Technology Advisors rose to the top of SugarCRM's Channel Partners shortlist and was named 2012 Most Valued Global Partner and 2012 Most Valued Partner in North America at SugarCon 2013 in New York City. Technology Advisors was selected based on our commitment to the Sugar suite of products as evidenced by major joint customer wins, as well as overall new business revenue. Each year the awards are given to one SugarCRM partner.

Sugar’s EVP of WW Field Operations, Glenn Cross said, “This year’s SugarCRM Channel Partner Award winners have raised the bar for creating great customer experiences and long-lasting relationships.”

“We have a deep relationship with SugarCRM and are honored to be recognized as the Most Valued Global Partner and Most Valued Partner in North America,” said Sam Biardo, CEO of Technology Advisors, Inc. “Enabling our customers to achieve efficiencies and improved profitability with Sugar has been our number one goal. We look forward to being a part of Sugar’s future success and growth.”

With a focus on consulting, customizing and integrating SugarCRM for customers, Technology Advisors also showcased and demoed CRM solutions for the enterprise at SugarCon 2013, including Map to Lead, an app that provides visual lead mining in SugarCRM, Exchange Email Monitoring, Quickbooks integration, and the first in its SugarCRM Foundation Book Series – Getting Started with SugarCRM version 6.x ebook.

A Training Book for SugarCRM End Users

Today, we are excited to announce the availability of Getting Started with SugarCRM Version 6.x for the Kindle. Published by Technology Advisors, Inc. and endorsed by SugarCRM, it’s the first in the SugarCRM Foundation Series, available on Amazon. The electronic book provides end users with comprehensive and in-depth instruction for SugarCRM – the leading, open source Customer Relationship Management application. Through step-by-step instructions, it guides sales, marketing, and support users on how to use all of the tools and features of SugarCRM.

The 419-page book shares Best Practices and timesaving tips. From navigating the SugarCRM workspace and configuring dashlets to creating custom reports and sending email campaigns, Getting Started with SugarCRM Version 6.x will get users on the path to maximizing SugarCRM’s capabilities to meet the unique needs of their organization. The Kindle Edition of the book can be read on any Kindle device and any device with the Kindle app. It can also be read from a computer using free Kindle software available from Amazon. Visit Amazon and download your copy of Getting Started with SugarCRM Version 6.x today!

Today we are excited to announce the release of Getting Started with SugarCRM Version 6.x: Interactive Edition on the iBookstore℠. Published by Technology Advisors, Inc. and endorsed by SugarCRM, it’s the first in the SugarCRM Foundation Series. The book provides end users with comprehensive and in-depth instruction for SugarCRM – the leading, open source Customer Relationship Management application. With interactive quizzes, how-to galleries, and videos, it guides sales, marketing, and support users on how to use all of the tools and features of SugarCRM.

The 247-page book shares Best Practices and timesaving tips. From navigating the SugarCRM workspace and configuring dashlets to creating custom reports and sending email campaigns, Getting Started with SugarCRM Version 6.x:  Interactive Edition will get users on the path to maximizing SugarCRM’s capabilities to meet the unique needs of their organization. This version of the book, compatible with iPads® only. Visit the iBookstore and download your copy of Getting Started with SugarCRM Version 6.x: Interactive Edition today!

Technology Advisors, Inc. has partnered with LoyaltyProfessional, a business unit of the The Chapman Group, to increase their service offerings to clients. LoyaltyProfessional provides loyalty consulting and software, helping companies develop more valuable relationships with their customers. “Being a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) company, providing clients with services and solutions to give them the most complete view of their customers, it only made sense to partner with LoyaltyProfessional,” Sam Biardo, CEO and Founder of Technology Advisors, Inc. stated, “LoyaltyProfessional prides themselves on increasing customer loyalty and retention, which is exactly what we aim to do.”

After this Wednesday, March 31, 2010, SugarCRM will no longer provide customer support, maintenance patches or bug fixes for Sugar 5.1.0.

Check the End of Version plan to learn about the upcoming End of Version dates.

This update contains a few bug fixes and a slew of improvements to the email functionality.  "The Emails module has been redesigned to improve usability and performance. New features have been added and existing features have been enhanced or removed."

The following features have been added or enhanced:

•  A new Quick Compose form provides the ability to quickly compose emails from other records, such as accounts, without leaving a List View or a Detail View. You can access this form outside of the email client by clicking on any email address or by clicking the "Compose Email" button in the Activities sub-panel of a record's detail view.
• The Address Book has been redesigned to make selecting recipients for emails easier. You can easily identify and select email recipients from related records.
• The Search form for finding imported emails has been expanded, and now includes the following fields: Subject, From, To, Date From, Date Until, Relate To, Assigned To, Attachment.
• The Settings window in the email client has been redesigned for ease of use.
• The Mail Account tab in the Settings window has been redesigned and simplified for ease of use.
• The Folders tab has been removed and a Folder management section has been added to the General tab.
• Inbound Email setup has been redesigned to make it easier for administrators to create group mail accounts.
• Administrators can configure outgoing mail accounts for users.
• A "Send Test Email" button has been added to test outgoing email settings.
• Error messaging has been improved for invalid and incomplete mail account settings.
• The user interface has been enhanced so that viewing, importing and sending emails can be done within the email client, without accessing additional views in the Emails module shortcuts menu.
• Users can assign the email record to another user during and after import.

Entrepreneur.com has an article up on 5 Simple Ways to Show Customers You Care:

1. Share Your Knowledge
2. Ask, Listen, Respond, Adapt
3. Reward Customers
4. Hold a Customer Appreciation Event
5. Do Good

It's a great article and I recommend you check out. Here is my take on how you can apply these points to your own business.

1. Sharing Your Knowledge.  Social CRM is here.  As has always been the case, with it you can manage your e-mail newsletters.  You can now also manage your incoming and outgoing Social CRM communications with applications such as Twitter or Facebook.

2. Ask, Listen, Respond, Adapt.  Without a CRM application, how will you be able to keep track of all of your correspondence with your customers.  Newer CRM packages have the ability to integrate with all forms of communications.  Fax, Email, Snail Mail, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, etc.

3. Reward Customers.  With the proper CRM application you can track Campaigns where you use Coupons, Gifts, Events, Targeted Mailers, Phone Calls, Social Media, etc.

4. Hold a Customer Appreciation Event.  Customer Appreciate Events or User Groups are a great way to keep your name in a customers mind.  With CRM you are able to invite your customers or potential customers to the events, track registrations and report on attendance and survey results.

5. Do Good.  Doing good is a great thing, but how will your customers know about it if you aren't able to track and effectively communicate your "good."

Using newer CRM products goes far beyond just a giant electronic Rolodex of names and phone numbers.  With a properly setup CRM application and trained user base, you should be able to manage your complete customer experience from prospect to repeat business.  And then some.

The Illinois Technology Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit organization dedicated to fueling the technology talent and human capital pipeline through facilitated collaboration between academia and industry, has begun accepting nominations for 50 for the Future, an event honoring Illinois’ most promising technology students. 

The event, now in its fourth year, is designed to provide students using technology in innovative ways a means to excel by connecting them with business leaders early in their academic careers.  The program is open to candidates enrolled in institutions of higher learning throughout Illinois. 

Over 30 of the region’s top technology companies, supporting organizations, and institutions of higher learning have become involved in the competition, offering their C-level executives as judges. 

Students who win the award will receive recognition at an April event attended by the competition’s judges and nominators, have access to prospective employers via round tables, web seminars and mentoring programs through the Illinois Technology Foundation, and will have preferred status for limited-capacity activities. 

To find out more information or to nominate an outstanding technology student, visit www.50forthefuture.org.

Crmbuyer.com has a story up on CRM for the small business, specifically on when to invest.  There is some good information in there.

When to Buy

When small businesses start out, they are usually focused on building a list of prospects and customers, noted Garns. The value of a business is usually in the size and quality of that list.

Read the full story here.