Technology Advisors, Inc.

Different Approaches to Training an Enterprise on a new CRM system

At Technology Advisors, we have a lot of experience with all aspects of implementing CRM systems.  We’ve been around and doing this for over 10 years now.  Time and time again, we find one aspect of an implementation that is often overlooked: training.  So much focus is often placed on the requirements, design, and development (and rightfully so), that training can often be an afterthought for an organization.  This is very dangerous.  I mean, think about it, you are making a huge investment in your CRM system; however, if your users can’t use it, how will it ever be successful?

There are several different options to consider when developing a training plan for a large organization. These options can also work for a small organization. The training plan needs to be more structured and organized as the number of users increases:

·   

        Administrative Training:

All of the CRM packages we offer have complex features that, while not everyone in the organization needs to understand, at least a few definitely should.  We offer administrative training on every system.  It’s good to have someone from your organization take this early on in the implementation planning to ensure they understand these more complex features.

·    

         Train the Trainer vs. Use TAI Personnel:

While we would love to train all of your organization’s users, and know that we would do an excellent job at it, we realize that sometimes it makes more sense to have your own staff train the rest of your staff.  In this scenario, we recommend that we train your trainers on the ins and outs of a day in the life of your end users, while also teaching how they might best communicate CRM concepts.  This is best to do after much of the system development has been completed, so the trainers can really focus on any custom or unique functions of your CRM system to see how it works.

·     

        Via the Web vs. In Person:

We strongly believe that training users in person makes a much bigger impact on the way they learn because you can actually see if people are underderstanding. Of course, it’s much more difficult to do this via the web, and, as a user, it’s very easy to zone out and not pay attention when you are on a GoToMeeting session.  With that said, web training sessions make a lot of sense for mobile salesforces, and can make a great impact on anyone getting familiar with CRM.  In reality, both methods should be incorporated in any successful learning plan.

·    

        Staged Learning Plan vs. A Few Large Classes

A common misconception with regards to training is that you will be able to throw all of your users with varying degrees of computer/CRM/technical knowledge into a room for one full day and that they will walk out understanding CRM completely – that they’ll be 100% productive with their new found skills on day 2.  This cannot be further from the truth.  A good learning plan, whether fully executed by you, us, or you and us will be staged out with the various components/options listed above.  This may be through a series of web training sessions focused on basic skills, followed up by onsite classes for specific groups of users a week or two later.  There should always be resources for continual learning in the future, as well. 

Feel free to contact us at TAI, and we’ll be more than happy to discuss a training approach that makes sense to you and your organization.

 

Why On-premise CRM Deployments Need Cloud Computing

Many on-premise CRM vendors like Sage Saleslogix are now offering a cloud option.   Companies who want an in-house solution usually ignore these options. Here are a couple of reasons why you should consider a cloud offering.

Testing -- to effectively manage your CRM system you need a test system, if not a test and development system.  These systems require software licenses for operating systems, data bases, and system utilities.  They require back, management time and IT support time.  Cloud computing provides a lower cost alternative to managing your CRM test / development system because you rent the cloud environment only when you need it.    Places like Amazon charge a few dollars per hour for these systems.  Companies can have a managed test environment which they only need to turn on when they are testing and have accessibility from anywhere.  The cloud can do all this while keeping costs down. 

Disaster Recovery --  Cloud computing provides an option for company who are looking for a disaster planning.  A company can set up and maintain a complete environment for about $250 and maintain it for a monthly fee of about $50.  Back up services can push a copy of your CRM data to Amazon for a few dollars a month or when disaster strikes you can migrate up a back-up copy of you data base.  Assuming you make back-ups.  Cloud-computing is a virtual environment,  so you can ramp you the processor, memory and disk space on the fly to meet the needs of your production environment.

So on-premise user before dismissing cloud computing you might want to reconsider how you are doing Disaster Recovery and development / testing and see if these provide money saving alternatives.

Is there a way to set the Opportunity defaults for all users in SalesLogix?  A client recently wanted to change the default estimated close date for new opportunities in SalesLogix to 1 month from 2 months.  The Tools -> Manage -> Opportunity Defaults menu item was disabled for all users, so they needed a way to update everyone at the same time.

The options in the image above are stored in the UserOptions table.  Unfortunately, if a user has never opened this window, they will not have any entries in the UserOptions table for these options.  As such, we need to update the default option that is used when the user does not have the option defined in the UserOptions table.

To update, run the following two SQL statements through the Administrator.
In the Administrator open then Tools Menu -> Execute SQL…
Run these two SQL statements one at a time making sure to check “Execute statements on the Host Database”
update useroptions set OPTIONVALUE = '1' where name = 'txtEstimatedClose'
update USEROPTIONDEF set DEFVALUE = '1' where name = 'txtEstimatedClose'


The first statement will update the option for users that have the option defined in the useroptions table.  Most users probably do not have the option defined because they do not have access to the menu item.  The second statement will update the default option that is used when the user does not have the option defined.

As always, you should have some understanding of what the SQL is doing before running it and always test the statements to make sure they are updating the correct number of rows.

Today I was asked about creating an opportunity group in SalesLogix that contained opportunities estimated to close this month.  This is a similar request to the previously posted creating a SalesLogix Group of Contacts with Activities Completed Today.

This query once again requires the use of an IN statement.  We know we are looking for Opportunities, so we will look for a specific list of OpportunityIDs in a list created/provided by us in a SQL statement.

So we will have SELECT * FROM OPPORTUNITY WHERE OPPORTUNITYID IN (**SQL statement that returns the list of opportunities we want.**).

Our SQL statement needs to return the OpportunityIDs of Opportunities estimated to close this month, so we need to find the first and last days of the month.  These two SQL statements provide these dates:
----First Day of Current Month
SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(25),DATEADD(dd,-(DAY(GETDATE())-1),GETDATE()),101)
----Last Day of Current Month
SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(25),DATEADD(dd,-(DAY(DATEADD(mm,1,GETDATE()))),DATEADD(mm,1,GETDATE())),101)

In both of the above SQL statements we are taking todays date and adding or subtracting from it to get the desired day of the month.  That date is then converted into US standard date format, mm/dd/yyyy.

We then insert these into a SQL statement that compares these dates to each Opportunities Estimated Close Date and returns a list of OpportunityIDs:
SELECT OPPORTUNITYID FROM OPPORTUNITY WHERE ESTIMATEDCLOSE <= CONVERT(VARCHAR(25),DATEADD(dd,-(DAY(DATEADD(mm,1,GETDATE()))),DATEADD(mm,1,GETDATE())),101)
AND ESTIMATEDCLSE >= CONVERT(VARCHAR(25),DATEADD(dd,-(DAY(GETDATE())-1),GETDATE()),101)

We end up with this group:

Video games have it right. They start you out learning some basic skills and expand on those slowly based upon your accomplishments. In other words you can't kill the monster until you can hop from rock to rock. You don't learn how to hop from rock to rock until you can use a sword. 

I watch kids learn how to master the game by a series of small steps in days and weeks until they are experts.  This should be our model for CRM adoption.

Consider some facts:

•            Adults retain two hours of an eight hour training class

•           Most companies try to roll out all features in their initial rollout to save money

•           Forty percent of CRM projects fail because of lack of user adoption

Maybe the answer is that we should slow down our rollout plans and follow the video game model.

The implication of this approach might not be transparent for existing implementations, it means that a new CRM implementation has no additional features than before. New users to CRM should expect a "less is more" approach to deployment with multiple phases being deployed only after the predecessor phase was successfully completed. In video game terms, you have completed the level. 

Because CRM is not an individual sport we need to evaluate the entire team to determine success before we move to the next phase.  This requires us to develop a testing / adoption process that evaluates a crm team before rollout of the next set of features, or in video game terms, proceed to the next level.

Taming, or killing the crm monster is about achieving enough skill slowly to get to the next level.  If you do that enough times you can win the game. < >< ><-->

Sam Biardo was interviewed at SugarCON in San Francisco, California about CRM, Open Source and helping users build better customer relationships.

Des Plaines, IL - May 17, 2010 - Technology Advisors, a leading Midwest Business and Technology Solutions Consulting Company, announced today a partnership with Vineyardsoft Corporation for the rollout of Blackbird, a centralized alert command center for users of the Sage KnowledgeSync Alerts and Workflow solution.

Extending Sage KnowledgeSync's inherent alert delivery capabilities, Blackbird provides each user with a dynamic, interactive list of their alerts and activities. From this list, a user may both view the details behind a "triggered event," and also mark the event as "complete," thus removing it from their list of to-do items.
Complementing Sage KnowledgeSync's workflow capabilities, Blackbird provides direct links from a user's list of tasks to the appropriate option within the corresponding business application. For example, when Sage KnowledgeSync alerts an account manager that a sales opportunity has not be followed-up on, Blackbird's dynamic to'do list not only displays that alert, but allows a user to double-click on that message and go right to the sales record of that opportunity within their CRM solution.

Similarly, when Sage KnowledgeSync detects that a stock item is running low (and sends an alert including a purchase order), an employee working in finance will see the PO request listed in their Blackbird window and can simply click on that item to automatically approve or deny the PO for processing.

Like Sage KnowledgeSync, Blackbird can be tied to any number of 3rd party applications so that individual users, regardless of department, have a single interactive window from which they can manage and act on alerts and assigned tasks across their organization. The combination of Blackbird and Sage KnowledgeSync effectively bridges the gap between delivered alerts and the need for users to manage and respond to their action items.

The initial release of Blackbird will include pre-configured connectivity to Sage Software's SalesLogix CRM product line and to the Sage MAS500 ERP solution.

"The addition of Blackbird to Sage KnowledgeSync brings true closed-loop Workflow Management to the Sage Software community," says James Murphy, CEO of Vineyardsoft. "An alert is only as useful as a recipient's ability to see it, act on it, and complete related activities. Blackbird is an interactive management console that gives each user a quick, easy, and friendly way to manage and respond to their alerts."

"Sage KnowledgeSync has always been the best solution for providing the right information to the right people at the right time," said Sam Biardo, CEO of Technology Advisors, "but getting users to take the appropriate action in response to an alert was not always easy for users. The Blackbird add-on to Sage SageKnowledgeSync gives users the ability to track and complete tasks instantly - and does so in a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution."

Pricing for Blackbird is set at $36 per year for each user. For more information, and to download a Free Blackbird demo, visit http://www.techadv.com/blackbird.

View Official Press Release

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 example shows how to create a dll file that will augment security in SalesLogix by wrapping around the existing security of Saleslogix.  This modifies sql statements as they come through the SalesLogix Provider.  So you have: If this table is in the join, add to the where clause.  In the example below, a user is only allowed to see contacts where they are set as the Contact’s Account Manager (Contact.AccountManagerID Field).

 

1. Open up visual studio and create a new project.
   1. File -> New Project - Visual Basic -> Class library.
2. Add a project reference to "SLXDBEngine 1.0 type library."
   1. Right Click the Project in the Solution Explorer -> Add Reference -> COM Tab -> "SLXDBEngine 1.0 type library."
3. Add new item to project -> class named VBSecurityBroker.vb  (Case sensitive)
   1. Right Click the Project in the Solution Explorer -> Add -> New Item -> Class
   2. In Class, select all and paste code snippet over current text.  See below for Code Snippet.
4. Add new Class called VBQuerySecurity.vb
   1. Right Click the Project in the Solution Explorer -> Add -> New Item -> Class
   2. In Class, select all and paste code snippet over current text.  See below for Code Snippet.
   3. Insert your custom code into the VBQuerySecurity.vb code where it says "'''YOUR SECURITY CODE GOES HERE"
5. Delete class1
6. Save all and build.
   1. Look for build succeeded in the lower left corner.
7. View files in My DocumentsVS2005Projects...Debug.  We are worried about  ProjectName.dll and ProjectName.pdb.
   1. Copy both files into C:Program FilesSaleslogix
8. Create a new .udl file to connect to your target SalesLogix database.
   1. Right click on the desktop and create a new text file.
   2. Rename the text file Saleslogix.udl.  (Or any name you would like to use.)
   3. Double click the file and fill in the information, making sure to use the SalesLogix OLE DB Provider.
   4. Copy udl file to C:Program FilesSaleslogix.
9. Create or edit an existing .xml file.
   1. The class file .xml file code is below.
   2. Update the xml code to match your Project Name and a new SalesLogix ID.
   3. Copy xml file to C:Program FilesSaleslogix.
10. Copy Interop.SLXDBEngineLib.dll, PluginWrapper.dll, and SLXPluginBuilder.exe to C:Program FilesSaleslogix.
    1. I found these files in the Sage SalesLogix class files.  They can also be found our built with the files in the SalesLogix DVD's SDK Examples folder.
11. Open cmd prompt.
    1. cd C:Program FilesSaleslogix
    2. Run: "slxPluginBuilder.exe -n SLXDemo.dll"
       1. Creates wrapper for the dll, "DLLName.tlb"
    1. Run: "slxproviderplugin.exe -m SLXDemo.xml --udl new.udl"
       1. Inserts the value into db and sets it up to run when security is needed.
       2. Case sensitive
       3. This information is stored in the SLXOLEDBPLUGIN table.
          1. Can set SLXOLEDBPLUGIN.ENABLED to false if we want to turn off security plugin.
       1. The plugin(dll) security information is stored in the SLXOLEDBPLUGINDATA table.
12. Log in and see if changes took effect.

 

vbSecurityBroker Code Snippet:
Imports System

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Imports SLXDBEngineLib

Imports System.Diagnostics

 

_

Public Class VbSecurityBroker : Implements ISLXSecurityBroker

    Dim m_securityInit As SLXSECURITYINIT

 

    Public Function GetSecurityObject(ByVal pSQLQuery As SLXDBEngineLib.SLXSQLQuery) _

            As ISLXQuerySecurity Implements ISLXSecurityBroker.GetSecurityObject

        If pSQLQuery.SQLType = SLXDBEngineLib.SLXSQLTYPE.SQLTYPE_SELECT Then

            Dim result As ISLXQuerySecurity = New VbQuerySecurity(m_securityInit, pSQLQuery)

            Return result

        Else

            Return Nothing

        End If

    End Function

 

    Public Sub Initialize(ByRef pSecurityInit As SLXDBEngineLib.SLXSECURITYINIT) _

        Implements SLXDBEngineLib.ISLXSecurityBroker.Initialize

        m_securityInit = pSecurityInit

    End Sub

 

    Public Sub Uninitialize() Implements SLXDBEngineLib.ISLXSecurityBroker.Uninitialize

 

    End Sub

End Class

 

vbQuerySecurity.vb Code Snippet:

Imports System

Imports System.Collections.Generic

Imports System.Text

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Imports SLXDBEngineLib

Imports System.Diagnostics

 

Public Class VbQuerySecurity : Implements ISLXQuerySecurity

    Dim m_sqlQuery As SLXSQLQuery

    Dim m_securityInit As SLXSECURITYINIT

 

    Public Sub New(ByVal securityInit As SLXSECURITYINIT, ByVal sqlQuery As SLXSQLQuery)

        m_securityInit = securityInit

        m_sqlQuery = sqlQuery

    End Sub

 

    Public Function Secure() As QRYSECRESULT Implements ISLXQuerySecurity.Secure

        Dim res As QRYSECRESULT = QRYSECRESULT.QRYSEC_OK

        Dim cond As String

        Dim qSelect As SLXSelect = CType(m_sqlQuery, SLXSelect)

        If qSelect Is Nothing Then Return res

 

        For Each stmt As SelectStmt In qSelect.SelectStmts

            For Each join As SQLJoin In stmt.SQLFrom.SQLJoins

     '''YOUR SECURITY CODE GOES HERE

     '''EXAMPLE:

     '''If join.Name = "CONTACT" Then

          '''cond = String.Format("{0}.ACCOUNTMANAGERID = '{1}'", join.Alias, '''m_securityInit.SLXUserID)

          '''stmt.SQLWhere.AddConditionFromString(cond, '''SLXSQL_CONDITIONAL.SQLCONDITION_AND)

     End If

            Next

        Next

        Return res

    End Function

End Class

 

VBSLXSecurity.xml: (Put <> tags around the first line)

?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?

 

 

 

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.

You can read the full release notes on the SugarCRM website here.