When it comes to accountability, as a manager I often take the position “if it’s not in GoldMine it didn’t happen.” Here’s what I mean and why it works so well.
GoldMine can be used to document a lot of things! And, as a workgroup solution, the information is easily accessible. GoldMine lends itself to tracking everything – from the source of a lead with the creation date, to the date of the last call, any scheduled follow-up, to all sorts of other details.
In addition, GoldMine features an InfoCenter (a.k.a. Knowledgebase) where you can maintain “books of knowledge” for such purposes as policies and procedures, marketing information, even ISO documentation.
Let’s get back to this notion of “if it’s not in GoldMine it didn’t happen.” As a manager, ideally we try to be objective and fair. That’s why it really helps to “have the facts.” Relying on people’s memory presents problems – people have very selective memory, let alone their personal bias and their self-interests which can lead them to skew the facts. This is where GoldMine can really help!
- Who brought in the lead? Look at the Summary Tab of the record and see who created it in the GoldMine database.
- Who has been following up on the prospect and deserves credit for the commission when the prospect calls in to order? Look in the History Tab and review the calls.
- When did the customer call in to request certain information? Check History Tab.
- Is somebody following up on a lead? Check Pending Tab.
- When did the customer say they were mailing the check? Check “Call Notes.”
When you take the attitude that “if it’s not in GoldMine it didn’t happen” an interesting dynamic comes about. From that point forward, people start to take more responsibility for entering important information. Users recognize each time there is a situation in which “the facts” that should have been stored in GoldMine are needed, that someone either did or didn’t do their job properly by entering them. Therefore, the quality of the documentation in GoldMine becomes a reflection on the quality of a person’s work. So, if people take any pride in what they do, they will start tobe more attentive to what they enter into GoldMine.
When you take the position, “if it’s not in GoldMine it didn’t happen” you’ll be surprised at how much more useful information ends up IN Goldmine! And, in the process, you’ll be able to be a stronger manager.
