Communication Wizard

This form is used to send various communications (email, fax, and letter) to a group of sales contacts or selected group members. You can save the content of each communication and then view it on the Sales Contacts and Sales Contact Interactions forms. You can use this same form to send email communications to Customer Portal users only instead of sales groups and group members.

The Communication Wizard is available in the web client or smart client. Using the web client version requires activation on the Feature Management form. Activating the web client version in the smart client will disable the wizard in the smart client; therefore, to keep using the existing Communication Wizard in the smart client, do not activate the web client version. For a summary of how each version works, see the table below.

Table 1. Communication Wizard Workflow: Web Client and Smart Client
Communication Method Web Client Smart Client
Fax, Letter.

Both methods require using an MS Word template.

 The MS Word mail merge performs in the background, and the SyteLine Task Manager generates a PDF file for the fax or letter. This file is auto-saved to the Report Output Files form where you can view, download, and print it. The MS Word mail merge performs in the background, and the fax or letter communication is opened in MS Word for printing or saving.
Email

Both clients let you choose an MS Word template or enter your content directly into the Message box.

You can also add mail merge fields directly into the Message box

  • If an email uses an MS Word template, it will open while the mail merge is performed, then automatically close.
  • Mail merge fields will auto-populate into the Message box as you select them.
  • AES will send the email to the selected audience.
  • If an email uses an MS Word template, it will open while the mail merge is performed, then automatically close.
  • Mail merge fields will auto-populate into the Message box as you select them.
  • MS Outlook will send the email to the selected audience.
For sales contact communications, there are four main steps as shown in the flow diagram on the Communication Wizard form:
  1. Identify Communication Type and Method: This determines the communication type and the communication method with your sales contacts or portal users.
  2. View and Select Sales Contacts: This determines which contacts in your selected sales group will receive a communication. The selected sales group only shows contacts whose interaction permissions allow for your chosen method of communication. This part does not apply to portal users.
  3. Identify/Create Template: This determines the actual content of a communication. If you are using a Microsoft Word template, select it here. If you are sending an email communication without a template, you can select Merge Fields to personalize the email. After a fax or letter communication is created, you can print it for faxing or mailing; for email communications, the Application Event System (AES) will automatically send it.
  4. Log Communication: You can optionally log information about an interaction. Log entries display on the Sales Contacts, Campaigns, Customers, and Prospects forms, depending on the group selected during the first part of the process.

For more details about using the Communication Wizard, see these topics:

Related topics