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"!

You can use GoldMine's "tagging" feature to select records for targeted follow-up. Tagging is a means of building a temporary filter. You can tag records on the Contact Listing, Members in Groups, and Records on the Activity List. To Tag records, hold your "Control Key" down and select items from the views above with a single left mouse click. A second left click will un-tag the record. Bear in mind that you are actually "tagging" the Record, not the activity! So the filter corresponds to the Primary Contact, not an Additional Contact, should the Activity even be with another contact.

Here's an example of how Tagging can be used. Suppose you have a load of literature follow-up calls in your Activity List - by glancing down the Codes and Notes, you can select from the entire list of calls those records that you want to send a quick personal email. Then use the mail/email merge capability to efficiently communicate with all of them.

Other useful ways to use tagging:

• Build Groups based on Tagged Members from an existing Group.
• Tag and merge duplicate records
• Tag and delete records
• Tag and globally replace data in records
• Tag and "Group Schedule" calls

Sometimes there are just too few hours in the day, and you need a trick to help you be more efficient. Tagging is one of the those features in GoldMine that you can find a dozen uses for … and when you start to use it like this, you'll definitely accomplish more!

Since it is so common to be put into voicemail on prospecting/sales calls, consider an alternative approach that leverages GoldMine in order to make more effective use of your "LM" (Left Message) calls.

Here is a strategy you or your whole sales force can deploy to make the most of voicemail on "prospecting calls." To begin with, prepare a great little message that sales reps can leave. In the message, point out to the prospect that you're going to send them something and then follow up to make sure they received it and see if they are interested. Create a GoldMine Automated Process that can be assigned to a "Prospecting Call" with a "LM" result. Here are the events and actions that you might have it perform:

1. "Create a History" of "PC" (Prospecting Call) activity with an "LM" (Left Message) result code

2. "Send an email" or schedule a fax with OmniRush that introduces you, with a link to your web site, referencing your left message and the fact that you're sending your business card, etc.

3. "Print a Form" as a cover letter for your business card, etc.

4. "Print a Report" using GoldMine (with or without OmniRush) to print an envelope or label with a Dymo® LabelWriter

5. "Schedule an Activity" for a follow-up call in your calendar for specific number of days in the future

If only once click could do all this, wouldn't you do it! If you need OmniRush, a label writer or help with creating an Automated Process, your Solution Partner can assist you.

Having done all this on your first call, then your next follow-up call will leverage proven sales techniques for literature follow up in order to improve your odds of directly reaching your prospect. And, once you do reach them, they'll have a better sense of what you can do for them. Of course they still need to want what you have to offer, but at least with this approach and a little luck in terms of timing, you're certainly better off on your second call than you would be otherwise!

Equipped with a short and sweet voicemail script and this GoldMine Automated Process you will be more effective and start to feel more successful even on "left message calls."

The new task bar area in GoldMine 5.7 Business Contact Manager provides greater capability to add icons to perform various functions including:

• Macros to drive main menu commands
• Custom user recorded macros
• Launch other applications
• Launch documents or executable files
• Go to favorite web sites

Think of the possibilities! You can quickly appreciate how these new capabilities will save you time and increase productivity.

• Performing prevalent tasks
• Opening needed applications
• Performing functions that you may have set-up to be run with an executable file
• Pulling up frequently used pricing sheets or documents
• Going to a favorite site

To add an item to a task bar group, simply right click in the task area and select "add new item." Then, from the "Item Selection" drop down list, choose the type of item you want to add. Go on to make the appropriate further decisions to complete the procedure.

Keep in mind that the task bar groups can be local for your individual use or system wide for global or shared use. If the additions/modifications you are making only apply to you, versus other GoldMine users, make sure you're doing these on a "global group." (Only Master Rights users can add/edit to global group task bars.)

Take the time to organize your task bar groups to suit your daily selling activities. GoldMine power users who rely on GoldMine to manage their time and sales follow-up, find they live on GoldMine. These new task bar resources put much greater capabilities at your fingertips

If you are one who truly walks-the-talk with regard to sales automation, then you're going to appreciate the ability that the latest version of GoldMine - 5.7 Business Contact Manager - gives you to create "global toolbars." While this new feature is not nearly as robust as what third-party products like "SalesMagic" or "AIM ToolBars" enable you to do, it is a step forward for GoldMine.In the past, GoldMine would not allow you to create custom toolbars and/or macros that could be shared by other users. It was too much of a chore for a GoldMine administrator to set up and maintain individually for each workstation. Plus, if a user changed their toolbar, they'd lose all the items. Hallelujah … 5.7 is the solution - now you can turn your most common repetitive and time-consuming scheduling tasks and processes into macros and organize them under task bar categories and give global access to them.

Tip: For truly powerful macros that can print documents, run reports, schedule multiple activities all with a click of a button, assign a GoldMine Automated Processes with macro icon.

Selling has been called a "numbers game." Clearly it is much more than that. However, it's obvious that sales and marketing depend, in part, on getting out there and reaching as many as you can. While rejection is unavoidable, any sales professional also recognizes the need to reach enough targeted suspects, prospects and current customers repeatedly in order to win at the numbers game.

To produce the necessary frequency and volume of communications, it can take an integrated stream including phone, personalized and bulk mail, email, fax, advertising, word-of-mouth, publicity and Internet marketing. In each area GoldMine has something to offer.

Features:

• Mail Merge
• Email Merge
• Integrated Fax Server Solutions
• Speed Dialing · Referral Tracking
• Web Importing

Sure GoldMine is great for managing relationships, managing our time, tracking calls and appointments, and taking notes! By the same token, it's a super tool for reaching your numbers. (It's also a great tool, in conjunction with reporting and analysis tools, for checking to make sure you achieve your numbers.) So, in addition to setting goals for sales volume, set goals for:

• Mass and Personalized Direct Mail
• Email Broadcasts
• Fax Broadcasts
• Call Types (use activity codes to track)
• Referrals

Measuring and managing the flow of these types of communications will raise your awareness of whether you're producing the level of marketing activities to truly support and build on the efforts of your sales or telemarketing reps. Similarly, the feedback will underscore the volume of activities these reps need to do themselves.

GoldMine helps you play the numbers game so you win by the numbers!

How you capture information is crucial for later use. If we're making the effort to ask intelligent qualifying questions, then we also can benefit by databasing the answers in predetermined GoldMine fields.

Unlike "Notes", fields are superior for filtering, reporting, sorting and analyzing. Marketing campaigns can be targeted. Sales activities can be focused on more qualified leads, wasting less time. So much is made possible if responses go into fields rather than notes.

Evaluate your "Fields Tab" in GoldMine on a periodic basis, or as the situation calls for it. As our business processes change we need to update the fields and screens. The responsibility for reviewing and specifying the changes and additions falls on sales management. IT staff or your GoldMine administrator can do the work, but they follow sales management's direction!

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 adage "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" is truer than ever. Modern society has caused "attention deficit." A state wherein there are more things vying for our limited attention than we can possibly focus on at once. In computer terms, you might say we're trying to process more information than we have the "RAM" to do it with. As a result, our attention is constantly shifting from one matter to the next. And the moment, it does we may lose sight (attention) of the last matter we were dealing with.

In addition to all the stresses and problems this "attention deficit" condition is causing for us personally; it is creating major difficulties and challenges for marketing & sales professionals. As if it weren't hard enough alone just to get one's attentions, the moment we think we've got it, we've lost it again. One minute we're talking to a prospect who's all hot to purchase, the next we can't even get them to call us back. Not because they've purchased elsewhere often times, but simply because they're just too busy to give us their attention again.

GoldMine is a great tool for overcoming this challenge. Use it to reach your target audience frequently. Alter your channel of communications from fax, to phone, to email, to personal letter, to mass mailing. Mix it holiday greetings and article reprints. Sprinkle in other friendly relationship building touches like an article you thought might interest them. Using GoldMine this way you're ensuring a much greater likelihood of being in-sight and on their mind when they're ready to make a buying decision. In the process you're building name recognition as well as credibility.