C1 FAQs for Release 8.4
Top 10 Questions for the Customer1 8.4 Release:
Questions & Comments by Component :
How will Performance be for the new release?
Navigation has improved (tab style pages & new menu structures) which will quickly get you to your data. Also the new PeopleTools has a significant performance increase. Some infrastructure areas are independent from application impact ie: networks & bandwidth. So keep in mind your connection type and geographic location will determine some of this. Prior to the 8.4 rollout, A 3rd party conducted performance testing while our performance team worked on much tuning to improve or keep the same performance in many areas of the application.
What role do I play in improving Data Integrity?
As with all systems, data integrity should be a priority for all users. This is particularly important in the area of customers as we face the challenges of converted Vantive data and case sensitivity. We need everyone's support to ensure the accuracy of our customer data by following the established business processes such as performing company searches prior to adding. Keep in mind you will be able to take advantage of a number of tools. There is a new feature of linking multiple company names to one company record; this should reduce redundancies and duplicates. Short term, the Data Integrity team will be in place and ready to support the clean up activities once 8.4 is live. Longer term the Customer Data team is working on data ownership and consistent business processes. A merge utility tool is also being looked into.
What are the pros and cons of the new Data Model?
PRO- 8.4 allows users to create companies and contacts directly through the lead or opportunity page instead of having to navigate to company and contact pages first.
CON- Slight Performance impact in a few areas of the application
Will Contact/Interaction Management Functionality be available?
Through the use of Tasks and Processing Lists, Release 8.4 provides a way to manage your contacts. A new lead status of "Info Only" will help keep all your contacts on line instead of storing them in other locations such as your Palm. A new forecast type of Pipeline D will be rolled out soon which will allow you to further manage your contacts. For more details refer to the Operational Procedure documents.
How do you handle Revenue Splits between AEs & CEs?
CEs should clone any license opportunities that include Consulting revenue types. Cloned opportunities must have all license product information removed and the following must be updated: Estimated Close, Forecast Type, Opportunity Type, and Status. All sales members must remain on the Sales Team, however the primary check box should be checked for the CE and allocation percentage should change. The AE should remove services product lines should from the original opportunity. Please note this does not apply to Training Opportunities.
How do you handle Training Revenue between AEs and CEs?
An opportunity should equal the contract total. If training is included in a license sale, CEs should not clone these opportunities, as this will create inaccurate forecasting of our training revenue. However, the CEs should always be added to the sales team for these opportunities. If the CEs sell training outside of a license deal a separate opportunity should be created.
What is the difference between Account & Sales Teams.
The Account team is made up of members that work directly on the Account Planning process for a particular company.
The Sales team is made up of members that work directly on the opportunity management process for a particular opportunity.
For further details on account team and sales team standards and engagement rules, please refer to Operational Procedure Documents located in Field Connection.
What kind of information is available in the new 360 Degree View?
You can find the following: Leads, Opportunities, Installed Products, Agreements, Cases, Complaints/Escalations. Company vs. Representative view, Profile section, and company hierarchy. Based on your security profile you can add cases, leads and opportunities directly from the 360-degree view. Some of this information will not become available until the Call Center module goes live in late February.
Can we look forward to Lotus Notes Integration?
We must contend with relationship and technology challenges thereby not making this possible for the upcoming release. However, we continue to make this a priority. We are actively working with the CRM development team to make this happen in an upcoming release.
Do we have ability to store customer data in local language (Japan, China etc..)?
We cannot store any data in other languages then English. At this moment our database only supports extended ASCII. A change to UNICODE is costly and can only happen after we receive a strong business case from locale management and have the budget.
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Company
What are the Metrics used for and is it effective dated?
Although the metric field is not effective dated at this time, the primary Account Executive is responsible for ensuring the data is current on a quarterly basis. This data is very important for a combination of marketing research and general company information.
Do we use the company Metrics or the values used within the pricing calculator/services estimator for Pricing?
The metrics listed on this tab are the actual values for the company as a whole, not necessarily the values used for pricing sales and services.
Who can add competitor role to the company?
Only the competitive intelligence group can indicate the competitor role. Contact Competitive Intelligence if you have a new role to add.
Do power users have access to account plans and can they add members to the account team?
Yes, primary powerusers for each business line do have access and can add their business line members to the account team. Please contact your primary poweruser to get yourself added to the appropriate account team.
Why do we need the Company hierarchy?
The Company Hierarchy found in the 360 degree view, will help you better understand the organization and it's representatives so you can make better strategic decisions.
Who can use the parent field on the company record?
At this stage the Data Integrity Team are the only users that have write access to the parent company field and until we are free of duplicate companies, it will remain this way.
Who can add partner role to the Company?
Alliances should be adding the partner role, Global Alliances for our strategic partners and local Alliances for local partners. Please contact your regional power user for details.
Do I need to worry about changing the role from prospect to customer in a given organization?
The financial controllers, contracts administration or date integrity is responsible for changing the company status from prospect to customer upon obtaining appropriate signatures during the opportunity close process.
Do we have automatic workflow notification of when changes are made to account teams and account plans?
Although there is no workflow set up currently, the last modified date/time field within the application displays the sales user name and date/time last updated.
Who should make up the account team at a minimum?
At a minimum the following should be listed: Principle/Account Executive, Client Executive, Product Consultant, Sales Mgmt (RSD/RVP). Customer accounts will also include, CSE.
Do we have the ability to store information on competitor/other vendor's products that companies and customers are using?
From the Company Component, competitor information should be stored in the Notes tab or within the Account Plan if strategy related. Competitor information should always be stored within the Opportunity level. From the opportunity component, the competitor name, representative, competitor products and involvement information is stored in the competitor tab. Additional notes should be stored under enemies/blindspots section of the Opportunity profile. Contact your regional poweruser for more details or how to request a competitor role.
Why are there so many companies to choose from for the partner selection?
Companies can have multiple partner roles. Unfortunately the system cannot easily identify specific partners due to the multiple roles so the search results simply retrieves all companies.
Is there link via the stock symbol to the latest share price?
No there is not, but there is a link to the company website.
When do we create a new company?
ALWAYS check to see if the prospective Company is already in Customer1. If you want good customer data, you MUST avoid creating duplicate records. If you need to create a new prospective Company record when entering company names ALWAYS enter the company's legal name. This is almost always the name in full, and NOT an abbreviation or acronym. You shouldn't need to create an existing Company's record.
Jim Prekop's team assigns global accounts.
How do we get reference information into the company/customer record?
Customer Care and CSE's work with the reference specialists to update reference information in C1. Contact the appropriate CSE to provide your updated information or the regional reference specialist.
Can we search on 'customer since' date?
Contact your regional power user if you need this information.
Can we have partners as competitors?
Yes, partners can also be competitors.
Can we mass update account team members?
No this must be individually updated.
Who is responsible for updating the company and site mood?
The CSE, with input from the PAE (PGS for site) is responsible for keeping the company mood accurate. Contact the appropriate CSE to provide your updated information.
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Representative
Can we see history of companies a representative has worked for?
The Show Companies button on the representative grid displays a list of all companies the representative is currently associated to.
Can we see the reference contacts in C1?
Yes, contacts are flagged with reference contact role. Do not contact the company directly, you must go through the reference specialist. Contact your power user for details.
How can we find reference contacts without having to drill into each contact?
Currently we cannot filter on role, you will need to search from the representative list.
Can we store the names of assistant (PA) to the contact?
There is no field for this information. It can, however, be stored in contact notes.
Who is cleaning empty contacts?
The Data Integrity team is cleaning this.
Do we have the representative role on the mailing list?
No there is no representative role on the mailing list.
Can we show list of campaigns by year a contact has been involved in?
Currently we cannot.
I noticed that some representatives are not appearing on my representative list, why?
The representative list only includes those that have been associated to a company. When adding representative, ensure that you have added an address and associated them to a company.
My contacts are not appearing correctly in the account plan report. What should I do?
After creating a representative from the Company component, you must click on the transfer icon that appears next to the representative name. This transfer will take you the Representative component. Ensure that you have updated the job level field. Please note that only C-level contacts will appear in the report.
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360-Degree View
Can we see mood (rep & co) in 360-degree view?
Currently we cannot. You will need to select the view details link
Can we see campaign activity for companies in the 360-degree view?
Currently we cannot. You will need to select the view details link.
Do we link to Documentum for agreements?
No, only list of agreements is provided
I can only view the 5 most recent leads and opportunities at a time, how can I view additional transactions?
Additional transactions are visible by clicking on the 'View All' link.
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Lead
Does the 'send notification' in the future work?
No, the "send notification" message is sent immediately rather than a set time in the future. You should use the Task feature, which can be set by a future time and date.
Is there an easier way to print notes from leads for associated opportunities?
Not really, report on individual lead history can be accessed.
How long before sales reps need to call the prospect?
I to R process = 7 days for Sales portion.
How do I identify my aging Leads?
You can either look at the lead history tab within the lead component. This enables you to validate where the lead is within the 30-day lead aging process. You can also run the UnChanged Status Lead Report.
What does Person ID refer to on the lead import template?
This refers to the ID of representative in C1
When creating a lead, what campaign name should I use for my lead name?
It is important to select the correct campaign and wave name located on the lead marketing tab to ensure accurate reporting. Use the generic campaign if this lead is generated directly from you.
I can't edit my lead source field, why?
The lead source field is only editable when the lead status is inquiry
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Opportunity
How difficult is it to link back to the lead notes from the opportunity?
Not difficult at all, simply click on the lead icon.
Can we have partner twice in the opportunity as they may have multiple role?
Duplicate partner names cannot be added to the partner section, however notes can be updated with this additional information.
Should I indicate if PGS is prime or sub?
Yes, you should always update this information in the Partner tab along with any other partner information you may have.
If I convert a lead to an opportunity that already exists (ie: link to existing opp), will I be added to the sales team?
No, contact the AE for the opportunity and ensure your name gets on the sales team.
When we clone an opportunity, who will become the owner?
If you don't copy the sales team, the cloner/copier should become the owner and the only person on the sales team with an allocation percentage of 100%. If you do copy the sales team the owner on the clone is identical to the owner of the original opportunity. Depending on your authorization (role in Customer1) you might be able to change the owner.
Can multiple price calculators be uploaded into an opportunity?
No only one version can be uploaded. You can upload as many times as you need, but only the last upload will be shown on the opportunity. You should always ensure you have the most current version loaded..
Can you see the history of price calculator uploads?
This depends on your role. The products page on the opportunity component indicates the price calc version and the last date it was uploaded. The information is also available both in a report; 'Product Import History'. This report is only accessible by Corporate Pricing.
I am in the pre-qualify stage and want to continue to work a lead and cultivate an opportunity but am not ready to make it a part of my pipeline yet as the estimated close date is outside of the forecast parameters. How can I store this information in C1 rather than in my Palm or excel spreadsheet?
In the future, we will add a Pipeline D forecast type to accommodate this situation. Until then, convert that lead to Pipeline C with an estimated close date of December 31, 2005 and a dollar value of $1. Update that opportunity to other pipeline and forecast stages as you work it through the GISS
When converting a second or third lead to an existing opportunity, will it update the opportunity information?
Yes, products and contacts are carried across to existing opportunity.
What is the business process around confidence percentage?
You should refer to Operational Procedures for Opportunity Mgmt.
Which competitor should we select if the prospect decides to no longer purchase from a vendor but instead develop in-house?
Competitor 'In House Development' should be used.
When I try to close my opportunity, I am prompted for competitor information but cannot find any competitors from the search list.
The close process only lists competitors that are associated with the opportunity you try to close. Competitors must be updated during the Infiltrate Opportunity Process. Before you update the opportunity to Closed status and Closed forecast type, update the Competition tab. If you have already tried to close the opportunity, cancel from the Opportunity Close events prompt and go directly into the Competitionr tab and select your competitor information. Then you can close the opportunity with the appropriate competitor information. This is important information for our win/loss analysis.
Where is the field for the Compelling Event in the Opportunity Profile?
Field does not exist; compelling event should be entered into the 'Strategy/Decision making process' section of the opportunity profile.
How do we use the fields in the opportunity profile?
Please refer to the Operational Procedures for Opportunity Management.
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Forecasting
What is the difference between forecasting for services and license?
License recognizes revenue as soon as the product is shipped. Services cannot recognize revenue in the same way. Services' forecasting is used to gage the health of the business and revenue pipeline. It is also used as a resource planning tool. For further details please refer to the Operational Procedure documents.
Does the application ensure the Estimated Close date matches the appropriate Forecast Type?
No, C1 does not check if the Estimated Close date matches the Forecast type. You must make sure that either opportunities with an Est. Close Date within the current quarter have a forecast type of closed, commit, upside or stretch and opportunities outside the current quarter have a forecast type of Pipeline A, B, or C.
Opportunities are easily updated within the Opportunity List grid.
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Reporting
Do we have reporting on company mood?
Contact your regional poweruser if you need this type of information.
Is mailing name available as a Name Type for companies?
No, the preferred name is used for our contact mailing list reports.
I am unable to print the crystal report (Account Plan and Opportunity Profile). I get a blank page, what should I do?
Ensure that you have the 'Print as Image' checked within the Printing Properties.
Why can't a report ID be converted into Customer1?
There may be several reasons for this:
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General
What is the difference between Search and Filter?
Search boxes enable you to look up records without personal security applied; only when you open the lead or opportunity the system will check if you have acess. Filters enable you to narrow your search based on your predefined criteria, within the leads/opportunities you have access to; all the leads/opportunities that are returned you can access You can save your filter criteria for future use by clicking the save icon.
What are the different ways I can search?
Within C1, there are 3 types of pages that can be used for searching: advanced/basic search pages, list search pages, or 360-degree view.
Will my Favorites in 8.0 come over in 8.4?
No you will need to reset your favorites. In 8.4 you can set your favorites within the Customer1 application.
How long should a sales rep spend in Customer1 per day or per week?
It will vary per user, per territory, per quarter. You should spend enough time deemed necessary to ensure your leads and opportunities are accurate. Your opportunities will be reflected in the weekly forecast that is reported to management. If you feel that you are spending too much time in C1 please contact your manager to discuss.
What are the tiering criteria?
Please refer to the Ideal Account Profile Documentation for segmentation or tiering characteristics.
How do I request references for my accounts?
To request a reference within C1, simply navigate to Reference>Reference Request. Sales users should not contact a company for a reference without prior approval from the reference program specialist.
The competitive intelligence team has informed me that I was sent a worker notification but I cannot see the notification what should I do?
By default a notification is sent to a worklist, update the default to send notifications to your email inbox by navigating to Customers>Representative. Search for your name, Update the Pref. Notification field to: Email.
What pillar should ESA fall under?
ESA is considered part of the Financials suite.
What is the difference between Region and Territory?
A region is a group/organization that has a managing director or an rvp that is responsible for a quota and a budget. A territory is a unique name to specify one sales user's sales territory. A naming convention is use to help identify what makes up this territory. For example: "N New Bus HRFIN/J.Fabio". This territory is just for J.Fabio.
Created by the PeopleSoft Knowledge Management Team.
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Created: amq 01/20/2003