BCM 2007 Shared SQL Install - TODO List / Followup Tag Problem

[bryan andrews]

Hi,

We have what could be considered a show stopper for our adoption of BCM in a
shared environment. We have BCM setup on a separate SQL 2005 server with
multiple clients.

Scenario 1:

1. I import 1000 contacts to Business Contacts as leads and assign 5
sales staff to 200 each.
2. They start flagging business contacts as follow-ups so they can
"followup".
3. Now all their follow-ups are polluting my todo list making it
practically useless (which is happening now)

Scenario 2:

1. User1 creates a business contact.
2. User1 then assigns User2 this lead (for whatever reason)
3. User2 marks the contact as followup
4. User1 notices the followup and marks it as complete
5. User2 does not know this but his important followup has been cleared
and they miss their important followup

I am assuming that the current users "todo list" is pulling from Business
Contacts (marked as followup) that "Created By" is the current user -- even
if the current user did not mark it as followup.

This IMO will kill the viability in a shared (SQL) configuration. If anyone
can suggest a way to filter these todo items (that were not flagged by the
current user) or another workaround I would be very appreciative. Perhaps
there is a field that show's who marked the item for followup and we can
filter on that field?

Our todo lists are bordering on useless currently.

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[bryan andrews]

BUMP.

 

[Lon Orenstein]

Bryan:

Are the marking the business contact for a followup or a task? I haven't
tested this but I would "expect" the task to not show on the other user's
task list. The business contact could show up so I wouldn't set a follow up
flag on the contact -- I'd use a task.

I'll test it when I get back to my test PC...

HTH,
Lon

___________________________________________________________
Lon Orenstein
pinpointtools, llc
(e-mail address removed)
Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
www.pinpointtools.com

 

[bryan andrews]

These are set as followups (because tasks are recorded in the Communication
History and really clutter up the reports).

Why would you want a task for a followup? Seems overkill no?

 

[Lon Orenstein]

Well, I'm an old ACT! consultant and what we used to teach people there is
to enter a contact, then add activities (like ToDos or Calls), and write
Notes about your conversations. So, I look at the contact record as the
"container" or "bowl" and the activities and notes as the pieces of fruit
you put into the bowl.

As for History, that's exactly why you'd want to use a task -- you want to
be able to go back and see "what did I do with that contact". Salespeople
can run a report to give their boss to show "what did I spend my time doing
all week". In the same vein, you would use Opportunities to show which
deals you're working on, what they consist of, and when will they close.
Linking to History gives the salesperson and their boss a chronology of
who's doing what to whom.

And, bottom line, it could clean up the clutter you're seeing with all the
followup flags...

Hope that helps,
Lon

___________________________________________________________
Lon Orenstein
pinpointtools, llc
(e-mail address removed)
Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
www.pinpointtools.com

 

[bryan andrews]

Our process:

1. Leads are established for the sales exec
2. Sales exec opens a lead (a business contact)
3. Sales exec calls the lead
4. Sales exec creates a call record and records whether it was a VM, spoke
to the person, spoke to assistant, etc
5. Sales exec marks this contact for "followup" at a certain date, closes
the contact.

All future calls (unless they have certain requirements) are set currently
as followups. This is an effective use of the concept without the extra
weight of tasks. The great thing about Outlook is that every item can be a
followup and we would like to use this concept...

I am trying to figure out a way to use followups. If there is NO possible
way then we will be forced to use tasks which in my opinion are overkill and
clutter up the communication history with things that are in the future (and
things that have passed).

The data bloat will be tremendous when adding tasks to the communication
history for every call to be made...

 

[Lon Orenstein]

Bryan:

I agree that the followup concept is great, but as Doonesbury said, "there
are still a few bugs in the system". Let's see if the BCM Team can figure
out a workaround for you...

Lon

___________________________________________________________
Lon Orenstein
pinpointtools, llc
(e-mail address removed)
Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
www.pinpointtools.com

 

[bryan andrews]

Haha! Let's hope...

Thanks Lon!

Bryan:

I agree that the followup concept is great, but as Doonesbury said, "there
are still a few bugs in the system". Let's see if the BCM Team can figure
out a workaround for you...

Lon

___________________________________________________________
Lon Orenstein
pinpointtools, llc
(e-mail address removed)
Author of Outlook 2007 Business Contact Manager For Dummies
Author of the eBook: Moving from ACT! to Business Contact Manager
800.238.0560 x6104 Toll Free (U.S. only) +1 214.905.0401 x6104
www.pinpointtools.com

 

[mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com]

Bryan,

Here are some workflow ideas for you to reduce your perceived task data
"clutter" as you refer to it. You can permanently link just one Outlook task
record to each Business Contact Record and keep reusing that one constantly
linked task record over and over by simply changing the due date on it for
the next follow up action to be done. This way you can still use the Task
records in a folder view to sort and filter what lies ahead, etc. This
permanently linked Task record can always remain floating at the top of your
linked Business Contact Record history items also because the future date is
always the most recent item that is linked so it remains conveniently in view
when you open the history for each Business Contact Record. This also will
pass up through the hierarchy to any Account Record that the Business Contact
Record is linked to as well for convenient viewing there.

The history after each follow up call action is completed can be tracked with
a simple Business Note entry that then remains in the Communications History
(Journal) of BCM. You can use this method instead of collecting a bunch of
old completed "dead-task" records to track your communication history.

I always think of the Outlook Task records folder as exclusively for items
that are either CURRENT today or that lie ahead in the FUTURE. The
Communication History Folder (BCM's equivalent to the Outlook Journal folder)
is always for data items from the PAST. Any task action that I complete (or
"Clear" using the ACT verbiage) I would then convert and store as a
Communication history item. The completed Outlook Task record then gets
deleted if desired or as I mentioned above, instead of saving the old Task
record and then creating yet another new Task record, the old Task record
just gets recycled by simply changing the date to the next required follow up
time. Using Drag & Drop works well for this converting of data records in
Outlook/BCM. Try dragging a completed Task item over onto your BCM
Communications History folder to see how easy this works.

I have long felt that the "exploding" follow up flags feature was one of the
worst and most easily misunderstood and misused ideas to ever be added to
Outlook. My worst stated digression about these is that they were intended
at best for scatter brained receptionists in a corporate setting who could
benefit from a loud interruption on their desktop monitor to remind them to
make coffee for person X. A pop up reminder flag (like those little errant
sticky notes) can be handy when used ocasionally but can grow very unwieldy
to manage effectively when used enmasse. There are also very limited ways to
view what follow up action lies ahead for any given day with these random
follow up reminder flags.

Outlook's Task Records & folder are what I believe to be the most
misunderstood and underutilized feature of Outlook & BCM. I am not aware if
you are a recent migrator to Outlook but as a former ACT user myself,
everything became much easier once I understood more of the power and
versatility of how to put the Outlook Tasks Record items to work for me. For
further excellent reading reference about this I would heartily recommend a
book by Michael Linenberger titled "Total Workday Control." Check it out at
www.workdaycontrol.com. Good stuff in there! There are also some very good
Task management ideas and strategies in a book by a Productivity Consultant
named Sally McGhee. Her book is called "Take Back Your Life." Go to
www.mcgheeproductivity.com. You can also find either of these at Barnes &
Noble.

Best wishes,

-THP

Haha! Let's hope...

Thanks Lon!

Bryan:

[quoted text clipped - 131 lines]

 

[mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com]

Follow up comments:

There a wide variety of ways to creatively utilize the Outlook Task record
data item for sales follow-up and project related progression of actions
required to be completed for your business. It requires a little thinking
outside of the box and taking advantage of the Task Record's extremely
versatile ability to be linked to almost any other data record at any time.
I have found the broadening of my use of the generic Outlook Task record to
be the salvation of being able to use Office Outlook for Sales and other
related CRM purposes.

Bryan mentioned the phrase "show stopper" in his original post about adopting
BCM in a shared environment among various clients. Get beyond what the
individual Business Contact or Account Record can do for you as a stand alone
data record item and expand into exploring what ALL of these Outlook / BCM
data record items can do collectively together as a whole when applied
creatively. Again, the Outlook Task record item is one of the most versatile
and shareable items of all among business teams large and small.

-THP

Bryan,

Here are some workflow ideas for you to reduce your perceived task data
"clutter" as you refer to it. You can permanently link just one Outlook task
record to each Business Contact Record and keep reusing that one constantly
linked task record over and over by simply changing the due date on it for
the next follow up action to be done. This way you can still use the Task
records in a folder view to sort and filter what lies ahead, etc. This
permanently linked Task record can always remain floating at the top of your
linked Business Contact Record history items also because the future date is
always the most recent item that is linked so it remains conveniently in view
when you open the history for each Business Contact Record. This also will
pass up through the hierarchy to any Account Record that the Business Contact
Record is linked to as well for convenient viewing there.

The history after each follow up call action is completed can be tracked with
a simple Business Note entry that then remains in the Communications History
(Journal) of BCM. You can use this method instead of collecting a bunch of
old completed "dead-task" records to track your communication history.

I always think of the Outlook Task records folder as exclusively for items
that are either CURRENT today or that lie ahead in the FUTURE. The
Communication History Folder (BCM's equivalent to the Outlook Journal folder)
is always for data items from the PAST. Any task action that I complete (or
"Clear" using the ACT verbiage) I would then convert and store as a
Communication history item. The completed Outlook Task record then gets
deleted if desired or as I mentioned above, instead of saving the old Task
record and then creating yet another new Task record, the old Task record
just gets recycled by simply changing the date to the next required follow up
time. Using Drag & Drop works well for this converting of data records in
Outlook/BCM. Try dragging a completed Task item over onto your BCM
Communications History folder to see how easy this works.

I have long felt that the "exploding" follow up flags feature was one of the
worst and most easily misunderstood and misused ideas to ever be added to
Outlook. My worst stated digression about these is that they were intended
at best for scatter brained receptionists in a corporate setting who could
benefit from a loud interruption on their desktop monitor to remind them to
make coffee for person X. A pop up reminder flag (like those little errant
sticky notes) can be handy when used ocasionally but can grow very unwieldy
to manage effectively when used enmasse. There are also very limited ways to
view what follow up action lies ahead for any given day with these random
follow up reminder flags.

Outlook's Task Records & folder are what I believe to be the most
misunderstood and underutilized feature of Outlook & BCM. I am not aware if
you are a recent migrator to Outlook but as a former ACT user myself,
everything became much easier once I understood more of the power and
versatility of how to put the Outlook Tasks Record items to work for me. For
further excellent reading reference about this I would heartily recommend a
book by Michael Linenberger titled "Total Workday Control." Check it out at
www.workdaycontrol.com. Good stuff in there! There are also some very good
Task management ideas and strategies in a book by a Productivity Consultant
named Sally McGhee. Her book is called "Take Back Your Life." Go to
www.mcgheeproductivity.com. You can also find either of these at Barnes &
Noble.

Best wishes,

-THP

Haha! Let's hope...

[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]