Business Solutions Blog

Southwest Fox 2008

dave — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:01:15 +0000

I am here in Beautiful Mesa Arizona at my First Southwest Fox. Southwest Fox is a Visual Fox Pro Users convention that attracts people from all over the world to learn the latest and greatest techniques and concepts in Visual Fox Pro.

I spent the first two days of this conference in training with Rich Strahl from West Wind Web Connection. This tool is a great framework to allow foxpro users to develop great tools for the web. I am concentrating on the web development side of this conference this year to provide a more solid base of knowledge for many of the current and upcoming solutions that we will be providing for our clients.

Technologies including Jquery, Json, and JavaScript are going to allow us to provide a more robust and interactive web experience. In the coming months i hope to deliver a Computer Connections Customer Interface that will allow for clients to check the status of their Computer Repairs as well as Business Clients to Check the status of Open cases and projects.

More updates to come on the great learning experiences provided here at Southwest Fox!

Making the Client Number One!

admin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:57:07 +0000

Everyday as a business professional you try to take care of the clients who make or break you first, then the people, who someday, you want as a permanent client second. Being in a technological field, that is not always well understood by the average client - can be challenging on a daily basis. The fact that they do not always understand, makes it all that more difficult to explain why they are having problems, and what you are doing to remedy them. Technology has grown so tremendously that people depend on it to function on a daily basis - so when there is a problem - each client feels they are just as important as the next one.

As Solution Providers you become somewhat of a clown juggling all your clients in one day, in hopes that you make each one happy by catching their problems and not allowing one fall to the ground. Time management and problem solving become very important parts of your daily routine. So the balancing act begins. How do you make sure that you are making each client feel like they are number 1?

1. Make sure when a problem is reported that you listen intently, record properly and make sure the customer is aware that you want to take care of their problem in a timely manner.

2. Have a software program such as Sugar CRM - to manage case history for clients so you are aware of recurring issues and to make other employees aware what has been preformed at client sites before.

3. Make a daily list of issues and prioritize them by importance ie. server issues, email issues etc.

4. Communicate with your client every step of the way so they are aware of your progress on their issue.

5. Solve client problems and suggest solutions to prevent same issue from happening in the future.

6. Follow up with customer to make sure issue was resolved completely.

For more information on client management and software programs such as Sugar CRM, please contact us at info@ccwis.com. Business Solutions and Computer Connections of Wisconsin is a licensed reseller of Sugar CRM and is willing to help you organize you client base today.

Timeslips by Sage Software

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:58:27 +0000

I recently hosted a training seminar for Timeslips by Sage Software, so blogging about the training and experience seems almost necessary. Business Solutions is a Sage Software partner and employs a Certified Technician for Sage as well. Timeslips is a program that is used by professionals that tracks time for billing, ie. Attorney’s and Clinic’s. My most recent training class was offered for a local Law office, the paralegals and other administration employed there attended a 2 day course to show them the ropes of operating Timeslips by Sage; this is the first step in the system upgrades they are implementing this year.

Timeslips offers many features that are quickly uncovered once a few simple steps are learned. One of the best features is the TSTimer. This feature allows you to start a timer, for example if a phone call should come in, and it automatically creates a Timeslip (invoice) for it - all you have to do when you are done, is fill in the information needed, approve and print. The TSTimer takes the manual entry out of creating a Timeslip for a customer. If you want more information on Timeslips features and benefits, email Emily@ccwis.com.

Business Solutions has a full training facility able to hold up to 12 students. We host several training and motivational seminars on a weekly basis. The size of the lab allows for students to have great interaction with the instructor and other students, but also allows them to have their own space for learning. Classes are able to be scheduled for public or private courses. Please contact us for more information.

Are your customers getting the “Ultimate Experience”?

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:23:56 +0000

Ever wonder if your customers are getting the experience you want them to have when they are working with your company? Have you done survey’s or had word of mouth get back to you – that your staff is not performing the way you expect them to? It may be time to think about some more extensive training or discussions regarding customer service and what your views are as a business manager or owner. A company meeting is a great place to start; collect views from all your employees on what they think creates the ultimate customer experience. This would also be a great time to brainstorm with your staff to see what else you can come up with that will make customer interactions more pleasurable. Have a round table discussion and see where this leads you, have someone take notes to type and hand out after the meeting as a reminder of all that you accomplished.

Business Solutions of Wisconsin also offers a training class on “Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience”. This class is a motivational session and workshop that will educate your employees on the key steps to making sure they are taking care of the customers. The class also instills a confidence in your employees that no matter what ranking they are in the company – they make a difference in how the customer perceives you. For more information on this class email Emily@ccwis.com.

However you choose to go about raising your level of customer service, follow through on your actions. Creating a steady stream of positive support within a company will make for more satisfied employees – willing to go that extra mile to make your customers happy.