Working with Activities in Tour de Force Desktop

Overview

In Tour de Force, an Activity item is an item that allows users log and track all communication and correspondence associated with customers, prospects, and other business relationships.  

An Activity item can be used to document the actions and the results related to sales, consulting, and support requests so users know exactly what happened, when these activities happened, and how much time was utilized to perform or to complete these activities.

Activity items are typically used to document what was accomplished during an Appointment item, and what was accomplished when a Task item is completed.

Users can create Activity reports in the Manager’s Console instead of manually creating call or sales activity reports.

Activity items can be linked to Account, Contact, and Opportunity records, as well as linked to Appointment, Task, and Support items.

The Tour de Force Activity form can be accessed from the Tour de Force Account, the Tour de Force Contact, the Tour de Force Opportunity, the Tour de Force Appointment, the Tour de Force Task, and the Tour de Force Support forms, as well as from the Quick Events, the Actions, the Views, and the Tour de Force menus.  Users can also use the Activity Wizard to create new Activity items.

When accessing the Tour de Force Activity form from the Tour de Force Account , the Tour de Force Contact, and the Tour de Force Opportunity forms, as well as from the different menu options, only one new Activity item can be added to the Account, Contact, or Opportunity record.  If more than one Activity item needs to be entered into Tour de Force, the Tour de Force Activity form must be opened again.

If multiple Activity items need to be added simultaneously, then use the Activity Wizard (TDF desktop verison only) to enter the Activity items into Tour de Force.

 

Overview of the Tour de Force Activity Form

The Tour de Force Activity form provides one central form where all sales activities that have occurred that are associated with customers, prospects, and other business relationships can be entered into Tour de Force efficiently.  This form is used to create new Activity items, as well as to display and edit information associated with Activity items that have been entered into Tour de Force.  

 

 

If multiple Account Packages exist in Tour de Force, the Tour de Force Activity form is the same form utilized throughout the system.

 

The Tour de Force Activity form is divided into five sections:

 

• The Tour de Force Toolbar
• The Breadcrumb bar
• The Header Control
• Activity Information
• Notes

 

The Tour de Force Toolbar

The Tour de Force Toolbar contains several buttons that can be used in relation to the Activity item that is currently open.

 

There are eight buttons located on the Tour de Force Toolbar:

• Save – This button saves the Activity item and keeps the Tour de Force Activity form open.
• Save and Close – This button saves the Activity item and closes the Tour de Force Activity form.
• Close – This button closes the Tour de Force Activity form.
• Refresh – This button refreshes the Activity item.
• Attachments – This button is used to add, link, or view any documents attached to the Activity item.
• Actions – This button is used to create new items that are associated with the Activity item.
• Copy to Record – This button is used to copy the Activity item to multiple records.
• Copies – This button is used to view any copies created from the currently open Activity item.

 

The Breadcrumb Bar

 

The breadcrumb bar is used to quickly navigate between Account Roots, Account Packages, Territories, Contacts, and Account record. The breadcrumb bar is also used as pathway tracker to view the order in which Records and Items were accessed. Alternative methods for creating and viewing Records and Items can also be used with the breadcrumb bar.

 

 

The Header Control

 

The Header Control information such as TDF Key, Owner, Creation, Last Mod Date, and the Active fields that are associated with an Activity item are located at the top of the Tour de Force Activity form.  

 

 

There are five fields located in the Header Control:

 

• TDF Key – This field is used to uniquely identify each Activity item in Tour de Force.   This field is automatically assigned by the system and cannot be changed.
• Owner – This field displays the name of the Tour de Force user that created the Activity item.  This field is display only and cannot be changed.
• Creation – This field displays the date the Activity item was created.  This field is display only and cannot be changed.
• Last Mod – This field displays the date the Activity item was last modified. This field changes after each save operation inside the item.
• Active – This field displays whether the Activity item is visible in the Global Search. If this field is False then the Activity item does not display in the Global Search.

 

Activity Information

 

The fourth section of the Tour de Force Activity form is used to associate information such as the Activity Subject, Activity Type, Activity Date, Visit Type, and Activity Duration with each Activity item.

 

Since this section is 100% configurable these fields may not exist in every implementation.  The labels and fields that are maintained on this tab are typically defined during the set up phase of the initial implementation.

 

 

Notes

 

The third section of the Tour de Force Activity form contains the Notes field where a detail description can be associated with each Activity item. This field can be used to identify where the Activity item was created from, as well as detailed descriptions of the activity related to the Parent Item.

 

 

 

Creating a New Activity Item from an Account Record

The steps to associate a new Activity to an Account, a Contact, and an Opportunity Record are the same once the Tour de Force Activity form is accessed. The Actions button is also located on the Tour de Force Contact and Tour de Force Opportunity forms and can be used to create new Activity items.

 

Use the following procedures to create a new Activity item for an Account record from the Tour de Force Account form:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Type the name or partial name of the Account in the For field, and then press the Enter key or click the Search (binoculars) button.

3. Locate the appropriate Account record and click the Open Folder icon.

4. Click the Actions button on the Tour de Force toolbar on the Tour de Force Account form.

5. Select New Activity in the Actions menu.

6. Type a brief description to associate with the Activity item in the Activity Subject field.

For example, type New Contact Added if a new Contact record was linked to the Account record.

 

7. Specify the date the when the activity initially occurred in the Activity Date field. This field defaults to today’s date.

8. Click the Activity Type field and select the appropriate activity to associate with the Activity item.

For example, select Sales - Introduction Call to identify how that the Contact was added by a phone conversation.

 

9. Specify the method used to conduct the activity with the Activity Method field.

For example, select Phone for a phone call.

 

 

10. Type the length of time, in minutes, associated with the new Activity in the Activity Duration field.

 

11. In the Marketing Result field select the end marketing result for Activity item.

For example select Qualified – Moved to Sales if the Contact record added is a qualified contact.

 

 

Note: The fields that are used are dependent on the Record or Item that the Activity item was created from. For example, if the Activity item is being made from a Support record the billing fields may be filled out.

 

12. Type any notes associated with the new Activity in the Note field.  

13. Click the Save button to save the new Activity item.

 

14. Click the Close button to close the Tour de Force Activity form.

 

Creating a New Activity Item for an Account Record Using the Global Search Utility

Use the following procedures to create an Activity item for an Account record using the Global Search utility.

1. Locate the Account in the grid section of the Global Search form, and then right click the mouse to display the Quick Events menu.
2. Select Actions and then New Activity on the Quick Events menu.  

3. Fill out the necessary information for the Activity item and click the Save button.

 

Creating New Activity Items in the Inbox of Microsoft Outlook

One of the design goals of Tour de Force is to increase business productivity by helping users reduce the amount of time needed to perform administrative tasks.  In order to help users decrease the amount of time needed to create new items and to search for information related to Account and Contact records, functionality to perform these tasks has been added to the Tour de Force toolbar in Microsoft Outlook.

 

If the sender of an Email message is a Contact record in Tour de Force, and the Email address associated with the Contact record matches the Email message, an item such as an Activity item can be added to Tour de Force quickly and efficiently from the Inbox of Microsoft Outlook using the Actions menu.  

 

If the sender of an Email message is not an existing Contact record in Tour de Force, the Contact record has to be created first.

 

If the sender of an Email message is an existing Contact record in Tour de Force, and the Email address associated with the Contact record matches the Email message, all Tour de Force items linked to that Contact record can viewed using the Views menu on the Tour de Force toolbar.

 

Use the following procedures to create a new Activity item for a Contact record using an Email message:

1. Give focus to the Email message in the Inbox of Microsoft Outlook and click the Actions menu.

 

2. Select New Activity.

5. Create the new Activity item in the Tour de Force Activity form.
6. Click the Save button to save the new Activity item.
7. Click the Close button to close the Tour de Force Activity form.

 

Creating Copies of Activity Items for Multiple Records

Copies of Activity items can be created in the Tour de Force Activity form using the Copy to Record button. This is a quick and efficient way to add the same Activity item for multiple records. This is useful for when an Activity item is the same activity over multiple records and needs to be entered into the database for each record.

 

Use the following procedures to copy an Activity Item to a Record:

1. Access or create the Activity item that needs to be copied.
2. Click the Copy to Record button.

 

3. In the Item Type field select the record type that needs to have the Activity item linked.

For example, select Account if the Activity item needs to be linked to a specific Account record.

 

4. In the For field type in the partial name or complete name of the Account record that needs to have the Activity item linked and press the Enter key on the keyboard.  The Search button (binoculars) can also be used.

5. Locate the Account records or Account records that need to have a copy of the Activity item and click the Chain Link button next to each Account record.

Note: After the Chain Link button has been clicked the Record or Item displays in the Selected items for linking grid.

 

6. Click the Link button to create a copy of the Activity item and to have the Activity item linked to the selected Records and Items.

 

 

Activity Wizard

The Activity Wizard is designed to allow users to enter multiple Activity items into Tour de Force quickly and efficiently.  Multiple Activity items can be entered and associated with the same Parent Item, which can be any Account, Contact, Opportunity, Event, Contract, or Support record.

 

Multiple Activity items can also be entered and associated with different Parent Items in the Activity Wizard window proficiently.  For example, a customer service representative can keep the Activity Wizard window open during the day to enter all sales calls to and from customers as the sales calls occur.  Alternately, salesperson can enter all of the onsite visits and calls to and from customers for the day that night or when appropriate.

 

Since the Specifications section on the Activity Wizard form is 100% configurable, fields have been added to the form as examples for discussion and training purposes.  These fields may not exist in your implementation.  The labels and fields that are maintained in this section are typically defined during the set up phase of the initial implementation.

 

Note: The procedures or steps to create and link an Activity item to an Account, a Contact, an Opportunity, an Event, a Contract, and a Support record are similar once the Parent Item is associated with the Activity item.

 

 Accessing the Activity Wizard

There are two ways to access the Activity Wizard:

1. Click the Activity Wizard button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

 

 

Or

2. Select Tour de Force, then Activity Wizard from the Microsoft Outlook menu.

 

 

Create a New Activity Item for an Account Record

To create a new Activity item for an Account record using the Activity Wizard:

1. Click the Activity Wizard button on the Tour de Force toolbar.
2. Click the Binocular button to open the Select Parent window.

3. In the Item Type field associated with the Select Parent window, select Account.

4. In the For field, type the name or partial name of the Account record, and then press the Enter key on the keyboard.

For example, type mrh technology in the For field and the press the Enter key on the keyboard. Clicking the Binoculars icon also executes the search.

 

5. After locating the Account record in grid section of the Select Parent window, click the Chain Link icon.

 

Note: The Parent Item field displays the name of the Company associated with the Account record once the Account record is linked to the new Activity item.

6. Complete the Activity item.

 

 Create a New Activity Item for a Contact Record

Use the following procedures to create a new Activity item for a Contact record using the Activity Wizard:

1. Click the Activity Wizard button on the Tour de Force toolbar.
2. Click the Binocular button to open the Select Parent window.

3. In the Item Type field associated with the Select Parent window, select Contact.

4. In the For field, type the name or partial name of the Contact record, and then press the Enter key on the keyboard.

For example, type dan sh in the For field and then press the Enter key on the keyboard.  Clicking the Binoculars icon also executes the search.

5. After locating the Contact record in grid section of the Select Parent window, click the Chain Link icon.

 

Note: The Parent Item field displays the Name associated with the Contact record once the Contact record is linked to the new Activity item.

6. Complete the Activity item.

 

 Create a New Activity Item for an Opportunity Record

Use the following procedures to create a new Activity item for an Opportunity record using the Activity Wizard:

1. Click the Activity Wizard button on the Tour de Force toolbar.
2. Click the Binocular button to open the Select Parent window.

3. In the Item Type field associated with the Select Parent window, select Opportunity.

4. In the For field, type the description or partial description associated with the Opportunity record, and then press the Enter key on the keyboard.

For example, type Upgrade in the For field and then press the Enter key on the keyboard. Clicking the Binoculars icon also executes the search.

  

5. After locating the Opportunity record in grid section of the Select Parent window, click the Chain Link icon.

 

Note: The Parent Item field displays the Description associated with the Opportunity record once the Opportunity record is linked to the new Activity item.

6. Complete the Activity item.

 

Procedures to View Linked Activity Items from an Account Record

Use the following procedures to view Activity items linked to an Account record from the Tour de Force Account form:

1. Access the appropriate Account record
2. Click the Views button.

3. Click Activities in the Views menu.

4. All of the Activity items linked to the Account record are displayed. Click the Open Folder icon to open the Activity item.
   

 

Procedures to View Linked Activity Items Using the Global Search Utility

Use the following procedures to view Activity items linked to an Account record using the Global Search utility:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.
2. Type the name or partial name of the Account in the For field, and then press the Enter key.  Or, use the alternate search functionality to locate the Account record or Contact record.

3. Locate the Account in grid section of the Global Search form, and then right click the mouse to display the Quick Events menu.

4. From the Quick Events menu, select Views.

5. From the Views menu, select Activities to open the Quick View window.

6. Click the Open Folder icon to open the Tour de Force Activity form.

 

Viewing Activity items in the Inbox of Microsoft Outlook

If the sender of an Email message is a Contact record, items such as Activity items can be viewed quickly and efficiently from the Inbox of Microsoft Outlook using the Views menu.  

 

Use the following procedures to view Activity items for a Contact record using an Email message:

1. Give focus to the Email message in the Inbox of Microsoft Outlook and click the Views menu.

2. Select Activities.

3. In the Quick View form, click the Open Folder button to access the Tour de Force Activity form.

4. After reviewing the Activity item, save any changes and close the Tour de Force Activity form.

 

Procedures to Delete Linked Activity Items from an Account Record

Items, such as Activity items, can be deleted from Tour de Force Record forms.  This is a good way to keep track of where Activity items were deleted and their relationship with other Records and Items in Tour de Force. The procedures to delete an Activity item from an Account record are the same for Contact, Support, and Opportunity records.

 

Use the following procedures to delete an Activity item from the Tour de Force Account form:

1. Access the appropriate Account record.
2. In the Linked Record and Item grid select Activities.

 

3. Give focus to the Activity item that needs to be deleted and click the Delete button.

4. Click the Yes button to confirm the deletion.

5. The Activity item has now be deleted from the Account record.

 

Procedures to Delete Linked Activity Items Using the Global Search Utility

Use the following procedures to delete an Activity item linked to an Account record:

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

2. Type the name or partial name of the Account in the For field, and then press the Enter key.  Or, use the alternate search functionality to locate the Account or Contact.

3. Locate the Account in grid section of the Global Search form, and right-click to display the Quick Events menu.

4. From the Quick Events menu, select Views.

5. From the Views menu, select Activities to open the Quick View form.

6. Select or give focus to the appropriate Activity item and click the Delete button.

Multiple Activity items can be deleted simultaneously by highlighting all of the Activity items that need to be deleted.  Press and hold the Ctrl key to select multiple Activity items that are not in consecutive order.