Microsoft has updated their authentication protocols to no longer include basic authentication for their email effective October 1, 2022.

What does that mean to Infor CRM users? Not much as Infor uses SMTP which is not changing.   But it will impact companies using KnowledgeSync and Office 365 and to continue to authenticate with the Office 365 all KnowledgeSync users will need to upgrade to the newest v10.5 to continue to use the integration with the Infor CRM under the new protocol requirements.

Here is the article from KnowledgeSync on the authentication change

Deprecation of Basic Authentication in Exchange Online Affects KnowledgeSync On-Premise

Contact Simplesoft for additional information or to request an upgrade to your KnowledgeSync!

The full article from Microsoft can be found here.

Basic Authentication Deprecation in Exchange Online – September 2022 Update – Microsoft Community Hub

If your company is not ready to make that change due to potential impact on software other than Office 365 then you have a small reprieve as they are allowing a on-time protocol rollback that will allow basic authentication until Dec 31, 2022.  After that date, ALL basic authentication for the Office 365 (Exchange Online) will be blocked completely with no rollback.  You can find the temporary configuration steps in the article above.

Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton OH surrounding areas. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor SLX CloudSuite CRM. We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994.

You want to know what your teams are accomplishing with customers…..but where do you start? Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to come up with everything at once. Take one team and one action at a time.

Here’s how to begin…What behavior do you want to incent with users? Start with one group of users, we like to start with sales since they tend to have the most measurable goals.
What do you want to measure? Thinking this through helps you come up with what they need to record in CRM.
– Number of calls
– Number of visits

Update Activity pick lists with common values, this keeps the process fast and efficient for the users. Doing this leads to better user adoption when they don’t find the process cumbersome.
– Follow-up on quote
– Send literature
– Priority

Educate your users! This is critical to success with Activity Management. Make sure they understand how, why and where things need done. What are the different types of Activities?
– Phone calls
– Meetings
– To-Dos
Set up actions for follow-ups automatically. Show users how to adjust this in the Options menu in CRM. Make this a best practice so that when they complete an Activity they set up their next step.

How can management use this to improve and review with the team?

• Remember the objective of CRM, Collaboration!
• History vs Activity – Be sure you explain the difference. History in completed Activities. Activity is a task in the future.
• Notes vs Completed Activity vs Completing Unscheduled Activity. Notes are for general things about an account. User must put calls and meetings under Activity for reporting to properly work. Users should always record unscheduled activities under the History tab.
• Group examples
  • Activity Groups for upcoming items
  • Contact Groups that show history of completed Activities
  • Dashboards (v8.5 can show pending vs completed)
  • Stale Opportunities (Always have a next action set)
  • History created without notes (completing Activities with no notes)
• Review in-sales meetings and one-on-one time
• Set clear expectations and communicate them to teams
• Surprises
  • Tickets aren’t being updated or completed
  • Out-of-date Opportunities
  • Meetings & Calls haven’t been recorded

These examples and suggestions will help set you on a clear path to success with Activity Management in Infor CRM.

Would you like to discuss the bigger picture with Infor CloudSuite CRM at your company? Connect with a Simplesoft Consultant at support@simplesoft.net

Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton region and offices in Cleveland, OH  and Charlotte, NC. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CloudSuite CRM. We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994.

Having a CRM tool is a big part of businesses today. Knowing how to lead with the tool is an important piece of having success with the tool. It’s never a good idea to just have it be a virtual rolodex for your teams; this leads to poor data integrity and low user adoption.

Define clear expectations. Make sure that each user of CRM knows what they are expected to do in CRM – how and when to do it. Help them with the big picture, too, by letting them know why and how this data is used. A great example would be letting the sales team know what marketing is doing with the information. When they understand that the more information they input, the more marketing can turn it into qualified leads and more sales, then everyone is happy!

Define a process. Above, we mentioned making sure your team knows how to do things in CRM. An easy way to accomplish this is with a process for each piece of the CRM. Lead Management, Opportunity Management, Activity Management, etc., are all things you should have defined. When you have a process that includes data segmentation, it allows for clear reporting.

Make the process necessary to do business functions. Once you have your process mapped out, make sure it is woven into your business functions. This increases user adoption and a greater respect company wide when they everyone is using it to its full potential.

Show how it improves the user’s job. A big part of growing your user adoption is to show the benefits of using CRM. Show how it can create efficiencies that leads to more sales. When an effective sales process is followed in CRM with reminders for follow ups and deadlines, nothing falls through the cracks. Keeping up on Contact and Lead data arms your sales team with knowledge that makes them stand out. Marketing can generate better Leads that convert more when they know what sources pay off. Leadership can make faster, more informed decisions when data and analytics are visible to all departments. All these are just some of the benefits to users that make CRM a valuable tool.

Tie it to compensation/goals for the sales team. One more layer of added incentive is rewarding power users. The easiest way to do this is to have a quote-to-sales order process built into your CRM. This way the team has to utilize CRM in order to generate sales and get paid. Better yet, give a bonus to power users of CRM as an added incentive.

Lead by example. Not only should you as a leader be using the CRM, but you should lead with it. Meaning, having accountability to users using it. Following the tips above helps this along, especially a process. Running sales meetings in CRM, creating leadership dashboards, and integrating all your software are just some other considerations that drives user adoption.

Related blogs: User Adoption and Lead a Better Sales Meeting

Connect with a Simplesoft Consultant at 937-885-1204 or support@simplesoft.net.

Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton OH surrounding areas. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CRM. We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994.

Several factors should be considered and thought about when choosing a CRM tool for your company. A CRM tool is a major investment for your company. Complete understanding of all the capabilities, what else can integrate with it, and how it will help grow your business is just the beginning of things to consider. 

What are you trying to accomplish? This is an important part to think about because some tools are “beefier” than others. Is your company lacking a Lead and Sales process; do you wish you knew your sales funnel. How about marketing, are they asking for a tool to track ROI of their Lead generation efforts. Are there other tools at your company that you’d like to incorporate into your CRM?

All these questions should get you thinking about what you truly need out of a CRM tool.

How many users will you have? This is important because some tools have minimum user counts. So, if you are a small company with only a few users, this will limit which CRM tools you can choose.

Is the CRM scalable? Can it grow with your company’s needs and sales growth? It is important that other products, as well as other software and technology, can integrate with your CRM. You most likely have other software or will have other software at your company. Make sure you can bring them all together to eliminate data silos. Also, bringing on new technology can create a lot of push back so making sure it can sync up with other programs with help your user adoption.

Can it be customized? Consider the freedom you want to have with you CRM. Do you want to be able to change pick lists, change fields, create custom dashboards, and more? Make sure all the bells and whistles they show you in the demo are included in the base price. Some tools will show the fully customized tool and it can carry a hefty price tag.

What support and training is provided, in the beginning and ongoing. This is good to know because as with any technology there will be hick-ups, upgrades, and new features you’ll need help with. You will want to know what type of materials and support they offer. Some of the bigger companies offer live support and training to its users; others have stocked libraries of training materials. Some companies are really lacking in this department. Be sure to add this to your list of questions to inquire about.

Are you aware of the true cost of the tool? Do they charge for every add-on, customization, or reporting tool. If you host on-premise, remember to consider the cost of servers and hardware, as well as labor from IT. Ask what the renewal costs are and if there is a price break given if you commit to multiple years. Another point to remember is to ask for a discount if you are purchasing several software programs at once from the company.

When choosing a CRM tool, there is lots to consider and think through. Don’t just choose based on price; be sure to consider all the important items and build a tool that will excel your company.

Need help comparing tools? We are here to help!

Connect with a Simplesoft Consultant at 937-885-1204 or support@simplesoft.net.

Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton OH surrounding areas. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CRM. We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994.