The CRM Zen Show Episode 141 – Yep, DataPrep

Zoho News

• March Updates
  • We covered all these last month, but here are the roundups for Zoho CRM & Zoho Backstage.
  • Lots of Marketplace additions last month including 25+ new ones for Zoho CRM in Q1.
• Zoho Launches Zoho Academy
  • Some great business practice guides and exercises all free!
• Zoho Announces Another NEW App – Zoho DataPrep
  • Still in beta, but based on the notes this will be a HUGE quality of life app for processing data.
• Zoho Sheet Adds Dynamic Array Formulas
  • @ and # are now your friends.
• Zoho Show Adds Centralized Library
  • Manage all your media for your presentations in one location now.
• Enhancements to Zoho Subscriptions
  • Developer Space and Advanced Analytics inside Reports have been added.
• Zoho Books April Updates
  • Most of this month’s updates are only for India & UK users, however, the global edition gets an advanced search for transactions by the tax.
    

Implementation of the Week

• Opportunity-level Outbound Touch Tracking via Zoho CRM Custom Functions
  • A common KPI for sales managers is around how many outbound touches are required to move forward from one stage to another, or from opportunity creation to closed-won
  • Though it is possible to tease out these values using Analytics SQL tables, that method requires ongoing management of SQL tables
  • However, it can also be tracked in an easily reportable format using Deluge updates via functions
  • First, a stateless function was created to increase the two fields of two fields by +1
    • Outbound Touches – Current Stage
    • Outbound Touches – Total
  • This stateless function can be called via API in various workflow triggers
    • Generation of Outbound Call
    • Sending of Outbound Email
    • Sending of Outbound SMS
  • Stateless function provides a method to only maintain one primary “workhorse” function
  • On Stage change of Opportunity, a historical log is stamped with the previous Stage, and Outbound touches in that Stage
  • Then, the Outbound Touches – Current Stage is set back to 0 to track the new current stage

This Week’s Read

• How to budget for a CRM implementation By Shailendu Verma for Customer Think
  • A nice article on how to budget for a CRM implementation, and what the ROI can, and will be if done properly. To quote from the article:  “A CRM project needs ownership and complete accountability throughout the process for it to be successful.”

New From Zenatta

• Zenatta Blogs
  • 5 Interview Questions You Should Ask Potential Job Candidates
  • Top 5 Job Boards That Integrate With Zoho Recruit
• New Resource Guides
  • How HR Technology Can Add Value To Your Business

Application / Plug-In of the Week

• mailparser.io
  • If you want something more robust than the native Zoho CRM Email Parser, then look no further than this application.
  • It has native integration with Zoho CRM.
    • This Zoho integration is a native mailparser.io integration. Next to having a Zoho CRM account and a mailparser.io account, no additional software is needed.
    • Create an account with mailparser.io
  • Thanks to our listener Brad for this recommendation.

Tips and Tricks

• Zoho Books Beginner’s Guide – Banking
  • New month, new series! This quick 7-minute video tutorial covers how to set up your banking inside Zoho Books.