I have not always been the most organized and productive person so I am personally fond of shortcuts and other tools to keep me on track. I love finding the shortest and easiest way to accomplish what I need to do. My list here is certainly not a comprehensive one, but I have outlined those tools I cannot do without...they are truly my top 5. Also, read to the end to learn about my newest BONUS productivity tool. I absolutely LOVE it!
5 Snagit-software by Techsmith, the makers of Camtasia video editing tool. Snagit allows me to not only clip portions of my computer screen for use in documents, but it also is a quick and easy way to record what is happening on the screen for a quick tutorial or explanation. This tool also allows me to annotate and edit the clips that i make, so it is also a multi-purpose graphic editor.
4 Duplicate Remover Expert Wizard, the award-winning product from Patricia Egen Consulting. This is the best tool on the market to remove duplicate contacts from your Act! database while maintaining links to group memberships and other vital data on the remaining contact. If you have an Act! database, purchasing Duplicate Remover Expert Wizard may be the best $149.99 you ever spent.
3 Quotewerks - This full-featured quoting and proposal tool allows you to create even the most complex quote with a few clicks and include spec sheets, product brochures and other important materials with the quote without having to go find these files. Quotewerks integrates with Act!, QuickBooks, as well as many other CRM and accounting products on the market. Patricia Egen Consulting is a reseller and consultant for Quotewerks so give us a call at 423-875-2652 for more information about this product.
2 Dropbox/Google Drive or other file synching applications. These apps are incredibly helpful both as a file sharing tool for your team but also as a backup for your important documents. They all allow easy access to your documents, pictures and music whether you are on your own computer or at someone else's location. We use dropbox to share files with our team members as well as marking specific files for download by our customers.
1 Act! This program is my bible. Not only is everything I need to know about my customers and prospects stored in my Act! database, I also keep my calendar in Act! If i lost my database it would be difficult to operate in my business. I have heard from many customers that this is the case for them as well. Because Act! is used to keep all aspects of my business and customers in one place, it is my go-to for keeping
And, last but not least, my BONUS TOOL - Livescribe 3 Smartpen. I used this pen to write this newsletter article while I was on a plane returning home from a conference. The Smartpen, a recent acquisition, allows me to write my notes onto a page and have them automatically sync to my Evernote account so that I can then edit the notes for sharing and for final consumption. It is a great tool for recording notes during a meeting (and most pens also allow you to record audio while you are writing). Several of us at Patricia Egen Consulting have Smartpens and it is not unusual to see us in meetings scribbling away. My Smartpen is an awesome tool that helps me work on projects whether or not I have my computer available.
So I challenge you to find those tools that you cannot live without and start using them to help you be more productive. If you have questions about any of these tools and how to make them work harder for you, give me a call at 850-968-3374 or call the main office at 423-875-2652.