The Engine Behind Smart Tasks #SageACT

By now you’re already super excited about the Sage ACT! 2011 (used to be ACT! by Sage) pre-loaded Smart Tasks that let you automate your marketing and sales activities. This new functionality alone provides unmatched levels of productivity in Sage ACT!. But there’s more there: a much larger foundation is part of Sage ACT! for Smart Tasks.

Underneath the flexible user interface to manage smart tasks, and supporting the execution of Smart Task steps, lies a very powerful workflow engine. The technology supporting Smart Tasks is Microsoft® Windows® Workflow Foundation, a technology leveraged by several CRM products across the industry. For Sage ACT!, that means enjoying capabilities that have blossomed and evolved (e.g. persistence, scheduling, and support of visual design). It also means Sage ACT! can support a range of scenarios: from the automation of steps in-product to enterprise-level workflows. That’s right, custom, complex workflows can be created outside of Sage ACT! and be run in Sage ACT!, for unique customer specified business processes, or flexible system integration. That’s just a taste of what can be accomplished by partners and third-parties alike with Smart Tasks in Sage ACT! 2011.

If you’re technical savvy and want to learn more, stay tuned for Developing Custom Steps for Smart Tasks webinar next month.

Keeping Track of Lookups

One of the most common tasks in ACT! is to create a lookup of either an individual contact, or a group based on some criteria (e.g. Prospects, people in NH, contacts named Bob, etc).  Performing a lookup returns a contact list, but when you go to another contact, narrow the lookup, click on a Company name, or most other navigational options, you loose your original list.

Instead of going through the steps to re-create the contact list, ACT! keeps track of the last 9 lookups you perform, allowing you to navigate between lists and/or contacts.  To get to this option, just click Lookup>Previous on the menu, and you will see a list of your past commands:

Using ACT! by Sage to Track Events & Job Duties

Had a unique request from a client the other day - to attach existing contacts to an event, and assign them to particular tasks/jobs.  In this example, the event was a day-long fundraiser that included a cookout, info tables, and other activities.  By using a Company record and Relationships, here's what we did to configure ACT! to track the event.

Integrating E-marketing with ACT! 2011

ACT! 2011 has a cool new feature called Smart Tasks. Smart Tasks help you manage simple tasks that you do every day. Smart Tasks are intelligent, too, so you can combine multiple steps into a single task to keep you focused on the important things - much like a personal assistant! Here's the best news: you can use Smart Tasks with Sage E-marketing for ACT! (the service formerly known as ACT! E-marketing) to make your personal assistant even more powerful!

Here's an example: maybe you have a regular welcome email that you send to new contacts after you add them to the database. Without Smart Tasks, you wouild have to call up the E-marketing interface, select a template, type in the subject line, choose the contact(s), and send the e-mail. With Smart Tasks, you can store the email template and subject line and then just fire the smart task whenever you need to! You can even incorporate this type of functionality into a multi-step Smart Task, so that clearing one step (for example, making a phone call) initiates the next step (send a thank you email).

There are several Smart Task samples that come with ACT! 2011 that will help you try this out. If you send certain E-marketing templates frequently, you'll want to create Smart Tasks to help you save time and effort.

Please give it a try once you have ACT! 2011, and be sure to tell us how it works for you!

Sage ACT! 2011 - What's New

Sage ACT! 2011 helps you get more of what you value most—time
and money—by automating key activities and unlocking a rich source of new
leads.

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Sage ACT! Overview

Sage ACT! 2011 contact
management software helps you get more of what you value most—time and money—by automating key activities and unlocking a rich source of new leads. Let Smart Tasks handle the things you need to get done every day. Think of it as a personal assistant that sends emails for you and puts activities on your calendar so your customers get the service they expect.