ENEWS > SUMMER 2007 > YOUR ACT! GURU

YOUR ACT! GURU:
Use ACT! Reporting to Gain Insight into Your
Sales Team’s Performance

Many of the sales managers I meet are looking to take ACT!, “to the next level.”  They want to turn the data they’ve been collecting into useful information about how to manage and increase their team’s performance.  The ACT! report generator can be a great tool for turning that data into actionable information.

For this article, let’s focus on ACT! Opportunities which allow you to record and monitor your sales opportunities – selling your goods and/or services to your contacts.  By using the ACT! report generator you can run reports to analyze these opportunities, including past sales performance, future opportunities (often called a pipeline), competitive analysis, and marketing campaign analysis.

First things first:  If you haven’t noticed, ACT! includes 40 built-in reports, but not all of them are listed in the Reports menu.  For example, here is a list of all of the ACT! Opportunity reports (only the bolded items appear in the menu):

1. Gross Margin by Contact
2. Gross Margin by Product
3. Gross Margin by Record Manager
4. Lost Opportunities by Competitor
5. Lost Opportunities by Reason
6. Lost Opportunities by Record Manager
7. Opportunities Adjusted for Probability
8. Opportunities by Company
9. Opportunities by Contact
10. Opportunities by Group
11. Opportunities by Product
12. Opportunities by Record Manager
13. Opportunities by Status
14. Opportunities Referred By
15. Pipeline Report
16. Sales Analysis by Record Manager
17. Sales by Reason

Notice one of my favorites, Opportunities Referred By, is not included.  This is a really powerful report that will group your opportunities by the “Opportunity Referred By” field, count them, and total the value of the opportunities.  This report is a great tool for sales managers to help determine which lead sources are providing the best opportunities. 

Here are the steps to run the Opportunities Referred By report:

1. Click Reports> Opportunity Reports> Other Opportunity Reports on the ACT! menu
2. In the Select Report dialog box, scroll to find the “Opportunities Referred By” report
3. Click the report file and click Open (or double-click the report file)
4. At the Define Filters dialog box, select the appropriate filters (for example, change date range to “All”)
5. Click OK

You can use the ACT! report generator to create new reports or modify existing reports.  For example, many sales managers like to see a detailed sales report grouped by the sales stage of the opportunity.  You can start by modifying a report such as the Opportunities by Record Manager report.

To open the report for editing:

• Click Reports> Edit Template on the ACT! menu
• In the Open ACT! Report dialog box, scroll to find the “Opportunities Referred By” report
• Click the report file and click Open (or double-click the report file)
• Click OK

To add a “sales stage” section:

1. Click Edit> Define Sections on the ACT! Report Designer menu
2. In the Define Sections dialog, click the Add button (in the upper right)
3. In the Select A Field To Group By dialog, scroll to find the Stage field
4. Click to highlight the Stage field and Click OK
5. Click OK in the Define Sections dialog box

Notice that you now have a Stage header and footer in your report.  These sections will appear at the top and bottom of each stage in the report.

Use the Field tool to add the Stage field to the header:

1. Click the Field tool from the Toolbox
2. Use the tool to click and drag a field object in the Stage header
3. In the Select Field dialog, scroll to find the Stage field
4. Click the Stage field, uncheck Include a Label, and click Add
5. Click Close to close the Select Field dialog

You can click the Stage object and use the sizing handles to resize the object and use the formatting toolbar to change the font type, size, and other characteristics.

Use the Field tool to add a total for each Stage in the footer:

1. Click the Field tool from the Toolbox
2. Use the tool to click and drag a field object in the Stage footer
3. In the Select Field dialog, scroll to find the Total field
4. Click the Total field, uncheck Include a Label, and click Add
5. Click Close to close the Select Field dialog
6. Right-mouse click the new Total field and click Properties
7. In the Field Properties dialog, click the Data tab
8. In the Field Type section, click Summary
9. In the Summary Field Options area, click Total
10. Click the Format Tab, in the Appearance area click Currency
11. Click OK

As before, you can change the size and characteristics of the object.

Make sure to give your report a new title and save your report:

1. Click the Text tool from the Toolbox
2. Double-click the Report Title
3. Type an appropriate title (ex. ACME Pipeline Report)
4. Click File> Save As
5. In the Save Report dialog, Type an appropriate Report File Name
6. Click Save

You can run your report from within the ACT! report generator:

1. Click File> Run
2. At the Define Filters dialog box, select the appropriate filters (for example, change date range to “All”)
3. Click OK

You can use these techniques to edit other ACT! reports.

Bonus Tip:
Did you know that ACT! includes an OLEDB provider for reporting that provides access to Contacts, Companies, History, Opportunities, and other ACT! data?  You can use advanced reporting tools like Microsoft® Excel® or Crystal Reports® to access the data and create advanced reports and dashboards!

For more help with ACT! reports, you can visit the ACT! knowledge base for instructional articles. Or, seek out an ACT! Certified Consultant who is a specialist in developing ACT! reports.

Steve Stroz
Gold Coast Advisors, Inc.
ACT! Certified Consultant