Are you trying to manage your sales leads more effectively?  Today’s lead management software offers advanced features and functionality to help your company organize and nurture leads throughout their lifecycle.

Lead management software packages are powerful solutions that automate and enhance the many manual processes involved in the handling of leads.  Sales and marketing teams at businesses large and small can benefit from lead management software solutions.  Read more »

Automating Leads to Sales 
Whitepaper provided by: Entellium 

Marketing departments are constantly squeezed to drive a higher quantity and quality of leads with finite resources. Aberdeen research identified that over two-thirds of companies currently using an automated lead management solution have seen a 10%+ improvement in lead to sales conversion rates. 53% of companies are currently using marketing automation solutions for lead management and this number is expected to jump to 83% in the next 24 months. 36% of organizations surveyed are currently evaluating solutions to aid them in turning leads to sales.

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Outpacing the Economy for Manufacturers: Dynamics GP versus AX

This “software shootout” style webcast showcases the manufacturing functionality of the two most popular Dynamics applications for the industry. Gain insight into which manufacturing modes are the best fit for each product, learn about costs, and more.

To register, click on the event link. Login information will be sent by email following registration: September 25, 2008, Thursday– 2:00pm Central

Outpacing the Economy for Project-Oriented Companies

Take the right steps and your project-oriented business can outpace the economy. The 2008 Aberdeen Report revealed that the top two pressures companies face are organic revenue growth, and profitability / margin growth.

Key to outpacing the economy is innovation and tight control over projects and processes. Attend this webcast and we’ll show you how Microsoft Dynamics SL can help you

• Gain tight control over project accounting
• Provide real-time visibility into projects and profitability
• Track, gain and retain customers

To register, click on the event link. Login information will be sent by email following registration: September 24, 2008, Wednesday – 2:00-3:00pm CST

Has enterprise resource planning (ERP) software become too rigid?  Many experts believe it has, with its lack of innovation and limited ability to truly conform to the unique operations and processes of its users. And so, open source ERP was born. 

The flood of recent industry consolidation has taken a tremendous amount of competitive “heat” off of the top tier ERP providers.  As a result, they haven’t been feeling much pressure to significantly enhance their offerings.  But open source ERP software is changing all that, providing customers with a new option that delivers increased flexibility. Read more »

The Business Software Advisor
You ask the questions, and our resident software guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question: I’ve been hearing a lot about “ERP II”.  What makes it any different from traditional ERP systems?

A: ERP II is regarded as the next generation of ERP (enterprise resource planning) and offers several advantages over traditional ERP systems.  ERP systems have historically been mostly limited to the manufacturing sector, primarily serving logistics, supply chain, and warehousing functions.  ERP II expands the scope of ERP to offer solutions for a broader range of industries and sectors.  Read more »

Maximizer Executive Explains Why “Laptops are Old School”

Earlier this month, Maximizer CRM submitted a video on YouTube, called “Laptops are Old School”, to promote their mobile CRM product.  I found this video to be clever, hilarious, and a “must-see” – and apparently, thousands of other viewers had the same response.  I interviewed Angie Hirata, Worldwide Director of Marketing and Business Development for Maximizer, about the popular video and Maximizer’s mobile CRM product.  Read more »

The Business Software Advisor
You ask the questions, and our resident software guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question: I’m considering purchasing a mobile CRM solution, but I’m not sure whether my company could really benefit from using it. What can a mobile CRM application do for my company?

A: There are numerous benefits that can be achieved through the implementation and use of a mobile CRM solution. For today’s field-based employees, the simple calendaring and contact management capabilities that come standard with many mobile devices are not enough to keep them fully informed and produ

ctive. In order to maximize the effectiveness of each customer interaction, your employees need continuous access to pertinent client data that exists in enterprise systems, even when they’re on the road. Read more »

Roundtable Topic: CRM and Web 2.0: Leveraging New Technologies to Engage Customers

We asked the top CRM vendors to offer tips to our readers on how they might best leverage new “Web 2.0” CRM technologies to Engage Customers.  Responding to this topic, Hoyt Mann, President of PhaseWare, Inc., emphasizes the use of social media to build customer interaction. 

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Roundtable Topic: CRM and Web 2.0: Leveraging New Technologies to Engage Customers

We asked the top CRM vendors to offer tips to our readers on how they might best leverage new “Web 2.0” CRM technologies to engage customers.  Nitin Badjatia, an Enterprise Solutions Architect at Consona CRM, advises readers on the importance of transparency in the construction of a collaborative CRM environment. 

Customer Participation and CRM 2.0
Contributed by: Nitin Badjatia, Enterprise Solutions Architect, Consona CRM
Forward thinking companies realize that engaging in this new ‘web 2.0′ world requires more than just enabling the new channels of communication, it requires a set of powerful tools to coordinate and manage these interactions, and provide intelligent feedback to all participants.  Architected to enable this new paradigm, the best knowledge management suites can serve as core technologies that drive better interactions with your customer ecosystem by building a collaborative environment that leads to greater satisfaction and loyalty. Read more »

The Business Software Advisor

You ask the questions, and our resident software guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question: My company’s business travel expenses are out of control. What can I do to reduce costs?

A: These days, travel isn’t cheap. Facing the climbing costs of sending employees out into the field, companies are tightening the reigns, placing restrictions on all business activities that impact travel budgets. Yet, travel is a necessity in today’s dynamic marketplace, and severe restrictions can hinder critical business operations.

What’s the solution? Many companies are finding that Web conferencing is the answer. According to a market study done in April by Scottsdale-based In-Stat, about 20 percent of U.S. businesses use Web conferencing to some extent, and 13 percent plan to add it in 2008. Small and medium-sized businesses are especially gravitating towards the new technology: Frost & Sullivan, a leading research firm, reports that 64% of SMB’s use Web conferencing regularly in their business. Read more »