By far the most satisfying part of my job is teaching someone something new about their computer that will enable them either to do more or do something more efficiently. However, when I learn something new (and I do every day), nothing exceeds that satisfaction.
Today, as I was helping a client learn to use their new computer and Palm handheld organizers, they informed me about some of the great features available in the ACT! program. ACT! is a contact manager software and has bounced around between a few different companies and is now owned by Sage Software. ACT! markets itself directly to businesses, large and small. Home users would find the program to be too large to be useful.
Over the years, I have come in contact with the ACT! program, but only to help back it up, import or extract data from it. My client today showed me some of its awesome powers for business users. In addition to storing almost any contact information you want to know about a customer and tracking meetings and appointments, ACT! Can:
- Provide a place to record all conversations with a customer
- Record product sales
- Provide a method for following a potential customer from prospect to buying customer
- Create custom mailings (both email and snail mail)
- Synchronize data from this powerful database to a Palm or Windows handheld computer
I’ve been a database nut every since I started using computers, but never fully realized the depth and robust information this program can provide.
