Create Custom E-mail Signatures in ACT!

  
Did you know that ACT! lets you create customized, even HTML based, E-mail signatures? Here's how you can create your's:

1.Select Tools >> Preferences from the ACT! menu.
   The Preferences dialog box opens.
2.Select E-mail and the E-mail Preferences dialog appears. Click on the Signatures button.
   ACT! opens a new template and the Mail Merge fields dialog box.
3.Click on Add. Enter a name for this signature in the Signature name field.
4.Type your signature in the Edit signature field, and click OK.

Note: You can similarly create a custom signature in ACT! premium for Web too, but it does not support HTML based signatures.

Source: eGrabber Newsletter

How to create folder shortcuts in ACT! Documents tab?

Did you know that you can create folder shortcuts for specific folders in ACT! Documents tab?

Try the following:
1.     Lookup the contact in ACT! which will hold the folder shortcut.
2.     Launch My Computer window or Windows Explorer.
3.     Browse and select the folder you want to add to Documents tab.
4.     Right-click on the selected folder and select Create shortcut.
      A shortcut file with the folder name along with the word “Shortcut” is created. If you have difficulty finding the file alphabetically, sort the list by date modified to locate the file you just created.
5.     Drag the newly created shortcut file to the contact’s Documents tab.
6.     Double-click on the shortcut file to view the contents of the folder.

Quickest way to Find & Merge ACT! Duplicates

I frequently import leads from various sources into my ACT! database. Every time, I have to manually check for duplicates before adding them. It is time-consuming and prone to a lot of errors, as I still see a lot of duplicates in my ACT!. Is there a better way to handle this?

Yes! eGrabber DupChecker helps you to accurately find all ACT! duplicates and merge them in no time.

After importing the lists into ACT!, run DupChecker on the database. The patent pending "fuzzy logic technology" built into DupChecker lists all potential duplicates in your ACT! at one go. It also allows you to do an auto merge of all the duplicates.

Now, you can start following up your leads immediately after importing the lists. Download your trial version of DupChecker today.

           

Easiest way to accurately capture contact details into your ACT!

I manually type or copy-paste contact details into my ACT! everyday. This takes up a lot of my valuable time. Is there a way by which I can automatically enter contacts into ACT!?

AddressGrabber is the quickest and easiest way to accurately capture contact details into your ACT!. All you have to do is just highlight any address and click on AddressGrabber. The contact information gets automatically added to ACT! within seconds.

AddressGrabber intelligently extracts name, address, email, phone and fax number from email signatures, web pages, documents, etc. and creates contacts in ACT!.

AddressGrabber cuts down your time spent on manual data entry by atleast 80%. It also eliminates inaccuracies and other hassles associated with manual data entry. Download your free 10-day trial version today or call our sales specialists at 866-299-7314 for a free 2-minute demo.

Speed-up the Most Frequent Activities in ACT! by using Contact capture

I often add new contacts to my ACT! database. I also frequently look-up contacts and schedule activities for them. Each activity takes at least 2-3 minutes which is very time consuming, considering that I work on at least 20 contacts every day. Is there an easy way to do this?

AddressGrabber Suite is a popular ACT! add-on that speeds-up the three most frequently performed activities in ACT! – entering contacts, looking up contacts and scheduling activities.

1.     AddressGrabber – Auto-extracts name, address, email, phone and other contact information from any source and enters them into ACT! in 5 seconds.

2.     Turbo Lookup – Brings up matching results even as your are typing in your request (To Lookup “Steven Johnson” just type “st jo”)

3.     Quick Scheduler – Understands instructions in simple English and schedules activities (Just type “call John Locke at 11 am next Monday” to schedule an activity for John)

With AddressGrabber Suite, you save time and increase your productivity with ACT! by 10X times. Download your free 10-day trial or call our sales specialists at 866-299-7314 for a free 10-minute demo.

Speed-up the Most Frequent Activities in ACT!

I often add new contacts to my ACT! database. I also frequently look-up contacts and schedule activities for them. Each activity takes at least 2-3 minutes which is very time consuming, considering that I work on at least 20 contacts every day. Is there an easy way to do this?

AddressGrabber Suite is a popular ACT! add-on that speeds-up the three most frequently performed activities in ACT! – entering contacts, looking up contacts and scheduling activities.

1. AddressGrabber – Auto-extracts name, address, email, phone and other contact information from any source and enters them into ACT! in 5 seconds.

2. Turbo Lookup – Brings up matching results even as your are typing in your request (To Lookup “Steven Johnson” just type “st jo”)

3. Quick Scheduler – Understands instructions in simple English and schedules activities (Just type “call John Locke at 11 am next Monday” to schedule an activity for John)

With AddressGrabber Suite, you save time and increase your productivity with ACT! by 10X times. Download your free 10-day trial or call our sales specialists at 866-299-7314 for a free 10-minute demo.

Source:eGrabber

Did you know that you can clear multiple ACT! activities, you no longer need, that have been created for different contacts in one process?

Here's how:
1.Select the View menu and click Task List

2.Select the first activity that you want to clear

3.If all the activities you want to clear are in the list in order, you can hold down the Shift key and select the last activity you want to clear

4.If the activities you want to clear are randomly scattered, hold down the Ctrl key and individually select each activity you want to clear

5.After you've selected the activities to be cleared, right-click one of the selected activities, and choose Clear Multiple Activities from the shortcut menu

This will clear all of the outdated activities that have been selected.

Schedule Meetings for Other ACT! Users

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Did you know that ACT! allows you to schedule meetings for yourself and another ACT! user? Here's how you can do it:

1. Select Schedule >> Grant Schedule Access from menu. The Calendar Access dialog box appears
2. Select the user to grant scheduling rights. Click Access
3. Select View and Schedule. Click OK

You can now begin scheduling for the user(s) granted access. To schedule an activity for someone else in your company:

1. Look up the contact to be scheduled. Create the Activity as usual
2. Click the 'Schedule For' button and pick the User from the Schedule For list
3. Click OK when you are done

Note: You have to be an Administrator or granted access to do this by one.

Create Custom Reports in ACT!

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Though ACT! provides customizable pre-formatted reports, it also allows users to create new custom reports per their requirements.

Here's how you can create your own report:

1. Select Reports >> New Template >> Select a Report Type
2. Select from the basic templates, including Empty Contact Report

The Report Designer screen is separated into several sections. Sections are report and page header/footer and a detail section

3. To add objects to the report, click the Field tool
4. Draw a field where you want to place it, select a type
5. Add fields to the Detail section to show Contact information. Add Header and Footer objects as desired
6. Click Print Review to review your report and adjust spacing, sorting and formatting as needed. Save the report and provide a name
7. To run your custom report, Select Reports >> Other Reports and select your's from the list

Design Word Templates that Incorporate ACT! Fields

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Did you know that you can insert ACT! fields where necessary and create custom Word templates in ACT!? The Edit Template function in ACT! allows you to do this.

Here's how you can create a template using an existing Word document:

1. Open the document in Word.
2. Copy the text that needs to be incorporated into the ACT! template. Select Write >> Edit >> New Letter/E-mail Template from the ACT! menu.

ACT! opens a new template and the Mail Merge fields dialog box.
3. Paste the copied text into the body area of the template.
4. Add ACT! fields in the template where appropriate using the the E-Mail Fields dialog box.
5. Save the new template. You can view it by selecting Write >> Other Document from the menu.

Integrate your ACT! and Outlook Calendars

Source: eGrabber Newsletter - Tips for ACT! Users

If you maintain calendars in both ACT! and Outlook, you may want to view a consolidated calendar information in both applications. Integrating both the ACT! and Outlook calendars allows you to accomplish this.

Here's how you can do it:

1. Import your Outlook calendar items to an ACT! database (Use the ACT! Import Wizard).
2. Open each calendar entry and map the activity to the corresponding ACT! contact.

If you are using ACT! Premium, you can synchronize the ACT! calendar with Outlook so that changes are automatically reflected. Here's how:

1. Select Tools >> ACT! Scheduler from the menu.
2. Select Create a Task from the options under Schedule Tasks.
3. Choose the ACT! database where you have imported the calendar items.
4. Use the dropdown in the Select a Task window to choose Outlook activity synchronization. Select Finish.

ACT! User Group Meetings Near your City

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

The Bay Area ACT! User Group will meet on Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010, at The Beverly Heritage Hotel, 1820 Barber Lane, Milpitas, CA 95035 from 6:30pm - 9:00pm.

Find out more about the ACT! User Group Meetings near your city.

Participate in ACT! User Group Meetings to exchange and learn new ideas and keep up with the latest developments in ACT!. These meetings are ideal for both new and experienced ACT! Users.

Map your ACT! Fields to an Excel Spreadsheet

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Did you know that you can link ACT! database fields to cells in an Excel spreadsheet? With such a mapping, the Excel file will be updated automatically when the data in the ACT! field changes.

Here's how you can do it:

1. Click on the Documents tab and select a spreadsheet.
2. Click Edit Document. The document opens in Excel.
3. Set up the first row of the spreadsheet to include the appropriate ACT! fields.
4. Identify a cell to which you can map an ACT! field. Click Map to Contact, Map to Company or Map to Group, as applicable, from the ACT! menu.
5. When the Map fields dialog box opens, choose the appropriate field and click Add.
6. Repeat this process for any additional fields, save the spreadsheet, and click Close when done.
7. To refresh the spreadsheet fields, while in the Document tab, click on the Map to Excel option in the middle of the screen.

Create an ACT! Contact Directly from an Outlook E-mail

Source: eGrabber Newsletter

Did you know that you can create a new ACT! contact directly from an Outlook e-mail message?#

1. Once you integrate* your ACT! and Outlook, you will see this new ACT! icon "Create a new contact in ACT!" appearing on e-mail messages in your Outlook.
2. Open any e-mail and click on the Create ACT! Contact icon on the task bar.
3. ACT! will automatically create a contact record based on the information available in the e-mail (it populates the Contact name and E-mail Address fields).
4. You can then add additional information to fields such as phone, address, company, etc.

ACT! will even check for duplicates before adding a contact. This allows you to efficiently add new contacts, while ensuring a clean database.

#Feature available only in ACT! 2007 and 2008
*Ref our ACT! newsletter dated 12/02/09 for tips on how you can integrate ACT! and Outlook.

Best Selling Features of ACT! By Sage 2010

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?ACT!-By-Sage-2010---New-Features-Make-Managing-Relationships-As-Easy-As-1-2-3&id=3013565

Customer Organization:

• Social media spreadsheets. With Act 2010, you can view your contacts' social media affiliations using one screen. Once setup, access to clients' membership information with such popular social media sites as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo is at your fingertips with the click of a tab, allowing you to see with whom they are affiliated as well as pertinent contact information.
  

• Media member management. The software's redesigned interface makes searching your contacts easier and less time-consuming. With a design theme comparative to other popular software programs, Act 2010 allows users to access desired customer information using a collection of one-click buttons that make client tracking a breeze.
  

Client customization:

• Opportunities. Using the newly-designed interface, users of Sage software Act! 2010 can track and focus on clients based upon their specific preferences, such as products and services, group affiliations, and contact history.
  

• Results. Your carefully planned marketing strategies are the bread and butter of your business. By monitoring your marketing results via Act! 2010, you can take advantage of the capabilities of the contact management database and follow your clients through all aspects of your marketing campaigns.
  

Report generation:

• Business integration. One key feature mentioned in any reliable ACT! by Sage 2010 review is the ability to create and generate reports that may be sent and viewed using popular business software programs like Microsoft Excel, Outlook, QuickBooks, and others.
  

• Lead follow-up. Using Sage software Act 2010, independent marketers and business entrepreneurs are able to follow leads from the initial contact through the final sale. The dashboard feature displays client information among various available graphics for efficiently gathering pertinent information at a glance.
  

For more info - http://ezinearticles.com/?ACT!-By-Sage-2010---New-Features-Make-Managing-Relationships-As-Easy-As-1-2-3&id=3013565

Add your ACT! Address Book to Outlook

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

create an email in Outlook and pick the emails from your ACT! contacts.

Here's how:
1. Select Tools >> Preferences >> Options from the ACT! menu
2. Click on the E-mail tab
3. Click on the E-mail System Setup button to open the E-mail Setup Wizard
4. Select MS Outlook as you E-mail system and choose Outlook as your default ACT! email program

You can also use the system options to automatically save emails, you send, to that ACT! contact's History tab.

Create A New Opportunity Process in ACT!

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Did you know that you can create custom processes to manage your opportunities in ACT!? You can rename or reorder existing processes to better match your company’s workflow. Here's how:

1. From within the Processes dialog, click Create New Opportunity Process.
2. Type the name of the Opportunity process and a Description, if needed.
3. Click the Active check box to allow the new process to be selected when creating a new opportunity. Click Next to advance.
4. Now you can give each sales stage a Name, Description and Probability. To add any additional sales stages, click the Add button. To move a sales stage up or down, click the Move Up or Move Down buttons.
5. When finished adding sales stages, click the Finish button. The original Processes dialog appears and your new sales process will be listed.
6. Click Close to close the Processes dialog.

Your new opportunity process will now be available when creating or modifying opportunities in ACT!.

Productivity add-on: Add contacts in ACT, Schedule Activities, Instantly Look-up ACT Contacts

Source: www.egrabber.com/addressgrabbersuite

Enter Contacts into ACT! 10 times faster!^† - AddressGrabber intelligently extracts all contact details (including name, company, address, email and phone) of your customers or prospects from any website, emails and transfers it in seconds to ACT!

Instant Lookup of ACT! contacts - Example: To look up “Steven Johnson” - Just type “st jo” ! Using Turbo Lookup you can look up any contact in ACT! by simply typing a partial contact name, phone number, company, email or combination thereof.

TimeZone Lookup for ACT! contacts - If your customers or clients are all over the country, you will appreciate this. Time Zone Lookup displays the current time and time zone for each contact as you navigate through ACT!. With this convenient feature you can prioritize your work or decide which if it's an appropriate time to call.

Speed up Scheduling Activities in ACT! - With Quick Scheduler you can schedule activities for a contact in ACT! by simply typing the activity in plain English, eg.,"Meet John at 5 EST". AddressGrabber Suite for ACT! analyzes all the activities to be performed and assigns them to the corresponding contact in ACT!.

How to capture email contacts into ACT

How to capture email contacts into ACT

Schedule Automatic ACT! Database Maintenance

Source: eGrabber Newsletter

Did you know that you can create a schedule in ACT! for database maintenance? It is enough if the computer is running at the scheduled time; your ACT! need not even be open for the automatic maintenance. Here's how you can do it:

1. Select Tools >> ACT! Scheduler.
2. Click on 'Create a task' from the Schedule Tasks box.
3. Use the Browse button and navigate to the database you would like to schedule the maintenance for.
4. Enter a User name and Password for this database.
5. Select 'Database maintenance' from the Task drop-down list, and then click Next
6. Enable Integrity Check and Re-index options. Click Next.
7. Use the Set a Schedule dialog box to specify the schedule and click Finish.
8. To Start the ACT! Scheduler Service, select Tools >> ACT! Scheduler and click on the Start Service option from the Other Tasks section. Click Exit.

Note: Only an Administrator or Manager user can create a schedule for ACT! database maintenance.