Anybody use contact management software?
I am currently using Business Contact Manager for Outlook (because it was free) but it is a little flaky and I am considering getting something else. If anybody has any recommendations for software that costs less than £100 please let me know. I need it to integrate with Outlook, so it tracks email conversations, tasks and calendar entries. I also need to be able to import my Business Contacts (which I can export to a CSV).
All advice appreciated.
Ian
All advice appreciated.
Ian
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ACT is one of the best, but Ian if you can manage with an online system which has many advantages - access anywhere through a browser, security, mail/SMS/mailshot/Fax capability have a look here Your CRM
BOB
P.S. I have to admit I have an interest in that my son designed all the clever stuff behind the simple front.
BOB
P.S. I have to admit I have an interest in that my son designed all the clever stuff behind the simple front.
I spent 10 years in crm and when it came to setting up my own business I used BCM but as part of Small Business Server. I then moved to Kayako. It's a little more than £100 but has more functionality than 100k systems I used to configure and install. You do need a web server to host it yourself or you can pay a monthly subscription. It is excellent for tracking conversations / emails / tickets etc. How many people will be using it?
I used Act for a long time not only as a contact manager but also as a sales channel management tool ... was good for account management where onging sales and follow up are crucial.
It depends if you will use the full functionality of the software with ACT but oder versions can be purchased for not a lot of money and will do everything that you actually want.
Dan
It depends if you will use the full functionality of the software with ACT but oder versions can be purchased for not a lot of money and will do everything that you actually want.
Dan
We use Lotus notes at work which is good but out of your budget. If you have Microsoft Access there are some good CM freebies out there - the Microsoft ones on there site are quite good, and you can manipulate them if you have just a little knowledge.
Ian,
I have an old copy of ACT for windows on floppy, I used it under win98, not sure if it would function on a higher platform as I cant try an installation as I have no floppy drive in my PC. Could do a trade with a 4 star member if you want to try it ?
BOB
PM me if inerested
I have an old copy of ACT for windows on floppy, I used it under win98, not sure if it would function on a higher platform as I cant try an installation as I have no floppy drive in my PC. Could do a trade with a 4 star member if you want to try it ?
BOB
PM me if inerested
Thanks folks. I was looking at ACT, there are some older versions on Amazon for about £40, but the reviews seemed to say it really slows the machine down. Any comments on this?
Bob I don't have a floppy either but thanks for the offer.
Ed, it will just be me.
Ian
Bob I don't have a floppy either but thanks for the offer.
Ed, it will just be me.
Ian
ACT is not a processor hungry package and I would be surprised if you had any speed issues, it does also allow you to import your contacts directly from Outlook. I have it on an old pentium 160? (really old) laptop with next to no memory and it runs fine.
BOB
BOB
If it's just you, what's wrong with outlook?
I have not noticed any performance issues with ACT 6. I can only vouch for it on Windows XP professional, nor sure if it will run on vista.
Alan
Alan
Quote:If it's just you, what's wrong with outlook?
BCM in Outlook seems flaky. If you change an email address it loses the ability to track messages to/from that Contact even if you re link. I've got a number of Contacts to which that has happened and it is a royal pain.
You can't build a mailing list from the free version of BCM and a few things have happened with it which leave me less than confident about the robustness of the data.
I think perhaps the version you were using was a different animal Ed, hooked up to a server it was probably a lot more functional and robust.
Ian
Our salesmen at work went for salesforce.com
which is completely browser based. Might be worth a look.
which is completely browser based. Might be worth a look.
Thanks Chris, works out a bit too expensive for me.
I've gone for one of the £40 ACT 2007 deals, at least if it is rubbish (which from this thread it shouldn't be) I haven't wasted too much money.
Cheers folks
Ian
I've gone for one of the £40 ACT 2007 deals, at least if it is rubbish (which from this thread it shouldn't be) I haven't wasted too much money.
Cheers folks
Ian
