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What is Business Center? |
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The Earnware Business Center is an online virtual office that helps people be more effective and efficient in managing communication between prospects, colleagues, customers etc. It helps to improve and automate many of the sales, marketing, and communications processes. This results in increased revenue, decreased costs, and saved time.
Each customer receives their own username and password to log-in to their personal system. You can access your Business Center from any Internet connection in the world; enabling you to be far more productive. You can send and receive voice, fax, and e-mail messages, check prospect and customer information, manage your schedule and tasks, access your files, and automate and manage marketing campaigns all from one location. Business Center makes you more connected to your business.
Business Center was designed to help large sales organizations easily replicate best-practices systems across the entire organization.
There is also an intuitive and efficient website replicator enabling organizations with independent reps to have personal websites with tested and approved marketing content from the top leaders.
It is billed on a monthly basis between $19.95 and $69.95 per month, with no long-term contracts and there's no hardware or software to install. Simply order your account and your system will be activated within 24 hours. An e-mail will be sent to you with your new toll-free number, e-mail address, log-in information, and user guides.
Business Center is scaleable and maximizes success in any size company from a single-person home business to organizations with 50,000+ distributors.
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What does Business Center come with? |
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The product itself comes with a contact manager, task and calendar manager, inbox where you can send and receive all of your voice, email, and fax messages, a file manager where you can store your files online, a toll-free number with follow me that is set-up to ring at up to three phones so you can be reached at any time, a campaign manager that automates marketing campaigns, a website builder, and a reporting system so you can run reports on your campaigns.
The contact manager, toll-free number with "follow me," and unified inbox help you communicate more effectively because you can communicate and be reached from anywhere in the world. The task and calendar managers improve productivity by enabling you to manage your time better. The file manager improves productivity as well because you can access your vital business information from any Internet connection. The campaign manager saves time during the sales process by following with prospects via email by automatically sending messages to them at preset times. You can be following up on 100 prospects a day without doing anything.
The web-builder is a tool for customizing and personalizing a templated website. This helps you sell more by looking more professional and credible.
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What kind of support and customer service can I expect to recieve. |
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Earnware is a customer driven company, not technology driven. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that our customers achieve maximum success from our services. We treat each customer as a partner and will spend the required time necessary, by phone in live conversation or on the internet, to achieve this.
We not only offer support for our products, but if there is anything else we can help with (even if it has nothing to do with Business Center), our support team is empowered to help you with your needs.
You can contact our Customer Service Department at 800-800-8273, 8am-6pm, PST, M-F for answers to any of your questions.
We also listen to our customers, more than anyone else in the industry. If you have a concern about our service or a suggestion for improvement, we will make your request a priority. Feel free to contact anyone on our directly at anytime.
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I need a toll-free number. How does your phone system work? |
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You get a toll-free number that is yours (and yours only); no extensions or PIN numbers. It allows you to create recordings for callers to listen to when they dial your number. This gives you the power of 24-hour information-on-demand and the ability to disseminate information about your products and/or services no matter where you are or what you're doing. When someone calls your toll-free number they are able to access the different audio recordings you've made available to them.
If you choose to, you can give your callers the option to connect with you live, at up to 3 different phone numbers that you program into the system. You'll never miss an important call again! Your callers can also request fax-on-demand documents. And, of course, they can leave you a message at any time.
Voicemail messages are retrieved online or over the phone and your toll-free number also acts as a fax number (inbound and outbound). Your voice, fax, and e-mail messages are all located in one location accessible from any Internet connection in the world.
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How much does the system cost? |
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Pricing ranges between $9.95 and $69.95 per month and 4.9¢ to 6.9¢ per minute for toll-free number usage.
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How much is the phone usage? |
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6.9 cents per minute, billed in six second increments with an 18 second minimum. Usage is charged whenever the toll-free number is in use (e.g. inbound and outbound calls, inbound and outbound faxing, follow-me calls, etc.). However, Earnware does not charge extra for the outbound legs of your follow-me calls; all other companies do charge you for this usage.
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What are the typical set-up costs for a small company? |
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One-time implementation costs are based on the number of users, customization and training requirements, and additional services needed to ensure a successful deployment for your company. A new user can be activated within minutes and, with adequate skills, can often configure their Business Centers with minimal reference to set-up manuals, help guides, and training.
It is always recommended that you consult an Earnware consultant or a Certified Partner for implementation assistance, as successful deployment begins with a thorough assessment of the overall business objectives and needs. Without this initial assessment, results will be mixed.
Your consultant will conduct an initial "Needs Analysis" for your company to gain a clear picture of how to improve existing processes. Only after the objectives have been clearly defined can the technology be used effectively to deliver the desired result.
Deploying Earnware is usually far less expensive than hiring developers and IT staff to install and manage internal software and hardware. To get the equivalent, companies would have to spend millions of dollars in technology and integration costs.
We take each case separately because we highly customize our solutions to meet the specific needs of our customers. Other differentiating factors include:
- Built-in voice, fax, and e-mail messaging
- Faster deployment (10 - 45 days with training)
- Lower cost of ownership (Comparable solutions require multiple vendors to
deliver and usually cost 3-10 times more than an integrated Earnware solution)
- Customizable and brandable user interface
- Faster acceptance from the field and staff due to simple & familiar operation
- More flexible and open architecture with competent technical support
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What are the typical set-up costs for a large company? |
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One-time implementation costs are based on the number of users, customization and training requirements, and additional services needed to ensure a successful deployment for your company. A new user can be activated within minutes and, with adequate skills, can often configure their Business Centers with minimal reference to set-up manuals, help guides, and training.
It is always recommended that you consult an Earnware consultant or a Certified Partner for implementation assistance, as successful deployment begins with a thorough assessment of the overall business objectives and needs. Without this initial assessment, results will be mixed.
Your consultant will conduct an initial "Needs Analysis" for your company to gain a clear picture of how to improve existing processes. Only after the objectives have been clearly defined can the technology be used effectively to deliver the desired result.
Deploying Earnware is usually far less expensive than hiring developers and IT staff to install and manage internal software and hardware. To get the equivalent, companies would have to spend millions of dollars in technology and integration costs.
We take each case separately because we highly customize our solutions to meet the specific needs of our customers. Other differentiating factors include:
- Built-in voice, fax, and e-mail messaging
- Faster deployment (10 - 45 days with training)
- Lower cost of ownership (Comparable solutions require multiple vendors to
deliver and usually cost 3-10 times more than an integrated Earnware solution)
- Customizable and brandable user interface
- Faster acceptance from the field and staff due to simple & familiar operation
- More flexible and open architecture with competent technical support
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How long does it take to set-up? |
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New accounts are usually activated within 24 hours. Once your application is processed you will receive an e-mail confirmation with your new toll-free number, e-mail address, log-in information, and user guides.
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How do I order my company's version of Earnware? |
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If your company currently offers an Earnware product, most likely you can obtain an account application or a link to an online order form directly from your company. If not, please call us or e-mail us for information on how to sign-up for your company's Earnware system. E-mail us at support@earnware.com.
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Who will help me get set-up? |
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You can contact our Customer Service Department at support@earnware.com, or call us at 800-800-8273, 8am-6pm, PST, M-F.
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Is special training required to use the Earnware Business Center? |
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No special training is required, however it certainly can help you begin using Earnware more effectively. We recommend that all new users schedule some training with their Earnware representative or consultant.
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How much time does it take to learn how to use the Business Center? |
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Depending on your skill level, it's not uncommon for new users to develop an intuitive understanding and begin using the Business Center in less than an hour. It will, of course, take repetitious use of the system before every aspect of it is second nature to you.
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How do I ensure a successful implementation for my business? |
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If you have unique business needs it is recommended that you consult with an Earnware consultant to assist in customizing and deploying your Business Center solution.
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Can I cancel anytime? |
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Yes. The Earnware service is a month-to-month service; there are no long-term contracts.
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How do I obtain a quote for customizing Earnware? |
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Written quotes can be obtained through a Partner or Consultant. To locate a Partner, call us at 1 800 800 8273 or submit an . In many cases, Earnware or the Partner can provide a preliminary estimate after only one or two phone calls; however multi-user installations often require more detailed discovery through a "Needs Assessment." Once completed, a more accurate quote can be provided.
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Do you offer web design services? |
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Yes, we do offer custom programming and creative services through the Partner network. Presented with a specification document or RFP (Request for Proposal), Creative Services can custom design and replicate your website for groups of any size. Design services include logos, page layout, forms, flash presentations and all visual elements of your Internet presence. All websites are integrated with the Business Center and projects are managed through a designated Certified Partner or one of Earnware's consultants. Prices vary on the nature of the project and are determined on a case-to-case basis.
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Other than a web browser, what hardware or software is required to run Earnware? |
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No additional hardware or software is needed other than a computer with a connection to the Internet. Although not required, performance is greatly enhanced on computers using at least a cable or DSL connection, a Pentium III processor, 128MB RAM, and the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
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Is my data secure? |
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The Business Center runs in full-time SSL mode delivering sensitive information that must be secure at many levels. End-user applications are only accessible using SSL, just like online banking. Earnware security measures employ best-of-class hardware security, software security, as well as standard operating procedure for World Class data center operations.
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How is my data backed-up? |
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All data is backed up in real-time and stored on 3+ redundant file disk arrays (8 connected hot-swappable disk drives each in RAID5 configuration) at any given time for the maximum data protection. In the event that a disk drive fails, there are several more disk drives in each disk array to take its place. In the event that an entire disk array of drives fail, there are 2 or more entirely separate disk arrays with current data ready to take its place. The reason that data is stored on expensive multiple live disk arrays as opposed to inexpensive nightly tape back-ups is because in the likely event we experience a major hardware failure, it can take hours to restore data from tape drives. Live redundant disk arrays are the best way to achieve data protection and availability across a broad range of potential failures.
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What if your servers crashed and my data was lost? |
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We use close to 15 servers to support and employ several strategies to protect each type of server
and different types of data. The servers are in farms and have redundant power supplies, network cards, and other critical hardware components.
We have warm stand-by database servers that are no more than five minutes behind the live servers. In the event of a failure, we can recover the last few transactions and cut over to the stand-by servers in minutes. Also, our files, voice messages, e-mail, and other data are stored on RAID devices, which provide real-time redundancy. These devices are controlled by redundant servers.
It is highly unlikely that we will have a non-recoverable failure. In fact, our data is hundreds of times more secure and recoverable than the data on someone's home computer.
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Other than a web browser, what hardware or software is required to run Earnware? |
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No additional hardware or software is needed other than a computer with a connection to the Internet. Although not required, performance is greatly enhanced on computers using at least a cable or DSL connection, a Pentium III processor, 128MB RAM, and the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
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Do you offer synchronization with other contact management applications like ACT, Goldmine, and Outlook? |
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We are currently developing functionality that will allow real-time Outlook synchronization. We expect to release Outlook synchronization sometime during the fourth quarter of 2006.
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Can I integrate the Business Center with an outside database? If so, how? |
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Yes, data can be imported and exported in commonly used .dbf, csv. and .mdb formats. Programs like ACT, Goldmine, Outlook, Access, and Excel all offer the ability to export data into one of these most common formats. Each program offers varying degrees of flexibility and limitations and it is recommended that you contact an Earnware consultant to assist in the export and import process.
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What limitations are there on customizations? |
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The Earnware technology platform was designed to be extremely flexible. New levels of customization properties are in constant development, and we have no intention of ever stopping. If you have a desire for unscheduled customizations unique to your business, then most likely they can be accomplished through a professional services contract.
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What happens when upgrades are made to the system? |
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The value of choosing an ASP or hosted solution is that your monthly fees allow our development team to keep making the system better, to keep delivering the features and capabilities customers need to run their businesses more effectively. Most upgrades will automatically appear in your Business Center when you log-in. Bugs are also repaired seamlessly by our technical support team. Most upgrades are free.
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What is "sales force automation?" |
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"Sales force automation" is a term coined to describe, in the broadest sense, the idea of creating more automated sales processes from which a salesperson or sales team operates. Technology is often used to deliver more streamlined processes that improve the flow of communications and information throughout a sales organization.
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What is "marketing automation?" |
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"Marketing automation" means that certain aspects of your marketing campaigns can be automated to save time and reduce costs. It is a term coined to describe processes that automatically pre-qualify prospects through automated direct response handling; i.e. web forms, audio recordings, fax, e-mail-on-demand, etc. Ideally, a marketing automation system should capture, present, qualify, sort, connect, and follow-up with prospects through phone, fax, voicemail, e-mail, and the web.
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How do I access my Earnware account? |
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Through a secure online interface using your personal username and password. You can log-in at or at your company's log-in page.
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