Time Management: An ounce of prevention

By Dave Kahle

The essential challenge of effective time management is to spend more of our time doing those things which bring us the best results, and less of those things that don’t bring us results.

So we struggle, every day, with surmounting this challenge. We try to spend more time with customers, and less with paperwork. We try to delegate portions of our “to do” list that can better be done by someone else. We arrange our days to spend our time doing the most effective things.

And we understand that on occasion a relatively large one-time, up-front investment of time will save us a disproportionately greater amount of time down the road. So, we invest in a new computer system and all the time that it takes to massage it into operation because we expect it to save us time in the future. We spend some serious time creating annual goals and strategic plans because we expect those exercises to help us be more effective in the coming year.

It’s with that perspective in mind that I suggest an initiative that could potentially provide you a huge return on your time invested: Prepare a Disaster Plan.

“What’s that?” you are wondering. It’s your plan for continuing your business with minimal downtime in the event of a disruption due to forces completely out of your control. When we think of disasters, it’s easy to focus on the large events that consume the media. For example, we all know people who are hurting because of damage to their businesses by the series of hurricanes. And it is just as true for those suffering from the flooding in the North East, the tsunami in the South Pacific and the earthquakes in Pakistan.

But the disaster doesn’t need to be nearly so involved to threaten your business. It can be much more personal and intimate. My business, for example, has experienced two such events in the last two months. For the last 49 months, I have presented a monthly one-hour telephone seminar for sales people. Last month, the local phone lines went down right in the middle of my presentation. Several hundred sales people around the country were cut off in the middle of the presentation.

Not a major disaster, but certainly a bump in the road. My staff had to spend a lot of time adjusting registration fees, rescheduling attendees, etc. It fits the criterion: If we could have somehow prevented this, or reacted quickly, we would have saved dozens of man-hours devoted to unproductive tasks.

Here’s another “personal disaster.” During lunch at a seminar I was teaching at the Renaissance Hotel in Orlando, someone stole my laptop, projector and briefcase, which contained my cell phone, PDA, and other important information. I had to disband the seminar, and spend the afternoon making calls to protect the information on the computers. Not only that, but my staff had to spend days working with the participants to adjust their fees. The repercussions will take months to finally sort out. All of this is time spent in unproductive ways.

Neither of these events reaches the magnitude of a major environmental disaster. Yet each of them robbed me and my staff of valuable time as we attended to the after-effects of a personal setback.

What personal disasters can attack you? What would you do if the phone lines went down for an extended period of time? How about the electrical power? What if a virus took down your computer system? What if you had your laptop stolen? Or your wallet or purse? Or your entire workforce called in sick with the flu? Or the price of gas tripled?

Take some time to develop a contingency plan right now, while you have a clear head and the time to think it through. The time you spend doing that may very well become one of your best time management investments.

Originally published on DaveKahle.com

About the Author:

Dave Kahle is one of the world’s leading sales authorities. He’s written twelve books, presented in 47 states and eleven countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine. His book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime, has been recognized by three international entities as “one of the five best English language business books.” Check out his latest book, The Good Book on Business.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/09/27/time-management-an-ounce-of-prevention/

Ticket Automation Key to Quality Customer Service

Let’s face it in today’s competitive environment the difference between someone buying from you or your competition will often be their buying experience.  CRM systems with ticket integration enable sales, administrative and service personnel to view the entire buying and service history of the customer.  This is great because it enables your staff to react quickly and efficiently to customer inquiries. But interacting with customers during normal working hours is simply not good enough anymore. Customers have an expectation that they can get their questions resolved 24/7 and if you want to get a leg up on your competition you need to provide this level of support.

Commence Corporation, makers of Commence CRM, has introduced some advanced functionality that incorporates automated workflow processes into their customer support software.  Commence CRM offers a customer service portal that enables your customers to submit service tickets or inquiries during or after your normal business hours. An automated response system automatically acknowledges receipt of the ticket. Additionally, it can offer some suggestions on where the customer may find the information they need.  It may direct them to an FAQ section or a knowledge base that are both built into the Customer Support system, or simply inform them that a staff member will be in touch shortly.  The objective here is to enable you to provide a world class level of service to customers or potential customers before, during and after the sale.  This automation also can schedule follow-up communication to ensure that the customer has gotten their questions addressed and that they are completely satisfied. For additional information or for a product demonstration contact Commence Sales at 1-877-Commence.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/09/19/ticket-automation-key-to-quality-customer-service/

Commence Corporation: Delivering Top-Notch Solutions to Businesses Around The Globe

The CRM software sector has become a mature market, and the presence of hundreds of the CRM solutions providers has made the market a commodity today.  The majority of companies offer products that are specifically targeted at improving internal productivity, such as the ability to capture, manage and share account and contact information, keep track of sales opportunities and deliver outstanding customer services through the automated ticket management.

Incepted in 1990, Commence Corporation has coupled a robust set of business applications with a set of best practices that ensure the proper implementation, training and utilization of the company’s products. An experienced team of sales, marketing and customer service professionals help customers define and implement a structured sales methodology, build brand recognition via social and drip marketing programs and implement a customer portal that enables the customers to offer web based self service programs to their customers. Very few companies that service the SMB sector can offer the scope of functionality and the value added services that Commence provides.

Based in New Jersey, USA, Commence has been in the CRM sector for more than two decades and targets the mid-sized businesses.

Calling the Shots at Commence

Larry Caretsky, CEO of Commence Corporation has more than 30 years of experience in the computer software industry and is responsible for the company’s global business operations. Larry began his professional journey with Shared Medical System, a division of Seimens Healthcare and has also held executive level positions in several enterprise software companies including McKesson HBOC, Cognos and Synon Corporation.

His sincere efforts and dedication to work has fruitfully resulted in Commence Corporation becoming one of the top rated software companies in the CRM sector. He is also considered an expert in the CRM industry and has written numerous articles about the proper use of CRM software to improve sales execution and customer service and authored an e-book. Larry is currently creating a series of CRM industry podcasts designed to help SMRs use CRM software to help automate and streamline their internal business processes.

CEO’s Expert Views on the Future of CRM Sector

Sharing his views on the future developments in the CRM sector, Larry asserts, “Over the coming years, I think we will see a significant shift towards solutions which are targeted at enabling customers to grow their business by being more proactive with prospects and customers. This will require a different type and level of automation such as artificial intelligence (AI) programs that analyze customer buying habits and trends, create automatic responses to customer inquiries and optimize the power of social networks via tighter integration. Future CRM solutions will enable companies to immediately engage with customers so that they can improve their buying or service experience.”

Source of Inspiration behind Commence

The company was established on the founders belief that small to mid-size businesses (SMB’s) wanted to take advantage of the same technology that big enterprises were utilizing to grow their business. However, the products available at the time were very expensive and difficult to operate. The management of Commence Corporation saw a wonderful opportunity to exploit the SMB space by creating an easy to use, affordable solution for capturing, tracking, managing and sharing customer information within an organization.

Challenges & Pitfalls During the Initial Days

The biggest challenge faced by the team was how to cost effectively introduce the products to the targeted market. The low cost of the product did not support a professional sales team. Furthermore, there was no internet at that time or social sites to build brand recognition. Traditional marketing channels such as public relations firms, trade shows and print ads were expensive too. Therefore, the decision makers of Commence decided to recruit consultants and third party resellers, and started exploiting their business experience and customer relationships as a distribution channel. The program was very successful and enabled Commence to attain a large customer base serving  30 industries in more than a dozen countries around the world.

Maintaining Client Relationships

Commence boasts one of the highest levels of customer retention in the CRM sector with numerous customers using the product for over a decade. The reason behind this customer loyalty is the level of engagement the company delivers with every installation, which ensures that the customers receive maximum value from the Commence’s solutions. This interaction also provides the product management with additional requirements for their future product releases based on the customer demands. Larry and his team share that their customers play a vital role in the success and growth of the company.

Innovative & Experienced Team Behind Commence

Commence has an experienced staff of  sales, marketing and customer service personnel, who have been working with the company for an average 16 years. They possess two qualities, a high degree of expertise in these disciplines as well as a high level of commitment to ensure that the customers will be successful with their softwares. Larry and his team employ only the experienced professionals with prior sales, marketing and customer service experience. Excellent testimonials from Commence’s customers support this position.

Staying Ahead of the Competition

Commence targets the companies that need more than just a basic one size CRM solution. The CRM solutions provider offers a comprehensive range of solutions with functionality that is only found in high end, expensive solutions. Moreover, Commence delivers feature rich solutions, supported by professional sales executives, marketing and service personnel, thereby rendering value added services to its customers. While the robust functionality often differentiates Commence, the professional services the team provides is the real differentiator.

Future Strategies & Mileposts for Commence

The SMB sector continues to be the fastest growing market for CRM software and Commence is very well positioned to enjoy the continued success for more than two decades. Larry asserts, “With regard to technological adoptions, it is critical that the team continues to launch new features and capabilities to its customers in order to maintain their competitive advantage.”  Since, the introduction of new technology often requires the need for additional services, the leading CRM solutions provider expects continued revenue growth, as numerous companies are likely to seek assistance with the implementation and utilization of new technology in the future.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/09/14/commence-corporation-delivering-top-notch-solutions-to-businesses-around-the-globe/

Commence CRM Filling the Gap for Middle Market Companies

The CRM sector is one of the most competitive environments in the software industry.  At last count there were several hundred software programs to choose from ranging from very basic free offerings to those costing more than $300 per user per month.   Despite this, middle market companies often have difficulty finding the right solution for their business.

Here’s why.  Midsize firms often require a broader array of functionality and system administration than is provided by the basic low-cost solutions.

Broader functional requirements often include an integrated marketing system; a help desk or ticketing system; managing documents and attachments; group calendaring capability; seamless e-mail integration; advanced analytical reporting; and project management. They may also need administrative tools that enable them to quickly and efficiently manage user permissions and security. Also needed is the flexibility to tailor the product to address changing business requirements.

The problem is that even a subset of this broader functionality rules out roughly 90% of the CRM systems on the market.  Of course, there are always the enterprise level companies that can address the above and much more, but these systems while rich in functionality are often too expensive and are known to be difficult to use.

Commence Corporation, manufacturers of Commence CRM, has specifically targeted the middle market with a robust product offering that rivals enterprise level products costing much more.  The company offer a comprehensive suite of functionality coupled with a user interface that is clean, simple and easy to use.  Commence CRM’s price points are a fraction of the cost of enterprise product offerings.

One of the compelling reasons why customers select Commence CRM is the modular design of the product.  It allows you to select only those applications that you need today and the flexibility to add additional modules later.  In addition, the robust application suite ensures that you will not outgrow Commence and be forced to migrate to another CRM solution in the future.

The administrative functions for managing and customizing Commence CRM is another strong point and there are no limitations to the number of accounts, contacts, e-mails or reports you can run as there traditionally are with competitive products at Commence CRM’s price point. Customer support is another strength of Commence. The company has an experienced team of sales, marketing and customer service professionals that have been engaged with several hundred implementations of the product and customer references are outstanding.  If you are a mid-size company of 10 to 200 users, take a look at Commence CRM before making your decision.  I think you will be quite happy that you did.  Visit www.commence.com  for more information or call 1-877-COMMENCE.

source http://www.commence.com/blog/2018/09/06/commence-crm-filling-the-gap-for-middle-market-companies/