Blitz Lead Manager Blog - Blitz the competition

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February 1, 2009

Welcome!

Welcome to blog.BlitzLeadManager.com. This blog is here to provide updates on Blitz Lead Manager and allow you provide feedback. To find out more about Blitz you can go to the main blitz lead manager home page and also view BlitzTv and the Blitz Lead Manager Demo.

Blitz The Competition

Blitz Release Notes

February 5, 2010

Release Notes 02/05/2010

Blitz Mobile (Enterprise and Professional Editions)

With blitz mobile you can:

  • Search for leads by Name, Contact Name, Phone, Email Address or Zip Code
  • Update and Edit Existing Leads
  • View and Add History for a specific lead
  • Add an Appointment to your Schedule for a Lead
  • Add a New Lead and easily add history or an appointment for the new lead
  • View your schedule
  • Add an Appointment to your schedule

To access Blitz Mobile add a /m/ to your regular login URL.

A link to the mobile login is also on the regular login page as well.

For Professional Edition the login is:  https://www.blitzleadmanager.com/login/m/

For Enterprise Editions the login will vary based on your Enterprise Name:

https://www.blitzleadmanager.com/[EnterpriseName]/m/

See Blitz Mobile in Action on Blitz Tv

Blitz Release Notes

January 18, 2010

Release Notes 01/18/2010

Enhanced Lead Distribution

  • The lead distribution has been enhanced to provide more powerful tools in distribution and re-assignment of leads.
  • Assign Leads by Campaign has been enhanced to allow percentages to be defined to each user that is to receive leads.
Select a Campaign: Leads can be distributed by campaign. The campaign dropdown allows you to specify the campaign you wish to distribute leads from. When you select a campaign Blitz Lead Manager will retrieve details about that campaign and display them below the dropdow. The details include Total Leads, Assigned Leads, and Unassigned Leads.
Select Users to Receive Leads:Users that have permission to view the selected campaign appear in the Select Users list. Select the users you would like to assign leads to.
Assigning Percentages to Selected Users: After selecting the users to be assigned leads, you must assign each of them a percentage of the leads to be distributed. Total percentage must equal 100%, and you progress to 100% can be seen in meter to the right. If you go over 100%, the last amount entered will be automatically adjusted so that the total equals 100%.

Which Leads to Include: The Include dropdown allows you to distribute only unassigned leads or to distribute all leads. The number of leads affected by each choice is in parenthesis.
Lead Distribution By Campaign
  • Redistribute Leads by User

Select the User who’s leads are going to redistributed: The user dropdown allows you to specify the user you wish to redistribute leads from. The number of leads assigned to each user is shown in parenthesis.

Select a Campaign: The number of leads assigned to the selected user in each campaign is displayed in parenthesis.

Leads to Redistribute: This dropdown contains categories of leads to redistribute.

Neglected Leads: The number of neglected leads is displayed in parenthesis.

New Leads Over 7 Days Old: After selecting this option, you must specify the number of days since the last log date (default is 7). The number of leads falling under this category are displayed in parenthesis.

Abandoned Leads:  After selecting this option, you must specify the number of days since the last log date (default is 7) and which statuses to include in the redistribution.

All Leads: This selects all leads assigned to the selected user in the selected campaign.

Leads to be Redistributed: This checkbox list contains all of the leads meeting the criteria defined above. Every checked lead will be redistributed (all checked by default).

Select Users to Receive Redistributed Leads: Users that have permission to view the selected campaign appear in the Select Users list. Select the users you would like to assign leads to.

Assigning Percentages to Selected Users: After selecting the users to be assigned leads, you must assign each of them a percentage of the leads to be distributed. Total percentage must equal 100%, and you progress to 100% can be seen in meter to the right. If you go over 100%, the last amount entered will be automatically adjusted so that the total equals 100%.

Lead Redistribution By User

Campaign Lead History

  • Blitz now supports the ability to add a history record to every lead in a campaign. This includes optionally setting a status and milestone.

Campaign Lead History

Enhanced International Lead Support

  • International leads are now fully supported

Enhanced Lead Import

  • Does your .csv spreadsheet contain a first name and last name in different columns? Blitz will now concatenate the first name and last name for you during import. Just drag the first name and last name into either the Lead Name field or Contact Name.
  • Importing into existing campaigns has been enhanced to allow you view custom column names and identifies drop-down columns.
  • Enhanced error messages
  • Enhanced state and country support. Blitz now accepts either a valid state/country abbreviation or the state/country  spelled out.

Blitz Release Notes

December 2, 2009

Release Notes 12/02/2009

Lead Log

  • The lead log has been enhanced to provide a simpler interface and to speed up the adding of lead history.
  • Each section of the lead log is now displayed as it’s own tab. The four sections of the former lead log, Details, History, Opportunities, and Files, have become the first four tabs. Three other features have also been moved/added to the lead log, Directions, Send Email, and Lead Schedule.
    • Details Tab - The Details tab allows you to edit any of the leads information.
    • History Tab - The History tab allows you to add notes and update the lead’s milestone, status, and assigned to user.
    • Opportunities Tab - The Opportunities tab allows you to add and update the opportunities that are associated with the lead.
    • Files Tab - The Files tab allows you to attach a file to the lead.
    • Directions Tab - The Directions tab contains turn by turn directions from your office to the lead’s address.
    • Send Email Tab - The Send Email tab allows you to send an email to the lead.
    • Schedule Tab - The Schedule tab shows the upcoming schedule for the lead and allows you to add an appointment to your schedule or another user’s schedule for the lead.
  • Quick Assign - Leads can now be assigned to a user at your company by selecting he/she from the Quick Assign dropdown.
  • Milestones Reached - The Show Milestones option at the top of the page will reveal the milestones that have been reached for the lead. You can see the progression of milestones as well as how long it took to reach and which user performed the action.

Lead Log

Archive Campaign

  • Campaigns can now be archived. Archiving a campaign is similar to deleting a campaign. Archived campaigns are not displayed anywhere in the system. Leads in an archived campaign cannot be viewed, modified or reported on while the campaign is marked as archived.
  • To archive a campaign
    • Administrators can navigate to the Manage Campaigns Screen
    • Click the Pencil icon for the lead you want to archive.
    • Check the Archive checkbox
    • Click the Save button

Enhanced Dashboards

  • The width of all charts will now auto-size based on the amount of data.
  • Number of Leads Dashboard
    • Added several new charts to allow a further drill-down. Leads are now broken down for current assigned to user and current statuses for a selected campaign.
  • Leads Added Dashboard
    • Added several new charts to allow a further drill-down. Leads are broken down by how many leads a user added, by the current assigned to user and by the current lead status for leads added to selected campaign.

My Company

  • The My Company screen allows administrators to update the company’s address. The company address is used for displaying directions.

Delete Opportunities

  • Click on the trash can icon for the opportuntiy that you wish to delete.
  • Note:
    • Locked opportunities cannot be deleted. If you want to delete an locked opportunity you must unlock the opportunity first.
    • Administrators can delete any opportunity.
    • Users can only delete opportunities that are assigned to them or that was created by them.

Blitz Release Notes

September 23, 2009

Release Notes 9/23/2009

Schedule Enhancements

  • Appointments can now be added to another user’s schedule without adding it to your schedule. While adding the appointment un-check your name from attendees list.
  • Add an appointment while looking at another users schedule. In the past other user’s schedules have been read-only. Now, you have the option to add an appointment directly to another user’s schedule the same you way you would add one to your own.
  • All appointments on your schedule are now editable. In the past shared appointments you did not create and appointments in the past were not editable. Now, you can edit and delete past appointments on your schedule as well as any other appointments you created for other users. Appointments you cannot edit or delete are marked with the Lock icon.
  • You can now edit appointments that other users create on your schedule. Note that the appointment will be updated for all attendees and the attendees.

Tips

Importing First Name/Last Name Columns

Updating First and Last Name Columns

When you have a spreadsheet that contains a first name and a last name, how can that be mapped to the “Name” field or “Contact Name” field within Blitz Lead Manager?  The solution is to create a new field (ex. Full Name) within your spreadsheet before you try the upload.

For example, if you have the spreadsheet and column A “first name” and column B is “last name”, here is how you would proceed:

  • Open spreadsheet
  • You can insert a new column “C” and call it “Full Name”
  • Go to the C2 cell and enter this exact formula: =CONCATENATE(A2,” “,B2)
  • Copy the formula (cell C2) down under column “C” (all rows).
  • Save the file

Now you can continue with the import process and use the Full Name column to map to the Lead Name or Contact Name within Blitz Lead Manager.

Tips

August 31, 2009

How to setup an iCalendar feed

Instructions for Outlook 2007

To add Blitz’s iCal feed to Outlook 2007, follow these simple steps:

  • In Blitz, enable the public iCal feed and obtain the URL from your My Profile.

My Profile

  • Copy the URL by highlighting it and entering control-C or clicking the copy command in your web browser.
  • From your Outlook 2007 Calendar menu, select “Tools”, then “Account Settings”.
  • Select the Internet Calendars Tab and click the “New” button

Internet Calendars

  • Paste the URL you copied in step #2 into the box.  Enter control-V or click the paste command and click “Add”.
  • A “Subscription Options” box will be displayed. You have the option here to change the display name for your calendar and/or add a description

Subscription Options

  • Click OK
  • Expand the “Other Calendars” section in your navigation pane and select the name of the calendar you just setup to view your Blitz schedule. Use the arrows on your calendar tabs to merge/separate your Blitz calendar with your standard Outlook calendar.

Sample Setup Instructions for Lotus Notes 8.5

To add an iCal feed in Lotus Notes 8.5, follow these steps:

  • In Blitz, enable the public iCal feed and obtain the URL from your My Profile.
  • Copy the URL by highlighting it and entering control-C or clicking the copy command in your web browser.
  • Go to Lotus Notes and in the Views panel of the calendar navigator, click My Calendars and then click Add a Calendar.
  • Add Calendar

  • In the following “Add a Calendar” dialog box, select the “add” dropdown and choose “iCalendar feed.”
  • Calendar Options

  • Click into the “URL” field and paste the URL you previously copied from your My Profile (control-V or the paste command in your web browser).
  • Enter Blitz Schedule or some other label you prefer into the “label” field.
  • Set any other options you wish and then click the “OK” button to complete the setup.

Blitz Release Notes

Release Notes 08/31/2009

Schedule

Edit Appointment Time Menu - The time menu dropdown now starts at 7:00 AM and ends at 6:00 PM. All other times can be entered manually.

Time Picker

Appointment Type Colors - Each appointment type will now be displayed in a different color on your schedule. Emails are green, Meetings are Blue, Phone Calls are Orange, Personal Appointments are Red, and Tasks are Yellow.

Schedule Colors

iCalendar Feed - You can now publish your calendar so that it is available in an iCalendar feed. Many different programs accept iCalendar feeds, Outlook 2007 and Lotus Notes 8.5 allow for easy synchronization with iCalendar feeds. Once Outlook or Notes is configured, when you make a change to your calendar in Blitz the update will be shown in Outlook or Notes the next time the calendar refreshes.

To enable your iCalendar feed from Blitz:

  • Go to the My Profile page
  • Select the Publish Schedule iCalendar Feed checkbox
  • Click the save button
  • Click the Show iCalendar URL to see your calendars URL
  • Note: iCalendar feeds are public and accessible by anyone with the unique URL for your calendar.
    My Profile

Blitz Release Notes

August 13, 2009

Release Notes 08/13/2009

Lead Statuses

Watch on BlitzTv

Lead statuses can be configured for your Blitz edition. The default status is the status that each lead is assigned when it is created. The default status cannot be deleted.
The “Lead Statuses” screen can be accessed by selecting the “Lead Statuses” option, sub-menu of the Administration menu. You can view, add, edit, or delete statuses.

Create a Status
To Create a new Status, click the “Add New Record” icon. This will open a new section on the screen that allows you to add the status text for the new status. To create the status click the green check button. To cancel the status creation, click the “Cancel” red x button.
Edit a Status
To Edit a Status, click the pencil icon. This will allow you to update the status text of the Status that you selected. Click the green check button to save the changes that you have made. To cancel the status update, click the red x cancel button.
Delete Status
To Delete a Status, click the “Delete” trash can icon. This function will permantly delete the Status. Only statuses that are not currently in use can be deleted. Once a lead log entry has been added that uses the status it may not be deleted. Statuses that are used with Leads, Lead Log History entries, Quick Adds, and Lead Log Notifications will prevent you from deleting a status.
Lead Statuses

Customize Lead Log Types

Watch on BlitzTv

Lead Log Types can be configured for your Blitz edition. The “Used for sent emails” log type is the log type that is used by Blitz when an email is logged to log history. The “Used for sent emails” log type cannot be deleted. The “Lead Log Types” screen can be accessed by selecting the “Lead Log Types” option, sub-menu of the Administration menu. You can view, add, edit, or delete log types.

Create a Log Type
To Create a new Log Type, click the “Add New Record” icon. This will open a new section on the screen that allows you to add the log type text for the new log type. To create the log type click the green check button. To cancel the log type creation, click the “Cancel” red x button.
Edit a Log Type
To Edit a Log Type, click the pencil icon. This will allow you to update the status text of the log type that you selected. Click the green check button to save the changes that you have made. To cancel the log type update, click the red x cancel button.
Delete Log Type
To Delete a Log Type, click the “Delete” trash can icon. This function will permantly delete the log type. Only log types that are not currently in use can be deleted. Once a lead log entry has been added that uses the log type it may not be deleted. Log types that are in use by Lead Log History entries and Quick Adds will be prevented will not be deleted.
Lead Log Types

My Profile - Enhanced Lead Log History Notifications

Watch On BlitzTv

Lead log history notifications have been enhanced to allow you to refine your preference so you only get emails when you want them. You can configure your user preference on the My Profile screen. Below is a description of each of the five new fields.

Enable Lead Log Notifications: If you enable lead log notifications Blitz will send you emails to the Blitz configured email address when lead log history entries are added and they meet your notification settings.

Notify Me About: The first notification preference allows you to define a high level of when you want to receive emails. [N/A for Enterprise Parent Company]

  • All New Log History Entries - Any time a lead log history record is added you will receive a notification.
  • Leads Assigned To My Company - Any time a lead log history record is added and the lead is assigned to your company then you will receive a lead log notification email.
  • Leads Assigned To Me - Any time a lead log history record is added and the lead is assigned to you then you will receive a lead log notification email.
  • Other options: Select a specific status and/or milestone to further refine your notification preference.

Notify Me When Status Is: To further refine your notification preference you can select a lead status. [N/A for Enterprise Parent Company]

  • When you select a specific status, you will only be notified when the lead meets the notify me about, notify status and notify milestone.
  • Choose the Any Status option if you don’t care what status the lead is in. You will then receive notifications when the lead meets the notify me about and milestone options.

Notify Me When Milestone Is: To further refine your notification preference you can select a lead milestone.

  • When you select a specific milestone, you will only be notified when the lead meets the notify me about, notify status and notify milestone.
  • Choose the Any Milestone option if you don’t care what milestone is assigned to the lead. You will then receive notifications when the lead meets the notify me about and status options.

Notify Me Of My Updates: Do you want notified of your own updates? Select this option if you want to receive notifications of your own updates.

My Profile

Blitz Release Notes

July 9, 2009

BlitzTv Official Launch

We are excited to announce the official launch of Blitz TV. BlitzTv is an online video library dedicated to Blitz Lead Manager.

Every page in Blitz Lead Manager has a link to it’s related videos on BlitzTv. So if you are on the Lead List in Blitz you can click the BlitzTv link and see all the videos that are related to the lead list.

Also, each video category on BlitzTv relates to a specific menu option found in Blitz Lead Manager. So if you choose the Leads option of BlitzTv you will see videos related to the leads menu option from Blitz. We hope you enjoy this new component to the Blitz Lead Manager suite.

Watch Blitz Tv Now

Blitz Release Notes

June 26, 2009

Release Notes 06/25/2009

Custom Column Dropdowns

Custom Columns can now be configured as dropdowns. Below is a screenshot of adding a new lead on the lead list.  As you can see the custom 10 column is now configured as a dropdown.

Lead List - Add Lead

Manage Campaigns

A new option is now available for each campaign. You can click on the dropdownsettings1 dropdown settings icon to configure the dropdowns for a campaign.

Manage Campaigns

Dropdown Settings
The “Dropdown Settings” screen can be accessed by selecting the “Manage Campaigns” option from the administration menu and clicking on the dropdown settings image for the campaign you wish to edit. The “Dropdown Settings” screen shows you the current list of custom columns. You can view the custom text, the dropdown setting, and if it is a dropdown you can view the dropdown. Next to the dropdown is an “Edit” link that allows you to edit the values in the dropdown. If the dropdown does not contain all the unique values that are currently stored on the campaign’s leads, a second “Invalid” link will also be displayed. If you click the invalid link then you will be shown the list of data that is invalid.
Update Dropdown Setting
To update the dropdown setting for a column, click the Pencil icon. This will allow you to check or uncheck the dropdown value. Click the green checkbox to update the setting or the red x to cancel the edit.
Dropdown Settings
Dropdown Values
The dropdown values screen allows you to add values to the dropdown list. There are two ways to add dropdown values, manually or automatically.
Create Manually - If this is a new campaign or if there is not leads in the campaign, then using the “Create Manually” tab to create the values is the best option.

  • Add New Value - Click the Add New Record button. Enter the value to add. Click the Save button to save the value or the Cancel button to cancel the add.
  • Edit Value - Click the pencil icon for the record you want to edit. Edit the value. Click the Save button to update the value or the Cancel button to cancel the edit.
  • Delete Value - Click the trash can icon for the record you want to delete. Accept the warning message to delete the record or cancel to cancel the delete.

Add Dropdown Values Manually

Create Automatically - If this is a existing campaign and you have data in the column then the easiest way to create the dropdown list is to use the “Create Automatically” tab. A list of all the unique values in the column is displayed with a checkbox next to it. Simply check off the values you do not wish to add and click the Create Dropdown button. All existing dropdown items will be deleted and replaced by the checked values.
Add Dropdown Values Automatically

Invalid Data - If the dropdown does not currently contain all the values that are entered for the column, then the missing values from the dropdown are listed on the Invalid Data tab. These values need to either be added to the dropdown or have the stored values changed to a value that is in the dropdown.

  • To change all occurences of the invalid data to one of the valid dropdown values, select the desired value from the dropdown and click the Fix Data button.
  • To add the Invalid Data to the dropdown click the Add button next the invalid value.

Invalid Dropdown Values (Missing Values)

Copy Campaign Settings

A new option has been added to the Copy Campaign Settings screen that is related to the new dropdowns feature. Now you can copy all the dropdown settings from one campaign to another. So if you have two campaigns with the same dropdowns, it is a simple process to recreate all the dropdowns on the target campaign.

Copy Campaign Settings