Boy, do I hear that question a lot! Sometimes I get a variation (feel free to substitute the name of the current CRM product du jour for Sales Force).
Here’s the deal. I know folks like you – I call them ACT fanactics. I had 500 of them wait in line to get into a seminar I ran in August, 2002 on a not so sunny night in South Florida introducing the all new ACT 6. I guarantee I wouldn’t have had a crowd like that for a seminar on Excel or QuickBooks, not to mention Sales Force which was just a dot on the horizon in 2002.
If you were brand new to CRM it might be a different story, but you obviously know ACT and have liked it for years. If you move to another product you’ll constantly be missing core ACT features like dynamic groups and lookups.
When the “new” ACT SQL version came out in 2005 the developers asked me for a dozen of my ACT 6 Dummies books which I thought was strange until I realized that the programmers wanted to maintain ACT’s “look and feel.” That means that although there are lots of cool new features in ACT (Outlook integration, e-marketing, companies, opportunities, web info tab, dashboards, secondary contacts and relationships) the old “tried and true” features (adding contacts, deleting contacts, groups, lookups, mail merge) remain exactly the same.
I’ve written books and produced training videos on a number of products (Sugar, BCM, Sales Force, Outlook) as well as on ACT and I have not found anything I like better for a number of reasons:
- There’s safety in number s. ACT has a lot of longevity and loyalty going for it. It’s been around for over 20 years and has millions of existing users.
- ACT has widespread availability. You won’t find a box of Sales Force on the shelves of your local computer store.
- Each new version expands the core functionality by adding new functionality that typically matches current technology trends.
- ACT is extremely customizable. There are hundreds of consultants to help modify your database to exactly what you want – or you can learn to make those changes yourself.
- ACT is easy to use and intuitive. I recently found out that Sage actually has a “click counter” (OK, that’s not the official title but you get the drift) who’s job function is to “count the click” required for basic functions such as mail merge to insure that the number of clicks is much fewer than with competing products.
- ACT is one of the least costly solutions around. Compare a one-time purchase of ACT to the recurring monthly Sales Force charges and it’s a no brainer.
Hope this helps you in your decision!
Karen Fredricks
www.techbenders.com
blog@techbenders.com
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
ACT and Salesforce are only two of the very many CRM providers out there.
I find that people are very quick to purchase a product based on its reputable name and fail to acknowledge whether that product can actually perform to meet their needs. The company I work for, Luxor CRM, may not be a household name, but its superior functionalities and exceptionally affordable prices, makes it a CRM product worth considering.
It is important for companies to do their research on the numerous products available before they choose to jump on any bandwagon. Understanding your needs first is crucial to knowing which CRM product is best for your business structure. Take the time to assess yourself and your options before making an investment you might regret!
I completely agree with you that consumers need to do their homework before investing in a CRM solution. And one of the areas they should be researching is the strength of the developer. I believe that there is safety in numbers. ACT has been around for over 20 years and has a proven track record with millions of users. How many other CRM solutions can make that claim?
The CRM industry is hot and I’m seeing new solutions arrive on the scene all the time offering great pricing and functionality. The question becomes how many of those companies will still be around next year? I’ve seen too many users lose their data when a company went out of business, or find that the develop lacks the resources to keep up with ever changing technology such as new operating systems and hardware. One of the other things I recommend looking for is total integration with Microsoft Office products.
OK, now I am torn. I did a quick search to see if it would be worth it to switch to Salesforce from Act. After reading the article and the comments, I am a little torn. I use the short keys quiet a bit to do searches and insert notes. The article brings up some questions for me. Will I still be able to do short keys? Will look ups be as good as ACT?