Outlook CRM for Sales & Marketing

Prophet CRM by Avidian

Website integration with Prophet CRM

Integrate your website with Prophet CRM 

Prophet CRM helps your team to manage their Contacts, Companies, and business Opportunities through Outlook. Integrating your website with Prophet CRM allows your team to execute their tasks more efficiently and provide a better customer experience.

Integrating Prophet CRM with your website will help your team:

1. Provide a better customer experience

Top sales and customer teams understand that response time to a customer or prospect’s inquiry is paramount. Quick engagement from your team to the end-client creates the best experience for your client, ensuring continued business.

2. Complete objectives more efficiently

Once the CRM tracking is plugged into your website, customer data from lead forms will be automatically sent straight to the integrated CRM system. This eliminates manual data input and reduces a significant amount of administrative overhead. Additionally, this helps prevent missed leads created through marketing efforts.

3. Create higher quality data and profile information

The best source of information about your customer is your customer! High-quality forms which capture pertinent customer details can be sent directly to the Prophet CRM database, helping your representatives to reach out with the best information.

4. Increase sales revenue 

Sales teams benefit from higher quality of data and improved response time to customer issues by creating a high-touch customer-focused environment. This is essential for increasing revenue and gaining confidence from business partners.

Want to get started? Let us know!

Schedule 60 Minute Meeting

Let’s use this time to have a conversation with one another.  I look forw

Let’s use this time to have a quick conversation with one another.  I look forward to connecting!

Donnita is an Avidian veteran with a passion for her customers success, which she drives from her initial outreach, through the close of the sale and beyond. Forming strong and credible lifetime partnerships is her goal, and she does so with the highest of integrity!  She understands that the devil is in the details and digs right in!!  Donnita is an avid podcast listener… what’s your favorite recommendation?  Long commutes are used to listen, learn and laugh!

How to Restore the Prophet CRM Add-In

If you want to reactivate Prophet, here are the steps.

  • Open Outlook, in the upper left corner click on “File”.
  • Now click “Options”.
  • A window will appear, click “Add-Ins” from the left side of the window.
  • Now click “Go” at the bottom of the Add-Ins window.
  • A window will appear. Check the two empty boxes that were unchecked next to: “Avidian Prophet” and “Avidian Prophet Ribbon”/”AVTAddin2010″, and then “Ok”.
  • Prophet should be re-enabled. You may need to restart Outlook for it to take effect.

If you have any further issues, feel free to reach out to us directly at 425-457-7701.



Temporarily Disable Prophet CRM

If you want to deactivate only Prophet, here are the steps.

  1. In Outlook, click File > Options > Add-ins.
  2. Now that you are on the Add-ins window of the options menu. Click “Go” as underlined in the picture below.
  3. A window will appear. Uncheck “Avidian Prophet” and “Avidian Prophet Ribbon”, and then “Ok”.
  4. Prophet Should be disabled. If these steps don’t work, start Outlook in Safe Mode.

API Integrations and CRM; A Beginners Guide

What Is An API?

API stands for Application Program Interface. Simply put is how information is delivered to and accessed from a system. 

Think of it like this; you are out at your favorite breakfast spot and you want to order blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon, extra crispy. 

How does the kitchen in the back know what you want from the available items they have to offer?

Because the waiter told them so.

Think of an API as the waiter of a system, it retrieves and delivers information from the “kitchen”.

In real life instead of pancakes, APIs deliver requests to data systems which in turn deliver data back to you.

It is how you can locate contact info in Prophet CRM that a coworker may have entered through a simple search request.

What Are API Integrations?

Let’s go back to our pancake and waiter example, but instead, imagine the pancakes were not for yourself but rather for one of your loyal customers.

While the kitchen must get the order, it is also important that the sale information, customer information, and payment information are also recorded. 

More often than not tracking all of this info will require multiple systems.

This means that you or someone else in your company will be recording highly similar if not the same data into several other programs.

But what if you didn’t have to?

What if there was a way for information to be updated in one system from another automatically.

That is what API Integrations do. 

API Integrations are essentially a waiter that instead of just reporting orders to the kitchen, also updates the other systems in your business.

Why is API Integration important?

API integrations are important for several key reasons:

  1. Automation

Automating daily activities has become a critical component of productivity in today’s fast-paced work environment. Working smarter and not harder, by reducing repetitive tasks, accelerates and streamline business processes. 

2.    Consistent Data 

Reducing the number of times data is manually entered not only reduces the risk of human error but creates a consistent, centralized database. Additionally, it promotes the input of high quality and detailed information by employees as they know they will only have to enter it once. 

3.    Combines highly focused systems

API integrations are important because each program or app you use does its specific function so well, that it is hard to use just one during a business sales cycle. Integrating these specialized tools allows for a more fluent and comprehensive sales approach when interacting with potential customers. 

As this technology becomes more popular 55% percent of CIOs claim that using API integrations is critical to their business strategy according to a survey conducted by Cloud Elements. Additionally, they identified CRM as being the #1 system in need of integrations.

Example of an API Integration:

It isn’t uncommon to use all these programs during one sale:

1.    Prophet CRM: Gather information and grow the lead

2.    MailChimp: Email marketing and information delivery 

3.    Zoom: Schedule a sales meeting

4.    DocuSign: Finalize and make the sale official 

Picture this; It’s the start of the week and you have just been assigned a batch of hot leads from your marketing team. 

You begin to create customer profiles in your CRM platform and attempt to connect with the various accounts you have been assigned. 

Some pick up, some don’t, some request additional information be emailed to them while a few are ready to talk later this week.

Moreover, a few accounts from last week are moving towards the closing stage!

While this is easily organized within your CRM system you may waste the rest of your day using second-tier programs to deliver information, set meetings and send contracts.

With an API Integration in place, it is as easy as changing the stage of an account and automatically having another program perform the desired action. 

Customer A moves from prospect to potential and is automatically added to an email list. 

Customer B wants to see a demo is moved from the potential stage to the demo stage and a zoom meeting invitation is automatically generated and emailed to them. 

The possibilities are endless and the time you can save in daily activities is infinite. 

How To Apply API Integrations: 

So all of this sounds great but how can you get API Integrations up and running? 

When it comes to implementing your API you have one of two options.

Option A: In house implementation. 

This can be done by either having a current member of your IT team learn how to create the code that will connect whichever programs you see fit to make a specific business process more efficient. Additionally, you could hire a contract worker or a new employee that specialized in this area. 

Option B: Third-party implementation 

Most major Software As A Service providers have API integrations ready to connect their software to any other major application. Not only is second-hand implantation cheaper, but it is also faster. 

Contact your CRM provider, as CRM is a great central application to connect other programs too, and ask about API integrations today.

7 Questions to Ask Yourself When Buying CRM and SFA Software

What is the best way to buy CRM Software?

When we talk with our customers, they maintain that sales is the most important role in their business. If you agree with that assertion, as we do, then isn’t it in your best interest to ensure the department is at its peak performance?  In order to measure performance, you need measure points and instrumentation – in our world this is CRM, often referred to as Sales Force Automation SFA. Sales teams that leverage CRM / SFA are most likely to improve year over year.

Based on our experiences over the last 15 years, we would like to help you position yourself to buy CRM effectively.  Here are the top 7 questions you should ask yourself when buying a CRM / SFA solution:

1. Should I be personally involved in the CRM choice?

If you’re going to introduce CRM into your company, do it to the same level of vigor that you invest in every other aspect of your role. No pressure, but CRM technology is a conduit for your vision for sales success. Own it and others will notice and buy in. Let them know at every turn why it’s important to you and the exec team. Leverage your experience and understanding of your current and desired sales process(es) and goals to assess the suitability of your CRM shortlist.  Instructing a team member to “see what’s out there” is typically a waste of time and resources, or will tend to lead you down the wrong path.

2. If I buy the CRM, will the team use it?

Adoption is the single most important metric in determining CRM / SFA success, and likewise the culprit in failed projects. Our Customer Success team measures adoption as a key component of our overall Customer Health Score; the ratio of purchased licenses to daily active users of licenses.  If you have ten licenses for ten sales people, use ten, accept nothing less.

So how do you ensure buy-in from the sales team? Give them a founding role in the buying process.  Select one of your top sales folks (one that all of the other sales folks look up to), and your most organized and/or methodical sales rep. Give them a voice, listen to their needs and opinions. Let them help with mapping the current and desired sales strategy development.  The Sales team will adopt if they know one of their own was involved in the selection and it is tuned to their needs.

3. How will the team understand the seriousness of this project?


Get C-level mandate and give the new CRM project a name

Avoid trite or overused terms like “Phoenix”.  Use terms that align with the desired outcome of the project. Ensure the Owner/ CEO / President echoes your CRM Value statements and goals.  Alignment up top is key. Ensure that you are updating the executive team with milestone achievements and have them reflect that back to the team during regular staff meetings.

4. How should I approach this project to ensure success?

Let your company goals and how your team supports those goals dictate your requirements. While it’s important and recommended to plot a 3 to 5-year plan, you will be better served if you break down the full CRM deployment and optimization into discreet phases or “wins”.  Take on only as much as your team can handle while they are making the trains run on time. Remember, CRM strategy primarily involves the very front line of your business. Unless you are planning to waive quotas for the year…which is definitely not recommended… you would be wise to break the project into bite-sized chunks and make a point to celebrate the successful completion of each.

Taking heed of change management principles is important here for your plan and design. Sales people are conservative by nature when it comes to behavioral / procedural habits.   Too radical a change can impact negatively on near term sales quota attainment. Go for the initial big win e.g. “all sales data in one place” or “accurate forecasts” and announce that to the team to inspire confidence and greater personal investment.

5. Should I set a time frame for this project?

Yes! We have found that well defined (and adhered to) time frames are essential… This does not necessarily mean conducting a lengthy RFP process, but we do recommend a level of project discipline that enables a group of this size to be efficient and effective. Taking advantage of proven methodologies, such as the RFP project approach, will pay dividends… You may also decide to employ one of my favorite tactics and consider publishing and prominently displaying a Gantt chart detailing important vendor selection milestones. Everyone who has a role will understand the role they play and when their deliverables are due. This also underlines the formality and importance of the project. Projects that have no published end date tend to fizzle and die, wasting resources on all sides and diminishing enthusiasm for future attempts.

6. Who can I rely on – the vendor?

This should be a 50/50 thing: 50% vendor and 50% you.  Assess your vendors’ partnership potential and assign added weight to that specific criteria.

Ask yourself, do they “get me” and “do I get them?”  i.e. do they know my space, my sales challenges, my customers and my needs?  Do the balance of their customers look like me? Are they overselling my team?

Assess your needs and don’t let the software companies set the agenda alone. You share the goal of a successful project, but that’s where the overlap ends. They measure success across many CRM deployments, while you care only about one…yours. Getting the right vendor resources engaged at the right time can make the difference between success and failure. You are best served to create and cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship with your vendor of choice so that you can be sure they are bringing their best to the project.

7. How about my team?

Does your buying team fully understand your selling process, existing or desired?  I mean, really understand the process? Can they articulate the current sales process, from new lead to closure?  Have they interviewed the Sales team? Do they understand their / your priorities?

Don’t “outsource” this important role.  Polled clients have noted in previous failed projects that they allowed teams outside sales, such as IT to lead the project.  Your CRM system will play a leading role in the future of your go-to-market strategy and tactics. Because it is so core to the sales and marketing function, it’s too risky to insert a proxy decision – making the body (or department) that may have their own set of criteria influencing their behavior.  A large percentage of failed CRM deployments can be traced back to issues of misalignment and competing priorities that surfaced during vendor selection.

The important point here: Include your owner / CEO in the framing of your CRM goals. What reporting / informational needs does his team need? Involve the CEO at critical milestones of vendor selection and ensure you deliver to his/her goals for the project.

Sales and Millennials — A Broken Bridge?

As the children of the baby boom begin to age out of the workplace (to be replaced by their children, the millennials), a major shift in values and skills between these two generations has become apparent. Millennials, born typically between the early 1980s and the start of 2000, have different long-term interests and employment desires than their predecessors. Many small-scale studies and surveys have been conducted that attempt to understand the major components of millennial motivations, and generally these people have a unique set of priorities and expectations for their managers and more experienced coworkers, making the managing of a mixed-generation team a nuanced task.
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Social Media And Psychology — Why Do People Share?

Social media usage has grown to become one of the most pervasive cultural phenomena in America. According to a survey by the Pew Research Group, in 2012 more than two-thirds of Internet users studied participated in a social networking site, with most focused towards Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr. Not engaging in social media, for many businesses, can be a death sentence—especially now that it has become so ubiquitous in the business world. As of 2014, a Social Media Examiner study found that 92% of marketers thought social media was important to their business.
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