Symantec Corporation today announced ACT! 2000, bringing a complete set of customer relationship management tools to small businesses and sales professionals. ACT! 2000 provides an integrated solution for every step of the sales process with new sales productivity tools, which track all opportunities from prospecting to close using built-in Dale Carnegie Training methodology. ACT! 2000 customers can also use the power of the Internet to stay connected with their contacts and generate new leads through ACT!`s enhanced Internet integration.
"ACT! 2000`s new sales tools allow me to track exactly where all of my opportunities are and where it`s necessary to apply more time and energy to close more deals," said Jay Friedman, an ACT! 2000 beta tester and vice president, business development for New Solutions Technology, Inc. "Combined with its other new features, ACT! 2000 has raised the bar in contact management."
"The new features in ACT! 2000 will allow sales professionals to manage their opportunities and see a graphical representation of which stage the customer is in," said Jako Voges Marketing Manager for Symantec`s Middle East & Africa region. "ACT! 2000`s Internet capabilities offer users a way to seek out new customers without ever leaving the program."
Dale Carnegie Training
ACT! now helps professionals manage sales opportunities from prospect to close with features that allow them to track their progress through the stages of the sales cycle. Additionally, ACT! 2000 includes expert assistance for turning contacts into sales from Dale Carnegie Training, the world leader in professional and business skills development. The two companies developed an 11-stage Sales Development Cycle that helps sales professionals identify and manage opportunities. Those stages include information on identifying new opportunities, making initial communication, presenting the solution, negotiating the deal and closing the sale. Users can also link directly to Dale Carnegie Training`s web site to obtain additional information regarding their tried and true relationship process, including sales coaching tips.
ACT! 2000 users can now effectively manage and track all activities with both accounts and individual contacts. Users can create subgroups within accounts or groups to better organize data in a way that reflects the structure of the account or organization. ACT! makes it easy to identify all contacts in that account and view all the activities, sales opportunities, notes and histories related to an account or group in a central location.
Internet Features
The latest version improves on ACT!`s Internet integration through partnerships with HotData, Inc and MySoftware Company. HotData, a leading provider of customer intelligence into desktop software via the Internet, offers a free plug-in, HotData Area Code Updater. ACT! customers can use HotData`s Area Code Updater through a direct Internet Link within ACT! to update phone numbers that are affected by area code expansion.
MySoftware Company, the worldwide leader in productivity software and Internet solutions for the small and medium-sized business market. Through a site called MyProspects.com, users can select a profile of their desired customers based on demographic and geographic criteria and instantly download those leads into ACT! for opportunity management.
Microsoft Outlook Integration
ACT! 2000 seamlessly integrates with MicrosoftOutlook calendars for those people who use Outlook for e-mail and scheduling of some activities but choose ACT! as their contact manager. Users can view ACT! and Outlook activities from a central location.
Pricing and Availability
ACT! 2000 is available now for an estimated retail price of R1200.
System Requirements
ACT! 2000 requires Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0, a PC with 80486 or higher microprocessor, CD-ROM drive, 16 MB of RAM, VGA video and 50MB free hard disk space for installation and a mouse or other Windows compatible pointing device.
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Symantec
Symantec is a world leader in Internet security technology and technology solutions that help companies manage and support work forces that use laptop computers and other mobile devices. The company is a leading provider of software products for the consumer market and is rapidly growing its presence as a provider of solutions to enterprise organizations.