Tip of the Week – Always call the right number with a simple formula in Salesforce
When you want to make the sale, voicemail is most certainly not your friend. If you leave your message after the tone, you never know if they’re going to call right back, start a game of phone tag, or miss it entirely, giving your competitors another opportunity to snatch your hard-earned revenue. No different with customer service – when a client is angry, nothing can sooth their frustration like a friendly, live voice on the other end. The answering machine isn’t going to answer their questions. If you’re using Salesforce, you have six standard phone number fields (yes, 6, I counted) between Accounts and Contacts, not to mention any custom phone fields you’ve added over time. But which one is going to get a pick-up instead of going straight to that annoying automated teller? Wouldn’t it be great if you could clearly and easily identify the preferred phone number? You can, with two simple fields!
First, create a picklist field called “Preferred Phone?” and make the values the names of all your phone number fields (Account Phone, Mobile, etc.). Now, create a formula field called “Preferred Phone” (to make your life easy, add “_Formula” to the API name). The formula: CASE(Preferred_Phone__c, “Account Phone”, Account.Phone, “Mobile”, MobilePhone,…,null) – obviously add any other numbers in that … bit. Add the picklist near the other phone numbers, and give your formula a predominant place at the top of the record and you’re all set! You can leverage this field in related lists, list views, and anywhere you’ve got a lookup to Contact. Now, you’ll always know which number is best to get an answer! It’s so simple, why not give it a try today!
-Jared and the Salesforce Guys
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.