The Prospecting Plug-in - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions

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Who are our existing customers?

This concept originally came about through the creation of some code for the Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest banks in the UK. We believe that they are still using their software for leads delivery to Retail, Business and Private Banking segments. The Prospecting Plugin addresses the flaws of the RBS system by focusing on the need to close the loop and allow the feedback of response data. This new software is being used by ANZ bank in Australia for their Commercial customers - Small Business, Regional Commercial and Business Banking segments. It is currently in a pilot phase and has been successfully running for 6 weeks. We are also attempting to tailor the application to a Mobile Phone sales dealership in the UK and are hoping to have their system available in the next few weeks.

What are the advantages of implementing the Prospecting Plug-in over other CRM systems?

Affordable
Simple but effective Interface
Paperless
Advanced Search functionality
No software installation required
Existing Technologies already tested and approved by Technology departments
Extensive experience in implementing similar programmes
Simple Support Arrangement
Timeliness... very quick to set-up and implement.
Everything remains 'in-house', sensitive customer data doesn't get distributed to a third-party at any stage.
No customer data has to be transferred over the internet.
Can be used as a tactical or permanent solution depending upon requirements.

How do I install this software?

Provided that you meet the system requirements we will be able to provide all of the components for you to do a self-installation without ever requiring us onsite. After an intial consultation we can provide a sample Prospects Application specifically tailored to the needs of your business (customer information, results capture, etc). Once the sample is approved this application will be base-lined and a main Template Created (Refer to the What Is It? Diagram to understand where the template fits in). Once your lead generation campaign is set-up you would provide us with a sample file and we would check it against the required file specification. Provided that the file is in the correct format installation from this point onward is fairly straight-forward. An implementation plan is created that states exactly what to do and what the timeframe is for each task. Once the template has been created the remaining elements could be installed in less than 1 week. If at any stage you require assistance we can be contacted to talk you through the installation. If necessary we are prepared to do the entire installation of the Prospecting Plug-in and even the entire set-up of the Lead Generation Programme onsite. Please contact us with your requirements and we would be happy to discuss software installation in more detail.

When I implement the Prospecting Plug-in what type of performance can I expect?

Each Prospects Application is only restricted by the number of rows permitted in the Excel application (65,536). A single Prospects Application was tested with 50,000 customer records and performed seamlessly. There was no degredation in performance for record navigation and a customer search of all fields would complete in less than 5 seconds. Naturally you would never want to have that many records in a Prospects application, but it is useful to know that it wouldn't limit the functionality if it was a requirement.

When outputting Prospects Applications on a standard build pc (Pentium 4 3.2 GHz, 2GB of RAM) we achieved the following results:

Access Database records - 500,000 unique customer records (downloaded from Lead Generation db)
Unique Prospects Applications - 1,000
Creation of all 1,000 Prospects Applications - 9 minutes
Locking of all 1,000 Prospects Applications - 31 minutes
A locked, user-ready Prospects Application containing 500 records will be approximately 500kb in size.
A result file for the same report will only be around 20kb in size.

This means that 1,000 entirely unique Prospects Applications containing a total of 500,000 customer records can be created in approximately 40 minutes. After this processing the Prospects Applications will be locked and ready for delivery to individual recipients. The applications will have unique Lead Filters based on their own records and an automated record count that will match the number of records in the application. From this point delivery by email is a mere formality and is based on the performance of the Email server. Emails are delivered one-by-one so there should be minimal pressure on the exchange server. In tests using POP delivery 1,000 emails could be delivered in less than 10 minutes.

Naturally the Directory delivery method would be equally as quick as the email delivery, the only difference being that distribution would be directly to the users personal directory. Again this relies on the set-up of the individual company, but because the Prospect Applications are delivered one-at-a-time there should be little pressure on the Local Area Network (LAN).

Can you please give details of your Pricing Policy?

The Pricing for the Prospecting Plug-in is very affordable when compared to similar offerings. Many other CRM packages will sell from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars - often making their service arrangement even more expensive in an effort to tie you to their software. Once installed you will own your copy outright. You don't have to pay any license fees, there is no software expiry, no user fees, no restrictions on product use at all. You are even able to change the source code to suit your requirements. The only restriction placed on a business is that they cannot redistribute any elements of the Prospecting Plug-in to a third party. A contract will be written that documents these obligations in more detail.

Cost: Negotiable depending on the work and effort required

Additional Charges: Service arrangements and requested updates/changes to software

Sample Excel Template is available here -Sample

Password to open = "Password"

How can I use the term "Plug-in" if it consists of multiple items?

The reason that this system is referred to as a Plug-in is that it requires very little set-up. The items can simply be slotted into a company's existing capabilities (see System Reqs) and after just a couple of hours for parameter setting and minor tweaks the entire system is capable of creating, delivering, tracking and measuring/reporting on Prospects. No need for a large project and multiple developers, the system uses existing applications - Microsoft Access, Outlook and Excel which have already been tested and approved by IT departments. The bulk of the functionality is already provided in the plug-in so there isn't a lengthy development and implementation phase.

Why focus just on Branch Prospects, why not Telephony or In-branch Prompts like other CRM systems?

A good question. There are a few major reasons why we believe that Front-line staff should be given the best quality leads over both Telephony centres and branch tellers. Firstly, they have the best ties with the customer. They have more impact than a telephony centre and can give more time and expertise than a branch teller. They also have sales targets to meet so the more help that they are given the better. However, a word of warning - if the leads aren't of good quality right from the start then the likelihood is that they will stop using them. This shows the importance of providing quality leads and maintaining that quality through iterative improvements. A job made a lot easier by the Prospecting Plug-in because it tracks user responses to Lead quality.

What if I don't already have a Lead-Generation Process set-up?

We have had plenty of experience setting-up lead generation programmes for some of the biggest banks in the world (LloydsTSB, Natwest and RBS). The entire programme can be set-up on your behalf. Please contact us for more information (Contact Us).

Would you be prepared to travel to install this for my company?

Absolutely. We believe that this plug-in can add benefits to just about any company with a sales force and would be happy to demonstrate this. We are based in Melbourne, Australia but we would be prepared to travel to any business that would like to have the Prospecting Plug-in system installed.

How Secure Is the Prospecting Plug-in?

Every effort has been made to make this a secure product. It is locked-up as well as you can make an Excel application (password to open, locked and hidden sheets, disabled menus, hidden application and locked VBE). However, Excel security is not infallible. If someone wants to crack this application and they have the skills to do so then they will. The Prospecting Plug-in will only use your internal email server so it doesn't touch the greater internet community. Similarly, if a company went for the File System delivery method instead of the Email delivery method then that too has special permissions associated. A hacker that wants to crack this system could do so, but first they need to be able to get their hands on it. Compare this to internet-based systems and third-party interaction and the security of this plug-in should put a smile on your face!!