Too many emails? Use Zoho SalesInbox to sort and prioritize them
Lately, I’ve been wanting to delve into the new Zoho CRM a little more deeply. On the surface, the new CRM looks wonderful with its new facelift, but beneath the surface (or, with just a few mouse clicks), one can see that Zoho did much more with the new CRM than simply alter its appearance. Next on the list of new features I really like is Zoho SalesInbox, a variation of the Zoho CRM email integration.
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You don’t want this.[/caption]
Zoho SalesInbox tackles a common problem with most businesspeople, especially executives: their email inboxes are filled to the brim with all manner of messages, some of them relevant, some of them very pressing, and others completely impertinent. Having to sort through them may not take that much time, but, spend enough mental energy doing even menial tasks and you’ll soon find yourself depleted.
SalesInbox takes away a little bit of that menial thought labor by automatically sorting your emails into groups: Emails from contacts related to Deals, emails from other Leads and Contacts, emails from people not in your CRM, and emails from colleagues.
Again, it’s only a slight reduction in work, but you’ll quickly get into the habit of scanning your screen from left to right, just like a line of text – and, you won’t be nearly as fatigued with the tedium of sifting through new messages.
Salesinbox provides cool new features to help you sort
- Flag certain contacts to automatically put mail from them into a column of your choice.
- Flag emails from Contacts related to Deals of your choosing (for example, Deals with an amount over $10,000) so they appear in your inbox first.
- See how contacts have progressed through your sales funnel with at-a-glance details.
And, perhaps the best (and most obvious) feature of having a Zoho CRM email integration…
4. Automatic lead creation with the click of a button – or, with a workflow rule.
This is great if, for example, you’ve made a post in an outside forum or any other place you can’t easily insert a Zoho webform: Let clients know to email you using a certain word in the email subject line, like “quote.” The system will create a new lead any time someone not already in your CRM uses the word “quote” in the email subject line.
Just on its own, this feature of the Zoho CRM email integration is fantastic: it effectively ends manual entry if you can tell the system your requirements for becoming a Lead. Just imagine how much time you’d get back in your day!
Speaking of workflow rules, you can have the system remind you to work on those bigger deals when they email you.
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Okay, maybe overselling it, but I’ll bet this comes in the next build.[/caption]
This feature is the next-best thing to having a personal assistant: if someone you deem important emails you and you haven’t replied in a time frame you specify, the system can remind you to email those people back.
As well, you can program the system to let you know when someone else hasn’t replied to you in a while. Maybe you’ve had a client fall through the cracks because you simply didn’t follow up as zealously as you could have… Well, that doesn’t even have to be a factor anymore.
There’s even more to Zoho SalesInbox that I haven’t covered here, so for a full breakdown I suggest taking a look at Zoho’s own article on the subject.