There may be a lot of controversy over human cloning, but when it comes to GoldMine, cloning lets you play it safe and save time. The concept of cloning in GoldMine is simply a way of creating an exact duplicate of something.

Why clone?

There are basically two reasons:

1. To save the time it would take to manually re-create the material
2. To preserve the original.

What can you clone in GoldMine?

You can clone:

1. a report
2. a merge form
3. an email template
4. a contact group
5. user properties
6. a synchronization profile.

How do you clone?

In every case you point to the original item that you want to clone, e.g. the report, the contact group, etc., then right click to open the “local menu.” From the local menu select “clone.” You’ll have to give the cloned subject a new name. Once you have created your new clone you can start to modify it as you see fit. Remember to clone/copy before you modify originals. This way, if you make a mistake you can always revert back to it. Cloning is also a great way to get a head start on creating new merge templates and reports and it saves you the time of inserting fields and doing layouts from scratch.

An office products dealer was looking for a way to promote more consistent use of GoldMine as well as push users to the next level. They had some very devoted GoldMine users along with some very infrequent users. Key sales staff attribute increased sales directly to their commitment to GoldMine while others are more timid about making the commitment to this sales force automation tool.

With full management support, Christine, the GoldMine Project Manager, implemented an in-house GoldMine User Group. The User Group began meeting weekly to share GoldMine tips and tools. Christine found that the User Group offers an open forum for learning and brainstorming new ways to use GoldMine.

In addition, the company began providing individual users with some special hands-on training, both during and after business hours. Christine also distributed a “newsletter” to keep users up-to-date about new procedures and other pertinent user information and provide them with helpful user tips. Christine stated, “The key to making Goldmine a successful tool in our organization revolves around the users’ feedback.”

It’s impossible to recall everything we need these days to sell, service and operate a business.  Actually, the key is not remembering everything but knowing where to find it. 

A manager’s success depends on their people having access to the information they need to do their job.  The issue boils down to access – quick and easy access! 

One of the most valuable features GoldMine offers is a powerful solution to the challenges of managing and sharing information.  Meet the InfoCenter.  The InfoCenter is found under the View pull down menu. 

Within the InfoCenter you’ll see that there are tabs for KnowledgeBase, PersonalBase and What’s New.  Think of the KnowledgeBase as the general view and the PersonalBase as every user’s individual view.  What’s New is where you’ll find a list of every new or updated entry in the KnowledgeBase in descending order.  GoldMine User Preferences can be set to have the list of “What’s New” pop open when a User logs to alert them.

The InfoCenter is organized in outline format with bodies of knowledge presented graphically as a book, which makes everything easy to find. Within each book there are pages, or folders with pages in them.  Clicking on books and folders drills down to the pages under them and displays associated content to the right.  Files can be linked to the topic and launched directly from the InfoCenter.  (Right click or select the icon.)   Linked files can be every type of format including word-processing, spreadsheet, multimedia, graphics, or you name it! 

The InfoCenter has its own toolbar and local command menus.  Search capabilities let you search topic names, folders, key words and text.  You can print or fax topics.  You can even link contact records to a topic for situations when the two relate to one another (e.g. a price list and the relevant distributor’s/manufacturer’s GoldMine record).   Security features let you limit read and update access to topics. 

The actual task of building and maintaining your organization’s InfoCenter is simple and easy.  Using it is also simple.  The challenging part is taking the time to put it together and keep it up-to-date.  As with any new tool, it takes effort and reinforcement to condition users to look in the InfoCenter when they need information.

Like records in GoldMine, the InfoCenter is also shared.  Contents within the InfoCenter, including linked files, synchronize to remote laptops or servers.  The InfoCenter is a powerful way of disseminating information in an organized structure that you know is instantly accessible when the time comes.

With information properly stored in GoldMine’s InfoCenter rather than relying on memory or floating on paper, everyone has the ability to instantly recall everything they need to know in order to do a smart job of selling and servicing your prospects and customers.

Call scripts aren’t just for telemarketing reps! GoldMine’s “Scripts” feature is a great tool for anyone that wants to collect information efficiently and effectively. If your sales process involves a series of questions and you’re using GoldMine, then you’ve got to check out its “Scripts” feature.

This feature is found under “Sales Tools” under the View pull down menu. (There’s an icon available that you can insert on your toolbar to launch the Scripts tool. Drag the Scripts object to a place on your screen where you can also see the active GoldMine record.)

GoldMine can store multiple scripts for different situations, such as surveys, qualifying questions, prospecting calls, etc. One application that works well is when you need to collect detailed information from a prospect once you’ve gotten past the introductory stage. As an example, you could have a script of specific questions that you’re supposed to ask about their current hardware or equipment.

When you’re at the appropriate point in the conversation, make a transition into the script by saying something to the effect of “If you don’t mind, let’s just take a moment to run down some details I need in order to properly service you.” Then run your script.

Running a script is easy – that’s the beauty of them. The script tool displays the question(s), including a place for notes or special instructions. Below the question is a list of possible answers, including a choice that lets you enter the actual response. Each time you select an answer it takes you to the next question. It can branch out to different questions depending on the previous answer. At the end you can review your answers and accept or reject the results. After you complete the script the software returns to the beginning for the next time or to let you select a different script.

Scripts organize your questions so you don’t forget anything. Believe it or not, scripts are a faster and easier way to collect information than randomly thinking your way through all your questions. And, scripts can automatically fill in GoldMine fields, even if they’re on multiple custom screen tabs.

The history of running a script, including all the questions and answers, are stored in the GoldMine History tab. Activity and Result Codes can be assigned to a script so you can get statistics or run reports on the types of scripts already completed and their respective outcomes. In addition, within the “Maintenance” area of scripts, where you can build or modify the scripts, you’ll find statistics on how often a script has been run as well as numbers and percentages for each answer to every question. You can even tie GoldMine Automated Processes into it so that the completion of a script will automatically trigger the appropriate next action performed.

The strong economy can’t last forever! Some economist say a mild recession is a good thing – in the way evolution thins the herd. If you plan to be one of the survivors, you better have CRM and the discipline to use it!

CRM is designed to help you with the things that are more important than ever during tough times:

• Analyzing the efforts and effectiveness of your marketing and sales
• Targeting audiences with relevant messages
• Tracking and accessing information · Servicing customers
• Working effectively as a team · Communicating internally and externally
• Automating functions for greater productivity

In a weaker economy, the time frame in your sales cycles can extend, making persistence and follow-up an even greater success factor. It is said that, “sales is a contact sport.” And, in a soft economy you need to make more contacts. The tools available in GoldMine give marketing and sales what they need to reach out and stay in touch with prospects and customers. Otherwise time consuming tasks like literature fulfillment, letter and email merging, etc, can all be automated for greater productivity, volume and consistency.

Working harder isn’t enough…you also have to work smarter! With the analysis and reporting tools built into GoldMine you can do both.

Even with sales automation technology, some sales people just aren’t going to make it. This doesn’t have to be a negative thing. Some businesses make a practice of “quartiling” their sales reps. Quartiling is simply splitting your sales force up into four groups by volume. When times get tough some organizations let go of the lowest performers (the bottom 25%), either to make way for new reps or to simply cut expenses. It also allows the organization to devote more resources to their the agents with a greater likelihood of success. Either way, GoldMine’s territory realignment tool makes it easy to re-distribute leads, accounts, and transfer scheduled activities from one rep to another.

When the going gets tough, hopefully you already have CRM and you’re leveraging its benefits. If you already have CRM but you’re not using it like you could, follow the advice of business guru and best-selling author Michael Gerber and take some time to “work on your business, rather than in it.” If you don’t even have CRM, get it, before the economy gets you!