It’s been some time now since Sage was prepared to ship a user manual with the ACT! CRM software DVD (benefit of doubt given: nothing to do with economics – merely doing their bit to save a rainforest!).
Long-time ACT! users all over the planet will be delighted therefore, to learn that “ACT! for Dummies” author Karen Fredricks has co-written two brilliant new ACT! books (hurrah!):
Sage ACT! 2012 Cookbook” and “Sage ACT! Dashboard and Report Cookbook” are now on sale.
The “Sage ACT! 2012 Cook Book” serves up 90 ACT! tips as ‘recipes’ to guide the user through the process of setting up and using the system to maximum advantage.
All CRM practitioners know that the greatest challenge to successful implementation is user adoption. As a leading ACT! Certified Consultant in the UK, we carried out some research during 2011 into the way users work with ACT! We discovered that most people typically use only 28% of its features!
For this reason, the availability of an easy-to-get-on-with manual that is user oriented, devoid of techno-babble and written in simple, refreshing and coherent text has huge potential to aid small and medium enterprises in getting a real return on their investment in ACT!
These books are just that; well organised, authoritative but personable and friendly. It isn’t necessary to read through the Cook Books from cover to cover; the recipe style invites you to reference the index and then flick open the guide at the appropriate recipe.
The simple wording and clear illustrative graphics leave no doubt about the operation of the functions of the software, but also reveal the logic that sits behind them. This enables the reader to develop an appreciation of the structure of the system, empowering them as users almost by stealth!
The “Sage ACT! Dashboard and Report Cookbook” is the first release of a detailed ACT! reporting guide that we have seen in print. This is one area of the software that has been shrouded in mystery for some time. There is a distinct lack of online support for the ACT! report editor and it is usually excluded from Sage ACT! training courses (or glossed over briefly).
Reporting outputs remain of significant interest to most organisations but the ACT! report editor can be frustrating and illogical, often delivering unexpected results. The “Dashboard and Report Cookbook” therefore stands alone in leading users towards the creation of reporting views that they desire.
Reporting can be deep and complex, but the book is organised in ‘levels’, making it accessible to all calibre of users; from those who seek to create a basic report but with an understanding of filtering, to those who are ready to begin to work with Visual Basic scripting. Brilliant!
An important caveat here however: The Cookbooks are not a substitute for ACT! training. This software is hugely flexible and powerful, but a manual of any kind can only be ‘reactive’ to the enquiring mind of the reader. ACT! Certified Consultants (ACCs), on the other hand, take the lead by using their experience and knowledge to articulate the business processes within the user organisation and work with the client to configure the system to support those process to maximum effect. Further to this, ACCs are usually able to spot opportunities to improve process, performance, productivity and profit through the adoption and adaptation of ACT! software in an organisation.
If an ACC assisted implementation is the most effective way to begin with ACT! then, Karen’s and Roy’s Cookbooks might be the key tools that help to maintain its relevance and usefulness over the longer term.
Read more and buy:
Sage ACT! 2012 Cookbook: http://www.packtpub.com/sage-act-2012-cookbook/book
Sage ACT! 2011 Dashboard and Report Cookbook: http://www.packtpub.com/sage-act-2011-dashboard-and-report-cookbook/book
