Issue 9 • ACT! 2005/2006 Edition

Dear FIRSTNAME,

The Opportunities feature (called Sales/Opportunities in previous versions of ACT!) has been completely overhauled in ACT! 2005 and ACT! 2006.

A new Opportunity view, the ability to maintain a centralized product list, the ability to add multiple products per sale, and the ability to customize user fields for new opportunities are just a few of the great new features built into this new version of ACT!.

Click these links to learn more detailed information about the the tips outlined in this issue:

As always, if you have any questions about ACT!, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at 800-322-1049.

Best regards,

The staff at

Innovative Solutions
 

  

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ACT! Certified Consultants
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College Park, MD 20740
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L A T E S T   N E W S

This section removed for the newsletter archive.
 

We recommend that you purchase:

Managing Contacts
with ACT! 2006
$24.99   $22.49

Click here to order.
 
 
Filtering the Opportunity List
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

The Opportunity List is one of the best new features in ACT! 2006. The new view allows you to manage all of the opportunities in the database. The opportunities that appear in the Opportunity List are dependent on the filter you've selected.

Once you've filtered the Opportunity List to show just a certain set of opportunities, you can export the list to Excel by clicking the Export to Excel button on the toolbar in the Opportunity List view.

To filter the Opportunity List view:

  1. Click the Opportunity List button on the View bar.
  2. A list of all opportunities will appear in a spreadsheet-like format.
  3. If you don't see the filter options at the top of the Opportunity List, then click the Show Filters button in the upper-right corner of the ACT! interface.
  4. In the filter area, you can select to show opportunities set to close in a certain date range, with a certain status, in a certain stage of a sales process, with a specific probability or amount, or managed by a particular set of users.
  5. Click the Reset button to reset the filter to show all opportunities.
 
Entering a New Opportunity
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

Adding a new opportunity to the ACT! database is the first step in managing your prospective sales with ACT!. The Opportunity dialog box has been completely redesigned in ACT! 2006, and the new layout lets you track a lot more information for each sale.

To enter a new opportunity:

  1. Click Contacts | Opportunities | New Opportunity. The Opportunity dialog box will appear.
  2. Name your opportunity in the Opportunity Name field.
  3. In the Contact drop-down, select the contact associated with this opportunity. By default, the current contact will appear selected.
  4. Choose a sales process, sales stage, probability, and estimated close date for the opportunity.
  5. In the Products/Services tab, add as many products or services as you require.
  6. In the User Fields tab, enter additional information about the sale. (Manager and Administrator level users can edit these tabs in Tools | Define Fields.)
  7. In the Details tab, enter a note of unlimited length.
  8. In the Opportunity Info tab, enter additional information about the sale, such as the record manager, competitor, and referral source.
 
Closing an Opportunity
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

Once an opportunity has been either won or lost, you can close the opportunity in ACT!. It's a good idea to close your opportunities when they're no longer active because you can then easily filter out all of the won, lost, or inactive opportunities in the Opportunity List.

Whenever you close an opportunity, ACT! will automatically create a history of the opportunity's status change in the contact's History tab. In ACT! 2006, a history is also created when you change the estimated close date.

To close an opportunity:

  1. In the Opportunity List view, locate the opportunity you'd like to close.
  2. Right-click the opportunity.
  3. Select Close Opportunity. ACT! will bring up the Opportunity dialog box for your opportunity.
  4. In the Status area, select whether you won or lost the sale. New to ACT! 2006 is a third option that lets you put the opportunity into an inactive status.
  5. Enter the actual close date for the opportunity.
  6. Update any other fields in the Opportunity dialog box, as needed.
  7. Click OK.

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© 2006 Thomson Course Technology.  Text adapted from Managing Contacts with ACT! 2006. Reprinted with permission.