DbNetGrid is a fully encapsulated AJAX enabled grid component designed for use in Intranet/Internet development. It provides a fast and flexible way of presenting and updating database information in a browser environment. DbNetGrid can be used as a simple grid component integrated with your own applications, a web-reporting tool or as part of a fully functional web-application. No need to write any code.

Using GoldMines' GM+View Tab & Browser you can display your DbNetGrid applications inside of GoldMine. DbNetGrid is a great solution for anyone who need GoldMine reports, or who wants to view non-GoldMine database information inside of GoldMine. For example, give your GoldMine users access to your customers accounting information by displaying accounting database information inside of a GM+View using DbNetGrid.

DbNetGrid can be added easily to existing HTML/ASP or ASP.NET in a few seconds and can be used in conjunction with tools such as VS.NET and Dreamweaver MX. A simple DbNetGrid application can be configured with as little as 3 lines of code. Grids can be generated from the DbNetGrid::Designer interface.

DbNetGrid has a massive array of capabilities that you can activate with a few lines of code saving hundreds of man-hours of development time. Some of these capabilities include:

■Update, insert and delete records (including custom validation).

■Point and click re-ordering.

■Search dialog (with the ability to use the full range of SQL relational operators)

■Ability to export results in HTML, Word, Excel or XML formats.

■Create charts using MS Excel

■ Save and restore run-time configuration with User Profiles.

■ Supports totals and sub-totals.

■Link to MS Word and perform automated mail-merges

Campaign Tracker is an email newsletter tool built for those who want to send and track their own email campaigns. We design a template and you log in to your own account to manage your subscribers, create and send your own emails and view reports on the results.

Reports you will actually understand Our simple reports make it easy for you to check out the numbers that matter. Manage your own subscribers with ease - the system handles the unsubscribes and bounces for you. Elegant reports on the success of your campaigns let you easily see who opened, who clicked, who bounced and who unsubscribed. You can even search for a specific subscriber to see exactly what they did with the email.

At First Direct Corp. we discuss CRM needs with literally thousands of individuals and organizations. Some prospects and customers are very unsure of their sales processes, while others have done a better job of defining things. The customer who is the subject of this issue’s “Golden Nugget” impressed me from the very beginning with their clear vision for how their sales qualifying process needs to be tracked.

Terry Chapman, President of Business Electronics Corp. (BEC), has broken his organization’s sales qualifying processes down into very specific steps which represent milestones. The reps know what is required at each stage so they can concentrate on achieving success. For example, obtaining the expiration date of an equipment lease or the contact information on the right decision maker is essential in order to time and direct future follow-up, so to move from one stage in their sales processes to the next, this information needs to be captured..

First Direct worked with Terry to map BEC’s methodology into his GoldMine CRM system. Important information is tracked, and by using GoldMine’s auto-update feature, the system automatically captures the dates each sales milestone is achieved. Terry can analyze the results of his marketing & sales efforts more accurately, and knows where prospects and opportunities stand. Now, BEC is able to trigger automated communications and scheduled follow-up actions based on the qualifying information.

GoldMine is a great tool; however, to truly achieve desired results with any CRM solution, the people who implement it must have a clear vision for how it is to be used. It helps you to achieve success if you can define it in very specific ways with milestones and “begin with the end in mind!”

Business Electronics Corp. has been serving BirminghamAlabama businesses since 1988 through a dedicated team of service professionals that know how to address the document reproduction and management needs of businesses. Visit BEC online at http://www.businesselectronics.com

GoldMine® Integration Services for Microsoft® Outlook® provides you with a complete view of email correspondence for contacts shared by GoldMine and Outlook.

Created for companies so GoldMine and Outlook users are on the same page and have a complete history for all prospects, customers and vendors. And now there’s no more time wasted manually copying emails from Outlook into GoldMine because you can automatically link all messages back to GoldMine from Outlook. With GoldMine Integration Services for Microsoft Outlook you can also:

■ Launch Contact in GoldMine: Brings up GoldMine and opens contact linked to the current highlighted email (if linked)
■ Link Received and Sent eMail Messages to GoldMine Contact: Searches GoldMine database for sender’s email address and links message
■ Create a new Contact and Link eMail Message: Allows user to create new GoldMine Contact record, and links email to it
■ Access to GoldMine Contacts via Outlook Address Book: Send an email from Outlook to any contact in the GoldMine database.

Do you have a web site that you generate leads via web forms? If the answer is "yes," this is for you!

With GoldMine's Web Import functionality every time someone fills out a web form on your web site the information can be automatically imported into your GoldMine database?

Think about the advantages:

■ No more retyping (or data entry mistakes)
■ Immediate capture of leads
■ Instant distribution of leads
■ The ability to automate responses and handling

What is GoldMine Web Import?

Web Import is a feature available with GoldMine out of the box, no additional software is needed. Potential customers visiting your site fill out your web form and click "submit" just like they do no. The difference being, when the web form is submitted the data is formatted into a GoldMine Web Import email which is automatically sent and retrieved by your GoldMine server. And, when this happens, GoldMine recognizes the email as data and automatically imports the data into your database.

Why Do You Need It?

Besides the obvious reason of saving data entry time and data entry errors. Once the information is imported into GoldMine you can attach GoldMine Automated Processes. Automated Processes can then automatically send auto-response emails, print letters / envelopes, schedule calls and other follow-up activities, plus much more. Leads are followed up in a timely manner, while its still "hot" not days or weeks later after its gone "cold". Web import isn't just for "leads" - it can be used for registrations, literature requests, and other processes.

Web Import can create:

■ New records
■ Additional contacts
■ Custom fields
■ Notes
■ Details

If you're interested in GoldMine Web Import and have questions please contact First Direct Corp. We've assisted numerous customers with integrating their web sites with GoldMine via the GoldMine Web Import feature. Basis forms can be up and running very quickly! For more information on Web Import, and to do a live example with your GoldMine system, click here.

In addition we offer web site design services, if you're one of the individuals who doesn't have a web site or has a web site but thinks it could use an improvement, check out our Web Design Portfolio, and contact us to see how we can help you.

Thanks to the new GoldMine Plus for Accounting QuickBooks link, a construction subcontractor can now quickly and easily check the associated GoldMine contact's accounts receivable, past invoices and credit balance while they have their customer on the phone.

The new link integrates GoldMine BCM or FrontOffice Sales and Marketing with QuickBooks Pro and provides extremely beneficial features for an extremely economical cost. (The link is made by the makers of GoldMine, FrontRange Solutions USA Inc. and is available from your GoldMine Solutions Partner.)

While most companies that purchase OmniRush do so for the ability to send faxes, an equipment manufacturer loves OmniRush for handling incoming faxes.
The executive secretary that administers OmniRush is able to receive, route and link incoming faxes with GoldMine. She states, "With OmniRush, the moment an incoming fax arrives, I am automatically notified. I can view the fax on my computer and then select which GoldMine user I want to forward it to. Then they receive a GoldMine email and an alarm alerting them that they have a fax. By simply clicking on the attachment they can view the fax on their desktop." If either the Administrator or the user wants they can link the fax to a GoldMine record for easy future retrieval. It can even be synchronized to remote users.

The OmniRush administrator says, "Without OmniRush, everyone has to get up from their desk and walk across the building to check for or get a fax. Now they're delivered right to their desk. Before, I had to log and file faxes. Now I don't need to since the history is in the record and the document is easily called up." She claims that OmniRush saves her over two hours a week...time definitely better spent otherwise.
OmniRush saves this manufacturer time, money and helps them to better service their customers. The sending options are just icing on the cake! If you've only thought about OmniRush for sending faxes, think again about all the advantages it offers.

Several manufacturers and distributors have applied this approach to help their staff locate reps or dealers who carry a certain line of products within a geographic area.

To begin with, you can track all the "lines" that their dealers carry in the Details tab. Then they build groups based on those Details in order to have dealer list by line to select from. (Under Groups, create a new Group based on "Contact Supplemental Data." Sort the members of the Group by Zip.)

This way, when you get a call from a prospective customer looking for a dealer near them who carriers a specific line, you can simply view that Group and enter the first few digits of the caller's zip into the "Find" box. Bingo - You have it!

These Groups will also come in handy for your own dealer communications.

Think ahead in naming your product lines in the Detail Reference Lookup list. By using a standard convention, which contains more than the specific line, you can do some clever things with searches, reports, etc. (e.g. maybe you add to the name of the line, the qualification level or the year they became active).

By the way, with GoldBox you can automatically rebuild your Groups, so that they are always up-to-date based on the Details in all your records.

The public relations department of a firm that already owned GoldMine was in need of a solution to help them with their responsibilities.  It was by chance that they discovered that their company owned GoldMine software and sales people were already using it.  PR folks decided to take a closer look at what GoldMine could be used for, its features, etc. 

What they discovered was that GoldMine was an answer to many of their needs.  In fact, it was an ideal tool for helping to manage many of the functions that a PR department does.

Like sales, a big aspect of PR is follow up.  GoldMine gives them a better means to stay on top of their media contacts.  Its ability to merge and personalize communications into emails, letters and faxes is tremendous for them.   The InfoCenter gives them a very effective way of storing and providing access to PR communications. 

By creating a separate database (file) and limiting access to only certain GoldMine users they can keep their media contacts and information apart from the sales force and visa versa.  They can create a special “PR screen” where they can enter facts/details and notes about their various media contacts.  Then they can use this information as a way of targeting their communications.  It’s nice to have all their contacts in one central file to share within the department, so each person can see the latest information and activity regarding any media contact.

The moral of the story is that maybe GoldMine can fit the needs of another department in your organization.  What a great way to leverage your existing investment!

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!