People who have been using computers in business for a long time may remember an old program called Pack Rat. It was incredible – so incredible that the Federal Government used it. Then came version 4. It was buggy – so buggy and unstable they lost most of their user base. It took me a couple of years to find a replacement, but I did – and now I’ve been using it for over a decade.
There is an extremely cool little $60 software package for Microsoft operating system computers called Chaos Intellect. http://www.chaossoftware.com/products.aspx. I’ve used it for years. If you download that package and take a few minutes to understand what it can do, you’ll be amazed. I haven’t been able to duplicate it’s functionality in any other software at any price, let alone $60. Perhaps something like SalesForce would come close but last time I check that out, it didn’t. Here are some of the things I like and the reasons why I recommend it:
- Schedule a series of emails to go out.
- The group email feature is easy to use.
- There are not only Tasks, but Projects.
- You can link emails to the contacts so when you bring up a contact, you bring up all the emails, all the meetings, all the tasks, all the projects, all the documents, all EVERYTHING in the system for that contact.
- It’s come fully network capable, and has been for years.
- You can modify the data paths and name different data sets. So, if two of you are using it, you can share all other info but keep your emails separate.
- Finally, Each section of info can be assigned its own password.
Now they’ve improved the cloud connection so it is accessible from all over. In fact, by using the app and the cloud, I’m told it is accessible on a MAC. I haven’t tried that yet but will shortly.
I’ve always found it to be an absolutely amazing little tool. I think this software’s biggest problem is that they aren’t charging about 10 X more for it. It’s biggest impediment to growth is its low price point. Don’t let the low price fool you. For most micro businesses, this little package has a whole lot to offer.
Here’s a link to their introductory video. http://www.chaossoftware.com/university/intellect101-Introduction.aspx
