Managers and Directors - READ ME! <BEWARE> <BIZ THREAD - RUN!>
 

what are you using for:

-contact management?
-lead tracking?
-tickler files?
-productivity tracking?

with ragecash, my seo biz, my dj company, and the sound and lighting brokering that i do, you can imagine my dilemna with managing and staying on top of a gazillion things at one time. so far its been one huge legal pad and a basket full of biz cards that i go through frantically when i need to find someone. this is getting old however.

i need something that allows me to make a contact with its pertinent info, enter it in the system, and then follow up on that contact to make sure that what was discussed has been accomplished.

i need to be able to have my employees interact with the database as well.

i have extensive experience in sales and marketing and everything i have ever used has been an internal proprietary software, specifically designed for the industry that i happened to be working in at the time.

if you can't help, please bump for discussion.

I used to use ACT back in my sales days.

This is going back 5 years now.

I've been doing some Ruby on Rails reading and though I haven't had a chance to do anything with it besides sign up...it might be an option for you.

http://www.backpackit.com/

i will conquer this! i've always been very good at making contacts and gathering information, very good at making contact and executing what i discussed, but bad at documenting the information and outcome. this i must overcome and defeat.

I currently have a custom FileMaker Pro system, however ACT! is a great off-the-shelf and easily customizable program:

Act!

ADG Webmaster

I wonder if my old verson for windows 3.1 still works?:1orglaugh

Use a blog. I have been meaning to write an article about this. I worked at IBM and got to see firsthand (watching the Lotus Notes team) how large teams interact, which was especially fascinating given that their objective was to create a platform that would facilitate team interaction. As I see it, the blogform makes great groupware:

1. A post is a project. A team leader defines the project in a post and this can of course be shared by everyone on the team.

2. You can easily install the script on an intranet, if you don't want general access.

3. The comments system can be used to provide a dialog mechanism between team members and creates the record.

4. WP and the other good scripts (like TXTP) have rights management capabilities to allow for different levels of involvement.

5. Changes and comments can trigger contact events to team members.

6. When the project is concluded, you have a nice record of what was done by whom.

7. TXTP (for one) allows files to be associated with posts and easily linked to, in accordance with access level (via PW, or basic visibility, etc).

8. C'est freeeee!






2hp

ADG whats FIlemaker Pro? you write it. im not dropping 6 large for act.

thanks to candyflip and fred for the suggestions too.

this is all good information.

thats a good idea, only thing is, i don't know if i want thousands of dollars worth of contacts and 15 years of my life documented on something that can be hacked and stolen. i have 2 full bankers boxes of contacts from several industries. as i saw from jays misfortune this past week, blogs are not hackproof either. i guess it does help to have backups too, but i've never been good at that. i think i just feel more comfortable having it backed up and stashed in a safe deposit box. lol.

fucking great idea jack, i'm gonna have to snoop into this more as well.

I was a National Sales Manager my last ten years in the mainstream corporate world, and I had my sales teams use ACT! exclusively (although I customized the hell out of it).

There were companies peddling programs that cost $10,000-$20,000, plus $500 per individual user, yet ACT! accomplished the same functions for about $200 per user.

Unfortunately, Symantec (who owned ACT! at the time) decided to quit supporting the Mac, so when I started in adult six years ago, I had to create a relational database from scratch, which FileMaker Pro is very good for.

ADG Webmaster

Act! is only $199 for the single user version (just checked).

FileMaker Pro is a very flexible tool for creating practically any kind of database. In addition to using it for contact management, I used it to create my custom 2257 database (it logs all of the photos on my hard drive, etc, along with scans of my 2257 forms and performer IDs, cross-indexed every which way).

FileMaker Pro also has several easy to use templates.

FilemakerPro web site

ADG Webmaster

Yeah, this would work more for project management and as staff management tool than for contacts management. Hacking... hmmm. Once the project is concluded, wrap it up -- and go cold storage. You could keep the SQL DB's offline as a permanent archive with no security vulnerability. There's no need to keep them "live" once your project is finished -- :)



2hp

Act! is only $199 for the single user version (just checked).

FileMaker Pro is a very flexible tool for creating practically any kind of database. In addition to using it for contact management, I used it to create my custom 2257 database (it logs all of the photos on my hard drive, etc, along with scans of my 2257 forms and performer IDs, cross-indexed every which way).

FileMaker Pro also has several easy to use templates.

FilemakerPro web site

ADG Webmaster

Act! is only $199 for the single user version (just checked).

FileMaker Pro is a very flexible tool for creating practically any kind of database. In addition to using it for contact management, I used it to create my custom 2257 database (it logs all of the photos on my hard drive, etc, along with scans of my 2257 forms and performer IDs, cross-indexed every which way).

FileMaker Pro also has several easy to use templates.

FilemakerPro web site

ADG Webmaster

Yeah, this would work more for project management and as staff management tool than for contacts management. Hacking... hmmm. Once the project is concluded, wrap it up -- and go cold storage. You could keep the SQL DB's offline as a permanent archive with no security vulnerability. There's no need to keep them "live" once your project is finished -- :)



2hp

gotcha. does gfy have some issues now? i see like double posts.

thanks adg and 2house. good info, i think i'll snag act.

I, like airek; am looking for something like this.

The only thing that looks like it's useful for me is the contacts and projects sections. It's too bad they don't sell a 'light' version.

Glitch - TexasDreams was recharging the GFY Fleshlight again...they have to quit letting Ramos take it home...

ADG Webmaster

yeah, get that kid his own fake pussy!

ROFL

i gotta stop writing shit on my arm :(

More Groupware : http://mgw.k-fish.de/

I use MS Outlook and sync it with my Axim, so I always have my shit with me.

I just use my treo 650 with the accompanying handspring desktop manager. Keeps me on top of things.

And yes, I work in several industries with contacts that go back to '89. Employees and two offices to account for. The Treo with it accompanying software is enough for me. Having alerts in your pocket helps.

bump it yo