December 14, 2009 by Kendra Von Achen.

Not only is it difficult to get data out of Outlook for contacts, but it is equally as difficult to get your complete data back into Outlook contacts!  The import tool that is a part of Outlook software does not allow you to pull in all fields, such as File As!  I find this disturbing.  Luckily, so do others, which is why there are add-on tools out there that allow you to import all necessary fields back into Outlook.

The one I found to be most useful and cost-effective is ContactGenie DataPorter (www.contactgenie.com).  The company has a simpler tool called ContactGenie Importer but my computer was having issues with the process so I opted for the more complex program.

 I thank the folks at ContactGenie for helping me get through my client project and make the client happy by allowing fields like File As to be imported correctly back into Outlook.

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November 19, 2009 by Kendra Von Achen.

Last week at a networking event, someone asked me what MY favorite CRM system is.  My answer to him was “that depends”, and here’s why. CRM is not a “one size fits all” tool for all businesses.  There are solely operated businesses, small, medium, large, and multi-national conglomerates.  There’s companies in more industries than there are Jeopardy categories.  So how can you expect the software that will help you manage your day-to-day operations, your sales, marketing and customer support (and then some) be the same for everyone? To further clarify my answer to this man, I also told him that the system you choose can live in many different environments – installed software on your own servers and computers; SAAS (software as a service) that lives in cyberspace; or a combination of the two (and they’re now coming out with Software in the Cloud that is different than SAAS).   But that is just the tip of the iceberg. If the only factors to choosing a CRM system for your business were as simple as the size of your company, industry, and whether you wanted installed software or SAAS, then it would be a much easier decision for people to make.  Each system out there today that you can purchase either online, at your local office supply store, through the vendor’s sales rep, or through a reseller have very different characteristics, all that are important to your purchase decision. Click here to get 5 key fundamentals to selecting the right CRM system for your business.

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