One especially useful feature is the program's ability to capture contact information from a form on your Web site, so that contacts and leads can be created directly from what users are telling you. This feature can be automated so that no additional work from your team is required.

As leads enter the sales pipeline, the increased visibility lets the sales team "see" the top opportunities and know where to spend their time and effort. I especially liked the customizable sales methodologies that provide guidance during the sale, so that even new team members can quickly get up to speed.

ProjecTrak Sales Manager also includes a marketing campaign management tool, allowing your marketing team to work in tandem with the sales force. You enter Information about each campaign into the system and then track its effectiveness. You can also check opportunities against campaigns for a deeper understanding of the overall success rate of your endeavors.

The Activity screen, shown in Figure C, keeps track of all sales related activities.

FIGURE C


The Activity screen keeps track of all sales related activities. Roll over picture for a larger image.

On this screen you can schedule follow-ups and to-do list items, map activity plans, manage complex tasks, and delegate actions to others. The software will also synchronize the information here with your Lotus Notes calendar.

Unlike simple contact managers, ProjecTrak Sales Manager provides an integrated view of the contact, so that a sales representative can understand the contact's role in the formal and informal customer organization and focus on the contact's agendas and decision issues. Sales team members can also access a complete history of the interactions with the customer, including inbound and outbound calls, email exchanges, correspondence, visits, meetings, and demonstrations. Depending on security controls, the lead information and the complete history of activities are all available to sales team members, enabling a field sales representative to pick up the conversation right where the telesales representative left off, or enabling a channel partner to assist in closing a deal that started with inside sales.

Other features of the ProjecTrak Sales Manager are one-click access to detailed product information and a complete sales reference library. The software also provides a wealth of analysis reports, letting you view summary and detail information on won, lost, abandoned, and suspended opportunities. Forecast analysis reports are also available, supplying a useful tool that assists in the prediction of future sales.

ProjecTrak Sales Manager is a mature and flexible tool whose simplicity belies its underlying strength. It's a solution ready-made for enterprises that want a scalable, easy-to-deploy CRM solution for both small and large sales teams.

Conclusion
The ProjecTrak Business Suite is an excellent choice for companies looking for advanced business applications running on the Domino platform. It can bring real value to an organization by giving your team members the tools to do a more effective job. My conclusion? Two thumbs up!