Most users of ACT! legacy versions such as ACT! 2.0 to 6.0 think that they can just buy the new SQL based version of ACT! and easily upgrade their databases. Users think that they can simply upgrade their old databases by just installing the ACT! 2009 software on their computers or company servers and allow the program do the rest.

Not so fast folks!  I can’t begin to tell you how many phone calls I receive from users that buy the new version of ACT! and tell me that their conversion attempts have failed.   No surprise there!

The reasons database conversions of legacy versions of ACT! fail are because the structure of old ACT! is very different from the new SQL based version of ACT!.   Sage Software launched its SQL based version of ACT! in 2005.   Since 2005, Sage Software has made major strides in the structure of ACT!’s back end database as well as the its features.

The new version of ACT! is now more complicated than its predecessors.  ACT! is made up of many SQL tables that run the program making the back end of the database elaborately interconnected. 

ACT! now requires that its legacy versions are cleaned up before they are converted.  The clean up process is not easy and users should look to hire an ACT! Certified Consultant to help with conversion.

Some of the common mistakes found in legacy versions of ACT! are the following:

1. Renamed core fields
2. Broken links to attachments
3. Entry or exit triggers in fields
4. Fields with bad characters
5. Additional address fields
6. Private contacts
7. Activity errors
8. Unknown users

If an old database has any of the aforementioned issues then the cleaning process of the legacy version tends to be tedious and could require hours of work.

In addition, in order to seamlessly convert a legacy version of ACT! it must also be scanned and repaired using the ACT! diagnostic tool. The scan and repair tool found in the diagnostic tool of ACT! will scan the database’s structure.  It will also repair any other structural issues it finds wrong with the database.

A knowledgeable ACT! Certified Consultant will take the appropriate steps to ensure that all of the issues mentioned above are remedied before  attempting the conversion of a legacy version of ACT! to the most recent version of the software.

The bottomline is:   Convert your legacy ACT! databases by hiring the services of an ACT! Certified Consultant.

Is your business tracking its customers and prospects?

Is your business using Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Outlook to track customers and prospects?  My question to you would be, why?

The intended purpose for each of those products is not customer relationship management.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is designed to give a business a 360 degree complete picture of its customers and prospects.  A CRM Solution at its basic level should offer:

1. Data Tracking and Integration
2. Sales Management Tools
3. Customer Support
4. Marketing Automation

CRM, as it’s known in the software industry, gives a business the ability to track all activity and sales opportunity related events with its contacts.   With CRM, you are able to look up a contact by their business name or last name or a variety of other data and look at the overall picture of what has transpired with a particular contact or set of contacts.  

CRM is not just software but rather a complete, customer-related approach to a business’s philosophy of dealing with its customers and prospects. It includes the application of a business’s policies and processes, sales, marketing and customer service.  Therefore, it is important for a business to give careful consideration into how and why it wants to implement a CRM system which will affect the business overall.

In the last ten years or so, CRM software products have flooded the marketplace. There are so many CRM solutions with such varied costs and features that it can be hard for business to know what to look for when evaluting this sales tool.  A business should consider hiring the services of a CRM consultant to help make the correct decision for purchasing a CRM solution that will consider the overall organization’s needs.  CRM software products serve a variety of business needs but the most basic is contact management.

The CRM  software products that I recommend are ACT! by Sage, SageCRM, Saleslogix and Microsoft CRM.