Simplesoft Solutions Blog

SalesLogix Group Copy is your friend

September 22nd, 2010 by Jim

As a SalesLogix Administrator, have you ever had a user come up to you and say…. “I accidentally deleted one of my Accounts.”?  I am sure this has happened to most of you at one point in your SalesLogix career.    When this happens, you have a couple of options.  You can go back and restore a copy of your database from the most recent backup, but how do you just get the deleted account and not have to restore the full database?  SalesLogix offers you a little known, but very powerful tool  to allow you to recover just the missing Account and any record related to the Account like Contacts, Opportunities, History items, Activities, etc….  It is called GroupCopy.  As the name implies, it copies a group of records from one database to another.  It is also Sync aware, which means that the record will get sent to all of your remote users without you having to do any additional work. So, if you have the deleted Account in another database, all is not lost.

There is a bit of work that needs to happen before you begin your restoration project.  You will need to restore the backup of your database to a new/separate database than your PRODUCTION database, very similar to creating a TEST database environment, the only real difference is this copy is only temporary until you get the deleted record restored.  Once the database is restored, you will need to create an entry in Connection Manager for the database and a DataLink connection for the database in SalesLogix Client application.  You will also need to create a group in the SalesLogix Client that contains the record you want to restore.  This group can be restricted to only include a single record or expanded to include a selection of records that you choose. For naming the group, make it something that you will easily remember like ‘Account Fix List’, ‘Fix Listing’, or something similar. That is all the prework that you need to do.

Located in the SalesLogix installation folder under Program Files is an executable called ‘GroupCopy.exe’.  When you run this executable, you are initially prompted to enter connectivity information to the Target database.

This is the database where you want your restored record to end up.  The next dialog box you are presented with allows you to select the Source database to connect to.

This is the database where the deleted record resides.  The next dialog box that displays, on the first tab, allows you to select the User that you created the group under and the group name itself, along with how often to commit records to the database and whether or not to show the details as the process is running.

The second tab allows you to set any conflict resolution that may need to occur.

The default settings for the information contained on this tab are usually sufficient.

Once you have your settings on both tabs correct, you are ready to Test the copy.  Clicking the ‘Test’ button runs the copy, running the necessary steps to copy the deleted record from the Source database to the Target database, and then rolling back the transactions.  After you have tested the copy, click the ‘Go’ button to run the actual copy job.  The end result will be your record that was deleted being restored to your PRODUCTION database.

As with everything, there are always a few caveats.  The first is you will lose any changes/updates that were performed by anyone to this record you are restoring after the last database backup was taken.  The next is that some of the record creation dates come over as the date the Group Copy was ran and not the actual creation date of the record (this is typically a minor issue and only happens in very isolated situations on stand-alone tables).

In conclusion, Group Copy is a very powerful tool that has a specific application in the SalesLogix world.  It has proven to be a lifesaver at our clients when the words …. “I accidently deleted one of my Accounts.” is spoken by a user.

If you would like to learn more tips or have a CRM topic you would like us to write about please contact Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. in one of our Cincinnati/Dayton (OH), Charleston (WV), or Charlotte (NC) surrounding area office locations:

Dayton, Ohio Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
550 N. Main St. Suite A
Springboro, OH 45066
Phone: (937) 885-1204 x 3204
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Ripley, WV Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
710 Random Rd.
Ripley, WV 25271
Phone: (304) 521-2387
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Charlotte, NC Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
3635 Eastover Ridge Drive
Charlotte, NC 28211
Phone: (704) 910-3872
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

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Are You a Prospector?

September 20th, 2010 by Lisa

In my last post , I talked about how to retain your customers. This time I’d like to discuss how to “START”  the sale.

It has been my experience that most sales people hate “prospecting”. What is prospecting? 

Wikipedia describes it this way: Prospecting is physical labor, involving traversing (traditionally on foot or on horseback), panning, sifting and outcrop investigation, looking for signs of mineralization. I like that. Not necessarily the horseback part, but that’s what it feels like sometimes. Physical labor, panning, sifting, looking for signs of interest in a product or service. This is part of the qualification process.

It has been said that successful people do things that unsuccessful people choose not to do. I think that is very true, especially in the area of sales. How often do you hear these words? “I love cold calling!” Probably about as often as, “I love a good rash!” You have to be thick skinned to cold call. The odds of rejection are very high. It is however, a necessary evil in the sales process.

I did some digging for statistics on sales “touches”. Most experts agree that only 2% of sales are made in the first contact. I am guessing that number to be even lower as the value of the product or service goes up.  Only 5% of sales are made by the 3rd contact. It is estimated that most sales occur on the 8th to 14th touch, depending on the cost of the offer. WOW, 8-14 touches? In some states that might get you arrested!

The reality is, most sales people stop after 2-3 contacts leaving over 80% of sales on the table for the more persistentsales person to scoop up. Which one are you? Develop a plan. There is a big difference between marketing and selling. You need to be in the marketing business during those first few touches.  Engage your prospect! Get creative. Don’t just call 6 times a month and leave a voice message. Create a unique “Campaign” and brand yourself. If you can get an e-mail address and a physical address in that first phone call or two, you can then turn much of your marketing on auto-pilot if you have a good CRM with marketing capability. (You obviously have to comply with CAN-SPAM laws and use opt-in or opt-out techniques.) We use Sage SalesLogix Emarketing, so whether we’re marketing to several hundred or several thousand prospects, it’s really a breeze.

Sage SalesLogix E-Marketing is an integrated service that enables you to quickly and effectively reach out to all of your contacts, nurture and qualify your leads, and grow your customer base. You can create professional e-mail templates and then view report metrics such as opens and click rates. You can then quantify the results to see what is and is not effective. You can even create your call plan based on those results, immediately warming up your calls. If you’d like to read more about Sage’s E-Marketing or sign up for a free trial.

Go, climb on your horse and start panning and sifting! There might be a big sale just over the next hill.

Dayton / Cincinnati, Ohio Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
550 N. Main St. Suite A
Springboro, OH 45066
Phone: (937) 885-1204 x 3204
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Ripley, WV Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
710 Random Rd.
Ripley, WV 25271
Phone: (304) 521-2387
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Charlotte, NC Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
3635 Eastover Ridge Drive
Charlotte, NC 28211
Phone: (704) 910-3872
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

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Tips for Faster Resolutions from our CRM service team

September 13th, 2010 by Paul

Help us help you – suggestions sending information to our support team

Opening any e-mail with the subject line, Call me quick! is always an interesting way to start my morning.  The e-mail continued to be very vague, I am getting an error in SalesLogix that I can’t seem to fix.  I tried calling this regular client right back and no answer.  I left a voice mail expressing my willingness to help.  This exchange happened two more times with another e-mail with no more information than the first one and another returned call by me to gather more information.   Everyone prefers to communicate in different ways but when it comes to technical troubleshooting nothing replaces the “specifics” needed to narrow down to work on the issue.

Some suggestions to speed up the initial contact:

Pre-Contact Simplesoft Procedures

- Check FAQ/Knowledge Base for any known issues or resolutions, provided you have access

- Check Google/Bing and the Sage SalesLogix community site etc.

- Contact your first level support and try narrowing the issues down

Testing suggestions:  Try Same user on a different computer, try with different user using same computer to provide scope of the issue.  Is it user or computer related?  Make sure the client has the same software version as the rest of the clients.

- Have your history of steps and diagnosis information ready

Contacting Simplesoft Procedures

- Contact your Simplesoft Consultant via email using the general e-mail inbox.  Note: It is fine by us to designate an analyst by name.  But if they are not available someone will be able to respond and let you know.

- Provide us with a easy to read subject line like Customer name – Area of product with issue and short description

Ex. Simplesoft – Remote Client – Missing Send SLX Icon – Month/Year

- We will establish a ticket # and work to provide a resolution

Some suggestions on what to provide us:

Providing our Analysts with screen shots of any errors encountered will help us understand and replicate your issues.

You can also help us by capturing the IMAGE of the error message.

  1. Make sure the error message or dialog box has the focus or is highlighted.
  2. Hold the ALT key and press the Print screen key (Prt Sc).  This will capture the image of the error message to the Windows Clipboard to be pasted into the document.
  3. Open Word or WordPad (found in Accessories) and create a new document.
  4. Select the Edit, Paste or Paste Special menu or press CTRL + v keys on the keyboard.

You can also help us by capturing the TEXT of the error message.

  1. Make sure the error message or dialog box has the focus or is highlighted.
  2. Press CTRL + c keys on the keyboard.
  3. Tab down in the Open document and Select the Edit, Paste or Paste Special menu or press CTRL + v keys on the keyboard.

This will place the text of the error message into the message body and will assist us searching for the error.  This works for most error messages, but not all of them.  It is quite helpful to us if this can be captured.

Try not to send us a video of the issue as it makes the e-mail too large etc.

In the same document or in the Simplesoft Support e-mail, capture the additional information listed below:

Who:   Your name, phone number, and e-mail address

When:  The date and time the error occurred

What:  What you were trying to do

How:   The steps you took when the error occurred

Applications:   The other applications that were open when the error occurred

Installations:    List any recent software installations or system configurations changes

System Information:  System RAM and Processor, Operating system and service packs, Free Drive Space, SalesLogix Version and type, Client Type, Office Suite Version, Virus software, Connectivity, and Browser version

Save the document and e-mail it to our general support e-mail inbox.  We will contact you to confirm receipt of this information.

The more complete the information that you capture and provide us, the easier it is for us to reproduce and resolve the issue quicker.

In most cases, Simplesoft Solutions is providing 2nd line support for Sage SalesLogix to our clients.  Most clients have internal 1st line support assigned to Sage SalesLogix and we are backing that team up.  The Simplesoft Support Team will go through the necessary steps to determine if the issue is something only affecting a single machine, something affecting multiple machines, or is a defect in programming. Once the issue is narrowed down to be an environmental issue, configuration issue, or system issue, we will work to resolve it. Simplesoft Support will try to find an effective work around to keep the system running while trying to fix the root cause of the issue, document the issue as a defect, and/or schedule a fix into the next release depending on the severity of the issue.  If the issue can not be resolved by us, then we work with Sage and make every effort to assist them in correcting the issue.

We look forward to servicing and supporting you when the opportunity occurs!

If you would like to learn more tips or have a CRM topic you would like us to write about please contact Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. in one of our Cincinnati (OH), Charleston (WV), or Charlotte (NC) surrounding area office locations:

Dayton, Ohio Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
550 N. Main St. Suite A
Springboro, OH 45066
Phone: (937) 885-1204 x 3204
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Ripley, WV Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
710 Random Rd.
Ripley, WV 25271
Phone: (304) 521-2387
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Charlotte, NC Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
3635 Eastover Ridge Drive
Charlotte, NC 28211
Phone: (704) 910-3872
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

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Spell Check Notes in Sage SalesLogix Lan – Watch How!

September 7th, 2010 by Janetta

It is easy to spell check your notes in Sage SalesLogix Activities and Tickets by right clicking and choosing Spell Check. Watch the demonstration below by clicking into the screenshot.

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The Future of SalesLogix Mobile – iPhone and Android

September 2nd, 2010 by Mike Pothast

So many of our customers have asked us recently about what’s available and what’s coming for the SalesLogix Mobile platform, that we thought we should provide that information in a more proactive format. So, here you have it!

With the ever changing landscape of mobile devices and platforms having made some tremendous strides over the last 2-3 years, the need for a SalesLogix Mobile Client that is compliant with the full range of today’s devices is greater than ever. Fortunately Sage has recognized this, and the Product Team is working diligently at the upcoming release, due in November/December. What can you expect? A full HTML 5 browser capable application, that will work on BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, as you have come to expect, as well as on the standard iPhone and Android browsers. We’ve seen a sneak peek of the product, and we don’t think you will be disappointed.

But what can organizations that are making the switch away from a BlackBerry culture do in the meantime to access their SalesLogix data from their mobile devices? Fortunately, the team at Net@Work has filled the mobile gap with new, device specific applications for SalesLogix v7.5.2 and SalesLogix Cloud. Available in the appropriate marketplaces for each device, OnTheGo (http://www.myonthego.com) allows SalesLogix users to access real-time data from their database for all critical parts of SalesLogix, as well as making calls, sending emails, creating notes, recording emails and full data editing controls. It’s as easy as pointing the application to your SalesLogix URL and logging in as you normally would at your desk. There’s even a free trial available for the Android platform that points to demonstration data.

Google estimated earlier this month that more than 200,000 Android devices were being activated daily, an increase of 100,000 devices per day since May of this year. That’s overwhelming growth, and far outpaces any other mobile platform on the market. Couple that with the iPhone, and you can account for well over 50% of the smartphones being sold today. We’re seeing more and more executives, customers and otherwise, making the move away from the trusty BlackBerry to newer, more functional devices that in the past have been looked over as true business tools. And we don’t foresee a change in this trend any time soon; in fact we’re counting on seeing exponentially more change in the coming years.

The point to all of this is that SalesLogix, much in the same way that it becoming browser agnostic, is becoming device agnostic. This will allow organizations the flexibility to operate multiple mobile device platforms, with little to no change in the way users access their CRM data on the go. And with very little implementation time or IT burden.

For more information on either of these great solutions, please feel free to contact us at 937-885-1204×3210, or email us at sales@simplesoft.net

If you would like to learn more tips or have a CRM topic you would like us to write about please contact Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. in one of our Cincinnati (OH), Charleston (WV), or Charlotte (NC) surrounding area office locations:

Dayton, Ohio Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
550 N. Main St. Suite A
Springboro, OH 45066
Phone: (937) 885-1204 x 3204
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Ripley, WV Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
710 Random Rd.
Ripley, WV 25271
Phone: (304) 521-2387
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

Charlotte, NC Office:
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc.
3635 Eastover Ridge Drive
Charlotte, NC 28211
Phone: (704) 910-3872
Fax: (937) 885-3580
sales@simplesoft.net

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