I don't know if you are responsible for the Turkey at your house, but ....

Several years ago we did some extensive remodeling on our house, with much of it centered on the kitchen. Since we were moving back in right before Thanksgiving, I started watching the Food Network channel to prepare myself (I was never known for my culinary skills).

The common advice from EVERY TV CHEF was that you should brine the turkey before cooking it. Never heard of brining, but I went online and found a recipe that combined the advice of the pros:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/brined-and-roasted-turkey-recipe/index.html

Brining (soaking in a salt water mixture over night) produces the juiciest turkey possible... every time... note all of the 5 star ratings. (My Hint: If you don't have a container big enough to brine the turkey, you can find special Ziplock bags for brining to handle most turkey sizes.)

I spend a lot of time testing and documenting "recipes" for how to better use ACT!. I thought you might like a totally different kind of recipe for a change.

      

Are hand-written notes becoming the buggy-whip of our generation? I confess that I love communicating via e-mail. While sending a thank you by e-mail is quick and easy... it is not nearly as appreciated by the recipient as a hand-written note. The respect and true feelings that the physical note conveys is almost geometric in proportion to the quick electronic "I don't have time to properly thank you for all the time you took, so this will have to do" version (though any personal note of thanks or kudos is always better than no acknowledgement).

I go through periods where I am very good about sending notes through the mail and then I let the busy-ness of my weeks get the better of me and I let this habit slip. Yet, when I receive a peronal note in the mail, the impact is 10 times greater than if I had received it by e-mail. I rarely save the e-mail kudos I have received... but I have a box where I have saved hand-written notes... they are kind of hard to throw out sometime. I have even walked into my customer's offices and seen my thank you note to them posted on their bulletin board (not sure an email would have made it there).

The time it takes to personally write a thank you note is directly dependent on how organized you are. Are the cards easily accessible to your work area? Do you have the addresses in your contact database (you are keeping addresses in your ACT by Sage database... right?). Do you have stamps? If you have these things close at hand, then writing a personal note takes only a minute or two longer than the quick email... and the impact is... dare I say it... priceless.

      

The mastermind group that I just spent some time with in Cape Cod is a mixture of 10 business people that I highly respect. There are men and women. They are young (early 30's) and ... a few... that are close to retirement.

When forming your own group, it's very important to plan variety. While it is common to include people with different business skills, don't dismiss the advantages of having a group with a diverse age range. Including members from different generations can be a great asset to all members of any mastermind. While some of the historical references in our discussions (Kent state, Chappaquiddick, etc...) went over our youngest member's head (though he was quietly Googling so that he could keep up with the conversation), many of his insights into current trends in technology were quite valuable (he quickly set up our new Yahoo group for communication and file sharing. Thanks Len. ).

In addition, as you start to create marketing messages for your business, a broader range of generations in your group can help you find areas where you are not clear or where your message is no longer relevant... to your youner or your older audience.

The ability to get a fresh perspective on how you are doing business... and how you should move forward... should be a continuing process in all of our businesses.

      

On a fairly regular basis I try to incorporate time into my schedule to connect with a mastermind type of group to talk about the market, about current trends, and to bounce ideas off of one another. It is always energizing, and usually tiring at the same time.

My mastermind groups are usually made up of colleagues or friends who help me to stretch my horizons move beyond my comfort zone. They encourage me to expand my thinking, work harder to achieve my goals, but still support me through the process. They can also hold me accountable (and I do the same for them).

I highly recommend that you consider doing the same for your business.

      

We had a great webinar today on upgrading to ACT 2010 (close to 100 people signed up to attend). I went over most of the new features that are being offered with some live demo of the product. If you missed it and would like to view it (it's about 45 minutes long), you can view here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/258193681

Some of the questions that were asked during the webinar were:

ACT Pricing:
Q: What is the cost for upgrading from 2009 Standard to 2010 Premium?
$188.96/named user. If you also want Platinum Care, it is $278.96 You can call us (713-661-5095) for more pricing.

Q: The $278 for platinum care is already discounted 30%?
Yes, which includes pricing for upgrading to ACT Premium If you want other variations (new, upgrade, with or with Platinum care... then call us at 713-661-5095

Q: What is ongoing cost for e-Marketing?
Click here to find out: www.cornerstonesolutions.com/swiftpage.html. While you are there, but sure to download a trial version so you can start playing with it.

Q: How soon can I buy load and use the new version?
You can buy now and download on 9/1/2009 or wait until it ships mid-September.

ACT Features:
Q: In the Products tab can you restrict who can see the cost field.
I'm glad you asked. Cost can now have Field Level Security applied, meaning that you can define who can edit, who can see, and who can't.

Q: Can you customize Opportunity views on a per-user level?
No, but you can apply Field-level security to Opportunity fields. You can also provide different layouts for different people to use, but you can't restrict which layout they must use.

Q: Is the add-on ACT for Advisors compatible with ACT! 2010?
;-(  Sadly no, We could upgrade you to Premium and then use the tables feature to add the custom tables.

Q: Can the Web Info tab links be entered globally and individually?
 
Links are workstation specific and must  be added for each PC.
Q: Converting from an old version of ACT, I think 6 or 7 (2007).  Fields automated populated with existing information.
When you upgrade, all fields, activities, notes, and histories come over. Field that were automated to populate have to have a third party add-on product.

Q: I have Act 2009, but use a layout that was legacy from prior to Act 5.0.  The layout works in 2009, and I want to know if it will work in 2010.
Absolutely

Q: How does sync work (single user) with the new version?
Perfectly

Q: What version of MS Office & Outlook will work with this new version?
Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007

Q: Do you have clients using QuickBooks who want to link with Act!!? 
Yes, but call Ginger (713-661-5095) to discuss. There are several options available.

Q: LinkedIn - does the feature that is tied into the new ACT actually pull over info from LinkedIn into the ACT contact database?
No... but there is a custom one that works with Facebook that can be added.

E-Marketing Features:
Q: Please detail results harvested into call lists integrated with ACT...In each contact's history, for each email that is sent, you can see how many times the email was viewed, how many links were clicked. These two things are used to create a "score" that is used for looking up your "Call List."  Call us for more information.

Q: Can you talk a bit more on customer survey capabilities?
You can send a survey linked to an email. You can also post a survey to your website... and use it like a form "for more information, sign up here". The results can be emailed to you or you can import them into ACT!

Some great questions... from a really nice audience... thanks for all the thumbs up.
Susan

      

Another one of my biggest distractions from getting things done is running a quick errand at lunch time. Somehow that quick errand breaks my concentration for the day. Once I am out of the office (especially if it is a beautiful day), it is easy to rationalize how quickly I need to be back or decide to add other errands into my day. Even when I get back, it seems to take a much longer time to get back in to the zone for completing projects.

Once I realized that about myself, I started grouping all of my errands and scheduling them at the end of my work day. (I hate to do them on weekends!) But I am wondering, do most people look at errands as a distraction from being productive or as a pleasant distraction from the days problems?

      

For my friends who are new to Twitter, I have created a quick-start survival guide to Twitter Syntax... or how to correctly enter a message in Twitter. (You know how I love cheat sheets... or reference guides as the corporate world likes to call them.)

A "tweet" is a message sent from a Twitter user that is less than 140 characters. You can send your message from http://twitter.com/ or by sending a text message to 40404 from your text-message enabled phone. You can also send tweets from third-party web add-ons like Tweetdeck.com, TweetFunnel.com, etc.  or from a pda add-on like TwitterBerry.

Twitter Syntax (or How Do I Send Messages?)
Once you've signed up for your Twitter account, you should send a message... even if you don't have any followers yet. I've outlined below the four types of messages you will be sending: Messages to everyone, messages to a specific user that everyone can see, a private message to one of your followers, and a message that you are forwarding on to all of your followers. So how do you type it in so that twitter knows which type you are sending?

message = From any Twitter-enabled application (including your mobile device) just type the message and press Enter or click Send. This is a public tweet to all of your followers. If you want to reference an article or post on the web, you will probably need to use an application like http://tinyurl.com/ to shorten the actual URL… in order to stay under 140 characters. Example: The message below lets your followers know about a blog post and then gives the link to the post so that they can read it as well.
            Great post about Social Networking  http://tinyurl.com/cayp4d

@username + message = (Reply or @Reply or at reply) This is a public reply to a tweet from a specific person on Twitter (the person does not have to be following you). This is how conversations occur in Twitter. It can also be just a public message sent to a specific user.  Your message must start with the @username...not be embedded in the message. Example: The message below is a response to susanbclark's question "Should I use Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter for social networking?'
            @susanbclark You should check out this post on Social Networking  http://tinyurl.com/cayp4d

D username + message = (DM or direct message) This is a private message to a specific person on Twitter who follows you. Notice the space after the d and no @ sign. If your mobile device is enabled, DMs are always sent to you... even if they are not turned on for the specific follower. Example: The message below sends a private message to Susan to meet for drinks.
            d susanbclark Meet me for drinks at 8pm  (incorrect: Meet me for drinks at 8pm d susanbclark)

RT @originalusername: +original message = (Retweet) Forwards a message to all those following you, thus passing on information to your tribe... word of mouth referral, but giving credit to the originator. This is the viral aspect of Twitter messages. Notice the space after the RT and before the @. Some add-on programs offer a retweet icon that automatically formats and copies the original message. Example: The message below is sent to your followers and gives credit to the original referral from Susan.
            RT @susanbclark: Check out the new Facebook integration with Tweetdeck at www.tweetdeck.com/beta

#tags = (Hashtags) are short words or acronyms preceded by a # thus providing a tag for the topic you are tweeting about. Allows others to search for twitter users who are chatting about the same things. Twitter hashtags are tracked at http://hashtags.org/ To have your hashtag tracked, follow @hashtags. Twemes and Summize also follow hashtags. You can search for them at http://search.twitter.com/ Find existing tags at hashtags.org or TwittGroups.com. Example: The message below is the same as the one above but it adds the hash marks to make it more searchable for others trying to find similar information.
            Check out the new #Facebook integration with #Tweetdeck at www.tweetdeck.com/beta

Sample Tweet Using Several Options:
RT @lorifeldman:For #FollowFriday I recommend @susanbclark as a great resource for getting your #ACT together

Translation: This is a retweet of an original message from @LoriFeldman who would like her followers to consider following (#followfriday) a user named @SusanBClark who is a resource for #ACT. (By using the #hashtags, it will make it easier for others to find this resources as well using searches in the hashtags registry.)

(#FollowFriday = Fun way to tweet the names of Twitter users you'd like recommend to others in your circle and tag it with #followfriday)

Now go check out Twitter and see what it is all about.

p.s. Not on Twitter yet? You can setup your own account by going to http://twitter.com/ and click Get Started. After you have set up your account, you can follow me if you like... http://twitter.com/susanbclark  Click the word "Follow" under my photo.

      

There is a lot of talk about the differing media used for Social Media and people occasionally ask me about the differences.

Facebook has far more web traffic (statistically) and has the instant gratification of focusing on updates, viewing personal photos, etc. LinkedIn has a more professional focus and has the advantage of receiving weekly updates through e-mail on all of your connections (so you don't have to go online to keep up with your connections... unless you want them to know what you are up to). I know some who refuse business associates to their Facebook account and instead directed them to their LinkedIn account as they only use Facebook for very close friends and family. I think this is an interesting take on it, but not sure I am ready to go that way.
 
A few months back, I posted the same question on both Facebook and LinkedIn which was “My son is interested in being an FBI field agent. I would love to find an agent for him to talk with to help him differentiate the TV world from the real world daily life of an agent.”  Received 4 responses on LinkedIn (from people outside my network who were offering to help…and one from a guy that said he would help and he needed ACT! help). I received no responses from Facebook.
 
I find Facebook easier to navigate and keep up to date, but from a business perspective, I think LinkedIn offers more potential… but on the other hand, seems like everyone who is active on LinkedIn is looking for work these days... but that could just be our current environment.
 
Then there is Twitter. It has some great potential for a few markets. However I think it will mostly be limited to B2C (Business to Consumer) applications. There are some business uses, but I think they are more narrow. At this point, I find it mostly to be a shiny thing. While the articles that are linked to some of the Tweets are very interesting, I find that none of them are making me any money (they will for someone… just not for me). I will still try to use it for a while to play with it and I recommend that you do the same thing, so that you can make an informed decision about how you will market your brand. 
 
Social networking is the next wave… just not sure if its tsunami force won’t wipe out any productivity we have left… but then I think I remember saying (she says with great embarrassment) that this Windows thing would never last… DOS will reign forever. Sigh.

      

I have to admit I am easily distracted by the shiny things. You know what "shiny things" are... they are the interesting or unusual ideas that would be fun to know more about or play with.

Sometimes they are amazing insights that can propel your life to the next level. However, more often, they suck up your time and keep you away from more productive or planned projects.

I try to keep a list of the top 5 (or 10) projects/ideas I am working on always at the top of my To-Do List or on a card prominently placed on my desk. So, I use my top 5 list to help me stay on track. I ask myself, "Is what I am doing right now contributing to something on my top 5 list or alternately will it make me any money?" If not, I remind myself to focus. Then I either add the "shiny thing" to my ideas list for later or brutally purge it (unless the shiny thing is jewelry...I have no self-control there.)

      

I have been on a mission to clean up my Inbox to see if I couldn't gain a better sense of being in control (if that is possible) and making sure that requests are not falling thru the cracks. I have finally reduced the number of remaining e-mails to under 20. Yes... you heard me... under 20.

It was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. AND it has been pretty easy to maintain. Generally my e-mails fall into 4 categories.

1. Requests for appointments
2. Requests for information I may need to research
3. Information from a client on how a project is to be implemented
4. E-newsletters and advertising I want to read (and afterward delete)

So how did I whittle that list down to its bare minimum? If you use ACT! and Outlook, I hope you are taking advantage of the special icons on the Outlook toolbar.

So for the first group, I either reply with a suggested time or just call them to set it up. When we've agreed on a date and time, I select their e-mail in the Inbox and click the Create ACT! Activitiy icon (2009 versions only). to schedule a meeting in my calendar. ACT! uses the e-mail address to locate the exact contact in my database and displays the Schedule dialog. A bonus is that the contents of the e-mail are copied to the Details tab of the activity. So now I can delete the e-mail.

In dealing with the second group, I just reply with the necessary information and ensure that I have selected the Record History option to keep track of the client exchange in their History tab. Then I delete the e-mail (since I handled the request).

When I receive information from a client that contains specific information about how to handle a project, I attach the email to the contact in ACT. Since I have the 2009 version, I click QuickAttach... so with a single click I have saved a copy  of the clients instructions with their contact record. If you have an older version, you can click the "Attach to Contact" icon. Once attached, I delete the e-mail from my Inbox.

The last group is the easiest. I set aside time to read and then delete.If I want to remember the info I either drag the e-mail into a special folder or attach it to a relevant contact in ACT! (as in the previous step).

Voila... a clean Inbox.