However, many times a single ACT! user calls lamenting that he can’t open his ACT! database because he  has forgotten his password.  I could charge the person to recover the password but, kind-hearted person that I am, I offer these tips that recover the password more often than not.

• Typically the user name is the users first and last name.
• The password is CASE sensitive, the user name is not.
• When prompted for your password, try leaving the password field blank.  If you can’t remember your password chances are good that you never had one to begin with.

So why does this happen?  Every ACT! database requires at least one user.  And, if the database only has a single user without a password, you will not be prompted to officially “logon” to the database.  However, if you add another user, upgrade to a newer version, restore a backup or move to a new computer you will have to supply your entire user name and password.  And that password might be blank.

In other cases, users include a checkmark next to the Remember password option which means they were able to open and close their ACT! database hundreds of times without ever having to supply a password.  Which leads me to wonder:  what’s the point of assigning a password if anyone can access your confidential data by just clicking OK? Absence may make the heart grow fonder but it doesn’t do a whole lot for your memory.  When you run into a situation where you’re required to cough up that password you may just find that you no longer remember what it is.

One finally tip:  if you do assign a password to your database avoid using common ones such as password or 123456.  These two passwords consistently rank as the most commonly used passwords year after year.

I had the occasion to take my non-functioning iPod into the Apple store last week.  I chose an off-peak time (or so I thought) and found that I had to literally battle my way into the store.  All around me were clamoring customers seeking support and/or repair on their “easy to use, reliable” Apple products.   After waiting 15 minutes to work my way to the front of the appointment line I was given an appointment for the next day.  I left with a stern warning that I should show up 15 minutes early and that if I wasn’t there when called I would forfeit my spot.

The next day arrived and I once again bulldozed my way to the front of the appointment line.  The store was even more crowded than the night before and there was only one “official” appointment keeper person on duty.  He consulted his iPad and told me that the appointments were running over an hour late.  I was advised to wait outside of the store and warned that if I wasn’t there when called I would forfeit my spot.

I patiently waited the designated hour.  Fortunately for me I used my Droid to access the book I was currently reading on my Kindle but I digress.  At the end of the hour I once again made my way to the appointment czar who sternly told me that I had not checked in.  I suggested that perhaps his iPad had malfunctioned; the czar did not seem amused and informed me that it would probably be at least another forty-five minute wait.

Fast forward forty-five minutes and the new appointment guy told me that there were only 5 names ahead of mine.  He told me I could wait anywhere in the store and that a genius would find me. Skeptic that I am I hovered nearby and thought I heard my name being called faintly in the distance.  I dove through the crowd just in time to hear another name being called.  I was told that my device had malfunctioned and was given the option to purchase either a factory refurbished replacement or a brand new model.  Ironically they had dozens of refurbished models in stock.  Total time spent with the “genius” – less than 5 minutes; total time dealing with the Apple store – over 2.5 hours.

So what’s with the obsession with Apple products?  My friends tell me they like the fact that Apple offers classes; personally I can’t imagine attending one in the pandemonium of a retail store.  Clients tell me Macs are so much easier leading me to ponder how easy they can be if hundreds of people are seeking help. Other folk tell me that the Apple is impervious to viruses leading me to wonder why the store was selling anti-virus software.  I’m told that Apple makes reliable products yet my iPod died in a little over a year.

I guess my pet peeve (after waiting over two hours to be told that my broken device was broken)comes in the form of the cryptic texts I receive from my iPhone toting friends who can’t figure out how to turn off the automatic word “suggester.”  As one of my friends recently wrote me, “Racnt!  Olives the tixlr.”

I’d love to know your thoughts.

Anyone familiar with the publishing industry – or the local bookstore for that matter – knows that the industry has undergone radical changes in the last several years.  For that reason, as well as the fact that ACT is upgraded on a yearly basis, I made the decision to move to another publisher after writing 11 of the For Dummies books.  The new publisher, PackT Publishing, specializes not only in books on computer software but in getting those books to the marketplace quickly so that they will be available to users who are upgrading their software to the latest release.

It was easy for me to transition to the PactT format.  The cookbook format is actually quite similar to the Dummies format; they are designed so that users can find an answer quickly.  They are not meant to be read cover to cover but rather to be used as a reference when needed.

The ACT 2012 Cookbook picks up where the ACT by Sage for Dummies book left off.  The Dummies book covers basic functionality including adding contacts, notes, and activities.  It covers the basics of groups, companies and opportunities and includes interfacing with Microsoft Office products.  The Cookbook compliments the ACT for Dummies book in that it includes a sprinkling of recently added basic functions like the  Welcome page, Scratchpad, Relationships and Secondary contacts.   It also includes more advanced features including the Web Info tab, Smart Tasks and ACT E-Marketing.  It even covers the brand new ACT 2012 Google integration.

The ACT 2012 Cookbook and the ACT by Sage for Dummies books will provide most users with everything they need to know about ACT – and then some.  And, if you are a true ACT power-user, you might be interested in a third book that I’ve written – the Sage ACT 2011 Dashboard and Report Cookbook.  This book covers the advanced reporting features found in the ACT Reports and Dashboards.

Register Now to Attend.

Join Karen Fredricks, owner of Tech Benders and the author of 7 books on ACT and the ACT! lynda.com training videos as she hosts the ACT 2012 Fort Lauderdale Road Show at the Westin Hotel on Thursday, July 28 from 1-5 PM. The Florida ACT! 2012 Road Show is an opportunity to meet with people from Sage Software and to learn to new ways to better implement ACT! in your company.

Refreshments will be provided.  We’ll also have some great give-aways including lots of free ACT software!  Presentations will include:

Messaging & Installation. As computing becomes more and more sophisticated it can also become more complicated.  See the new, improved installation of ACT 2012.

ACT for Web. Everyone wants to be “in the clouds” and ACT users are no exceptions.  Learn more about ACT for Web so you can see first hand if this is the right solution for your company.

ACT Scratchpad. ACT users constantly on the go and demand that their software keeps up with them. With ACT 2012  you can add, delete and edit Notes, Histories and Activities without having to fire up ACT.

Universal Search. If you use ACT you know that it is the lifeline to your business.  Learn to quickly search through your database to instantly put your fingers on the exact information you need.

Google Integration. For years Outlook has been considered as “the” E-mail client.  However, in recent years Google has become increasingly popular.  In ACT 2012 you have a new option for email integration: GMail.

Karen will be presenting 10 of her all time favorite ACT Tips and answering all of your ACT questions.

Enjoy Networking Time with other ACT FanACTics:
ACT allows you to run your business efficiently and effectively which means you’ll have more time to spend on the fun things in life – like enjoying time to network with the Sage executives and other ACT fanACTics.

Please register as early as possible as space is limited to the first 100 participants.

“We purchased ACT! a few years ago and it’s just not working for us.  No one is using it.  We’d like to switch to ABC_CRM.  They gave us a really great demo and I think it’s exactly what we need.”

My advice is that rather than investing in more CRM software they need to invest a little time and money in their own database first.

Unfortunately, all too often I see a company purchase a software solution and then “assume” that once it’s installed everyone can ride off into the happy sunset.  To me, that’s like assuming that once you purchase a scalpel you’ll know how to use it.  Bad assumption!

Want to get up and running with ACT! – or any other CRM solution for that matter?  Here are my Five CRM Commandments:

• Thou shalt get with the program. Literally. Consider telling your staff, “if it’s not in ACT!, it doesn’t exist.”  You’ve invested in your software to save you time which means you should not have to be looking at numerous spreadsheets, reports and legal pads to keep track of what’s going on in your company.
• He who teaches himself is taught by a fool. Maybe I’m prejudiced because I’ve written 7 books on ACT!, have created training videos on all of ACT!’s core functionality and spend a great deal of my time showing people how to use ACT! .  Trust me, you’re not going to learn my osmosis.
• Garbage in, garbage out. Many people grumble that their database is “full of junk.”  Stress to your employees the importance of accurate data.  Take the time to enter information correctly the first time, and modify incorrect information as you stumble on it.
• De-dupe you dope. ACT! comes with a neat utility to merge duplicate records together.  If you don’t know how to merge your duplicates, take the time to learn!
• Keep your eye on the prize. If you’re goal is to have a rather pricey electronic Rolodex system, that’s fine.  However, if you’re looking to use your database for a specific purpose such creating a marketing campaign that will entice specific prospects to start buying your products you’ll need to put a bit of thought into segmenting your database so that you can reach out to customers and prospects by their area of interest.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was your database.  However, if you stick to my 5 simple Commandments you’ll soon be reaping the benefits of an effective CRM solution!

Karen Fredricks
Tech Benders

A good CRM implementation should be making you more efficient and saving you a lot of time.  After all, time is money.

A common question I’m asked is whether there is an easy way to add the incoming leads you receive from a website form directly into an ACT! database.  My answer is a resounding YES.

Many ACT! users don’t realize that the ACT! E-Marketing functionality does a whole lot more than simply send e-blasts.  The utility can also be used to create a web form.  Quite simply that means that means that when someone submits their contact information to you via your website their information will automatically appear in your ACT! database.

ACT! E-Marketing will allow you to create basic web forms.  I’ve recently partnered up with an amazing company, Juicy Results, who will connect those web forms to the “Contact Us” portion of your website and ensure that the web form will have the same look and feel as your existing website.  They also have some really great optimization services that will make sure that prospects are actually able to find your web site!

Jeremy Pound of Juicy Results is holding a free webinar on website optimization geared towards companies that offer professional services.  This would be a great time to learn about some of the great services that Juicy Results has to offer.

You can sign up for the event at:  http://www.juicyresults.com/2011/internet_marketing_webinar/

As most of you know, I’m probably one of the biggest ACT! cheerleaders around.  However, sometimes I run across an ACT! feature that makes me slap my head and wonder “what were they thinking??”  A case in point is the Documents tab.  I love the ability to create shortcuts to my documents so that I can easily access them from the contact’s Document tab rather than grappling around searching for files while talking to a client.  However, what I’d really like to do in some cases is get to an entire folder of information at the click of a button.  Unfortunately, this is not an option in ACT! – or so I thought before speaking to  two long-time ACT! Consultants, Chuck Cutler and Rita Kogstad.  They provided me with what turned out to be a very simple solution to a bothersome problem.

Follow these steps to create a link on the contact record to a data folder:

1. In ACT!, create a new URL field and place it in your contact layout.
2. Launch Windows Explorer (or My Computer).
3. Navigate to the folder you wish to link.
4. Right-click the folder, choose Properties from the contextual window and copy the folder’s location into the Windows clipboard
5. Type file:// in the new URL field and then paste in the contents of the clipboard.  For example, to navigate to my own documents folder I’d place file://C:\Users\Karen Fredricks\Documents into my ACT! field.

The next time you want to quickly get to the folder simply click it; the folder will pop open in seconds.

I like that little trick but there’s also a way to get a folder to show up on the Documents tab as well that ACT! Consultant Art Russ shared with me that and doesn’t necessitate the need to create a new field:

1. Launch Windows Explorer (or My Computer).
2. Navigate to the folder you wish to link.
3. Right-click the folder and choose Create Shortcut from the contextual menu.  You will now be on a shortcut file.
4. Use your mouse to drag and drop the shortcut file to the contact’s Documents tab.
5. Double-click the shortcut in the Documents tab to view the contents of the linked folder.

There are lots of cool shortcuts in ACT! that users take advantage of every day to make ACT! even more powerful than it already is.  If you have discovered other shortcuts that you’d like to share please let me know!

I truly believe that even the best of us procrastinate at least once in a while especially when it comes to doing routine tasks or things we don’t have fun doing.  Most of us aren’t going to jump out of bed early on a Saturday to shovel snow or rake the lawn.  Nor are most companies very proactive about writing thank you notes or sending holiday cards.

I love ACT! because it helps take some of the pain out of those routine tasks that we all dread.  For example, it’s easy to create a query based on your recently closed business and use that as the basis for thank you notes.  Or you might add a “mailing” field and use that to generate a list for your holiday cards.  And of course you can send those cards electronically if you want.

I can’t claim that CRM software will help you get your holiday shopping done on a timelier basis but I can claim that it will help automate many of the office chores to make you much more productive and efficient.  And of course, all that extra productivity will give you a bit more time to go to the mall to buy those last minute gifts!

The businesses I work with are generally successful to begin but want to take their business “to the next level” by leveraging the latest technology. I strive to retain their existing business practices and simply incorporated them into ACT!. In fact my company’s name, Tech Benders, is derived from my desire to “bend technology” rather than bending established business strategies.

I like to learn just as much as I love to teach and find that I can garner some great ideas from the people I work with. A case in point is Alex Funkhouser of Sherlock Technology Staffing. Alex runs a successful recruiting business that specializes in technology staffing.

If Alex followed the more traditional marketing model he would be sending out weekly emails praising his abilities and/or extolling the virtues of his latest candidate. I in turn would click the Delete button, mark him as a spammer, or ask to be removed from his mailings. However, Alex does something that keeps me reading – he offers me something of value. In Alex’s case he has become a repository for all the technology user groups in the area. He includes links and details for the meetings; his listing is very long and quite extensive. Most importantly, it appeals to the exact population that he’s trying to attract as potential clients.

Put yourself in the shoes of your prospects when designing marketing materials. What has more appeal – a sales pitch or useful information? Which one would entice you enough to open it and which one would be instantly deleted?

If you think out of the box like Alex did and you’ll be pleased with the results.

The RAW program is an innovative publishing concept that allows buyers to download each chapter as completed by the author before full editing has taken place. When the book has been completed and is ready for printing, the buyer can download the final version of the eBook. Buyers of RAW books can also pre-order the printed version and receive discounts as part of the RAW bundled offer.

RAW books are particularly appropriate for new software releases because users need immediate solutions to their problems and cannot wait the approximately nine months required for traditional books to come to market. It’s an ideal method of presenting ACT! because each new version includes lots of major enhancements and ACT users want to learn about them immediately.

You can learn more about the two ACT Cookbooks at https://www.packtpub.com/authors/profiles/karen-fredricks.  Just remember though – they’re still a bit RAW!