Recently I helped a new user with his setup ZohoCRM – a cloud-based contact management database.

He was an educated, smart, young man that was light years beyond me in respect of Internet products. What became immediately evident was that no matter how much you know, if you aren’t familiar with these applications and inter-application connection methods, setup of ZohoCRM, and others, can be daunting and downright frustrating.  But, with my years of providing CRM services, we got this one done.

ZohoCRM is very powerful and really does function like a champion among CRM systems.

Let’s assume for this article that the customer was Jon.

Jon had signed up for a demo of the product at the suggestion of a peer.  Jon had been looking for a contact management database that would assist him in managing his business.  Business had been growing at a pace faster than the old Outlook/Exchange, Google Apps environment could allow he and his team to deal with.  [Read more...]

This was a nice article that summarizes well the dilema’s of the typical entrepeneur:

Written by Ali Luke on PicktheBrain.com

Here’s how you can stay on track with your goals, whatever they are:

Step #1: Focus on Fewer Goals

Any goal takes effort – and tackling more than two or three at a time is beyond most of us. Rather than trying to change everything overnight, focus on just a couple of key goals. Ideally, you’ll want to choose goals that complement one another.

For instance, if you’re aiming to lose weight, you might have a secondary goal of getting fitter – the two goals work in tandem. If you’re trying to write a book, though, it’s probably not a good idea to also work on starting up a small business – you may not have enough hours in the day (or enough creative energy) for both goals.

Step #2: Plan Ahead

One reason why goals get derailed is because we fail to plan ahead. It’s all too easy to use a string of social events as an excuse to give up on the diet, or to abandon a fledgling side business during a busy spell in the day job.

Take a look at your diary over the next month or so. Do you have anything coming up that’s likely to cause problems for one of your goals? If you know you’re going to be away for a long weekend, for instance, you might plan to do some work on your small business on weekday evenings instead. If your friend’s going to throw a big birthday party, you may want to be extra-careful with your diet in the days immediately before and after.

Step #3: Set Milestones

Your goal might seem a very long way off right now. If you’re aiming to lose 100lbs, or get a novel published, or have a full-time small business, you might be looking at months or years of work. At times, it’ll feel as though your progress is slow.

Instead of focusing solely on the end goal, give yourself some milestones along the way. Celebrate every 10lbs that you lose, or each finished section of your novel. Give yourself a deadline to aim for with each milestone – and make it ambitious, but not unrealistic.

Step #4: Build Good Habits

Much of what we do in life is habitual. You probably don’t need to constantly remind yourself to shower or brush your teeth or eat lunch – it’s just a normal part of your day. When it comes to your goals, though, it might be a constant struggle to find the time or energy for them.

By developing good habits that support your goals, you’ll find it much easier to make progress. For instance, if you struggle to find the time to exercise, try looking for a way to fit in into your day – perhaps by walking or cycling to work, or by doing some stretches during commercial breaks in the evenings.

Step #5: Track Your Progress

When you’ve been working on the same goal for a long time, it might feel as if you’re not making much progress. If you look back to where you were a few months ago, though, you’ll often find that you’ve come a surprisingly long way.

Tracking your progress could mean keeping a journal, writing a list of key achievements each month, or recording particular statistics (like your weight or body fat percentage). It doesn’t matter exactly how you go about tracking things – what matters is that you have some way to easily see what you’ve already achieved.

Step #6: Get Support and Encouragement

It’s much easier to stay motivated when you have positive, supportive, people around you. Hopefully, you’ve got friends, family, or colleagues who can encourage you towards your goal – but it might be the case that these people don’t understand why this is so important to you.

Look for a group that shares your goal: perhaps a writers’ circle, a meet-up of self-employed professionals in your field, a dieting club, or a local gym. This should provide you with the opportunity to meet like-minded people who can share your enthusiasm, and offer you advice, support, and encouragement.

What goals are you working on right now? Are you staying on track toward them, or are you struggling? Let us know your thoughts and tips in the comments…

Want to feel great every single week? NOW YOU CAN!

I’m having a super busy day today in my sales , marketing, and operations role! And I just had a realization…

I continually think (and am told), gotta get on the phone, gotta get on the phone, no progress being made!

And I realized, times have really changed. 3-4 years ago we judged our day and successes on how many calls were received, how many calls were placed, who did we talk to?

Yet today, how different it is with email! Using it as a crutch in sales, definite negative. But responding to customer needs and questions…. sure seems like email is now the preference. Phone calls coming in have dropped considerably and I stop and think – DANGER! But is it? Or is it the “new way”?

Personally I have 3 quotes in process today, received 2 new business opportunities, and started a potential project/collaboration. ALL via email at the preference of the clients. They are as busy as I am and don’t have time to “gab”. We are at our desks, on our phones, on our iPads or laptops continually… and we just “get it done” and can move on.

While it can become a crutch, it also can be a sign that you are already communicating well via your marketing efforts, customer service responses, and yes even your sales pitches and many people prefer that method.

So ask yourself, Why Doesn’t the Phone Ring Any More?

The answer may not be as negative as you think!

If it is, then it may be time to start building your marketing efforts and customer service feedback to your clients.

Let us help. Contact us today.

Nimble – THE Social CRM (Customer Relationship Manangement) platform.

What does this mean to you?

• Solving customer facing problems?
• Meeting customer expectations?
• Communicating with customers over the web?

Social CRM can be overwhelming to new users, but once you learn to utilize social network tools such as Nimble, you will find the Social river will provide new leads and new partnerships.

Wondering how this is possible?

What if you could read what the potential customer is looking for, such as the following?

• What is this potential client trying to achieve?
• What do they expect from the company they work with?

Being able to read what your customer wants can help you close sales faster. Rules and guidelines should be placed with your team so that they understand what can be used and what can be discussed publicly in the social channel and forums. Its important to give guidelines about which sites your employees should frequent.  Better yet, be clear on the type of sites you do not want your message posted to.

TeamAutomation uses the social media stream to assist with creation of a favored business atmosphere and to extend client, customer and vendor relationships. We look to these channels and forums to help us build relationships beneficial to not only TeamAutomation but in favor of our clients needs.

Using Nimble helps manage social and business contacts to build customer relationships. Nimble as a social media tool can turn casual contacts and social connections into business leads and sales opportunities. Nimble enables users to efficiently manage e-mail, social conversations, marketing and sales leads. It can assist in management of the sales pipelines by tracking the deals, probabilities, action items, follow-ups and other conversations.

Try Nimble FREE today as a single user and experience how it can change your business operation and profits!

Happy New Year and best wishes for a prosperous 2012

All of us at TeamAutomation want to wish our valued clients a happy and profitable New Year. The last few years have been challenging for many businesses, and we at TeamAutomation have continued to add products and expertise to help your business grow and expand in 2012 and beyond.

TeamAutomation was founded in 1989. Since that time, we’ve seen CRM, helpdesk and customer service products evolve from strictly “on-premise” products (on your computer and servers), to complete “in the cloud” products (SaaS – Software as a Service on the internet). There’s something for all business models, with most focused on reducing costs while increasing productivity.

Through the years, we’ve assisted our clients and partners by keeping up-to-date with the expanding technologies and capabilities being offered. We’ve been able to provide some of the best “on-premise” and “in the cloud” products. We are proud to announce our newest partnership with industry leader SugarCRM. We can now provide our clients with both choices (“on-premise” and “in the cloud”) within the same product. We’ve watched, monitored and tested this product over the last few years, and found it to be an excellent product.

We’re proud to represent SugarCRM, Zoho, RedHorse CRM, Nimble, vTiger, QuoteWerks, TeleSupport HelpDesk and a number of other business automation services. Although we are no longer a FrontRange/GoldMine Sales Partner, we continue to service those who utilize GoldMine products through Version 8.x.

The CRM and business automation products world has changed dramatically in the last few years. If you have not reviewed your operations from a software and internal systems viewpoint recently, we may be able to help you save money and increase functionality for greater profits. We also offer consultation services to help you use your existing software and systems more effectively. Give us a call or e-mail, and we’ll set up a review with you.

Here’s to a New Year full of peace and prosperity for you, your employees and your families.