ACT! in Outlook®

By a show of hands, how many of you constantly have Outlook® open?  Most of you?  You in the back, you don’t use Outlook®?  Just kidding, we can’t really see you.  We do know that Outlook® is an integral part of the way most of us work.  Did you know that there is a toolbar for ACT! right in your Outlook?  It’s been there for a few versions now, and we are always surprised by how many ACT! users are unaware.

One of the things we love about implementing ACT! is all the ways it can make your job easier and more efficient.  This is one of those features that I take for granted and use all the time.  Right from Outlook® I can schedule an ACT! activity, create a new contact in ACT!, or record the e-mail to history.  In order for this to work, you need to have ACT! setup to integrate with Outlook.  Here is a Knowledge Base article that will help – http://bit.ly/WSmhSm.  Once that is setup, you’ll have an Add-Ins tab in Outlook®.

Without ever leaving Outlook® you can:

• Quick Attach – If ACT! and Outlook are integrated, your outbound e-mails automatically record to history.  The Quick Attach button in Outlook® let’s you attach history worthy inbound e-mails.  Quick Attach will reconcile the sender’s e-mail address back to ACT!.  If a match is found, that e-mail is recorded in the sender’s history.  Use this option when you are certain the sender is a Contact in your ACT! database.

• Attach to ACT! Contacts – This option allows you to select the ACT! Contact or Contacts for which a History is created.  If you need to record an inbound e-mail to multiple Contacts or if you just aren’t certain the Contact exists in ACT!, use the Attach to ACT! Contacts option.

• Create ACT! Contact – When you receive an e-mail from a Contact that isn’t in ACT!, you can create the record by clicking Create ACT! Contact.

•  Create ACT! Activity – Click this button to schedule an ACT! activity without leaving Outlook.  This is extremely helpful when you receive an e-mail that requires action, but you are in the middle of other things.  Don’t reach for the post-it note or jot it down.  Schedule the activity directly from the e-mail and eliminate the risk of forgetting.

Some of these features are also available from the e-mail reading window.  Once integrated, you have an Add-ins tab within the individual e-mails also.

Stay tuned for more Tips & Tricks and ways ACT! can help you do more, more efficiently!