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The GM+View tab allows you to create a completely customizable information page using the capabilities of HTML. You can configure it to insert linked images and documents, insert GoldMine fields, and display graphics. The information in the GM+View tab is stored in the Mailbox table and will synchronize to remote users.

You can set up the default or create your own templates with rules that will control what template is displayed for different contacts.

You can create any number of templates with different designs or formats.

1. To Create a GM+View Template Select File>>Configure>>GM+View Tab. The GM+View Tab Settings dialog box appears.
2. In the Template List area, click New. The Edit GM+View dialog box appears.
3. In the Template Name text box, type the name for the template.
4. Activate the cursor in the design box by clicking with the mouse or tabbing. The template design toolbaris activated.
5. To design the template, use the toolbar options or right-click and select:

Font: You can choose fonts and font sizes, bold, italics, and underline.
Paragraph: You can also set alignment and check the spelling.
Style: You can select Normal, Formatted, Address, Heading, etc.
Picture: You can insert images that are stored in shared directories.
Link: You can insert a hyperlink to a website
Fields: You can insert GoldMine fields, such as user name and contact information, and linked images and linked documents.
Edit HTML Source: You can edit the template directly in the HTML code.

6. To save the template, right-click in the design box and select Save. 

Here are some examples for using GM+Views

Links & Pictures:
You can insert pictures and create links to websites.

Linked Images:
You can create a GM+View to view images related to the contact's record. For example, in the Real Estate industry, imagine having images of the client's house linked to their record. Now you can show potential buyers a "catalog" of images.

Linked Documents:
You can insert links to linked documents, which will show a path to the linked document in the GM+View.

Viewing Web sites:
You can create a GM+View that links to any online website. For example, you can create a GM+View for MapQuest that displays driving directions based on the contact's address information. You can also create a GM+View that links to financial websites displaying the latest stock information for a contact based on the stock symbol stored in their GoldMine record. The web page is displayed inside GoldMine.

Linking GoldMine to External Databases:
You can create a web application that will link GoldMine's database information to the database information to another backend office application, such as an accounting system, order entry system, billing system, production control system, etc etc. This will give you the ability to view information from another application inside of GoldMine's GM+View window. Information can be linked to a specific record in GoldMine as long as there is a similar value that can be associated between the information in GoldMine and what ever system you are trying to link to.

For help in creating your GM+Views, contact First Direct Corp today.!

A successful national human resources firm, which does lead generation for its national field sales force, decided to equip a small internal sales call center (2-3 telemarketers) with GoldMine. Previously, all tracking, reporting and follow-up was done manually. In fact, the telemarketers didn't even have computers!

The project leaders evaluated a number of solutions, including ACT!, and elected to proceed with GoldMine. After mapping out their lead generation process, they met with their GoldMine Solution Partner, who configured GoldMine to meet their specific requirements and work flow. Automation, simplicity and intuitiveness were important criteria to make it easy and fast for everyone to realize the system's benefits.

The new system has greatly reduced redundant record keeping, enhanced activity tracking, and made it far more efficient to dole out the generated leads to the field reps. Summary and detail reports/analysis give managers quick and accurate access to activity reports.

The investment is instantly starting to pay for itself! They're also very excited about future possibilities using additional GoldMine features and third-party products. With GoldMine properly configured their little call center has some big capabilities that are sure to pay off big time!

One tell tale way to know if you're really using your CRM/Sales Automation System is whether you're relying on reports. Rolling up data into useful views can serve any number of purposes, from pipeline to market analysis.

Successful reporting, which is akin to successful CRM, depends on good data integrity and good report design/layout. We've covered data integrity in other issues of GoldMine® Success™ and ways to ensure it.

Choosing the best report writer to create your report will make achieving your objectives a whole lot easier. There are popular tools to use with GoldMine for report writing - GoldMine's native report writer, and two award-winning add-on tools - MasterMine and Stonefield Query. As well as excellent generic report writers such as Crystal Report. (They each have very different benefits to offer, so contact your Solution Partner for an explanation and/or a demonstration!)

Designing an effective report takes a special combination of skills and talents. Including technical abilities, understanding of the subject data structure and an appreciation of how to use the data to tell the story the "owner" or "user" of the reports desires. It often takes more than one person to plan, design and create the report.

Reporting brings the truth out! Reporting can showcase performance (or lack there of), highlight quality issues, or provide important information for other departments to follow-up, etc., etc. Reporting will help you hold users accountable - as they see the output of their input; they're more likely to appreciate how their attention to detail and activities impact their standing on reports that management uses.

With the New Year, now would be a great time to give more thought to your GoldMine reports and how you can manage smarter through them.

It just stands to reason that the more steps to complete a task, the longer it takes. When it comes to redundant types of tasks, reducing steps is key to increasing productivity. One thing GoldMine enables you to do is to eliminate steps, a.k.a."mouse clicks."

Sales Automation is one of GoldMine's strong features. Macros, Automated Processes, and Task Bar items are all great tools to automate a day in your life.

Automation also helps to improve consistency and data integrity, because activities and entries can be scripted. Automation can still give you flexibility, so you can modify or make entries that need human intervention. For example, a GoldMine macro that schedules a literature follow-up call for one week out can leave you off at the "Reference" field so the User can enter the appropriate product/subject information.

Management gets a dual benefit from automation. Naturally, they love it when the team can accomplish more volume with less work. At the same time, because automation is planned and configured in advance, management can have their imprint on what the automation does, so that their methodology/business process is incorporated as they see fit.

By the same token, GoldMine will allow users to configure their own Automated Processes, Macros and Task Bar items, (unless those "rights" have been taken away), so they can get the jump on others or make their life easier.

If 'it' happens often, automate 'it.' Automation is definitely a case where "less is more"!

What we sometimes take for granted as salespeople can dampen marketing effectiveness. A lack of record details can mean the difference between one prospect being sent a campaign and another being overlooked.

Marketing and sales should be a symbiotic relationship. An action in one area supports and compliments an action in another area. Mutual understanding and respect is vital.

Marketing professionals don't look at data in the same way as salespeople. Salespeople can look at a poorly completed/updated record in GoldMine, with cryptic sales notes, which trigger recent memories, and then know how to act and/or respond appropriately. Marketing works with aggregate data - segmenting and reporting on it based on the details in the record.

For example, if a campaign is being targeted based on contact titles, and sales reps don't gather or properly format the titles faithfully, a large percentage of targets may be overlooked by the campaign. Thereby killing opportunities before they even had a chance!

A marketing rule of thumb is that the quality of the list accounts for 40% of a campaigns success (the "offer" 40% and the "creative" 20%). It is also a marketing axiom that your in-house database of contacts is your most valuable list, and one of a business's most valuable assets! Enhancing and getting the value of that list is what sales and marketing strategies strive to do.

Begin by defining the "must get" fields and reinforce accuracy. Salespeople must be accountable for missing information that is critical marketing. Your Solution Partner can show you many ways to improve list quality with GoldMine, including but not limited to:

· AutoUpdate Expressions
· Field Set-up Properties
· Automated Processes that Trigger based on dbase conditions

Your list is valuable, and so are the potential business opportunities that it represents. Focusing attention on improving the quality and usage of your GoldMine database can be a profitable resolution for 2003!