A few have asked if MBA runs on new Windows Vista so I thought I would put up a screen shot of MBA for Avon running (right click, View Image for larger version).
This is on Vista - Business version.
Technorati Tags: MBA, Avon, Direct Sales
I have been playing around with old style dial-up phone modems lately. It first started when I wanted to add Faxing to MBA. Windows 2000 and XP (both Home and Pro) come with Faxing software. I thought it would be nice to allow Reps to Fax reports. Not everyone has access to email at work but many still have Faxes. It all started when a local Rep mentioned to me that she has customers that are employees of a restaurant and that they don’t have email but they do have a Fax. She wanted to Fax copies of the Invoices prior to delivery so they could be verified and customers could have exact change or checks ready.
About a week after adding Faxing to upcoming version of MBA I got a call from a friend that made me think of something else to add as well. My friend always calls from work and uses a auto-dialer program in his Contacts List software. He has a speaker phone and picks up when I answer (he’s been doing this for years) and I can always detect when he is doing this. Then I thought “Hey, why not add this feature to MBA”. If people have a modem for Faxing why not allow then to use it to dial the phone too.
I have a 56K modem built right into my notebook so I used this for development and testing. But for both of these features all you need is a very old 14.4 modem. I looked through the local Craig’s List ads and even in a few thrift shops to see if any were around and how much they cost. I was amazed to see lots are still out there and they are very very cheap. I have seen 28.8 and 33.6 modems for as little as $5 each (with cables!). Most were in the $10 - $15 range. Of course you can buy new internal modems for as little as $25 (these are software driven Win modems, but work great on anything from a PII up, if your computer in less than seven years old it will probably work fine).
In addition to sending Faxes you can use the Windows software and your modem to receive Faxes as well. The great thing is you can preview them before printing (save a tree). And when you do print them its on plain paper not that old shiny Fax paper (that fades after a few months).
I know Faxing and auto-dialing are not for going to be a gigantic boon to anyones business but all these little tools can help make your work day a little easier.
Technorati Tags: Direct Sales, Faxing, Dialing, Modems
I just purchased a new inexpensive HP Laser printer (under $100). About two years ago my old Laser printer died and I had a Canon Color InkJet so never replaced the Laser printer. I have been spending a lot of money on InkJet cartridges lately so thought I would look into getting a Laser printer again (for my black & white printing). I remember reading that Laser toner was about half the price of Ink so I Googled the phrase “compare inkjet laser costs”. After reading a few stories/reviews I realized that purchasing a Laser was a very good idea.
InkJet’s cost two to three times as much as Laser printers on a per page cost comparison. One story even said on rare cases InkJets can cost up to 8 times more. I know you can buy non-brand name Inkjet cartridges and save that way but you can do the same for Lasers as well.
So far I have been very happy with my Laser. It is much faster than my InkJet and the pages don’t smudge like they did with my InkJet (much much better for mailing labels). If you do a lot of Black and White printing in your Direct Sales business I would recommend you look into getting an inexpensive Laser.
One last thing, I just wrote a little program for printing addresses directly on #10 mailing envelopes. Now I can pick a name out of Customer/Contacts list and print it directly on a envelope (along with my return address). No labels needed. Think I will look into adding this code into MBA.
Technorati Tags: Direct Sales, Laser printers, MBA
