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Three ACT! Database Lessons from Monopoly

  

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One of my favorite board games is Monopoly.  I started playing it with my parents on Sunday afternoons when I was seven years old.  I liked it so much that I got a second set for my birthday because my younger brother and sister were too young to be allowed to play with the family set.  There are even claims that I'd play against my stuffed animals when no one else cared to play, but I'll deny it if you ask me about it.

As I was playing Monopoly last night I thought about how some of the strategy used in the game applies to business and even specifically to using your CRM software and decided to use it as a topic of today's blog post.

Here are three lessons about CRM that can be taken from Monopoly:

1. Plan Strategically

At the start of the game, most people buy as much property as possible while they have the opportunity.  Then, once you have a few cards you start looking at who you can trade with, what's left for sale, how much money you've got, and what the possibilities are.  This helps you to make good decisions.  If you simply buy everything you land on and cross your fingers, hoping for a full street, you might be in trouble.

ACT! is a lot like this - it's pretty easy to get started by amassing your contact information, using the calendar, and never getting much beyond having a glorified rolodex.

Here are some things to think about to get beyond the rolodex stage:

• What information do I need to track beyond customer information that would help me work smarter, provide better service, or find additional opportunities?
• Which processes in my business are repetitive and could be be either automated or made more efficient by using software?
• How could I segment my prospect and customer information in a way that allows me to effectively follow up with offers that allow me to sell more?
• What sorts of reports and information would help me make better business decisions?

2. Don't Do Everything at Once

In a game of Monopoly sometimes you find yourself in a spot where you have a lot of opportunities but limited resources.  You've got a street - now do you put hotels on it right away if you have the cash or gradually build and keep some money in reserve just in case?  Do you go for it all or make smart moves?

If you are new starting out with ACT! and are tackling the customization on your own (vs. hiring an ACT! Certified Consultant) there are a lot of areas to cover as you build the ultimate customer relationship management solution for your business.  There are fields to customize, groups to set up, templates to create, report templates to develop, third-party software to explore and install, e-mail marketing campaigns, backup schedules, Outlook integration to configure.

Decide what is a priority and what is not - and while this varies from business to business, here are the three things I recommend you take care of right away:

• Make sure your backup is configured (see the help within the software or the ACT! knowledgebase)
• Decide on what fields should be filled out when entering new contacts and what fields don't exist that you need to create
• Set up the Outlook integration so you can record e-mail sent and received into the History in your ACT! database

3. Build As You Need It or When You Can

A lot of strategy in Monopoly has to do with timing - you often need to balance how much cash you have on hand vs. your opportunities to build.  Most players will build when an opponent comes close to their properties, focusing their attention on the particular set that holds a good chance of winning them a high rent.

While you certainly should plan what you want to do with your ACT! database, a very practical way to get things done is to focus on the parts that you have an immediate need for.  Then round out the rest as needed or as time permits.  You'll get the best return on your time invested by building out the parts that you'll use right away.

This might include:

• Getting your letterhead set up as an ACT! template
• Deciding how to do quotes (in either ACT! or a third-party software like QuoteWerks)
• Customizing the database to hold information that you and your staff need frequently in order to have one centralized location for important info

Can you think of any parallels between Monopoly and contact management / CRM systems?  What about other board games?

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Get a head start on taking full advantage of your ACT! software by registering for our free ACT! webinar "Maximum Impact: Actionable Steps to Get More From ACT!" on September 30th.

photo credit Mike_fleming