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Question – What is the main difference between ACT! by Sage for 200X and ACT! 6.0
Answer
– There are many. While the look and feel of these two products is similar, the underpinnings are completely new. ACT! by Sage for 200X uses Microsoft SQL as the Database Engine, whereas ACT
!6.0 has a proprietary database. This is an excellent improvement and in the long run, will prove to make the product better. Also, ACT! by Sage for 200X is a real client/server architecture when
multiple users are involved. This means that all ACT! files are kept on the server and clients access the database and all supplemental files in query mode. The synch engine in the new Database is
vastly improved and more reliable.
Perhaps the most important difference is that there are now two versions: The standard version which is for the small office/home office and The premium version for larger
workgroups (it can be used by much larger groups, Sage says up to 50, which is likely a conservative number.)
Question - Why should I buy ACT! when I could use Outlook for my address book?
Answer
- First, ACT! is much more than an address book. While Outlook is an excellent tool for sending e-mail and does a good job at keeping your contacts and your calendar, it is not customer-centric and
lacks the comprehensive contact management functionality that is necessary to most effectively manage business relationships. In other words it is not a “Contact Manager”. Secondly, ACT! should be used
for all individuals in your organization who have contact-centric responsibilities. The notes/history details about a contact in ACT! and many other features that contribute to effective ‘relationship
management’ is not available in Outlook
Question - What additional features does ACT give me?
Answer
– Numerous Features. Primarily, users can track all calls made on their client through extensive notes documentation. Also, these notes can be viewed by other users in the business with access to the ACT! database, either in a shared mode for those inside the office or in a sync mode for remote users. For a summary overview see ACT! features looking inward, and ACT features looking outward.
Question – Who is SAGE Software? I thought ACT was owned by Best Software.
Answer - Early in 2000, SalesLogix Corp. in Scottsdale, AZ, acquired the rights to ACT! from Symantec. They changed their name to Interact Commerce Corp.
ACT! and SalesLogix were the resulting two principal products. ACT! is a product designed and sold to the small office/home office market, while Saleslogix is a CRM product designed for and
marketed to the mid-size enterprises.
In 2002, Interact Commerce Corp. was acquired by Sage Software, a provider of back office software such as accounting packages. Sage Software,
however is a British Company and did not have the right to use the Sage name in the U.S. This resulted in naming the U.S. Division Best Software. In mid-2005, Sage Software acquired the rights to
use the name ‘Sage’ in the U.S. and since then, the company has been known as Sage Software.
As you can see, ACT! has had numerous owner names. Symantec, Sales Logix, Interact Commerce Company,
Best Software and now Sage. But from its humble beginnings in the early 1990s, ACT! has remained constant through all of these owner names.
Most ACC’s were very pleased with this ownership
change and evolution into Sage Software. It is believed that Sage’s market position and stability provide continued staying power to ACT! and generous investments will continue to be made in the product. Also
note that Pat Sullivan, The CEO of Interact Commerce, was the founder of a company called Contact Manager software in the late 1980’s, where they developed a product called ACT! and in the mid 1990’s sold it
to Symantec.
Question - How can ACT! increase my productivity?
Answer - Again, there are many ways. One of the best is that ACT! has its own e-mail client, thus eliminating the
need for a second address book, (Outlook or Eudora), and second address entries. The e-mail client in ACT! allows you to attach incoming or outgoing e-mails to your contacts or group of contacts.
Finding that e-mail after the fact is just a matter of going to the contact. If you require a full service e-mail package, ACT! will link to Eudora Pro, Outlook, Outlook Express and Lotus Notes. In such
a mode, you can still use the e-mail addresses in ACT and do not need to build a separate one in the other e-mail clients
Another good example is the mail merge feature - After deciding who should have
a copy of your e-mail, fax, or letter, mail merge allows you to send an individual, tailored copy of such a document to all recipients anonymously, with none aware that another person received a similar copy.
Question - How does ACT! help me manage my accounts?
Answer - Whether it’s a sales account or a vendor partner, ACT! allows users to effectively manage a group of contacts in the same
enterprise by helping them track all interactions with every contact. The right hand does know what the left hand does, because these interactions have been documented in the ‘notes’ section for all to see. In addition, it can all be viewed in one place.
Question - Can my ACT! screen be customized?
Answer - The ACT! screen (layout and field names) can be customized in virtually an unlimited number of ways. Layouts can be designed
to show different screens for different users of the same database in the enterprise in the event some fields should be blocked from view. Colors can be chosen and company logos can be shown on the screen. Field
attributes can be chosen to format fields for specific types of entry, such as social security numbers, required entry and with dropdown lists to assure uniform entry of data. Some users may seek the services of an
ACT! Certified Consultant (ACC) for such activities.
Question - Does ACT! perform calculation function between fields.
Answer
- Yes, in the Sales Opportunities occur when ‘functions’ such as quantity/price extensions for product line items are calculated in quotations. Generally speaking, however, ACT! does not perform
calculations in the Contacts, Groups or Company Screens. However, one of the fantastic new features of ACT! by Sage for 200X, is its ability to import lists into Excel, where any calculation is
possible. Also, there are excellent third-party products available that make it possible to customize calculations on any ACT! field.
Question - I need a contact manager that helps me to
manage my sales processes. Does ACT! provide such a tool?
Answer - Yes. Both ACT! 6.0 and ACT! by Sage for 200X, an area in ACT! is available specifically for such purposes. The
Sales feature uses a sales funnel (ACT! 6.0 only) that graphically represents the sales status (sales persons’ opportunities.) New sales opportunities with a contact can be entered into the ‘New
Opportunity’ dropdown screen. The various stages of the sale presented on this screen can be modified by the Sales administrator to reflect your company’s methods of measuring sales progress. This is where the
Sales representative would also enter the probability that the sale would close during the various stages of the process. It should be noted that the ‘Sales Opportunities’ section has been considerably improved in
ACT! by Sage for 2006.
Question - What are the advantages of the ACT! scheduling application?
Answer – All versions of ACT! provide comprehensive calendaring functions for
time scheduling. For example, if a meeting has been scheduled with John Doe, the meeting date, time, discussion notes, and all associated correspondence can be recorded and tracked in John Doe’s record for
instant reference at any time. Then after the event, the activity is “cleared” in ACT!, during which time all important details can be recorded in the details area.
This information then becomes ‘History’ and is available for viewing in the History tab.
In other words, ACT! provides complete and comprehensive history tracking on all interactions with every
contact, including phone calls, meetings and to-do items. It records e-mail and fax correspondence and attaches the link to such documents to the contacts for quick and highly organized retrieval.
Question - I bought ACT! from my local retailer and am concerned that I may have to pay an ACT! consultant to learn how to use it. Why should I buy ACT?
Answer - If you are an individual user or a small business user, rest assured that ACT! is the easiest contact manager available on the market. More than 5,000,000 copies of ACT! have been purchased,
and most by small office/home office users. The Standard ACT! database right out of the box has been very well designed and most people have used it without hiring a consultant. This is a strong
indication that it’s not necessary to have advanced computer skills to be a successful out of the box ACT! user.
Since ACT! has so many advanced features, such as synching the database to remote
users, networked use of the database, e-mail setups through proxy servers, customized databases, layouts and reports, it is both prudent and advisable that users contact an ACT! Certified Consultant (ACC)
early in the implementation, to optimize the performance and ensure the integrity of your ACT! database.
Question - Can I link my ACT! contacts to my Quickbooks file?
Answer – Yes, there is now a link available from Sage that will link ACT! by Sage for 2006 to Quickbooks 2005. Bear in mind that Sage also owns MAS 90 and Peachtree accounting software, and one could expect
interesting developments involving those products with ACT! In the future.
Question - What rates should I expect to pay for the services of an ACT! Certified Consultant?
Answer - All ACC’s are independent business professional and are not employees of Interact Commerce Corp. Individual Service Rates vary among the 300+ ACC’s in North America, ranging $100-$200 per hour.
Sometimes rates vary with an individual ACC.
International Bandwidth Services (IBS) charges $150.00 per hour for any of the customizing functions usually associated with ACT!.
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