Today’s blog post is the first “official” entry for my Reese’s Southern Wisdom series.  During my conversations with Reese he kept referring to maximizing his strengths and “strategizing” his weaknesses.  This phrasing is a bit different than you will typically see when you research this concept. And that is on purpose for Reese. It's classic "Reese Speak." Reese spent many years studying sales and personal improvement techniques. He is particularly fond of Stephen Covey

  Several years ago I had the pleasure of meeting a new client who has also become a friend. His name is Reese Griffin. He is now retired, and was lastly a SVP at Boston Mutual Life. He's a born and bred southerner from Tennessee. Reese came to us looking for Act consulting. He is a devotee of the product and has been for years. It runs his world and he's almost lost without it. I was impressed with how well he used it and how he made it a vital part of his every day actions. Often,

I've been working with a client recently and we're getting ready to upgrade their Act! As part of the project, I asked my client what was their defined sales process.  And I got the answer I was actually expecting. There was none. Most of the sales reps had been selling this product line for years. They knew what to do. It just came naturally to them.  So I asked him were they planning on bringing anyone on board who was not familiar with the products or how they all sell.  He

The all-new Act! v19 is now available and shipping. Here’s what’s included: 64-bit Office compatibility Work with the Microsoft® products you rely on every day, because Act! is now compatible with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Office 2016, 2013, and 2010. Modern, new Connections (included in Act! Premium v19 subscriptions) Stay connected to key Act! Premium v19 details when on the move with Act! Companion—a native mobile app designed for your iPhone® or Android™1

Last week, during my 3rd Act! Deep Dive, I talked about finding "gems" of data in your database and then taking actions on them.  It reminded me that I had written an article years ago about this topic. When I went and found it I realized it's still relevant and I've resurrected for a blog post today. This is the article with a few modifications to bring it current. In the past I have written articles and blog posts talking about drilling down into your customer data.  No matter

Our newsletter theme this month is giving thanks (appropriate with November right around the corner). Each of us was challenged to create an article about gratitude, thankfulness, and how to say we appreciate our customers. Since I love social media, I decided to focus on that and how it can help you engage your customers and provide a way to say thanks. Companies talk all the time about maintaining loyalty from their customers but I think they tend to forget it's a two-way street.  Yes,

CRM. What is it? First off, it's an acronym - Customer Relationship Management.  But far beyond that it is a methodology and set of business tools and practices to know your customer.  It helps answer the important questions.  Do they need anything? Are they happy with  what is going on with your services or products? Have you reached out to them recently? Without a CRM process or tool, you are dependent upon people keeping track of things individually which is ok, but it

Patricia Egen Consulting Acquires CRMAddons Product Suite from Northwoods Software. Press release date: June 30, 2015 Chattanooga, TN, and Nashua, NH, June 30, 2015 – Patricia Egen Consulting (PEC) today announced the acquisition of CRMAddons from Northwoods Software Corporation.  CRMAddons is a suite of automation tools compatible with the Act! Contact Manager, owned by Swiftpage Act! LLC. The CRMaddons suite includes Sales Automation Manager, Mail Merge and Web Prospect. Every