|
|
Software SnapShot SalesLogix
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Best Software 8800 North Gainey Center Drive, Suite 200 Scottsdale, AZ 85258
In 1975, two neighbors—Pat Sullivan and Mike Muhney—got together and did what successful salespeople do: compared notes. As “power” Day-Timer users, they were successfully tracking their commitments to clients. They were building high-level corporate relationships and managing them effectively. They were doing everything right. But, as the years passed, they wanted to do more. After all, doing more meant selling more. But with little or no administrative assistance—one of the “occupational hazards” of salespeople—their hands were tied. They didn’t stop there, however. Sullivan and Muhney firmly believed that with the right tools, they could sell more. And, with desktop PCs coming into fashion, they believed there was a “computerized” way to be more productive. But none of the “productivity” packages they tried measured up to their paper-based systems. Eventually, they formed a company called Conductor Software and adapted Lotus Symphony into their own quote and proposal manager. The predecessor to the present-day configurator, Quote Pro was only mildly successful. So with little of their initial investment remaining, Sullivan and Muhney quickly introduced Sales Conductor—and bombed. With no money and two failed products, Sullivan and Muhney were at a crossroads. Then, a long, arduous meeting on July 4, 1986 sealed their fates. Contact Software International was born and just nine months later, ACT! 1.0 stormed the marketplace. As Muhney later said, “it took six years to become an overnight success.” Contact Software International was a genuine pioneer in the contact management software industry. But in 1993, after successfully building ACT! into one the most popular business software, Contact Software was acquired by Symantec Corporation. Sullivan went on to found SalesLogix Corporation—a company devoted to performance-boosting sales automation solutions for sales managers and salespeople—in January 1996. In just three years, the product not only dominated the mid-market, but it evolved from a high-end contact manager into a fully-integrated customer relationship management suite offering sales, marketing, support, and e-business solutions. Then, on December 6, 1999, SalesLogix Corporation announced a new venture: it re-acquired ACT! and launched Interact.com—the only online service that integrates sales-related Internet services right into the applications that salespeople use most. To reflect the new, multi-brand offering, the company changed its name to Interact Commerce Corporation on April 26, 2000. “Our new name reflects this expansion in our vision to reach a broader marketplace with relationship management and selling solutions, helping us communicate that we are providing companies with exactly the products that help them meet their individual business needs,” Sullivan said. Today, Interact Commerce Corporation continues a tradition begun with Sullivan and Muhney—that of truly understanding salespeople. It’s what made ACT! successful. It’s what made SalesLogix successful. Designed with salespeople in mind, Interact Commerce solutions pave the way for interactive selling. Interact Commerce Corporation is the leading provider of relationship management software for mid-market companies and small-office/home-office businesses. We’re known for building products that are easy to use, quick to deploy, and provide anytime, anywhere access to critical information. Our products include SalesLogix®, the mid-market CRM leader (customer relationship management) used by over 3,500 companies; and ACT!™, the best-selling contact manager used by more than 3.2 million professionals and 11,000 corporations. In a world where customers can switch brands at the click of a mouse, cultivating and caring for customers is more critical — and more difficult — than ever before. Traditional CRM-only solutions focus squarely on the front office. We believe the key to attracting and retaining customers is through an open architecture that interconnects the front office, the back office, and the Internet (or web office). Our open architecture enables companies to build cohesive, complete customer histories that can be shared across departments and geographies. Regardless of whether you choose SalesLogix or ACT!, you can expect from Interact Commerce: Solutions designed to maximize your selling time. Easy-to-use features “think” just like a salesperson so you don’t have to re-learn something to use it. Simple navigational commands present key selling and customer information in a single view. Solutions that get you up and running fast. No matter what, your business has to keep running. Bringing it down for even a day or two to install software costs you money. With significant out-of-the-box functionality and industry standard technologies, you’ll get a faster return on investment than other solutions provide. Solutions that you can access anytime, anywhere. Whether you access customer information through a standalone computer, a network, the Internet, handheld PCs, or wireless technology, we provide you with 24x7 real-time capabilities so you can do business when — and how — it suits you. Solutions that are flexible enough to work the way you do. Flexible architectures and tools give you the option to customize exactly to your selling process and your business. On March 27, 2001 Interact Commerce Corporation (Nasdaq: IACT), announced a definitive merger agreement with The Sage Group plc, a leading worldwide supplier of business management solutions and services for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). The all-cash offer, structured at $12 per share of Interact Commerce, is valued at approximately $263 million. Interact Commerce will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Sage Group plc. “The combination of Interact and Sage will create a global force in the software industry,” said Pat Sullivan, chairman and CEO of Interact Commerce Corporation. “Sage is the world’s leading supplier of back-office business management solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises. Combined, we have the resources and technology to impact this market from a position of tremendous strength by offering a truly integrated suite of applications for the front office, back office, and web office.” “Both our organizations understand the unique needs of small and mid-sized customers and believe the best way to reach and support these customers is through a reseller channel. This was very important in our decision to merge with Sage. I believe this is an exciting development for our business partners, customers, and employees,” added Sullivan. Paul Walker, Sage’s Chief Executive commented, “This acquisition gives us a strong position in the CRM market and represents a significant opportunity to sell additional products and services to Sage’s 2.5 million customers worldwide. It also opens up additional markets for Interact’s products in new and existing geographies. While penetration of CRM software amongst Sage customers is currently estimated at less than 10%, our research suggests that demand is already high and is likely to grow significantly over the next few years.” Walker continued, “Interact’s CEO and founder, Pat Sullivan, has a wealth of CRM experience and is a highly respected figure within the industry. Over the past few years, Pat Sullivan has built up a professional management team at Interact and this team will remain in place post-acquisition to effect Sage’s strategic plans for the future development of Interact’s business.”
About The Sage Group plc Further details on the financial condition of the company and total installed base are included in our complete In-Depth Review. Product: SalesLogix
Best Software Delivers Expanded SalesLogix® 6.2 CRM Suite User-centric enhancements fulfill demand for tools
that tailor to individual and team workflows with new SpeedSearch features,
flexible sales processes, snapshot opportunity reporting and easy
implementation The new customer service features represent a major
functionality expansion by providing all SalesLogix 6.2 users with easy
access to a holistic view of their customers, supporting the practice among
many small and medium-size businesses where employees share customer service
roles. With SalesLogix 6.2, Best Software further improves
intuitive sales processes by focusing on how sales representatives and
managers work individually and with each other. Workflow customizations can
adapt on a user-by-user basis to however each user wants to work, whether it
be redefining steps in a sales process, getting a snapshot of the
opportunity pipeline, or reporting key account status to management with one
click. SalesLogix 6.2 is available through the Best Software Mid-Market CRM channel of over 450 business partners, and lists at $1795 per server and $795 per user for the standard version. Complete details on pricing are included in our complete In-Depth Review.
Order In-Depth Review: V537 Price: $67.00 Note: This review should be available real soon now!
If you are considering this program, you should also look at these other CRM Solutions.
Copyright © 2004 by The Denali Group, Inc. (www.sellmorenow.com) |
