Just today I watched a webinar event and thought… wow… did I share this opportunity with anyone?

I want to make sure that I share a great series that I have been participating in over the past few weeks as well as the upcoming links to more!

Strongly consider attending!!!  The information is excellent… pull up a chair and learn a bit about business practices and principles, along with tools that will get you there.

If you are interested or curious check it out here.

How often do we just forget to share information that we personally learn from and can be such a benefit to others?  Think about it….

For business building tips and tricks – contact info@teamautomation or call us at (805)522-3875, ext. 103

We look forward to hearing from you.

We (TeamAutomation) promote and sell remote access tools, mobile device integration solutions, workflow processes and more – to speed up performance! Yet, even I personally experienced frustration this week and thought to myself – how often do our staff and co-workers experience the same and no one realizes, so they just move on as best they can?

Being what I consider a “seasoned remote user”, this last week was one of frustration and confusion.  “What was “I” doing wrong”, “why was “I” the only one experiencing this”, “why do “others” who use phone tethering not have the same issue?” and best of all “why was “I” running up a huge data cost to the company that I knew personally was affecting profits?”

It took a customer service STRANGER to determine my issue, working over a “noisy” VPN versus a stable remote access tool such as GoGlobal, GotoAssist, or LogMeIn.  I am responsible for the SALES of these solutions and yet, it took a stranger to realize what was clearly right there as the cause of my downtime.   I didn’t stop long enough to think of what I would tell a customer in the same situation and neither did my counterparts at corporate.

As management, we tend to think of those who experience issues, as “inexperienced”, “slow to adapt”, and sometimes quite frankly a “thorn in the backside” when we are interrupted to yet “fix it again”.  How often do we not truly LISTEN to the need?  How often do we just move on with a quick “give it another try”, “reboot”, “maybe it’s how you are logging in?”, or …. the favorite… “talk to IT”.

All of these options cause a lack of productivity and affect the bottom line!  Face it, especially with those in a $ales or customer $ervice role, you are losing YOUR money for every moment wasted when that valued asset can no longer do their job.  Too often, we as management do not take the time to simply listen and try to assist – RIGHT THEN AND THERE!  We move on with the day and what we need to handle while all along, this action is literally losing us valuable resources and $$$.

I challenge each of you to travel, work at a local Starbucks, take a few hours and work from home next week when you have an important call or conference… and USE the tools you expect your STAFF to utilize, use them in the SAME manner, not just what you believe is the way they are used, use the tools you promote to your customers, and best of all, just take a walk in their shoes when no one is available to help you out.

This can be eye-opening, I know it was for me.  And going forward, I plan to stop, focus, and LISTEN to such requests.  After all, it does affect your bottom line!!

What do you think?   Have you or your valued clients and staff experienced the same?

For assistance with Remote Access Tools, Management Consulting, and Business Building Skills – Contact us today.   info@teamautomation.com  805.522.3875

Those wows and good feelings came out in all. But, after one chorus, the band dropped back to their signature sounds. I think we all felt like the band had just taken us on a historic journey. We felt connected!

So what does this have to do with our businesses you might ask?

Are we giving our customers and team members that pleasant feeling of “a blast from the past” when we land a new deal, or are we rushing ahead to the next deal so fast that we don’t get to appreciate the  customer and team’s excitement?

As a reminder for all of us, next time you close that new deal, ask yourself how you can share the pleasure and feeling of success with your new customer and team.

You might even share the nice feeling with your new client.  Done respectfully and appropriately you will build those relationships that make customers for life.

CRM software can assist in building relationships but only people have relationships. Put a bit of you into your next deal.

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.  He needed a system that the team could work with.  They simply needed to work together in a tighter manner with their activities and customer information readily available.  They couldn’t depend on e-mail’s being cc’d and the like. Therefore, he knew, a contact relationship management product (CRM) was necessary.  The entire team could have immediate access to customer information and peer actions without constant interuptions of phone calls and requests for more information.

Since his team was comfortable with online products, he chose the ZohoCRM after reviewing SugarCRM, Nimble and a couple others.  His key requirement was that the CRM connect to Google seamlessly.  His company and team already had an investment in Google Apps in addition to other “in-the-cloud” systems, so inter-application communications was very important.

Jon found that he needed to subscribe to connect the Google Apps to his ZohoCRM world as the demo version did not allow that.  He was hesitant at first but found that there is a 30 day trial of most products – so he subscribed to the Zoho Mail add-on.

Being comfortable with online products, after all that is what his company worked with all day long, he looked in the help system.  Where many products had slim to no help, he found Zoho had masses of information.   So much in fact, that he began to become confused and shut down.  He called TeamAutomation for assistance as we had sent him information on CRM products in the past.

As a service, we briefly reviewed the issues with him.  He understood that online subscription products can sometimes require human services, and purchased a small block of support service time.  His service time can be used for any services he needs. (To date, he’s had team members trained and they’re finding success in sales & operations.)

After a few moments of review and conversation we looked deeper.  Once we worked with him one-on-one, we found that he had rushed through the installation questions.

He had 2 main issues that needed to be resolved:

1. He had not authorized Zoho from the Google Apps side – that prevented the full connection and
2. Like many Google users, he and his team had not utilized the email address field fully in google – Google does have a declaration of “what kind of email address is this”.  Most inter-application communications regarding the move/copy of email addresses require a “type” identifier for the address.

Take a look at your google contacts, does the email label say “Work” for the work email address or “Home” for the home email address?  Or, do your email addresses show up as “Other”

Be aware that many online cloud based software will only synchronize the declared email addresses, excluding “Other” types.  Any email address not declared or  left blank will become “Other” in Google.  Those will not synchronize in many cases.

We’ve set up a number of cloud sysytems like ZohoCRM, SugarCRM, Nimble , vTiger and others. Each have their own anomalies which are easily overcome but many times only the experience gets it done. Our support team is considered experts in these products.

Having problems with your online contact management system?

Call 805.522.3875 or contact TeamAutomation today.

The key to successful selling is finding out what people do. If you find out what they do, how they do it, when they do it, where they do it, who they do it with, why they’ve chosen to do it that way, and whether your product or service could help them do it better, your going to be successful.

Success comes from helping people do what they want to do, not what you want to do.

That certainly summarizes well don’t you think?

(excerpt taken from Cold Calling Techniques – by Stephan Schiffman http://dei-sales.com)



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!

With all the messaging tools and database systems available one would think that there’d be no way to lose touch.  But, with all that said, test yourself, try the following questions!  Evaluate how well you “really”  know your customers.  Consider your top 10 customers as you answer.

1. Do you know when your customer last purchased from you?
2. Can you identify the last meeting or call with your customers – and was there a followup?
3. Do you know how each customer prefers to communicate?
4. Do you know your customers last announcement about their business?
5. Know the date of their Birthday, Aniversary or other important event? 
6. For new customers (last 12 mos).. Do you know when to send a “It’s been a year… let’s review…” card?
7. How many of your products or services do they currently use daily?
8. Do you know what other vendors are being utilized by your customer?
9. Does your customer have a wish list?
10. If your customer could do anything tomorrow morning, what would they do?

So how did you do?

Could you successfully answer 7 of 10?  If so, you get a “C”!  Remember back when you were in grade school?  70% was a C grade or average.  Below 7 and you are heading for trouble… need assistance… could put a little more effort into the work.  If you answered 8-10, you are doing well, but “can improve” is always appropriate for successful businesses.

If you wish to excel in your customers eyes, you must be an “A” player.

Really knowing the answers to the questions have one thing in common, a good CRM system.  If you don’t have a CRM system or yours doesn’t help you answer these questions, then it might be the time to acquire or change the system.  With a properly chosen, configured and installed CRM system you will easily know the answers to these questions.  Knowing the answers will allow and assist with business excellence and growth.

Besides having a CRM system available, it’s key that you and your team utilize the CRM system as habit and norm, not as duplicated efforts. After all, a great system that is a pain or not regularly used will provide you with no benefit.

A properly configured CRM system assists you in monitoring ONLY the information you need on a regular basis while in addition providing the social stream information that allows you to know the customer.  In best practice, the social stream is available for  prospects and customers, vendors and employees. With a social stream integration, that social stream is available for your analysis and use.

TeamAutomation provides guidance choosing and implementing CRM systems. Design, implementation and training are key services provided by a certified team.  Call 805.522.3875 or email info@teamautomation.com for more information

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.

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!

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.