and More
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Jan. 30 // -- Mission Research, the socially responsible software company focused on contact management solutions for the SOHO market and nonprofit sector, launched SalesWorks today at the prestigious DEMO conference, renown for unveiling new emerging technologies and products. SalesWorks dramatically simplifies the way small businesses manage contacts or sales leads, handle mailings or do workflow and necessary tasks.
An easy-to-use, affordable, comprehensive tracking and contact management program, SalesWorks gives small businesses tremendous power to manage leads, sales, contact interactions, mailings and more. A hybrid of desktop 2.0 and web services, SalesWorks is fast, efficient and easy to set up. While maintaining a desktop presence, SalesWorks is essentially a 'website' that provides customers with the benefits of both web-based applications and desktop applications, depending on what serves the customer best.
As a web services application integrated into a rich desktop footprint, SalesWorks provides customers with a faster response time than accessing the same data from an external web server. The product incorporates easy-list building for highly targeted reports and segmentation, as well as integrates with a variety of online services, such as eCommerce, mapping and online marketing.
"So many software programs on the market are difficult to use. The SOHO market is littered with software that alienates people instead of helping them get their work done faster and more efficiently," said Chris Shipley, executive producer of DEMO. "SalesWorks has a very simple user interface with a powerful approach to managing tasks, contacts and workflow that is ideally suited to the SOHO market -- and at an incredibly reasonable price that smaller organizations can afford."
Some of the key features and benefits for small businesses include:
-- Platform - unique in the market, SalesWorks is a desktop 2.0 web
services hybrid; an internet-like application with the power of
desktop functionality. While a desktop software product, it also
integrates with web services that add value for the small business
owner, such as mapping, eCommerce (Amazon does not handle lists of
addresses), back-up and restore and e-marketing mailings.
-- User Interface Design - many contact management programs on the market
today have a complex, awkward user interface, making it difficult for
non-technical small business owners to use many of the most useful
features. SalesWorks has a very people-centered design. Managing
tasks, contacts and workflow is very contextual, which takes the
thinking out of the process for the customer.
-- Import/Export Capabilities - SalesWorks is designed to make it easy to
import and export contacts with the most common applications, such as
Excel, Outlook, QuickBooks, and various mobile devices, etc.
-- Integration - integration with existing dependencies like Outlook
calendar/tasks are built in. For example, users can easily upload
QuickBooks to a secure file site for their accountants. There is also
the ability to sync with popular applications such as Palm software,
LinkedIn, Plaxo and others.
-- Customization - instead of forcing people to use fields that make
sense for one business but not another, SalesWorks provides an
additional 12 customizable fields, with more coming in the next
version.
-- Tracking - the tracking feature allows users to track various kinds of
data inside a contact's record for easy follow up and report
generation.
-- Reporting - the user can create reports in a variety of different
formats and styles, which can include history, status of a lead,
projected sale amount, lead source, reason lead was lost or gained,
opportunities tied to contacts of specific companies, notes and so on.
There is also the ability to attach documents directly into the notes
field.
-- Lists - SmartList creation enables the ability to create list
definitions, so highly customized lists can be used for reporting,
communication, review, etc.
-- Groups - the groups feature allows for easy organization and
categorization of contacts inside specified groups, which can be used
for mailings, outreach and reporting, etc.
-- Communications - SalesWorks provides the ability to communicate with
contacts in a number of powerful ways to enhance lead generation,
sales opportunities and effectiveness, including targeted mailings/e-
mailings, quick communications, tracked history of communications and
built-in templates for outbound reach or brochures.
"Our design approach anticipates how people perceive and want to use technology and software," said Charlie Crystle, CEO and Founder of Mission Research. "We created SalesWorks to solve a pain-point in the SOHO market, where there is a lack of easy-to-use affordable products that provide the kind of simple functionality that is better suited for the small business owner. Our new solution anticipates the human need in advance, where they need to get to next and then automatically bringing them back to where they started. By anticipating customer's needs, we take the thinking out of the process, saving them both time and money."
Availability & Pricing:
A beta version of SalesWorks will be available in Q1 2007. Pricing is based on an annual subscription model, however companies can get up and running for less than $100 a year. For people wishing to test out the product, there will be a feature limited, sponsor-supported version for free. For more information, contact info@missionresearch.com or 717-431-0200.
About Mission Research
Mission Research - http://www.missionresearch.com - is a socially responsible software company focused on serving the SOHO market and the nonprofit sector with software that's affordable and easy-to-use. Founded in 2002, the company launched GiftWorks for the nonprofit sector in 2004 and in 2007, unveiled SalesWorks, an affordable sales and contact management solution for small businesses. The company was founded by Charlie Crystle, David Weaver, and Chris Walker, the original team behind Chili!Soft, which sold for $70 million to Cobalt Networks in 2000; Chili!Soft is now owned by Sun Microsystems. Mission Research partners with Avery Dennison, Intuit, and the United Way of America. Mission Research can be reached at 717-431-0200, or info@missionresearch.com.
About DEMO Conferences
Produced by Network World Events and Executive Forums, the semi-annual DEMO conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected from across the spectrum of the technology marketplace. The DEMO conferences have earned their reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow's cutting-edge technologies, and have served as launch pad events for companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Handspring, and U.S. Robotics, helping them to secure venture funding, establish critical business relationships, and influence early adopters. Each DEMO conference features approximately 70 new companies, products and technologies. For more information, visit http://www.demo.com.
