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Manage leads in Apptivo, increase effectiveness of your sales process

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd

Entrepreneurs, small business owners, and salespeople all deal with the process of acquiring new customers for their business.  Many teams are completely unprepared for the task of managing each of their potential clients in a manner that can deliver them the utmost quality of service.  This is why all companies who do any sort of services business should employ some sort of customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Now that we’ve covered why this is important, what exactly am I talking about???

I am about to show you how to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your entire sales process!  My company leverages the Apptivo platform to manage our leads, so that is what process I will be walking you through today.  First off, you will need to have your business registered for Apptivo before following this tutorial.  Just head on over to their website and sign up.  Don’t worry, it’s free.

So let’s get started, shall we?

First off, here is the scenario:

You are a small business owner, who also wears the hat of a salesperson at this phase in your business.  You are constantly in contact with potential clients, and constantly promising various things to each of these leads.  Once you start really becoming successful, maintaining your large number of leads gets exponentially more difficult.  Many times you will mix up proposals, forget to follow up with a lead, or even miss an appointment!  To counteract this, all of your sales leads can be stored in a central system, which manages their information, a list of upcoming appointments, follow up reminders, as well as a place to store notes or documents of agreements and promises you have made with the client.

You’ve just gotten a call from a business who was reviewing your website, and is interested in your services.  You two had a short conversation that was promising, but in the end the client was still in the decision process.  You end the call well, with talks of a return call in the near future.  What to do now?  Let’s get this information into our system right away so nothing is forgotten!

Sounds great, but what do I do?!

  1. Log in and select your firm
    1. 
  2. Go to the My Apps page and select Leads
    1. If you haven’t added the App yet, go to “All Apps” and add the App first, you only need to do this once.
  3. Now we want to add the lead to our system, so hit that create button!
  4. Fill in all of the information you have available.  Make sure to take good notes on what services the lead is interested in.  Also add any phone numbers, or other contact information you have available.
  5. Now that our lead is created, we can be assured the information is safe and cannot be forgotten.  But we also want to make sure we have a clear picture regarding the status of the lead.  So let’s go ahead and select the lead from your Leads App main page.
  6. Now that you can see the details of the lead, click on over the to activities tab.  From here we can log any discussions we’ve had with the client, appointments, or we can set up follow up reminds or to do’s for later on regarding this client.  For now, let’s go ahead and click on the Call Log button so we can document the conversation we just had.
  7. Now we just punch in when the call happened, and some details regarding what we spoke about, and save!
  8. Great, now anyone in the company will have the information available to work with this client.  Very handy if the original contact is unable to work for some reason, you don’t want to lose this lead!
  9. Finally, to make this process complete we want to make sure we convert this lead.  The client indicated they needed a couple weeks to decide, so let’s schedule a follow up call with them at 2 weeks, just to remind them we are still ready to take on their project.  Click on the Task button located right next to Call Log.
  10. Now just fill out the details of the task, and don’t forget to set a reminder date!

SUCCESS!!!

Now you are taking control of your potential business, and doing everything you can to make sure you stay organized, and make the most out of your sales efforts.  No more missed appointments, or uninformed conversations, squeeze every bit out of your potential sales!

I hope this tutorial helped you out!  If you have any questions, or if I missed anything please let me know in the comments!

Posted in Apptivo, Small Business | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Why does my real estate business need a website?

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd

Oh, the age-old question (or at least 15 year old!)…why does my small business need a website?  This question has been asked for years, and today I’d like to take some time to write up some thoughts on this topic specifically from the point of view of a real estate business owner.  So, let’s begin, shall we?

First off, let’s cover some problems that real estate businesses face today:

  1. Real estate agents don’t have enough personal time for each client
  2. With fierce competition, it becomes harder and harder to earn the trust of a client
  3. The housing market has been hit hard by the economy, agents need to save money
  4. Agents have a tough time getting their name out to potential clients
  5. Business owners have endless paperwork to deal with, and risk mistakes
  6. With the new openness of MLS systems, customers are flocking to competitor sites which place their face next to every house the buyer looks at.
  7. You are busy!!!

Are you a real estate agent/business owner?  Do you have a problem that I should write about?  Please let me know in the comments!

Now let’s get you some answers!

  1. One problem every single agent or broker faces when their business grows is TIME!  As success comes, so do clients, which means so does the work and time it takes to keep every one of those clients happy.  One great way to fix this problem is by putting basic information up on your website.  If you are able to have clients find information on their own, or be directed to information on your site, then you can save yourself the time of explaining everything over the phone.  You can take basic steps, such as talking about the areas which you service, and proving some basic information about your business.  Or, you can go full force and deliver your clients a plethora of frequently asked questions, host standard forms for them to download, or even speak to them directly through your site!
  2. These days, it’s hard to be taken seriously as a business without a website.  And not only is it enough to just have a site, now you need to have a top quality site which gives off a professional feel that can earn your clients’ trust.  The more a client knows about you, and your business, the more likely they are to trust you.  This is why it’s paramount to have a website that clearly communicates who you are, what you do, and why you are different from the competition.  Many customers will not give you a chance to convince them to do business over a phone, you need to be able to capture their interest before ever speaking a word!
  3. Now, this point is slightly off the topic of the thread.  This is less about why it’s important to have a site at all, and more about why it’s important to have your web site created by the correct provider.  You need to make sure any site developed for your business is going to be a smart financial decision.  Many things should be considered when deciding if a web design company is right for your business:
    1. Can you maintain the content of the site yourself?  Maintenance costs are expensive!
    2. Are you paying the right amount up front?  If you are paying over $1,000 for a basic site; you are NOT spending wisely!
    3. Does the website come with any other tools?  Make sure all of your technical data is organized in one place.  If you have to check your site login for updated posts, then check outlook for customer questions, then log into your CRM system to track leads…you are wasting TONS of time.  Most modern website development platforms should include tools such as these, don’t settle for a regular website!
  4. If people do not know about your business, you will not succeed!  A website is one of THE best ways to get your name out there, and attract new business.  You will be able to benefit greatly from search engine queries, online advertising, as well as collecting leads through forms on your site.  You need to make sure to leverage the web as one of your top marketing tools or face being left in the dust!
  5. Business owners in the real estate industry have more paperwork to deal with than just about anybody.  Handling countless packets of 40 page contracts becomes not only time-consuming, but mistake-prone, and very costly.  You can leverage the web to store many of these documents electronically, and provide easy collection and distribution through your web portal.  Not only will you save time and money on supplies, but you can count on happier customers and reduced errors when you become more centrally organized.
  6. The importance of being the first to reach your potential client cannot be stressed enough.  Nearly every buyer goes looking for homes BEFORE they look for a Realtor, this means by the time they call you; many other Realtors have already had exposure to them.  By empowering yourself with the ability to put quality home listings on your site, you can capture clients early on, and produce more sales.
  7. Every successful business owner is busy, especially real estate agents!  Websites can help reduce your workload by letting the client do some of your explanation and discovery work themselves.  When a client is more prepared, you spend less time, and less headaches working with them.  Use your web presence as an opportunity to empower your buyers with knowledge, and they will reward you during the sales process.

Well, that’s it.  I hope you found this write-up useful, please let me know what you thought in the comments!

Posted in Small Business | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Question Answered: How do I kill a process?

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd

There are many times when your computer stops working properly that you might need to kill a process on your system.  As long as you are careful, there is nothing to worry about for anyone doing this task!  Always make sure you know exactly what process you are killing, and if at all possible, save any information in open applications before killing a process.

First off, some of you might not know what a process is.  Now while I am not promising to explain the details of how a process works, we can start with the basics.  Skip ahead if you want to be spared of the geek speak, and just want the answers!

A process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed.  This process contains the current “state” of the application it powers, and handles all of the code ran between your operating system, and the application.  Now to make it even more complex, a process can also have multiple threads of execution, meaning the application can be telling the operating system to be doing many different things at once; and meanwhile your operating system has to handle all of the other processes running on your system, whoah!

These steps apply to any modern version of Windows (Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows 7, etc)

Alright, so are you ready to stop that frozen application?

First off!  You need to open up the task manager.

You can do it the easy way: press ctrl+shift+esc (keyboard shortcut bonus points)

Or the hard way(s):

  1. Right click on your taskbar, and select “Start Task Manager”
  2. press ctrl+alt+delete and select task manager(if necessary)

Next you’ll need to locate the process

For this sample, were going to assume that Internet Explorer is hung or crashed, and you need to stop it from freezing your computer!  Internet Explorer’s process name is iexplore.exe

Finally, fix your problem and stop that process!!

Hopefully your problem is solved, if not then you have two options!  You can either search the rest of my blog for an answer that is more specific to your problem…OR you can frantically end all of your processes until you find the one that either fixes your computer…or crashes it.  But in all seriousness, sometimes a good ol’ reboot is the best remedy for situations like this.

If these tips helped you out please leave a comment, we love to hear success stories!

Posted in Tech Help | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What we need to know to make your website

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd

In order to make sure we deliver a website that syncs user actions with business goals, we have all clients fill out the following questionnaire to start a project.  These questions are designed to extract not only the usual basic questions, but questions which allow us to craft a site that positions your site in the best way possible.

These questions will cover items such as what pages you need, products you sell, what colors you like, and how much time you have.  In addition to this, you will also be asked questions that are more closely related to how you are positioned as a company, and what the business goals behind your website are.

GENERAL

  1. Please tell us a little about your business
  2. Please provide your top 3-5 goals for the website in order (find new customers, look more professional, get new leads, etc)
  3. Please give us a basic breakdown of your target market
  4. List the top 3-5 reasons why you are different, or why your business has an edge
  5. List the top 3-5 motivating reasons people choose a service/product like your business offers
  6. List a few problems your business encounters when presenting itself to potential customers
  7. Do you own a domain? (Y/N)
    1. If Yes, please provide the username and password for accessing the domain
  8. Do you have a logo? (Y/N)
    1. If No, do you want us to design it?
  9. What kind of website are you looking to get developed? (eCommerce/ Basic Informational/Lead Generating)
    1. If “Other” please explain. (Optional)
  10. Do you currently have a website? (Y/N)
    1. If Yes, please provide URL.
  11. Do you have the content for the website ready? (Y/N)

WEBSITE LAYOUT

  1. Please take a look at this presentation and enter the name of the layout you like. (eg. Top Navigation with Sidebar) If you don’t like any of them, please let us know.
  2. Please provide at least 3 websites which you like.  Give a brief description of which components made you like them.
  3. Please provide at least one example of a competitor site you don’t like, and explain why
  4. Any specific features/components/design styles you do NOT want on your website?

WEBSITE STRUCTURE

  1. How many static web pages would you like? Product pages are automatically generated, please don’t include them.
  2. Please provide the structure of the website. See sample below.
  • Home Page
  • Products
    • Product 1
    • Product 2
  • Services
    • Service 1
    • Service 2
  • About Us
    • Management Team
    • Our Company
  • Contact Us

WEBSITE DESIGN

  1. Are there any preferred colors which we should use?
  2. Are there any colors we should NOT use?
  3. Any specific requirement for background? Eg. http://j3healthcare.com/ has a green background andhttp://whygbs.com/ has a plain grey background.
  4. Any other thing we should keep in mind while coming up with the look and feel of the site?

FEATURES

  1. Please let us know if you would like any specific features in your site. (please refer to the attached content site brochure for ideas. E.g. Blog, Forum, social media integration, Recent News, Recent Articles, Polls etc.)
  2. If the brochure does not contain a particular feature, please let us know and we will figure out how to provide that feature.

ECOMMERCE WEBSITE INFO (REQUIRED ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO SELL PRODUCTS ON YOUR WEBSITE)

  1. What information would you like to display on the product description page? A sample product description page is http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes/Presa-Kennington-Oversized-Leather-Hobo-with-Shoulder-Strap/4109778/product.html
  2. How many categories of products do you have? You can add remove categories, we just want to get a sense of the number
  3. How many products do you have in each category? You can add remove products, we just want to get a sense of the number
  4. Would you like to use regular credit card payment or paypal or google checkout to capture payments? you can use just 1 or all or any combination of these
  5. Do you already have accounts in any of these (payment gateways like authorize.net or paypal or google checkout)?
  6. Do you want to supply information about your products to google for shopping comparison?
  7. What shipping options would you like to offer your customers? (UPS Ground, USPS Next day etc.)
Posted in Websites | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How to set up your Godaddy email account with Microsoft Outlook

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd
If you already have a domain and email account registered with Godaddy (or another provider), then you have everything you need to set up Outlook!  If you do not have Microsoft Office, most Windows computers come installed with Microsoft Outlook Express, which should have nearly identical instructions.  These specific instructions are for configuring your Godaddy email account to work on Outlook 2007.

  1. Start off by opening up the outlook program
  2. Now go to the main navigation menu and select Tools -> Options
  4. Now click on the “Mail Setup” tab of the dialog, followed by clicking on the “Email Accounts” button.
  6. Now you will see an icon that says “New…”, click on that, and hit the next button in the resulting dialog (leave the default option selected).
  8. On the next page, ignore all of the fields for text, and simply mark the check box in the bottom left corner of the dialog and hit next.
  10. Continue through the next step with default options selected.
  12. Now you will need to enter your personal and email account information.  Once your information is filled in, click on the “More Settings…” button.Your Name: Place whatever name you would like to appear to others when you send them email here.
  13. E-mail Address: Place the email address you would like to set up here.
  14. Account Type: Leave this as POP3
  15. Incoming Mail Server: Set this to your providers value
  16. Outgoing Mail Server: Set this to smtpout.secureserver.net
  17. User Name:  Place the email address you would like to set up here.
  18. Password: Type in your email address password here
  20. Now in the new window that appears, click on the “Outgoing Server” tab.  Now select the checkbox which says “My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication”, and leave the default setting “Use same settings as my incoming mail server”.
  22. Now click on the “Advanced” tab of this dialog and do the following:Change the “Outgoing server (SMTP)” field to 3535
  23. Check the box that says “Leave a copy of messages on the server”
  24. Check the box that says “Remove from server when deleted from ‘deleted items’”
  25. Once the above items are done, hit the “OK” button
  27. Now just go ahead and hit “Next” on the main dialog, and finish.  Your email account is now set up to work through Outlook.
Posted in Small Business, Tech Help | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How to install ffmpeg on Windows with PhP

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd

This post will outline how to download and install the ffmpeg video decoding and conversion software, and install the php extensions required to easily utilize it from a web site.  These instructions are for windows users.

For you linux users out there, sorry… but this ain’t no apt-get install ffmpeg :P

ffmpeg is used for lots of reasons such as:

  • converting uploaded video to flv format
  • converting uploaded video to any other format
  • get thumbnails from video
  • remove or edit audio on a video clip
  • enhance or reduce video quality

Requirements:

  • You must have PHP version 5.2.6 or above installed
  • Windows 2003/XP/Vista/7

Installation Steps:

  1. Download the latest build of FFmpeg for windows
    1. http://tripp.arrozcru.org/
    2. Copy it into an easy folder to access (ex. c:ffmpeg)
    3. Test to make it works
      1. Download a sample video
      2. Run the following command to test video conversion

i.      ffmpeg.exe c:ffmpegtest_input_video.mp4 c:ffmpegtest_output_video.flv

  1. You can now convert videos by executing a command via PhP or any other language
    1. $result = exec(‘c:\ffmpeg\ffmpeg.exe -i c:\ffmpeg\test_zone\input.mp4 c:\ffmpeg\test_zone\test_output_video.flv’);
Posted in Tech Help | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

How to clear cookies in Firefox

Posted on March 23, 2011 by todd

Firefox Logo

There may comes times where you need to clear the cookies in your Firefox browser.  Maybe you cannot log in to a web site, or need to do some special software testing, or you need to delete a saved password.

Don’t fear, the Firefox team made this all very simple!

First off, let’s cover deleting all cookies from all web sites:

  1. Open Firefox
  2. Press ctrl+shift+delete
  3. Select “Forever” as date range
  4. Hit okay, and you are done!

Now that was a bit TOO easy.  Let’s go over how to clear cookies from a single domain in Firefox.

  1. Open firefox
  2. Select tools->options from the main toolbar
  3. go to the privacy tab, and click the link “remove individual cookies”
  4. Select the folder representing the site in question, then click the “remove cookies” button on the bottom.  Make sure only the folder of the site you want to remove cookies for is selected when you press this.
  5. That should do it, close out of the dialogs open, and close any firefox browsers open and you are set!
  6. Open firefoxSelect tools->options from the main toolbargo to the privacy tab, and click the link “remove individual cookies”Select the folder representing the site in question, then click the “remove cookies” button on the bottom.  Make sure only the folder of the site you want to remove cookies for is selected when you press this.That should do it, close out of the dialogs open, and close any firefox browsers open and you are set!

Hopefully you found this helpful!

Posted in Tech Help | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

How to hide Skype when minimized in Windows Vista and Windows 7

Posted on March 23, 2011 by admin

Are you a Skype user?  Are you on Windows 7?  I’m sure you’ve run into this annoying problem them.  Windows 7 has a conflict with sky that causes the window to stay in your taskbar after you close it, instead of going back to your tray icons.

Luckily, fixing this problem is easy!  All you need to do is open up the program in Windows compatibility mode, and it will work fine.

You can enable compatibility mode for this program by doing the following:

  1. Right click on the skype icon you use to launch the program
  2. Select properties
  3. Go to the compatibility tab
  4. Select “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and pick the Windows XP (Service Pack 3) value
  5. Hit the OK button
  6. Close Skype if you already had it open
  7. Open up Skype with the shortcut you changed
  8. Skype now retreats to the taskbar!

If you want to know more about windows compatibility mode, check here

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Make-older-programs-run-in-this-version-of-Windows

Posted in Tech Help | Tagged , , | 4 Comments