Protect Your Parents Online

A quick Google search of 'protect your parents online' reveals that most sites deal with protecting your kids.  There is very little out there about protecting your parents.  Maybe everyone assumes that they can take care of themselves.

Most likely, they can't, especially online.  My parents are not necessarily tech-savvy.  They grew up before the Internet, before cell phones, before computers were commonplace, before Facebook.  While they picked up basic computer usage, I doubt if they protect themselves online.

Case in point: my mother's Facebook page was hacked into.  A new profile was created, invited the same friends, and subsequently asked for money through a donation.  I wasn't copied on the message, presumably I was excluded as I had the same last name, and I would recognize that something was amiss.

She changed her password since that incident, and hopefully that will be the end of it.

So here are a few tips to protect your parents:

1. Teach them about strong passwords, about phrases and character replacements, and special characters and adding numbers and mixing case.  This may be an uphill battle.  My mother had created multiple Skype accounts because she could not remember her old password.  She doesn't do online banking, so using the same password to different sites might be okay.  Adding a few words specific to each site could be something that parents will remember.
2. When I was a kid, my father taught me not to believe everything I see on TV.  I will remind them of that lesson, but in this case, don't believe everything on the computer.  Just recently I read of an older gentleman whose computer was held 'hostage', and the screen said to pay $99 to fix it.  Luckily for that man, he had a good backup, and simply restored an old backup.  And then in the news there are older people who fall for the advanced fee scam.  My mother also taught me that the warnings on chain letters are not true.  I will remind them not to forward anything through email or re-post anything on Facebook as soon as they see one of those.
3. Teach them about privacy.  Show them how to change their Facebook privacy settings.  Tell them that the exact birth date is not always necessary, and be wary of giving the information to every site they register to.  Tell them there is such a thing as 'over-share'.  And that public posts are just that: public.

 These are just three.  They seem to be the most basic, and will reduce many of the threats our parents may face online.  I'm sure there are more, but if my mother can't remember her Skype password, I doubt she will remember more than three tips.

Is Amazon Prime Worth It?

Is Amazon Prime worth it?  Or more accurately, Is Amazon Prime worth it to me?  This is a personal question.  What I think is worth what I paid may not apply to anyone else.  And that is perfectly fine.

I signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime.  The offer sounded good enough not to pass up.  As Amazon is increasing their subscription price from 79 to 99 dollars a year, they were offering to lock in at 79 if I sign up today.  And I get 30 days to try it out before they charge me the 79 dollars.

What does one get with Amazon Prime membership?  A lot of it is highlighted on their website, and as of this writing, they are:

• Free Two Day Shipping on millions of items
• No minimum order size
• Unlimited streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows
• Read free books each month

Let's examine the first two together.  First, I will take a look at my purchases in the last two years, and then see how much I would have spent for two day shipping if I chose that option every time.

In 2012 and 2013, I had roughly 35 orders each year.  This excludes Subscribe & Save orders.  If two day shipping costs $10 on average, I would've saved $250 dollars just by subscribing to Amazon Prime.  But the flipside of that is I don't NEED two-day shipping.  I plan ahead enough to not need something I purchase from Amazon in the next two days.  I always choose Free Super Saver Shipping.  This option, of course, has a minimum order value.  It was $25 last year, and it is now $35.  Either I wait until I reach that minimum threshold or I add something I've been looking at but was not ready to buy at that time, just to increase my order value.

So, in summary, if I really cared for two-day shipping, $79 or even $99, which is their new price, is worth it.  But right now, I don't.  It's great.  But I probably won't miss it if I went back to Super Saver Shipping.

Let's then take a look at unlimited streaming.  I can only compare this to Netflix, as I have had experience with that service.  I have not tried Hulu Plus or any other similar service.  Netflix charges $7.99 for theirs.  When it was still bundled with their DVD rental, I tried it out, and what I found was that there wasn't really any show or movie I would watch from their selection.  That was three years ago.  I don't know if I would like House of Cards, or whether I would have the time to watch yet another show.

Amazon's selection is also limited.  They may say thousands, but there are very few that I would watch.  There are old movies I've seen before and like, but I don't like them enough to watch them again.

I watched Skyfall the other night.  There is The Avengers as well.  But I've seen both before and I didn't really want to watch them again.  Also as I alluded to in another post about Netflix, streaming service is at the mercy of bandwidth.  As I was watching Skyfall, there were a few times when it stopped to buffer the movie.  And I wasn't even skipping chapters.

This service alone can be priced the same as Netflix, which is $7.99 a month.  So ninety six dollars a year out of the $99 goes to this service, if we were to compare Netflix and Amazon.  But I wouldn't pay $96 to either for such limited content.

Moving on to the free books, I'd like to highlight that these are Kindle books which can only be read on a Kindle, or through their Kindle reader app on an iPad.  I have only read two books on my Kindle.  While it is very convenient, I still like the tactile feel of turning pages.  As I said, this is a personal evaluation.  Others may like the convenience over the tactile feel, in the same manner that I finally ripped all my CDs into MP3s. It's just more convenient.

I also have only briefly checked the selections available for free.  If the movie selection is any indication, I don't know if there is anything that I would necessarily read.  For me, at least, this is probably worth five dollars a month, or sixty dollars a year.  And I wouldn't pay sixty dollars a year for the current selection.  I would rather buy real books with sixty dollars, also through Amazon.

So, overall, is it worth it to me?  I don't think so.  I would rather save my $79 dollars, use Super Saver Shipping, and buy more stuff with $79.  But I can't stress this enough: this is my own analysis based on my own situation.  Anyone can put in the time, do this themselves and find it is worth it to them.

Salesforce: Another Use for ISCHANGED

In an earlier post,we used ISCHANGED to track when Next Step was changed.  This formula can be used in many situations: logging when a Lead Status was changed, when a Close Date is changed, or when a Sales Stage is changed.  The last scenario is useful if you need to show it on a page.  For reporting purposes, the standard "Age Duration" is available on standard Opportunity report types.

But what if we need to measure how long each stage is taking?  This will help the management see where the sales teams take long, and maybe provide help to move them along faster.  It can also help rationalize if the sales process is accurate.

First, the requirements: We need to log when an opportunity reaches a certain stage.  We also need to clear out any time stamps for subsequent stages (in case the Stage went backwards).  And then we need to measure the duration between stages.

In this scenario, let's assume we only have one Sales Process, that is, one set of Sales Stages.  First, let's create a time stamp field for each stage. These can be pure Date or Date/Time fields, depending on how granular you want to measure your sales cycle.  They should all be read only to all profiles, as they will only be updated via workflow email updates.

Now we need the workflow and field update.  The first time stamp is a little different than the others. We want to capture the time stamp of the first stage upon creation.   ISCHANGED isn't actually True when a record is new.  If all the workflows were just based on ISCHANGED, the time stamp of the first sales stage upon creation will not be captured.

Assuming that we allow the sales team to create opportunities above the first stage, we must create one workflow for each stage that we want to capture, that fires only when the record is created, and has a single criteria that evaluates the Sales Stage.  For example, to capture the time stamp if it was created with "Prospecting" as the stage, we will need this workflow:

 Note the Evaluation Criteria and the lone Rule Criteria.

We will need one of this for each stage in your sales process.  And this takes care of capturing the time stamp when it is created.

The field update is relatively simple.  We will use NOW() if it is a Date/Time field, or TODAY() if it is just a date, and set the Stage 1 Timestamp or Prospecting Timestamp field.

Now, to capture the same time stamp when the stage is changed,  we will use the following formula:

AND ( 
  ISCHANGED ( StageName ),
  ISPICKVAL ( StageName, 'Prospecting')
)

We will use the same field update that we used in the earlier workflow to  capture NOW() or TODAY().  And again, we will create one workflow for each stage, adjusting the value in ISPICKVAL as appropriate, and changing the Field Update.

We also need additional field updates.  Say for example, our organization uses the standard Salesforce stages, and a sales person moves his opportunity back from Id. Decision Makers to Value Proposition.  The time stamp for Id. Decision Makers is now invalid.  We will need to clear this out, and all the timestamps for the subsequent stages.  So for each of these workflows, there will be more than one field update.  One to set the time stamp of the current stage, and one or more to clear the time stamp of subsequent stages.

The above steps take care of setting the time stamp for each stage when that stage is reached, either when created new or when the opportunity stage is updated.

The next step is to create formulas to get the duration.  We need a formula field, Stage 1 Duration for example, that evaluates to a number, and the formula will be something like this:

IF ( ISPICKVAL( StageName , 'Prospecting'),
  NOW() -   Stage_1_Timestamp__c  ,
  Stage_1_Timestamp__c - Stage_2_Timestamp__c
)
    
If it is currently Prospecting (and Prospecting is the first stage), then the duration for Prospecting is the current date and time minus the time stamp when it was set to Stage 1.  If it is not, then it is the difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2.

Note that the above formula will cause issues if the opportunity jumps from Stage 1 to Stage 3.  The formula can be modified to check if Stage 2 Timestamp is not null before performing the subtraction, and making the result -1 to signify that it is unavailable.

The alternative is to modify the workflows from the previous step to set any previous stage time stamp to TODAY or NOW, the same as the current stage, effectively making the duration zero.  An administrator can discover the pros and cons of each and reach a decision on the best way forward for his own organization.

Once the workflows have been added, and the field updates are done, it is possible to populate the new fields with data from the Opportunity Field History table.  This requires some Excel work and the use of Data Loader.  Afterwards, reports can be created to show average duration of each stage.

To summarize, we have created fields, workflows, and field updates that will allow us to measure Stage Duration for each Stage and gain useful insight about the current Sales Process.

Never Hesitate to Collaborate

I play piano for a church choir that sings fairly regularly.  Last weekend, the person in charge of coordinating choir groups, musicians and schedules came to me and asked if it was all right if a bass player joined us that day.  She even said it was okay to say no.  I did not hesitate.  The answer of course is "Yes!"  I wondered to myself why that was even a question.

Many great musicians have collaborated and recorded even more spectacular sessions with other great musicians.  If nothing else, adding bass just makes for better sound.  And what is the worst that could happen? He may be off tempo or off key some of the time, but not all the time, and in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter?  All I see is a great upside to improve the music.  We weren't curing cancer or solving world hunger. We weren't recording the next great American Songbook.  Sure, in a more professional setting, you'd want some practice time together first. This isn't that.

Turns out he was great. We'd like to have him back.

For a team attempting to solve a business problem, it is almost always better to welcome a new addition who has expertise.  That fresh perspective always keeps things interesting.  The only downside I can think of is when it is late in the game and you have to train someone.  But if someone is coming in with experience, by all means, let's collaborate!  There may be a solution the existing group hasn't thought of.

In music, and in business, never pass on the chance to collaborate.

A Better Way

In the elementary and secondary school I attended, there was a quote on the wall that has stuck with me: "Good, Better, Best: Never let it rest, until good becomes better and better becomes best." Looking at some of the best companies that made their name in recent years, their founders also set out to find a better way.  They set some of the best examples of finding a better way.  It is this drive to innovate that makes humans thrive.

Starbucks founder Howard Schulz outlines in his book that he wanted his customers to have 'a better coffee experience' in his stores, from the smell, to how the baristas make the drink in front of you.  Even if today, with thousands of stores, the experience may not be as consistent, but the idea is there: a better way.

Netflix initially set out to find a better way than what Blockbuster had to offer.  And then they offered a better way to delivery TV shows.  I may not fully buy into the idea as they are totally dependent on bandwidth providers, but still, for some, it is a better alternative to traditional cable.

Tesla thinks that a bunch of heavy batteries is a better way.  It may not work for some who can only afford one car that will serve both as a commuter and a long distance road trip vehicle.  Or some may think that lugging around all that weight isn't really the best way.  But still, until that next idea, Elon Musk thinks that he has a better alternative to the internal combustion engine.

Jeff Bezos knows that there's a better way to shop.  And he thinks there is a better way to deliver products.  And Whole Foods thinks there's a better way to buy groceries, and a better choice for what to eat.

Not everybody will agree with these companies that they are the best.  That is why there is competition.  The common thread is that each of these companies are finding better ways to do things.  And that, to me, is a great thing.  Always find a better way.  There's got to be a better way.

Close Date?

To a sales user who has used Saleseforce or Siebel or SAP CRM for quite a while, the term 'Close Date' on an Opportunity is not new.  But sometimes, to a person who does not encounter the term on a daily basis, the term is ambiguous.

So what is Close Date?  If the opportunity is still open, or in play, or active, it is a future date, or it is the "Expected Close Date".  And if the opportunity is already closed, it is the date when it was closed.

Depending on your sales process, it is usually when you receive the order from the customer, or when the order is booked in your order management application, or when the contract is signed.  If it will be fulfilled through a third party reseller, it could be when the point-of-sale information comes through.  That is, if you win the opportunity.

Salesforce.com does not automatically change the close date once an opportunity is closed.  And that is where some of the reporting and dashboards become skewed.  For example, a sales rep can reasonably expect something to close in January based on commitment from his customer.  But situations change and he needs more wins in December to meet his quota.  He convinces the customer to purchase in December and closes that opportunity early.  If he is not diligent enough to update the Close Date, a regular Win report will show that opportunity as being won in January, not December.

Similarly, if a sales rep has an early stage opportunity that he expects to close in June, he will put a  Close Date in June.  And if after further qualification or further discussion in February, he clearly sees that his product cannot answer the customer's needs, so he marks it as Lost.  That opportunity will be marked as Lost in June, not February.

If management is measuring Win/Loss ratio by quarter, then it may not be completely accurate if we rely on the standard Salesforce.com functionality.

It is relatively simple to update the Close Date when an opportunity is closed.  Create a Workflow Rule that will fire when the criteria: Opportunity: Closed equals True. 

And create a field update that will set the Opportunity Close Date to TODAY().  It is that simple.

Now, if for some reason, you want to keep what the rep originally entered, for example, to measure how accurate they predict the Close Date, you can instead update a read-only field called "Actual Close Date" to TODAY().  If you do measure accuracy of Close Date, you may still want to update the Close Date to today's date when an opportunity is Lost.  Measure only the accuracy of Won opportunities.  And of course, to see how far off the rep is, a formula that will subtract one from the other will be necessary.  Depending on your business, it may be acceptable to be in the same month, or the same week, not necessarily accurate to the day.

As always, evaluate what makes sense for your organization.

My, How Far We Have Come

In the early days of CRM and Salesforce Automation (hey, we didn't even call it that), we equipped our field agents with laptops and a printer.  That proved to be too heavy, but the idea was that they were mobile enough to do everything they needed to close a sale.

The early adopters were our top sales teams who had the most experience.  Translation: they were twice my age at least.  The first day of classes was basics of computers, and in later courses, included typing!

That was in 1995.

The Toshiba Satellite T2400 had a really small screen. So screen real-estate was at a premium.  We had to be creative in screen design and overall user experience (the term was not widely used then).  Now, back on mobile devices, screen real estate is again at a premium.

The next year, I was speaking to a field operations executive from the local licensed Coca-Cola bottler, and we were talking about enabling their field representatives (who rode on their trucks) to do everything they needed on a laptop, and connect at the end of the day to upload everything.  I never followed up on that lead, but at the end of the conversation the hesitation was the cost of the laptops (they had to be the rugged kind from Panasonic at that time), and having to connect at the end of their shift via dial-up.

Now, the idea is no longer outside the realm of possibility.  Connectivity is instant.  There is no need for an end-of-day synch.  And there is no need for an actual laptop.  The tablet has replaced the laptop as the mobile device of choice for field work.  That same problem could be solved in a few months if not several weeks.

In 1999, we were experimenting with WAP apps (Wireless Application Protocol) for field reps and customers to access their customer and product information and make payments.  Unfortunately the screens severely hampered the user experience, and the connectivity was spotty at best.

Up until 2009, I have had users clamoring for a mobile offline version of their CRM.  They say they could be on a plane or on a train, and there is no connectivity.  They have to be able to work offline and synch back up once they are in the office.

Fast forward five years and many carriers now offer Wi-Fi on board, and if they didn't, your phone will most likely have a signal and a data connection.  And bandwidth is far cheaper than what it was then.

What you give up in computing power, you make up with the mobility, the ease of use.  And you can always perform server-side heavy computing, much like the old days of mainframes and thin-client architectures.  So a lot has changed, but some things remain the same.

Apps used by field sales are no longer designed with a desktop or laptop user in mind, now they are mobile-friendly first, or at least, considered at the same time as their PC counterparts.  But mobile devices don't have a lot of storage, much like the old days of PC computing.  So the same principles around efficiency that applied then still apply now.

I can hardly believe it has been less than twenty years.  And yet, the technological evolution is outstanding.  I'm sure that it will only get better from here. I've posted somewhere before about software programming, "The language may change, but the logic remains the same."  In the same manner, the technology may change, but some basic principles will not.

The main thing that still holds true today for CRM and SFA, or any app that you expect a sales person to use, is from one of my early users who took time to write me a letter (on paper) in 1996.  He was a seasoned sales rep and managed a large sales team in a regional office.  Referring to one module in our app, he said, "This requires a PhD in Computer Science.  I cannot use this.  Keep it simple!"