Thinking of leaving GoldMine? Here’s a checklist of items to consider BEFORE making your first move!

There are quite a number of CRM systems vying for your attention these days and, as the old saw goes, everybody “hates” the CRM they’re on and haven’t learned to hate the one they’re moving to… yet. Before you make a move toward changing out the “nervous system” of your company, consider this brief checklist of possible pitfalls:

First, think about what you already have invested in your GoldMine system. It’s probably more than you think at first blush. This includes, of course, your cost of the software and the hardware it’s installed on, but usually the real investment is in more intangible things.

 System Configuration: Over the years, since you got GoldMine, you have either hired out or internally worked out how to use GoldMine to “mirror” the real-world processes of your company. If it was done correctly, this was a very labor-intensive and detailed process. If it was not done properly, or if your business processes have changed so drastically that a ground-up redesign is needed, then maybe what’s really called for is system configuration work on your existing GoldMine or an easy upgrade. Chances are, this kind of mismatch is the most important reason you are giving up on GoldMine. So ask yourself: “If we aren’t prepared to invest in a detailed system configuration, why bother changing CRMs at all? And if we are prepared for this investment, have we really exhausted the possibilities with GoldMine?”

Training: Don’t underestimate the training time that has gone into making everyone functional in your current system. This is not just GoldMine “technical” training, but the vast amount of low-level business process training that got everyone entering data in the correct way, using commonly agreed codes and entering the key information in the right places. Every time you added a new sales rep, you invested more in this kind of training, and this is an asset to your company that will have to be re-created from scratch if you go to a new system.

Support Costs: Every CRM system requires active maintenance by knowledgable technicians who know both your business AND your CRM system’s technical back end. Getting this combination together is difficult and expensive. You’ve already done this.

 Now, second, think about the one-time costs you will face in converting to a new CRM system. I’ll simply list these potential costs:

 1. Software (the CRM itself). This is the one you’re probably already thinking of. Sure, it’s significant, but the list goes on a long way from here.

2. Cost of hardware upgrades to support new technology.

3. Data Conversion. “Connectors” often help, but they are never automatic and rarely easy as the salesman told you. This is often an expensive proposition and, again, full of hidden costs when you decide that your old information is not really as “junky” as you thought.

4. Cost of replacing add-ons and your custom-built solutions that tie into your current CRM. Rebuilding these, if they are not available off the shelf, can add a lot to your bill.

5. Configuring the CRM to match your business processes. This is not just a technical problem. It requires you, the people who know your business the best, to work closely with a system configuration expert, to completely describe all the moving parts of your company. You cannot successfully hire this out without also participating deeply in the process. We mentioned this above, but remember that whatever you invested before will have to be re-done from scratch for the new CRM System, as it has a different data structure and a different way of handling each process.

Finally, ask yourself if you are considering a move away from GoldMine because of one of the following:

 1. GoldMine doesn’t appear to be able to do what we need it to do.

2. GoldMine maintenance is due, and I’m tired of paying for “nothing.”

3. We can’t get the information out of GoldMine that we need, so people don’t put in the work to enter data properly.

4. The original people who set up the system have moved on. No one knows how it’s supposed to work, so it doesn’t work.

5. GoldMine is a “rudderless project,” because we don’t have a dedicated GoldMine administrator, either internally or external to the company.

The answer in each of these cases is NOT to go to a new CRM system. The answer is to get together with your GoldMine partner and really look closely at the situation, asking if the issue can be resolved with better planning, training, support, or add-ons.

Every CRM has its flaws and limitations. Like it or not, your commitment to GoldMine is real and more expensive than you may think. It’s a shame to find out about the limitations of your new system and the hidden benefits of your old system ONLY after you’ve thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Source: Rob Machalek, MasterMine Software, Inc.
www.masterminesw.com

Management that is engaged and involved wants to be connected to the activities of the individuals and processes they are managing.   They want to be able to touch and see for themselves the details that form the big picture they operate in.   CRM gives managers a means to do so.  With GoldMine CRM, managers can drill down at their discretion let alone pull the data together for a rolled-up table or graphical view.  

When management is in the system and comfortable with how the information they manage is collected, they are much better able to collaborate with the sale force and their support staff.  Just because a race car driver doesn’t change their car’s tires, doesn’t mean they don’t understand the mechanics of their car.  To the contrary, it is through this understanding of the engineering of their car that they are able provide their pit crew and race team engineers with input that empowers them to achieve greater performance!

Management that begins with clear goals & objectives can then devise coordinated strategies & tactics.  Having done this, then the next vital step is to align these with the design and usage of your CRM system.   When this is all done the users of your CRM will have a more intuitive workflow and produce better results for you.  What’s more, your reports will provide you with more helpful information to help you manage smarter.  And, because you’re tied into the same system as the people whom you manage, as managers you have a ready means for communicating with one another and delegating and tracking follow-up.

Managing how we handle customer service, from the back-office administrative aspects to the tracking and managing of customer service requests, is as important as any area of your firm.  While no technology on earth will replace the “human touch” including but not limited to the instincts, common sense, and good nature of your staff that handles your inquiries, these people can be aided by CRM.  Your administrators and customer service staff will only fully embrace the use of CRM if they are shown how its features can be applied to their day-to-day situations and help them to work in more efficiently in concert with others.

They need to know you’re watching!

I hate the phrase, “do as you say not as you do.”  Besides the fact that I don’t believe it works that way, it says the wrong message on a of couple levels!   This is true in many areas of your life, including your CRM system.  Management needs to get in to the system and the sales force needs to know you’re watching.   When management is on GoldMine, tracking and interacting with prospects and customers and the reps on those accounts it has a profound impact – providing both direct and indirect benefits!

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”  And there is probably nothing worth measuring and managing more than the quality of your GoldMine database.  The trouble is figuring out where to start and how to get a worthwhile read on the quality of your GoldMine database.  First Direct has done this work to get you started; we have developed a series of queries based on our years of experience and best practices to help you and your organization ensure that you are using your GoldMine database efficiently and effectively.

Three reasons for assessing and benchmarking:

1. Set Goals and Action Programs. Know where you are, and know where you’re going. Benchmark ratios are inherently measurable and comparable, which makes them ideally suited for management-by-objective incentive programs. They help you focus your attention on the most controllable aspects of your business. Success and failure can be clearly evaluated.
2. Monitor Performance. Keep your eye on the ball. Benchmark ratios provide an objective standard by which to measure performance. By tracking key measurements at regular intervals, busy executives can pay closer attention to those key factors that affect a company’s performance. Follow the numbers, and the numbers will set you free.
3. Share the Results. Tell the world about your great results. Benchmark ratios enable your current and future stakeholders to objectively evaluate your company’s condition.  Many times, Senior Management will see nothing in CRM but a cost center.  So you can provide information that equates into sales, you are justifying the cost of ownership of GoldMine

Assessing your database can be revealing: 

Are you missing essential contact information? Are you reaching all the possible influencers and decision makers in your database?  Do you lack details that are needed for reports? Can someone significantly undermine your Goldmine database because of security holes in your user profiles? Are your leads being overlooked? 

First Direct has developed a GoldMine Database Scorecard - Assessment and Benchmarking Process that we use internally to review of our most important data.  We have learned that through this reporting, we are getting better data input as users are more attentive to the information they are putting into the GoldMine database. 

Special Offer – GoldMine Database Scorecard!!

If you would be interested in finding out more regarding how Assessing and Benchmarking works for First Direct and how it could be used to measure your GoldMine database, please contact us.  Ask about our special offer on our exclusive GoldMine Database Scorecard.   Email us at info@1stdirect.com and put “GoldMine Database Scorecard request” in the subject of the reply.

Recently we received a technical support call from a large customer about how to export data out of GoldMine.  This is a red flag to us that something may be wrong.  It’s not always a sign of a problem because often times the customer is just trying to supply mailing list data to an external marketing fulfillment service. But it can also signal that the customer is changing CRM systems.

So we asked the customer what was happening and they told us that their GoldMine users were extremely frustrated with how GoldMine functioned.  Owners were ready to drop the system and spend a significant sum to replace it.  IT was ready to take on a large task of implementing a new system, figuring out how to migrate years of valuable data from GoldMine into the new system, and take on the responsibility of having to configure the system from scratch and train all the users over again. 

Of course, First Direct valued this customer and was disappointed to learn that they may be dropping GoldMine.  We asked them if they would be willing to explain so that we might have a chance to address their concerns and make an obvious attempt to salvage the relationship.  We agreed it was worth a try so we called a meeting to give some of their key users who had spoken out a chance to show us the functions that annoyed them.

As they ran down their list of complaints while demonstrating them in their live GoldMine system my colleague and I were able see that they simply were not aware of much better and easier ways for them to do what they were trying to do.  Within 60 minutes it became clear to both us and the customer that GoldMine was far more powerful and suitable than they thought.  All they needed was some help, which First Direct is here to provide. The customer came out of the meeting enlightened and with a new appreciation for the system they owned. 

Aside from the greater value they now recognized GoldMine had to offer, they also appreciated that as managers of the system they had a responsibility for their organization’s success with it.  And with that responsibility sometimes comes the need to get help.  The conversation is leading to a joint and proactive CRM Success Plan including set priorities and actionable steps. There is renewed commitment by all parties to find better ways of managing one of their firm’s most valuable business systems and assets – their GoldMine database. 

Here’s a list with live links to ways you can get help:

• Read the documentation / manuals
• GoldMine training solutions
• FrontRange Online Knowledge Base (You’ll need your “username” and “password.”)
• FrontRange Connect – online community
• GoldMine Sharpen Your Knowledge Events

OR CALL:
GoldMine Support Desk (with current maintenance – call (800)755-2100  (Use option 3, then 1 and have your customer number – HDA# handy.)
First Direct Corp. – (800) 935-4386

Submit a specific request to First Direct Corp.

Digital Dashboards, also known as Business Intelligence (BI) Dashboards, Enterprise Dashboards, or Executive Dashboards, are visually-based summaries of business data that show at-a-glance as a roll-up of business conditions through metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  Digital Dashboards have become a very popular BI tool that has arisen in the last few years because of the understanding they can quickly convey to management and others. 

You can think of a Digital Dashboard as a graphic summary of some aspect of your data, potentially with the ability to drill down into the component data.  For example, a chart of certain sales activities by sales person. 

GoldMine Premium and Corporate editions both operate on a Microsoft SQL Database which includes MS SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), a server-based report generation software system from Microsoft that can produce Digital Dashboards.  Because Digital Dashboards can be accessed via a web interface, they can be viewed from most any Internet Browser, as well as right within the GoldMine GM+ Views or GM+ Browser.   

This all sounds rather complicated and, technically, it certainly does require skills.  But from a user perspective the concept is simple and easy.  Digital Dashboards will give GoldMine users a fast and friendly way to get information on activity in your GoldMine database, or any accessible SQL database for that matter.  

Digital Dashboards accessed from your GM+ Views or GM+ Browser can help your company to work smart and efficiently.  Putting these highly intuitive and expressive sources of information at the fingertips of your organization is going to increase the ROI of your CRM and go a longer way toward garnering greater usage. 

For the report developers out there I’ll describe what it is like to create digital dashboards and reports using SQL Reporting Services.  First, when MS-SQL Server 2005 is installed it will give you the option to install Reporting Services. The RS designer installs as a snap-in to Visual Studio .NET. If you do not already have VS .NET installed that’s ok because the RS Designer will run as a standalone application. There are three major steps to building a report: query, layout, and deployment.

In step 1 you build a SQL query by selecting a datasource and then using the Query Builder (Figure 1) to select the fields and tables for your report. Then you are presented with a wizard (Figure 2) that will bring you to step 2, allowing you to set the major aspects of the report’s layout. Here you select what fields to group on, whether you want totals to appear, and select which fields you want to see in your details section. After going through this wizard you will then be brought to the actual layout view (Figure 3) and it is here where you will fine-tune your report. The best way I can describe this part of the interface is it is a cross between a traditional report designer like Crystal Reports and an Excel spreadsheet with a bunch of formulas. Although the wizard will take care of a lot of the grunt work for you, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and write some formulas in order to get the report to be the finished product you are looking for. Once you get the report looking how you want, it is time for step 3 – deployment. To deploy your report all you have to do is specify the web server address and folder that is to be the destination for your report and simply run the “Deploy” option from the main menu, that’s it. All your users need to view your new report is a web browser.

So those are the major steps to building your report. And a digital dashboard is really just a single report comprised of smaller reports all arranged on a single page (Figure 4).

Figure 1. Query Builder

Figure 2. Report Wizard Layout

Figure 3. Layout Fine-Tuning

Figure 4 – Dashboard made of several smaller reports

Digital Dashboards, are essentially just graphical reports which can offer the ability to drill down for details.  They are very popular now because they provide businesses with a highly visually and intuitive take on data.  Because they allow the viewer to access the dashboard from their Internet browser, it offers decision makers a very quick way to gain understanding and insight.  In essence, dashboards a great tool for managing smarter!

If you’d like to see a demonstration of Digital Dashboard or if you need help putting this idea to use, First Direct Corp. is here to help you.  Call (845) 221-3800 or email info@1stdirect.com to request assistance!

Is a discount or promotion the reason to buy CRM?  While special promotions help to close sales, they’re not the reason I sell CRM, and they certainly should not be the reason one purchases it!

When it comes to CRM, you spend money to make money! You purchase CRM to significantly increase sales, productivity, and customer retention. You don’t buy CRM to save on the cost of your CRM!  Getting a one-time $100-a-user savings because of a special discount, is not the reason to purchase CRM. 

Furthermore, the cost of the software is just the beginning!  Everything which contributes to the success of your CRM implementation contributes to the success of your firm.  Investment in CRM expertise, training, report writing, let alone hardware, network performance, security, and telephony integration, are all worthy additional investments. 

Here are costs that should concern you more than the cost of your CRM:  The cost of slow sales because of the ineffective use of CRM technology; or, having to hire staff to do tasks that your CRM system could have automated.  Or, having no idea what’s going on with your prospects & customers when their sales rep leaves your organization because they kept it all in their own personal system which you have no record of. 

Training is smart investment. When it comes to training … provide as much as it takes!  It makes no sense to short-cut training for all your users!  If you don’t give your users the training they need, you’re actually handing them an excuse not to use the system you just invested in to run your business on! 

Reporting is another smart investment!  You put data into your CRM so you can get information out of it! Management can work smarter if it has the information it needs; information that could answer questions about the performance.  Much of this information can be derived from well designed reports based on the data in your CRM.  Don’t choose to operate in the dark, without the objective basis for their decision making – develop the reports you need! 

CRM Software is for making money, gaining a competitive advantage, handling new leads, better serving existing customers, working as a team, and more.  Once the emphasis for why you purchased your CRM is put on deriving tangible benefits from your system, the value of your CRM system will overshadow the costs of your system.  If you only focus on the costs, you’ll fail to get the results or the ROI.

One of the most significant investments that management needs to make isn’t about money.  That is an investment of time! Management needs to invest the time to plan out the strategic and tactical ways in which the organization can use their database technology to the organization’s benefit. When your employees see management making this effort they will know that there is a real commitment to the CRM system and your employees are far more likely to make the best use of it themselves. It’s time to show them you mean business!

In this issue of GoldMine Success I’ve already mentioned SQL Queries.  But I realize that many of my readers don’t know what I’m talking about when I say “SQL Queries,” let alone why this is such a great feature in GoldMine Premium.  So, this article will provide you a brief explanation and hopefully some understanding of this fantastic tool.

Let’s begin with a broader explanation of what a SQL Query is, and then I’ll bring it back to its place within GoldMine. 

GoldMine Premium runs on Microsoft SQL.  Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) produced by Microsoft Corporation. Its primary query language is Transact-SQL, an implementation of the ANSI/ISO standard Structured Query Language (SQL) used by both Microsoft and Sybase. 

SQL is a standard interactive and programming language for querying and modifying data and managing databases.  IBM deserves credit here because the first version of SQL was developed at IBM by Donald D. Chamberlin and Raymond F. Boyce in the early 1970s. (Windows isn’t the only thing IBM paid to develop.J)  This version, initially called SEQUEL, was designed to manipulate and retrieve data stored in IBM’s original relational database product. 

The most common operation in SQL databases is the query, which is performed with the declarative SELECT keyword. SELECT retrieves data from a specified table, or multiple related tables, in a database.  SQL queries allow the user to specify a description of the desired result set.  A SQL query returns a list of columns with all the relevant data.

OK … maybe I have you more confused, so let’s say all this another way and get to the point at the same time!   If you want to find and see specific information stored in your SQL database, a “SQL Query” is one way to do it!

Now let’s talk about what this has to do with GoldMine.  First of all, since GoldMine7x., all the data “stored in GoldMine” is actually really all stored in a MS SQL database.  (It’s in either MS SQL 2000 or 2005, depending on when you purchased GoldMine and if you’ve upgraded your SQL.) 

Here’s the implication!  Because your data is in SQL, you can QUERY it!!  Which also means you can find and see information with SQL queries that you can’t get to with the standard GoldMine pull down menus and screens.  The implications are huge! 

SQL Queries, which can be run and looked at from within the SQL Tab of the Filters & Groups Menu as well as other Query tools, unlocks information in ways you couldn’t have before.  It gives you the ability to apply conditions so that you can select and see your information a multitude of ways.  It can literally change the whole value proposition of your GoldMine database! 

The applications are far reaching including but not limited to better workflow, better management information, ability to target market, etc., etc. 

The possibilities are so great that I can’t cover them all in one article. This is why I’ve decided to organize a webinar to show you.  Would you be interested in the details?  Click here to register and I’ll invite you to the event once I’ve locked down the specifics.

It’s worth mentioning that SQL Reporting Services is another just as powerful feature that comes with your Microsoft SQL.  SQL Reporting Services was greatly enhanced with SQL 2005, and further so in SQL 2008.  First Direct Corporation also has training and technical services available to help you leverage this feature with your GoldMine software.  Let us know if you’re interested!

Last but not least, if you’d like our help writing a SQL query, just contact my office.  Send me an email describing the nature of your query and we will contact you.  A lot of times we can write the query pretty quickly and email it back to you with instructions on how to easily put in your system and start using it.

Sometimes managing people is better accomplished by managing the technology they use.  This certainly can be the case when it comes to your GoldMine database.  Data quality, which I’ll define as accuracy and completeness, is largely in the hands of your users.  What they do each time they’re on record or doing some activity that should be tracked in the database will largely determine the quality of your data.  And, as the database goes, so goes your ability to effectively target and communicate to your customer and prospect base.

“Record Typing” in a feature in GoldMine that enables an organization using GoldMine to present users with fields and screens and fields to dictate the fields that users should view and edit. As a GoldMine Record progresses from a “Lead” to a “Prospect” to a “Customer” the fields in view for the Users to edit can change.  In effect, you are able to design a workflow.
Using Record Typing in this way will enable users to see and be reminded more easily of what information they should collect.  Record Typing can also make it simpler to train new users, who will see fewer fields on the screen. 

By assigning a “Custom Screen” and “GM+View” for each Record Type, as you switch Records, or enter a new Record of one Type or another, the Main Screen (top half) of Record, as well as the custom fields in the Fields Tab, and the GM+View, will switch accordingly.

All the configuration for Record Typing is done within the Records Type Administrator.   I must tell you that the way this works, plus the bugs in GoldMine that relate to this feature, is enough to make you scream.  By the same token once you get the knack of it it’s not too bad.  And, you already know that First Direct is pleased to help you in this area.  I’ve even planned a FREE webinar on this topic – click here for a link to that special event.

Since day one GoldMine has been a great tool for tracking activities (Calls, Appointments, Actions, Email, etc.).  Now with the new GoldMine Premium Edition and its new Case Management capabilities you can manage technical support issues, customer service requests, and other types of matters. 

Case Management will be very useful for IT departments, customer service departments, administrators, and others who require a better way of tracking and managing their issues.  The new Service Center provides a consolidated view of all “cases.”  Within the Service Center one can filter by various elements and then drill down into more details on any specific case.

Cases are tracked against contact records or other “GoldMine Record Types.”  GoldMine’s Case Management enables you to categorize cases, track their origin, relate cases to a product, prioritize them, indicate a “due date,” and assign a person to manage each case. 

Incident tracking with Case Management provides the first step to a more proactive business process.  Case Management comes with other essential basic tools that will help organizations provide better service to their customers, thereby improving customer loyalty and helping them to manage their resources more effectively. 

The “Alerts” feature makes it easy to identify Open Issues in the Service Center which are “Past Due.” They can be escalated or reassigned as called for.  Statistics on open, closed, and past due cases provide a vital big picture and focus for both your support staff and supervisors. 

FrontRange Solutions realized that GoldMine’s Knowledge Base (a.k.a. the InfoCenter) could be applied to the handling of support issues and has integrated it into Case Management.  The Knowledge Base gives GoldMine users access to documentation which will help them to close cases more rapidly with less training.  Users can research a topic and then incorporate findings into a resolution and email them to the customer/client.

Since issues are tracked inside GoldMine, in the new “Cases” tab of the corresponding GoldMine record, the whole organization will be informed of issues.  Sales reps are kept in the loop on matters pertaining to their customers.  Case Management adds significant value to organizations.  And, it’s not all you get with the new GoldMine Premium Edition! 

Wish to see a personal demonstration of Case Management along with the other attractive features in the new GoldMine Premium Edition?  Email info@1stdirect.com or call (800) 935-4386. 

As most know, GoldMine is a great tool for tracking activities (Calls, Appointment, Actions, Email, etc.).  However, GoldMine lacks functionality and features in the User Interface (UI) which demanding customer service/help desk environments require.  Here are just of few of the types of needs such departments have:

• Auto Ticket/Issue ID# Generation
• Issue Tracking – record all aspects from initial inquiry to problem resolution
• Configurable Inquiry Screen and Custom Intake Forms
• Assigning/Referring an Issue to another User
• Priority Escalation
• Automated Email Notifications to Users
• Integrated Knowledgebase – to capture and search for relevant solutions
• Relevant Reporting

Individuals who handle support calls will find that support software is designed to work the way they do, which is often different than how sales and marketing people work.  Creating, finding, and managing open issues is more user friendly and efficient!

The single biggest difference between recording a call in GoldMine (either scheduling or completing) and a service & support application is the “Issue Tracking.”  In GoldMine, each Activity is discrete.  In other words, there is nothing that automatically associates one pending or completed activity with another, other than the Record over, or the Opportunity/Project Manager.  Therefore, for organizations that wish to “open an issue” and manage it from “start to finish,” GoldMine falls short.  For this and other reasons organizations tend to look to special applications for this purpose.

There are many other important capabilities that a help desk or service department could be looking for.  And, there are many systems available.  But I’d like to call to your attention one particular product called Tele-Support Help Desk.  

I mention this product because Tele-Support has three significant advantages: 1) Out-of-the-box integration with GoldMine, 2) Affordability, and 3) Full featured, yet simple to use. 

Because Tele-Support incorporates your existing GoldMine contact database, you can leverage information you have in GoldMine, as well as share information between sales and service professional.  The integration lets you start creating tickets for existing records in GoldMine right off the bat.

Tele-Support’s integration with GoldMine offers several notable features: 

• The GoldMine primary and additional contacts are viewable when starting a support issue/ticket
• You can view GoldMine fields from within Tele-Support
• New open issues are automatically added to the “Pending” tab in GoldMine, and are also automatically moved to “History” when resolved/closed.  Unlike HEAT, the product made from FrontRange, there’s no need to refer to the “Tickets” tab which is an extra effort for non-helpdesk users such as sales people.  

There are several aspects about Tele-Support’s GoldMine integration which are advantageous.  Tele-Support Help Desk also deploys rapidly and relatively easily.  Manufacturer’s support for implementation is even free during the trial period.  (Imagine that, free installation support!)   

There’s way too much to say about Tele-Support Help Desk for this newsletter.  So, my suggestion is that if you have considered the need for a service & support solution, check Tele-Support.  Free trials and demonstrations are available from First Direct Corp.

.