Special Features in the Book

The Special Edition Using series has long provided the most comprehensive resource books for users and developers of computer hardware and software. This book, like its predecessors, includes many features to make learning how to use Microsoft CRM faster, more efficient, and easier.

Tips

Tips give you quick recommendations for ways to use the software more easily, drawing on the experiences of the author in performing similar tasks.

TIP

A Web service is defined as an application that adheres to new connectivity standards (SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI), which are based on more mature Internet standards (HTTP and XML). This standards-based connectivity enables a Web service implementation to dynamically discover and interact with other Web services automatically.


Notes

Notes present extended Tip information and other helpful hints that go beyond simple tips.

Handling Virtual Connections

When setting up a vendor relationship, you'll often find that most or many of your ongoing contacts will occur remotely. Here are some tips for handling the virtual relationship:

  • Focus on managing by result— Get clear about your objectives and make them clear to your vendor, allowing mid-course corrections and adjustments as your project proceeds.

  • Increase your use of electronic communication devices— Remote relationships can be just as responsive as the face-to-face kind, when participants will keep mobile phones handy and bridge the distance through increased availability.

  • Review progress against objectives in teleconferences— Allow enough time to cover details in your phone conferences, being sure to communicate and deliver any documents for review well in advance so that participants have time to get them even with the occasional hiccup from email systems.

  • Give more feedback— when you don't have the usual visual and body language cues to how people feel and what they're thinking, it's important to fill in the knowledge gap by providing and asking for increased feedback.

  • Create trusting relationships— focus on trust in the relationship, being careful to follow through on commitments and requesting the same kind of care from virtual participants.


Cautions

Cautions tell you about potentially negative consequences of an operation or action, especially if they could result in serious, or even disastrous, results such as loss or corruption of data.

CAUTION

Beware using Microsoft CRM as a bulk email tool. Although it certainly can be used this way, it is probably more intended and practical for use in sending groups of emails to customers and warm prospects. Because the Microsoft CRM email functionality actually sends the emails from your company's Exchange server, you will run the risk of having your Exchange server blacklisted if you are perceived as sending large amounts of unsolicited email (spam).


Troubleshooting

Even under the best of circumstances, sometimes you will encounter problems that defy logic and don't appear in the user manual. For these situations, troubleshooting information gives you advice on how to get out of the problem and recommends some ways to avoid trouble in the first place.

Cross-References

When information in one section of the book refers to operations found elsewhere in the book, cross-references will point you to the related information.

Use Case Corner

A Use Case is a business example that serves to illustrate the functionality of software. It shows a typical case of the software's use. Most of the chapters in this book end with a special section, called Use Case Corner, which provides examples, case studies and user profiles describing how companies are using Microsoft CRM to manage their customer relationships.

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