ACT! has consistently earned the highest ratings of the leading sales tracking software products.

Now, with the 2.0 version, ACT! for Windows moves into the general category of Personal Information Manager, and it's now a worthy product for all computer users, not just salespeople.

I credit ACT! as one of the two computer-related reasons for our corporate success. Before we opened our doors for business, we installed a local area network and ACT!, then only available as a DOS version. We were able to document every business and social contact we had, and our salespeople were able to easily and instantly retrieve notes about each person they met or talked to on the phone.

Now, years later, our ACT! databases have details about our customers that we would have otherwise forgotten or misplaced. I'm even able to research names that I've long forgotten. Just last week, I met a gentleman at a networking event that I though I recognized. When I searched for his name in ACT!, I was able to find out how I knew him - years ago when he was employed by a different company, I met him at a business after business mixer.

We document all our conversations with vendors, teaming agencies, and customers in ACT!. One software product acts as the filter for all company transactions.

I'm constantly amazed at the lack of organization when I visit other company offices. I believe that most businesses fail for one of two reasons: either they fail to adequately capitalize their growth or they fail to organize the flood of data received each day.

I'm not an expert at financial capitalization, I'll leave that to the accountants and financial planners, but I'm experienced in managing information. It's truly difficult to properly convert data to information when the data is coming in too fast.

I think of data as the details, facts, opinions, and quantitative evaluations that we respond to throughout the day. Information on the other hand, is the result of manipulating data to make it useful.

For example, a simple query of our customer database might be “who has discussed desktop publishing with us?” ACT! allows us to search the database for the words desktop publishing no matter where we typed them: in a specific database field or in a free-form set of notes. The data are the words desktop publishing, and the information is the ability to quickly locate who has discussed this subject with us.

My pet peeve is commitments that aren't kept. I don't do business with vendors who don't keep their commitments, and I make every effort to keep my own.

ACT! has a built-in calendaring feature that allows you to enter your appointments, phone calls, and to-do items. The program reminds me a few mintues before each event. As long as I've had my computer turned on, I haven't missed an appointment in years!

ACT! for Windows 2.0 may be installed on a local area network. Each network user may keep private appointment schedules and contact records. Yet, every user has ready access to all of the company's customer information. So if a coworker is helping you on a project, you're assured that all customer data will be available.

If you keep track of the personal contacts that you have, I recommend that you give serious consideration to ACT! for Windows 2.0. Good luck, and I hope that you never miss another appointment.

David Stephen Murphy is President and CEO of Damar Group, Ltd. which presents computer training classes, publishes computer learning guides, and helps organizations do business on the Internet. The website is http://dgl.com, and Mr. Murphy may be reached at dave@dgl.com or 410.567.5366.

updated November 2, 1996
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