Lotus Notes Domino and Microsoft CRM Integration

Well, even if  the combination might look very unusual, we see the coexistence of these two systems, especially in large corporations, non-profit organizations. Technically Lotus Notes Domino has parallel structure, including Domino email server.  Lotus is extremely flexible and you can program your own CRM or purchase CRM for Lotus, however Microsoft CRM has Microsoft SQL Server database and very simple Sales automation module.  Lets look at the integration reasons and scenarios.  Be sure that each specific case requires custom programming, tuning and support.

• Why Lotus & MS CRM?  There are several reasons to combine the two.  First Lotus Domino has very long history and is present on the market over 15 years.  Corporations might have business system built upon the Lotus Notes Domino platform and it is not desirable or even feasible from the complexity standpoint to phase it out.  The second reason is possible IT strategy to balance multiple platforms to avoid over-dependence on one vendor (such as Microsoft).  There might be also licensing issue if corporation has several hundred Lotus licenses it doesnt want to lose them and pay for 200 Microsoft CRM users.  In this case MS CRM might be the solution for Sales department and all the other departments should stay on Lotus.
  
• Lotus Domino as Messaging for MS CRM.  There is no need to program this custom piece, just use MS CRM Lotus Domino connector, supported by Alba Spectrum Technologies.  It has advanced functionality, versus standard MS CRM Exchange connector.  Instead of using GUID in the email header, it scans Contacts, Accounts, Leads emails for matching.
  
• Lotus Workflow.  Workflow is possible in Lotus and MS CRM.  In Lotus, however workflow is the most advanced.  You can use Lotus Workflow and then upon the completion it can transfer control to Microsoft CRM.  This is typical Microsoft CRM SDK (to program MS CRM) and Lotus Java Agent programming from the side of Lotus.  Lotus workflow may work with integration to your ERP/Accounting application, such as Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, however this is outside of the scope of this article.
  
• Lotus/CRM Activities Synchronization.  One of the popular requirements is the synchronization of Microsoft CRM Activities: Appointment, Phone Call, Fax, etc. with Lotus TOTOs.  This should allow users work on the same project sharing Lotus and MS CRM data space.

If you need help in the integration or customization, feel free to call us: 1-630-961-5918, 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) - Microsoft Business Solutions and IBM Lotus Domino Partner, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally.

Microsoft Great Plains & CRM in Transportation & Logistics overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains and MS CRM (client relation management system) are very popular in various industries and market niches. In previous article we described Microsoft Great Plains implementation for transportation & logistics company. Having more material, we would like to share with you how you can leverage Microsoft Business Solutions products to automate your business. Well try to be both technical and business processes specific and be laconic to comply the rules of tiny article.

• Cargo/Shipment Tracking System. Transportation & Logistics industry is pretty mature and you more likely have industry standard (like Efreight) or custom system. So, if you plan to implement new ERP it should be tightly integrated with your cargo tracking system.

• Customer Base. This is the question of the core application. If you have to sell to a large number of prospects and track their relatively small shipments you should first consider Microsoft CRM, which has Sales and Service modules. In this case you should enable shipment status lookup from MS CRM screens. In the case when you ship to limited number of large customers you are focusing on the profitability of the shipments and looking at Great Plains as the core system.

• Agent Settlement. This seems to be logistics industry feature. You use agents and settle their AR/AP invoices on the monthly or weekly basis. In Great Plains you should use customer/vendor consolidation, available for Great Plains Professional version. Plus you will need Great Plains Dexterity or .Net customization to link SOP and POP invoices in the settlement process.

• eConnect. Each logistics business has unique business processes and this is why we see software developers in staff plus strong IT department. This makes eConnect (Microsoft Great Plains SDK) very popular among logistics companies. You can create Great Plains objects: Customers, Invoices, Purchase Orders, etc. Plus it allows you to eliminate GP licenses cost you can have users work with Great Plains through web forms

• Integration Technology. In the case of both Great Plains and Microsoft CRM you use MS SQL Server linked server technology. Then you deploy MS CRM SDK, Dexterity, Heterogeneous Stored Procedures.

• Programming Tools. You use Visual Studio.Net to program MS CRM lookups, in some cases you can use WebMatrix, but we do not recommend tools, which do not have rich debugging features.

• Reporting. Crystal Reports is the tool of choice. You should create heterogeneous SQL view and base you Crystal Report on this view. Microsoft CRM security suggests you to use MS CRM SDK or built-in Crystal Reports Enterprise to comply.

• MS CRM Messaging. Microsoft CRM Exchange connector has relatively straightforward mechanism GUID in the message header. If you need advanced messaging capturing emails, based on contact email or domain you main consider advanced connector, developed and supported by Alba Spectrum Technologies. In some cases you would like to use Lotus Notes Domino as email server this is also possible.

You can always have us help you, give us a call: 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is consultant and CTO in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) Microsoft Business Solutions partner, serving clients in Illinois, New York, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, Minnesota, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, Asia, Russia. He is Microsoft Great Plains certified master, Great Plains Dexterity, Microsoft CRM SDK C#.Net, Crystal Repots developer.

help@albaspectrum.com

Customer-Service Provider Relationships-Is Yours A Blessing Or A Nightmare?

We are all dependent on service providers for our businesses to succeed. The better you manage that relationship, the more successful you will be in achieving your goals in a cost-effective manner. The relationship is two-way street. Service providers also depend on customers to enable a successful deliverable. So, prepare:

Initial planning: spend a good amount of time upfront reviewing your business strategy, your marketing goals and your budget with your service provider. Confirm in writing the critical issues, e.g., the expectations, the implementation phases, required deadlines and deliverables. Indicate your preferences.

Strategic vs. tactical goals: Plan the project with a long-term strategic perspective, but implement in smaller phases. By breaking down a project into smaller deliverables, you are giving yourself a chance to review progress in a manageable approach. Once you are comfortable with the results of one phase, then you can proceed with the next step (this may help your budget process too.) A critical benefit to this approach is that things change rapidly and you may no longer want the original approach. With a phased approach, you are cutting your losses and allowing yourself and your provider to change directions in a more cost-effective manner.

Documentation is critical. The larger the project, the more critical documentation becomes. Samples include account information, login information, vendor contacts, a list of directories where everything is located, a list of all the hardware and software products that have been used in the implementation, and, where appropriate, how to use the solution. Imagine transitioning to a new service provider in the middle of a project without such documentation or getting a deliverable that you don?t know how to use!

Solution alternatives: When a service provider presents an approach or a solution, make sure the benefits, alternatives and issues are presented to you before committing to that solution. This analysis brings many benefits. Half the battle is in knowing what to ask! This analysis enables customers to realize what they really want in their project deliverables. This reduces much misinterpretation. It also shows your service provider?s abilities.

In my 20 years of experience with global, multi-million dollar initiatives, as well as with low-cost projects, I found the careful management of the services is critical to the success of the projects. Whether large or small, the same principles apply.

Dahlia Benaroya has had over 20 years of experience in business and technology fields. She is currently the founder and president of Dahlia Web Designs LLC. Her company provides innovative marketing and business solutions for the Too Busy!. She offers clients cost-effective solutions with her consultation, web design and organizational management strategies and services. Previously, Dahlia was a director at a major international company, with responsibility over multi-million dollar initiatives. Her current special project is to help motivate children to write by offering inexpensive online publishing opportunities for children through her website http://www.KidsLoveToWrite.com

How Empathic Listening Can Help Build Long Lasting Customer Relationships

I first heard the term Empathic Listening many years ago at a Stephen Covey workshop. He was talking about the principal and how it had helped several sales people make more sales. I was intrigued. Having been a sales trainer in several organizations, I knew effective listening was one of the hardest skills for many sales people. Myself included.

We all leave training armed with product knowledge? amazing features and benefits? and enough information to be dangerous. But no one teaches you how to listen. What helps you understand what?s going on in your customer?s world? Certainly not product knowledge. Listening is one of the most important, and least utilized skills, in most sales training programs.

Empathic listening takes listening to a completely different level. Most people listen to be understood by the person they?re talking to. Empathic listening is listening with the intent to understand the person you?re talking to. See the difference? If you are trying to understand what your customer is telling you, they know you?re listening. If you keep speaking trying to get them bought into your agenda, it?s because the call isn?t about them?it?s about you and your agenda. The customer certainly knows who listens to their concerns.

It?s about finding a way to get in a person?s frame of reference. There are some simple ways to use this in you everyday business. For example, if you do a lot of customer interaction on the telephone, always ask, ?Is this a good time for you to talk?? You never want to try and have a conversation with someone who is distracted. This simple question tells your prospect you respect their time and have empathy for their situation. It?s much easier to reschedule than to try and have an ?information gathering? conversation with someone who isn?t listening.

If you do a lot of face to face customer meetings, a good way to open the conversation is with the question, ?Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?? This is a non-threatening way to open a meeting. It also signals that you?re ready to listen.

The better you get at listening, the easier customer relationships will become. A recent conversation I had with a friend illustrates this point. He is a VP of Sales in a large corporation. He was on a customer visit with a member of his sales team.

The customer had a lot of complaints and wanted to voice them to someone in authority. After the meeting, the customer pulled the VP aside and thanked him for coming. He also commented, ?I really feel like you listened to me. I can?t tell you how much I appreciate that. Your sales rep, by the way, doesn?t listen. Which is why I wanted to speak with you.?

The customer just wanted someone to listen. By listening, he validated the customer?s concerns. Even if the ultimate answer was that the problems would take a while to solve, it?s the fact that he listened that was important to the customer. Unfortunately, his sales rep wasn?t up to the task.

Ask yourself, how do you ever understand the needs of your customer if you aren?t listening? Imagine the relationship you can develop with a customer who believes you have listened to his concerns and acted accordingly!

In all of the sales training I?ve taken through the years, I don?t believe listening was ever mentioned. Most sales seminars are focused on some new process, and never get around to such a basic idea. Is anyone teaching you how to put yourself in your customers? shoes? I doubt it. If you?re losing a deal, and don?t know why, how can it hurt to ask, ?I would like to understand your current concerns regarding the recommendations I?ve made. When you feel I understand your situation, then we?ll review the proposal I made. Do you have a few minutes to discuss this with me??

We have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason. Spend more time listening and less time talking and your sales calls will go a lot more smoothly. Maybe you?ll discover some hidden needs, and be able to provide solutions that involve your product or service.

It?s always important to remember that empathy is not the same as sympathy. Empathy allows you to ?walk in your customer?s shoes?. Sympathy is the expression of an emotion. Just because you empathize with someone, doesn?t mean you are agreeing with their position. Remember, your goal is to understand their position. Once you understand, you can move forward with addressing any objections. You?ve taken a customer who was ready to walk away, and have brought them back to the negotiation phase of the sale. Instead of having to discount price or give something away, you?ve created more value for yourself. All by listening.

It always sounds corny to say, ?People buy from people they like?. It?s true. I?ve always believed that if I had a good product that was competitively priced then what tips the scale in the deal would be likeability.

And listening is something that makes you likeable. Listening can create rapport with a customer in a way that nothing else can. I can?t imagine someone disliking a sales rep that took the time to really listen to his or her concerns.

If you?re looking for a way to improve your skills as a sales professional, I suggest making an effort to use empathic listening. Listen to your customers and really try to understand what they might be trying to tell you. Don?t end up being the person who has to have a VP come visit, just so your customer feels ?heard?. It?s your job to hear your customers. You just need to start listening.

Former Learjet Sales Star, Susan Adams, has sold products and services for some of the world?s most respected companies?..General Electric, Pitney Bowes and Bombardier Aerospace.

She takes a ?real world? approach to all sales topics. ?Successful sales people are experts at having conversations with customers. If you can empathize with people, create an environment of trust and really listen to their concerns, you?ll be a top sales performer.? More importantly, you?ll be able to develop long term relationships with your customers.

Susan has successfully sold to CEO?s, High Net Worth Individuals and celebrities. Twenty one years of talking to customers has give Susan a unique perspective on how to build a sales presentation that connects with your customers, and compels them to buy.

Susan has golfed with David Duval, raced cars with Bobby Rahal and dined with CEO?s from Fortune 100 companies. There is no sales situation she hasn?t seen?.

http://www.susanadamshome.com

Customer Relationships And Your Financial Health

Customer relationships are what will determine the health and prosperity of your computer consulting business. It is critical to understand the different dynamics of customer relationships. By doing this you can identify places of risk in terms of non-payment.

Customer Relationships - Two Distinctions

There are two main customer relationship types:

Long-Term, Steady Clients

Your long term clients are your bread and butter clients. These people see you as an insurance policy: they have the ability to call you, the ability to pay you, and you're going to be there; pretty much right away to take care of things. The customer relationship you enjoy with these people is one of trust. They know that if they have a problem they can call you and you will fix it.

These clients pay on time. If they didn't they would undermine the customer relationship and this is too risky. Would you feel comfortable calling your accountant if you were 5 months late in paying him or her? No. Likewise these people will pay you on time, every time.

Stepping?Stone Clients

Stepping stone clients do not enjoy such a healthy customer relationship. These clients perceive you as a commodity. If you don't show up to fix something - Oh well. They'll just call the next company in the phone book. They're not interested in building solid customer relationships with you and therefore have no qualms whatsoever about stiffing you on an invoice.

The Bottom Line on Customer Relationships

If you want to get paid you have to understand the dynamics of customer relationships and use them to your advantage. The stepping-stone or cherry-picking clients think of you as replaceable. You want to build your business by building long-term customer relationships with steady clients on maintenance agreements. These are the sort of clients that will be almost offended by a past due notice and that?s a good thing for your billing and invoicing.

Joshua Feinberg helps independent PC Support professionals get more steady, high-paying PC support clients. Learn how you can get more monthly recurring PC Support revenue with Joshua's free training recording now at http://www.PCSupportTips.com

Build Customer Experiences, Not Relationships

Firms believe that forging relationships with customers will make them more profitable. But people recognize a company's true goal: to take their money. To succeed with CRM efforts, firms must make each interaction a satisfying experience in its own right.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is all the rage, as companies increasingly use technology to craft relationships with consumers. The goal: improving customer acquisition, retention, and lifetime value. Firms believe they can achieve this by:

Increasing contact. To expand their mindshare with customers, firms craft additional ways to interact with customers. This ambition drives automakers to pack cars with telematics equipment and just about every Global 3,500 firm to launch email campaigns. Harvesting data. Companies expect that data logs will reveal customer desires. To create as rich a record as possible, companies meld third-party data, such as credit bureau reports, with their own customer information. Tailoring offerings. From wireless telephone carriers' custom calling plans to Amazon.com's book recommendations, companies attempt to pitch just the right offer to the right person at the right time. Customers Don't Want Relationships In theory, CRM tactics mimic the way that interpersonal relationships evolve -- spending more time together, learning about each other, and exchanging something of value. But the similarities are misleading. Unlike person-to-person interactions, person-to-company interactions will never grow into relationships because consumers:

Like anonymity. A person may gladly share secrets with his friends, but he doesn't like to disclose information to a vendor. In a recent survey of nearly 6,000 North American online consumers, 69% of respondents told us they are either very or extremely concerned about losing control of their personal information. Pursue their own agendas. People don't contact companies for a friendly visit or an impromptu chat. Consumers interact to accomplish specific goals. That's why only 3% of visitors to consumer packaged goods (CPG) sites look for lifestyle content -- despite CPG firms' significant investments in this content. Remain suspicious. Companies' desire to build long-term relationships with customers falls prey to other objectives, such as meeting quarterly numbers. Customers see this in firms' high-pressure sales tactics, reluctance to replace defective products, and seemingly arbitrary contract termination fees. And highprofile events like the 1980s junk bond debacle or today's Enron scandal solidify people's belief that companies simply can't be trusted. CRM Must Focus on Customer Experience Since customers will rebuff corporate relationship advances, firms need a new CRM focus. Forrester recommends that companies build and sustain their customer base by obsessing about customers' experiences at every touchpoint. To succeed, firms must:

Redesign internal processes, not customers. Changing the way a company operate may be hard work, but changing human nature is nearly impossible. A large hotelier recently realized that confused customers called the reservation line for tech support, and vice versa. Rather than bracket the numbers with instructions that no one would ever read, the company built a consolidated contact center. Fulfill current goals -- don't rely on loyalty. Firms must redouble their efforts to anticipate user behavior, expecting increasingly empowered consumers to forgive even fewer missteps. Companies should use the questions of Scenario Design -- who are your users? what are their goals? and how do they accomplish those goals? -- to guide the design of customer-facing systems. Measure outcome, not activity. Companies must evaluate interactions from thecustomer's perspective. An immediate but nonsensical answer to an email inquiry may fulfill internal metrics for responsiveness, but it ultimately dissatisfies the consumer. To avoid this, firms must measure what matters to the customer -- if and when an initial problem was resolved. http://www.illusivecreations.com Calgary Web Design

Chris is the owner and operator of  http://www.illusivecreations.com Illusive Creations Calgary Web Design, with over 10 years exp. He can put together your new site, host your new site and then submit it to the search engines and gain TOP RANKINGS!!

Improving Your Sales Force's Effectiveness Through Automation

 

Many smaller businesses have advanced beyond back office automation using PCs and client-server IS platforms. More owners are looking at advanced sales automation software as a way of improving the productivity of their sales force as well as customer satisfaction. Salespeople are often more resistant to using PCs compared with those working in finance, logistics, materials management and other functions. Thus, business owners need to sell the benefits of automation to both their sales managers and reps. Sales has long been considered more of an art than a science, which explains part of the resistance. Also, some businesses find themselves with older reps who, though they have critical industry knowledge, did not grow up with computers. You could just load up each rep with a laptop and all the accoutrements:
? sales management software, including automated fax and e-mail capabilities
? groupware for proposal and contact information sharing
? templates for contact reports and follow-up letters
? product, price and delivery information that can be called up via an intranet link.
Why not let them discover the value for themselves? There's a good reason: Throwing sales automation software at the reps is no guarantee it will be used. Sales automation software has been growing of late, with close to $300 million a year in revenues. There's a reason: improved functionality and user-friendly features geared to what the reps consider their priority needs are the reasons behind the recent spurt in sales. Before pushing sales automation on your reps and territory managers, conduct an audit within the company. Here are some key steps to take:
? Ask your reps what they consider to be their three priority tasks in the field. Ask for their recommendations on how to improve their productivity. For example, which tasks are taking longer than they would like, or what are the bottlenecks they face in getting prompt and accurate information to prospective as well as current customers.
? Involve all of your key functional managers in a discussion of the order management and order fulfillment processes. Although sales force automation can begin with discrete tools such as contact management software, your business may really need a more integrated and more robust information systems architecture that will improve the entire order-to-delivery process chain in the company.
? Decide whether you should try to improve sales productivity as a single function or carry out a more extensive overhaul of your business' IS platform.
? When you survey vendor offerings, involve end-users in the discussion and trial testing of the software. Many off-the-shelf products allow sufficient customization for your needs. Some of the tools have more open-ended integration capabilities with other IS tools, and it is important to know how much integration is possible. You want to avoid investing in another legacy system that could end up walling sales off from other business functions. Finally, even when software tools and other IS enhancements are the right solution for boosting sales productivity and customer satisfaction, that is no guarantee you will get buy-in from the sales force. You need to motivate use and experimentation. Besides involving end-users in the discussion and evaluation of software choices before you commit to a vendor, there are three other steps you can take to assure that your reps accept the new system: 1. Assure the sales force that the time required for getting up to speed on the software will not reduce their income if they fail to make their sales numbers at the customary level. However, set a fixed period of time for the conversion to the new system. 2. Monitor the productivity payoff among the committed users, with before and after comparisons of their sales productivity. Productivity measures should not just focus on goods or services sold but include discrete task productivity, at least initially. For example, the time it takes to get letters written, or get correct pricing information out to customers. Then, communicate the benefits throughout the sales organization. 3. Go with a software vendor or systems integrator that will stay on board well beyond the installation to provide additional customization of the tool and training if needed.

Ph.D. and MA, Kent State University Kent ,Ohio BA, Eureka College, with honors Eureka, IL. Training Programs Quality Analysis and Quality Training, 2000-2004.

Dr. James A. McCain is a Management Consultant in Rexford, New York and may be reached at Business Works, 518-383-3337, or through his web site at http://www.bizdrsolution.com