MioWorks provides you with several different way to work with collections of contacts. Each type of collection has different characteristics. The type of collection you should use will depend on the job you want to get done. The three types of collections include SmartGroups, Lists and Contact index multi-select. Here are examples of when to use each of these types of collections:
Prospecting? – try out the SmartGroups
By using SmartGroups in conjunction with tags you can create and manage a diminishing list of contacts to work through. For example, you can create a tag called “weeklybest”. You then add this tag to all of those prospects that you think are your best chance for a sale that week. You then create a SmartGroup based upon the tag “weeklybest”. As you call, meet with or follow up with a prospect you remove the “weeklybest” tag and that contact is automatically removed from the SmartGroup.
Sending a direct mail postcard? – Lists are for you
When you need a static collection of contacts that never changes, you want to use a list. A great example is when you want to send a direct mail postcard and then follow that up with a telephone call. You start by defining a list and then assigning contacts to that list. You can export that entire list to a CSV file and pass it along to your direct mail service provider. Once the direct mail piece has been send you can return to the list and followup with every contact that received the mailer.
Manipulating more than one contact at a time? – Use the contact index multi-select function
After clicking on the “contact” tab you are presented with all of the contacts that are visable to you. The drop down filter allows you to limit the view to contact type, SmartGroups or Lists. But even within a SmartGroup or a List you may want to apply a task, activate portals or add keywords to a subset of that collection. The multi-select feature allows you to select the check box next to each contact that you would like to apply the bulk action to. You may page through the contacts and select across pages. This allows you to easily make changes to several contacts all at once.
