CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY

CUSTOMER TheWritersEdge.com Turns TheWritersEdge.com Opportunity into Success Using ACT!

TheWritersEdge.com was created by CORPORATE PROFILE husband and wife team Jim and Traci Jobin Headquarters in 1996, based on their obsession with Spring Hill, Florida offi ce supply stores and their love for writing instruments. The business is the distribution arm of Fisher Pen, famous maker of the Type of Business “astronaut pen” that has been featured on Seinfeld and The Tonight Show. Online supplier of offi ce products

When the Seinfeld episode fi rst aired, Number of Employees I considered encouraging people to use showing Jerry touting the benefi ts and their own systems, but then realized how About 15 coolness factor of the astronaut pen, everyone could benefi t by using one system customer demand exploded. “Consumers for all our team’s customer tracking and came clamoring for the Seinfeld pen,” says reporting.” APPLICATION Jim Jobin. Sales volume doubled and Jim Software and his wife knew they needed a powerful contact manager to track incoming sales Jim had been an avid ACT! user for ACT! by Sage leads and identify the pen models in high more than fi fteen years. Before starting demand. TheWritersEdge.com, Jim sold portable Number of ACT! Users technology scanners and used recipe cards Every employee to track his customer contact information, Enter ACT! from Sage Software relationship history and notes. He organized the cards in a manner so he could clearly identify prospects by location and specifi c Jim mandated that every sales person use stage within the sales cycle. ACT! and the business took off. “At fi rst

CHALLENGE SOLUTION RESULTS Identify, track and manage ACT! with opportunity Sales continue to increase and sales leads generated from the management, sales forecasting employees are able to track and mention of the “astronaut pen” and group scheduling features. manage all opportunities. ACT! (a product offered exclusively by is recognized as an essential tool TheWritersEdge.com). for business success. “For my business, one of the In the late 1980s, Jim attended a sales “For my business, one of the most seminar featuring a new program known as important ACT! features is the simple ability most important ACT! features “ACT!.” Later that evening, he went home to capture every detail of every customer is the simple ability to capture and watched the VHS training tape from the relationship,” Jim says. “Businesses need to seminar, and the “ACT! bug hit!” Not only differentiate their customer service. People every detail of every customer did ACT! allow him to manage his customer love to buy but hate to be sold. A customer base better and produce enhanced sales will buy from the person who takes the relationship. Businesses need reporting for management, it also helped best care of them. ACT! empowers me to to differentiate their customer him to think more clearly about his accounts manage all of the small details that let my by managing the myriad of details for each customers know I care about them.” service. People love to buy but customer relationship. hate to be sold. A customer will ACT! also provides Jim’s team with ® ® buy from the person who takes Jim’s team found that the solution was easy effi ciently designed Microsoft Outlook to use, with an intuitive interface they could e-mail integration and calendar the best care of them. ACT! tailor to fi t their specifi c business needs. The functionality. Jim has gained valuable time customizable drop-down lists made it easier by using the scheduling function in ACT! empowers me to manage all to quickly compile consistent and accurate to view each team member’s schedule of the small details that let data entries. before planning activities and meetings. Additionally, he can view specifi c customer my customers know I care meetings and get a clear picture of what Using the forecasting and sales tracking each team member is working on. about them.” capabilities in ACT!, employees can view all sales opportunities at once and then access, —Jim Jobin, update and fi lter opportunities by fi elds “ACT! has the unique ability to manage Owner such as user, estimated close date and sale all the details that make or break a TheWritersEdge.com size within the Opportunity list. business. We have used ACT! to manage relationships, close sales and track nearly every stage of opportunity development for In addition, the ACT! user interface provides ABOUT SAGE SOFTWARE over a decade. ACT! helps our people access (formerly Best Software) an integrated view of all activities, sales precise details about each customer, the opportunities and communications to instant they are needed, to close important Sage Software offers leading business contacts and customers. Jim and his staff deals. I cannot imagine our achieving this management software and services that can easily perform letter and e-mail merges level of success without it.” support the needs, challenges and dreams by selecting the group of contacts; ACT! of more than 2.4 million small and mid-sized does the personalization and updates each business customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc contact’s History so each team member These days, Jim is thrilled about his (London: SGE.L), supports 4.5 million knows what was sent and when. longstanding use of ACT! and regularly customers worldwide. For more than looks forward to new features and 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy- enhancements that Sage Software to-use, scalable and customizable software regularly adds to help businesses further for accounting, customer relationship automate mission-critical tasks. Overall, management, human resources, time tracking TheWritersEdge.com team members believe and the specialized needs of accounting that ACT! provides them with the tools they practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofi t and real estate need to continue growing a unique and industries. For more information, please visit successful business. the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/ moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.

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