Breaking News: Workday and Salesforce Tie the AI Knot

This week on Funnel Frontier: A new AI + data juggernaut? Salesforce & Workday to launch new AI-powered assistant for employee services + Act! CRM gets a bold new jetpack upgrade!

This week:

• Salesforce and Workday team up in AI and data 
• Act! CRM updates its Act!
• In times of AI, think of the people (via Forrester)
• FreshBooks vs Wave
• Making the most of a marketing plan (via HubSpot)

Stat of the Week

According to a buyer survey, the top three issues businesses hope to resolve with CRM are: contact management (50%), sales management (33%), and lead generation (33%). (Pipeline)

Salesforce and Workday form an AI and data cloud alliance

New romantic comedy idea: What if two work platforms with large market shares—but from different verticals—fell in love and then got cyber-married? (After resolving a series of quirky misunderstandings first, of course).

In an odd-power-couple dream come true, Salesforce and Workday are “tying the AI knot.” They’ve pledged to mutually launch a new AI-powered assistant for employee services, tackling tasks like onboarding, benefits, and career development. 

Salesforce's CRM and Workday's HR/financial data will be blended, creating a work automation smoothie that promises to streamline processes, save costs, and boost productivity. 

This bot will bop to “seamless onboarding,” self-service HR tools (for such things as PTO questions, changing healthcare plans, etc.), and supporting continuous development with bespoke employee recommendations based on tracked activity in Workday.

How does it work? Salesforce’s Einstein AI and Workday AI will share and care, with users of either vendor’s product gaining a LLM-trained, natural language-speaking auto-bot. And for users of both tools, the Salesforce Zero Copy Partner Network will make sure there’s no pesky data duplication.

But wait, there’s more. Workday’s features (like HR and financial records) will also be available in Slack, allowing quick-access from ye olde work chat app.

In short, there’s gonna be a new, data-enabled, AI service agent on the block, intended to handle everything from job records to payroll chats. 

When cometh the bot? No word yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

The Week @ CRM.org

ERP vs CRM. CRM does the schmooze and charm; ERP herds cats behind-the-scenes. 

Zoho CRM Review. Zoho’s been around since the 90s. They’ve definitely “figured it out” since then, building up a reliable, comprehensive platform. 

Weekly Bloom

The Jobs-To-Be-Done Theory. If 95% of new products don’t make it, maybe it's time to take Clayton Christensen’s advice and avoid innovation roulette.

Act! CRM updates its Act! (with new features)

Act! just dropped Act! Premium v26, a CRM upgrade that’s giving “grandma gets a jetpack.”

It’s designed to boost productivity with better team coordination tools and a tighter bond with Microsoft Outlook. The biggest glow-up however, is in OpenAI integration, allowing in-app generative AI for snazzier, au courant email marketing and landing pages, 

The idea is to manage calendars, collaborate like a boss, and whip up engaging content faster than a bad comedian clears a room. 

Bruce Reading, Act! CEO, says this update is a game-changer for SMBs: “We’re making all our customers more productive—and ideally more profitable—but this will have a real business impact for those customers who want a robust CRM that runs locally because that’s what best meets their needs.”

But that’s not all—Act! has also released a new mobile app. It’s called Act! Premium Cloud Mobile.

Available for free on iOS and Android, it lets Act! Premium cloud users manage contacts, calendars, and sales pipelines from wherever.

It’s designed to give your business a caffeine boost while you’re out getting one. Just don’t get too excited about your hot deals, lest you spill that Cortado on your phone.

Stellar Strategies: Tips & Tricks for Sales, Marketing & Service

In times of AI, put people first (via Forrester)

Sure, AI will “change everything”— but it isn’t AI doing the changing, it’s people using AI.

Aye, there’s the thing that rubs. When it comes to improving old tasks and creating new ones, success hinges on getting your human team to harness AI in a good way. 

How to do good human-AI synergy? A few ideas:

• Level up your peoples’ power level in a holistic way (not just AI skills)
• Develop leadership skills to steer change (don’t get psyched out, you can indeed be better than a bot!)
• Foster a high performing culture of work
• Get the collaboration flowing via emotional understanding
• Nurture your team’s trust to avoid a broken social scene

More here.

P.S. Forrester will also cover the subject on a track at the Technology & Innovation Summit (September 9-12 in Austin, TX).

FreshBooks vs Wave

Torn between FreshBooks and Wave accounting software? It’s like picking between fine dining and quick service.

FreshBooks offers comprehensive features and scalability, making it suitable for growing businesses with plans ranging from $17 to $55+ per month. 

Wave, on the other hand, provides its core accounting features for free, with additional costs for payments and payroll—a cheeky offer for budget-conscious businesses.

FreshBooks excels in customer support, integrations, and project management, while Wave wins on general bang-for-buck and native payroll services.

Yep, the age-old choice of advanced features and support, or cost-effective basics. Need more context? We’ve got you covered. 

Making the most of a marketing plan (via HubSpot) 

Marketing without a plan is like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks. You won't get a Jackson Pollock-style masterpiece every time. 

Like whimsical cookie molds, plans and templates keep things from crumbling. Plus, they can be “aesthetic.”

Regardless of how granular you need to go, any well-structured marketing plan should include: 

• Business summary

• SWOT analysis

• Target market

• Competitive analysis (evaluation of competitors and market position)

• Marketing strategy (outline of product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence)

• Budget

• Marketing channels

• Timeline (schedule of tasks and deadlines)

Templates can help de-abstract everything. Thankfully, you can find some free ones over here.

Galactic Gourmet

CRM blips from around the web

HubSpot will report Q2 results. The conference call will take place after the close of US markets on Wednesday, August 7th at 4:30 PM EST.

Dialpad releases a new version of Ai sales. The customer intelligence app vendor’s app is powered by its proprietary LLM with business-specific data sets. The new version promises smoother CRM integration for automating data entry.

Atlantic Coast Mortgage chooses Nextwave CRM. The home financing company, which operates across 30 US states, favored the tool as part of its emphasis on “customer-centric culture and CRM initiative” (according to Patrick Collins, their Chief Strategy Officer). 

Astronomical Assets

Significant Stock Moves from Last Week

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