can send emails from Outlook, using ACT!’s address book, and have them attach to the contact in ACT!).

Does your Internet Service Provider limit your email?

If you do a great deal of email marketing, you might run into restrictions on the number of emails you can send because your Internet service provider may limit the number of emails you can send blind carbon copy (bcc). This can severely limit how you market to your customers and prospects.

Last quarter, I started testing SwiftPage EMAIL, which works within ACT! and allows you to send up to 1000 emails at a time, as often as you like.   In addition, SwiftPage enables you to stay compliant with CAN-SPAM laws and ensures clean lists through opt-out suppression files. SwiftPage has additional great features that will help you utilize ACT! to its fullest potential.

This week’s ACT! tip has nothing to do with the ACT! software, but it has everything to do with a typical ACT! user. 

Business people and salespeople are common ACT! users.  In our business, we regularly get calls from people inquiring about our services, or we are calling prospects who we hope to persuade to use our services.  The more information I have about a prospect, the better.

I use and recommend the Google Deskbar: The free Google Deskbar lets you search with Google right from your Windows taskbar without having to switch applications or launch a web browser.

I always Google the prospects phone number before I make the call to the prospect; I can often find where they are located and sometimes I find their website which gives me more information about what they do.  I once pointed this tool out to a client and he Googled one of his vendors while I was in his office.  We found out that his vendor belongs to a local association that I belong to! 

Google has made it the world smaller and the Google Deskbar makes it easier to navigate.

There is a very popular email program that some of my ACT! clients use called Constant Contact.  Constant Contact allows you to create “email newsletters and announcements that get immediate and measurable results”.

In my opinion, Constant Contact isn’t the right email program for ACT! users because it works outside of ACT!.  If you want to send emails you must export your email list and then upload it to Constant Contact.  In addition, you then have to track the information from Constant Contact back into ACT! by hand. 

SwiftPage Email solves this dilemma by working within ACT!; simply click on the SwiftPage Icon in ACT! and send an email(s).  No exporting or importing is required.  SwiftPage also allows you to target those who read your emails by bringing reports back into ACT! which updates each contact’s record.  This allows you to start calling your most interested clients directly from ACT!.

SwiftPage email is simply better and easier for ACT! users.  For a free trial, please click here.

ACT! has two ways to backup your ACT! data: the first is File | Backup and the second is File | Save Copy As.

 ACT!’s backup option backs up your ACT! data and files associated with ACT!, such as reports and layouts, just to name a few.  ACT! 2005/2006 has modified this slightly: there are two separate files you should back up, database and personal files.  ACT! 2006 has a scheduler in the Premium/Professional version of the product. 

The second option is File | Save Copy As.  I use this option before making major changes to my database, such as importing data.  When you use this option you can copy the entire database’s data, but not the associated files, such as reports and layouts.  In addition, you can make an empty copy of the database, which is a convenient way to copy the characteristics of the database without copying all the data. 

Let me leave you with this question: have you backed up your data recently?  Do it right now!

> Tip: The F8 Key: ACT!’s Contact List

> Suggested Product: Contact List Plus

The F8 Key: ACT!’s Contact List
ACT! has the ability to view a group of contacts in a list similar to an Excel spread sheet by simply touching the F8 key (or select: view | contact list).

If you lookup a group of contacts and then press the F8 key you will see all of your contacts in a list form. At the top of the list is the field heading (for example, company or contact) and if you click on the heading it will sort the list based on the heading you select. If you click on the heading a second time it will reverse the sort order.

If there is a field you don’t need, click on the field heading and drag it towards the top of the screen (you will see a trashcan appear as you drag it) and release. ACT! 2005 handles the removal a little bit differently; right click in the body of the list and select customize to add and remove columns. If there is a field you need in a different location, simply click on the field heading and drag it to the right or left and release (again, to accomplish this in ACT! 2005 you need to right click to customize the column locations).

Tag Mode
In the list view, ACT! has a tag mode feature that allows you to run through the list to tag (select) a contact or group of contacts to fine tune your search. On the top left of the list you will see a drop down box that shows edit mode. Click on the drop down and select tag mode. In ACT! 2005, you simply click in the tag mode check box.

============================================

Suggested Product: Contact List Plus
I’m currently using and testing Contact List Plus ($59.00), an ACT! addon that enhances ACT!’s contact list. If you find the contact list valuable, this will enhance your experience with the list view by giving you some valuable options such as -

> Sum/Count/Total values in a column

> Tag Mode

> Design and Save Column Layouts

> Save/Restore Lookups

> One Click to Apply Color

> Printing in Color

> Export to Excel

> Colorize Your Lists

For a free trial, please visit www.contactlistplus.com.

My thoughts about the new version of ACT!: ACT! 7.0.

ACT! 7 (called ACT! 2005 in North America) came on the market late last summer.  I made a decision to hold off using it until it had been on the market for three or four months.  I typically suggest that you hold off upgrading any software (not just ACT!) and let them workout the bugs that sometimes accompany a new release.  On January 1^st 2005, I started using ACT! 2005 full-time on a computer that met the suggested minimum requirements of 512 MB RAM and a processor speed of 266 MHz or greater. 

If you are a long time ACT! user, one new feature may make it worth the upgrade price.  But my initial assessment is going to be in very general terms, not specifics.  It comes down to one simple determining factor: would I feel comfortable suggesting that a client or friend upgrade to ACT!?  Yes or no? 

The answer is No.  Here’s why:

1.)   ACT! 2005 might require you to upgrade your computer in order to operate it properly, which could make ACT! an expensive proposition. 

2.)   It is very slow.  At times, painfully slow. 

3.)   It is just different enough from previous versions to make it more difficult to learn and implement.

4.)   For the average everyday ACT! user, ACT! 6.0 is more that adequate and can still be purchased. 

5.)   It might render add-on products for ACT! inoperable, or require an upgrade. 

There are many things I like about the software, yet, they are not compelling enough to make me feel comfortable recommending it to someone.  If you are using ACT! 2005, I would love to hear some feedback whether you agree or disagree with my assessment.

When I start helping a client with ACT! it is commonplace to find that the client does everything with ACT! except email.   One of the best features of ACT! is that it can keep a record of all correspondence sent to a contact, including email.

How can you stay completely organized when you are dependent on two software programs to complete one task?   In my opinion you can’t, so allow me to suggest a strategy to work with email and ACT!.

Because ACT!’s email program is mediocre, I advise my clients to use ACT! with Microsoft Outlook, which is an excellent email program.   Together they form a powerful combination.

I use Outlook to check and reply to my email, but with a twist.   I’ve set Outlook to use Microsoft Word as its default word processor (Tools | Options | Mail Format | Use Microsoft Word to Edit Email Messages) because Word can accurately check your spelling and grammar.   Outlook has its own word processor, but it doesn’t have the strength of Word.   In addition, Word has features like autotext and autocorrect, which can make common tasks, such as replying to emails, much easier to accomplish. 

Having said that, I still use ACT! to send email when I want to create a record of the event in ACT!’s note and history section. (Note: if you don’t use Microsoft Word as the default word processor, you can send emails from Outlook, using ACT!’s address book, and have them attach to the contact in ACT!). 

Does your Internet Service Provider limit your email?
If you do a great deal of email marketing, you might run into restrictions on the number of emails you can send because your Internet service provider may limit the number of emails you can send blind carbon copy (bcc). This can severely limit how you market to your customers and prospects.

Last quarter, I started testing SwiftPage EMAIL, which works within ACT! and allows you to send up to 1000 emails at a time, as often as you like.   In addition, SwiftPage enables you to stay compliant with CAN-SPAM laws and ensures clean lists through opt-out suppression files. SwiftPage has additional great features that will help you utilize ACT! to its fullest potential.

Many years ago I attended a business luncheon and the speaker, who was in the computer industry, said something I’ll never forget - “If you are disorganized before you get a computer, you’ll be disorganized after you get a computer.”

ACT! is a great way to become organized and efficient, but it takes some effort.

When I work with my ACT! clients one of the first things I look at is how they utilize the ID Status field (I use the ID Status field to categorize every single contact in ACT!).  I usually find that people either don’t use the field at all, or they have so many options that it becomes more work then it’s worth.  My experience is that if you limit the options to about six items, it will be easier to keep track of your contacts.  These are the fields I usually suggest:

1.)   Customer or Client

2.)   Prospect

3.)   Vendor

4.)   Employee

5.)   Friend

6.)   Other

Because all of the choices start with a different first letter, all you have to do is touch the letter C to have the field populated with customer, for example.  This makes data entry just that much easier and is a good strategy for all fields.  If you have more than one person entering data, I would suggest that you limit the choices that can be used by limiting the options to just these few (under edit | define fields; call me if you need help here).  In addition, you can quickly look up all of your customers if you need to do a mailing or send an e-mail.

Many of my clients say they need more categories. I caution them that if they get to complicated they could waste time managing data and not selling or running their business.  There is a fine line between organization and chaos.

If you do need more of a breakdown, customize a second field to give you more options.  There are some great add-on products for ACT! that can be helpful here as well.  Feel free to contact me with any and all questions.