Developing a successful sales automation system is similar to building a house.  While it is possible to haphazardly wander through the design, development and construction, a house will not stand very long without an adequate foundation.  And so it is with the design, planning and implementation of a sales automation system.

 

A well thought out needs analysis and planning meeting is necessary to discover the true company needs, as well as the accurate determination of costs.  The needs analysis/discovery meeting allows all parties to voice their concerns and give valuable input as to what is needed and what is desired from the automation process.  The analysis meeting gives insight into the workings of your company and gives the ACT! Consultant* the needed information to create the solutions best suited to your company.  While a complete solution may be desired at the outset, it may be more cost effective to postpone certain features and include them in subsequent phases.  Since no two companies are exactly alike nor do they have identical budgets, one’s simplistic implementation is no less productive than another’s elaborate installation.  Typically, more elaborate installations are built around additional fields, extensive imports, templates, synchronization, and reports.

 

Upon approving the proposal, the next phases are data import, field design, template creation, and report creation.  When completed, on-site installation begins.  Depending on the complexity of the installation and the number of users, this can take anywhere from hours to days.  When this is completed, it is time for the training phase.

 

Training can be handled in a number of ways.  A custom class designed for your company’s layout and design is probably the best course of action.  This allows your people to use the database with the custom fields and layouts.  Alternately, ACT! Consultants* can train an individual who will then train your people.  Otherwise, a generic class is available to teach the basics of the software.  In addition to  classroom or on-site training, many ACT! Consultants* offer web based training to accommodate your company’s needs.

 

Typically, the ACT! Consultant* will follow-up with regularly scheduled visits to acknowledge any troublesome procedures and offer additional on-site training.

 

The ultimate goal of an ACT! Consultant* is to assist you in your business needs and offer solutions to make your company as successful as possible.  

 

* The ACT! Consultants in our list are independent businesses with no affiliation to ACTMidwest.com.  As with any business proposition, it is up to the client to research, evaluate and choose the consultant best suited for his business.  We provide the list of consultants free of charge and we do not endorse or recommend any particular consulting firm or consultant.  A little bit of due diligence goes a long way in preparing a successful CRM solution.

Productivity Through Automated Sales!