The salesperson needs a reliable way to be sure that account records are not duplicated; that is, that two salespeople are not working on the same prospect information. The Sales System offers an easy way to avoid these prospect conflicts.

Example:

Suppose you, Linda Grove, are calling a prospect, XYZ Labs, and the phone number you have turns out to be incorrect. You decide to check to see if there is another salesperson who has called a division of XYZ Labs under a different phone number.

To check for conflicts, choose the CHE item. At the Master Menu Item prompt, enter CHE:

Example 10-1 CHE---Check for Similar Prospects

ATS V3.2 Advanced Telesales System 10-Jun-1992 MAIN Master Menu Level: 1 Call Selections Special Functions CALL Call Prospects OPERATOR Operator Functions PCALL Call (one prospect) MANAGER Manager Functions RESUME Resume Calling Word Processing Reports EDIT Edit/Create Ltrs REPORT Prospect Call Report PROOF Proof Ltrs/Spell DAILY Daily Call Report LASER LASER a Letter STATUS Daily Status Mailing DIR Directory of Ltrs Other Selections MISCELLANEOUS INQ - Prospect Inquiry MAIL VMS MAIL Facility CHE - Check Similar Customers REMIND Remind SYS - VMS Syst Commands LOG - Log Off Sales Sys Item? CHE__ EXIT=Exit Advanced Telesales System \=BACK HELP=Help

10.2 Enter the Organization Name

Next, you are prompted for the organization name. At the organization prompt, enter the name:

Example 10-2 Enter the Organization Name

GROVE Check for Conflicts Organization? XYZ LABS_____________________________________ EXIT=Exit Advanced Telesales System \=BACK HELP=Help

10.3 Enter the Zip Code

Next, you are prompted for the zip code. At the zip code prompt, enter the zip code:

Example 10-3 Enter the Zip Code

GROVE Check for Conflicts Organization: XYZ LABS Zip Code? 94238__ EXIT=Exit Advanced Telesales System \=BACK HELP=Help

Any account records with the same organization name and phone number appear on the next screen. In the example below, there are no conflicts and the account belongs to you, GROVE. Therefore, you know that the phone number is in error but no other salesperson is working on your account.

Example 10-4 Conflict Screen

GROVE Check for Conflicts Organization: XYZ LABS Zip Code : 94238 Sales Team : ALL (818) 700-6866 XYZ LABS (818) 700-6866 XYZ LABS GROVE WIDGETS

After you have checked for a conflict, you can:

• return to the Organization prompt to check for another duplication.
• return to the Master Menu.

The sales system allows prospect account records to be altered as new information becomes available. The operator has a unique function as the only person in addition to the sales manager who is authorized to alter a prospect account record. At the request of a manager or salesperson, the operator can:

• Add a new prospect
• Change an existing prospect
• Delete a prospect
• Inquire about a prospect
• Add a prospect product
• Add a prospect flag

Listed below is a summary of these procedures:

• ADD

  Add a new prospect. You can create an entirely new account record. For example, a company's shipping information--- the physical address to which a product is shipped (company name, address, etc.)

• CHANGE

  Change an existing prospect. You can change data within an account record, e.g., a company's address or the name of a contact person.

• DELETE

  Delete a prospect. You can delete an entire account record.

• INQUIRE

  Inquire about customer information. You can look up a company's account record to examine the information it contains, e.g., to determine a purchase order number, etc.

• ACP

  Add a new customer product.

• ACF

  Add prospect flag. A flag is additional information added to a customer record. E.g., "possible demo" could be a flag.

• VALIDATE

  Validate enables the operator to check a list of groups of names for discrepancies (e.g., duplicates, misspellings, etc.)

To alter a prospect account record, you must first access the Operator Master Menu. At the Master Menu Item prompt, enter OPE:

Example 11-1 OPE - Operator

ATS V3.2 Advanced Telesales System 15-Jun-1993 OPERATOR Operator Level: 2 Update Selections Group Selections ADD Add Customers VALIDATE Validate a Cust Group CHANGE Change Customers OVERRIDE Override Conflicts DELETE Delete Customers INQUIRE Inquire Customers Mass Mailing Selections ACP Add Cust Product MASS Print Mass Mail Labels ACF Add Customer Flags REPRINT Reprint Previ Mass Mail Miscellaneous Reports SUPPORT Enter Support System MEDIA Sales Media Report LABEL Label Request Run CONTACT Sales Contact Report MAKE Make Miscellaneous Labels TRANSFER Transfer Leads Maintenance Selections BECOMPANY Become Diffrnt Company SOURCE Maintain Sources APPROVAL Approval of Held Faxes CODES Maintain Codes COUNTRY Maintain Valid Cntries Item?____ EXIT = Exit \ = Back HELP = Help

Next, at the top of the screen, you see displayed "Operator". This indicates that you are in the Operator Master Menu. This menu gives you a choice of items to alter records. You can ADD, CHANGE, INQUIRE about, or DELETE records, etc.:

Example 11-2 OPERATOR - Master Menu

ATS V3.2 Advanced Telesales System 10-Jun-1992 OPERATOR Operator Level: 2 Update Selections Group Selections ADD Add Customers VALIDATE Validate a Cust Group CHANGE Change Customers OVERRIDE Override Conflicts DELETE Delete Customers INQUIRE Inquire Customers Mass Mailing Selections ACP Add Cust Product MASS Print Mass Mail Labels ACF Add Cust Flags REPRINT Reprint Prev Mass Mail Miscellaneous SUPPORT Enter Support Sys Reports LABEL Label Request Run MEDIA Sales Media Report BECOMPANY Become Different CONTACT Sales Contact Report Company Maintenance Selections SOURCE Maintain Sources CODES Maintain Codes COUNTRIES Maintain Valid Countries Item? ____ EXIT = Exit Advanced Telesales System \ = Back HELP = Help

11.3 A Typical Operator Session

A Lead Sheet/Change Request Form given to you, the operator, by a salesperson contains information that the salesperson wants you to alter in a prospect's account record.

11.4 Data Entry - To ADD a Prospect Record

• Look at the Lead Sheet/Change Request Form to determine the additions or changes to be made.
• Make any ADDITIONS the salesperson has requested.

Example:

Suppose a salesperson has indicated on the Lead Form that a company, XYZ Labs, is to be added as a new record.

To ADD this new XYZ Labs record, from the Operator Menu, choose the ADD item:

Example 11-3 ADD - Operator

ATS V3.2 Advanced Telesales System 10-Jun-1992 OPERATOR Operator Level: 2 Update Selections Group Selections ADD Add Customers VALIDATE Validate a Cust Group CHANGE Change Customers OVERRIDE Override Conflicts DELETE Delete Customers INQUIRE Inquire Customers Mass Mailing Selections ACP Add Cust Product MASS Print Mass Mail Labels ACF Add Cust Flags REPRINT Reprint Prev Mass Mail Miscellaneous SUPPORT Enter Support Sys Reports LABEL Label Request Run MEDIA Sales Media Report BECOMPANY Become Different CONTACT Sales Contact Report Company Maintenance Selections STEP Maint Step Master File SOURCE Maintain Sources CODES Maintain Codes COUNTRIES Maintain Valid Countries Item? ADD__ EXIT = Exit Advanced Telesales System \ = Back HELP = Help

Next, you see the first screen used to add a prospect record:

Example 11-4 Add Prospect Screen

CHRIS Operator - ADD Customer name : Title : Name Prefix : Phone : ( ) - Extension : Organization : Address Line 1 : Address Line 2 : Address Line 3 : Zip Code : - City : State : Time Zone : FAX Number : Customer Name? __________________________ EXIT=Exit Advanced Telesales System \=BACK HELP=Help