Happenings November 29, 2024

    In this issue:

• National Day Spotlight
• ACM Spotlight
• ISV Spotlight
• Managed Services Tip
• Events, Blogs, Movies
• Webinars, Community
• Points to Ponder

The purpose of a newsletter is an opportunity for the ASWi team to provide you and the rest of our clients with information on all the new ASWi an Acumatica related things (or “happenings”) that you may not otherwise be aware of.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any/ all of your team. Pease let me know if anyone on your team who would like to be added to the mailing list for the next issue and removed.

You can always have a look at back issues of Happenings on ASWi’s web- site at: https://aswiblog.wpengine.com/category/customer-newsletters/

“My thanksgiving is perpetual.” Henry David Thoreau

Thanksgiving Day is a time when families and friends gather around a (virtual/actual) table to give thanks for the blessings in our lives. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that we have continued to celebrate for over 400 years.

You can celebrate Thanksgiving by attending parades making and eating more food than appropriate, watching or playing games but, above all, spending time with our loved ones and taking a moment, no matter what challenges we may be facing, to truly recognize and be grateful for the gifts that we each have.

We are very thankful that you are a part of our ASWi family!

About the photo: We spent one of our past Thanksgiving weekends exploring San Diego, including feeding the rhinos and giraffes at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Q: What’s the best way to fixed a crack pumpkin pie crust?
A: Use pumpkin patch.

Q: Why did the cranberries turn red?
A: They saw the turkey dressing.

Q: How do little pumpkins cross the road to the nursery?
A: A crossing gourd helps them.

Q: What is at the end of Thanksgiving?
A: The letter “G”.

Q: What do little sweet potatoes wear to bed?
A: Their yammies.

Acumatica CRM has great Sales Management capabilities, including Opportunity tracking, Tasks, Sales Funnel dashboards and more.

To complement these benefits, Acumatica CRM also has great Marketing capabilities:

Lead Management
• Acumatica Cloud ERP can be used to create lists based on user-defined history. For example, based on purchase history, a geographic region, specific customer types and more.
• Lists of Leads can be imported rom Excel and/or a flat file. eMail Management
• Create branded email templates for email campaigns.
• Create and send emails from the targeted lists you have created.

Campaign Management

Additional functionality is available when using Acumatica CRM with the following Addons:

Acumatica Project
• Track campaign costs, revenues and profitability.

SendGrid

• SendGrid email integration allows customers to send email and get reports about the delivery status (opens, clicks, etc.) of email.

• There is an ability to import email templates you built using SendGrid.

HubSpot Marketing Integration

• Create email and social media campaigns in HubSpot and then synchronizes contacts, transfers campaign results, can initial follow-up sales calls (in conjunction with Acumatica Business Alerts)

• Launch campaigns in HubSpot and automatically send data & analysis to Acumatica.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about Acumatica CRM’s Marketing capabilities.

Please let the ASWi Sales Executive who is facilitating your evaluation of Acumatica Cloud ERP know if you would like to learn more about Velixo Reports.

What about existing Acumatica Cloud ERP customers?

Existing Acumatica Cloud ERP subscribers who do not have Velixo Reports are eligible to receive a 20% discount off of the initial 12 month subscription of Velixo Reports when purchased with the Velixo Annual Training Program and Generic Writeback add-on.

If you are one of our existing Acumatica Cloud ERP subscribers, please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about Velixo Reports and this special offer.

Our kids might think email has gone the way of the dinosaur, but it remains a critical communication tool for any organization. Unfortunately, it is also a prime target for cybersecurity threats.

Implementing robust email security measures is essential to protect your sensitive information.

Here are some best practices for securing your email:
eMail Encryption

• End-to-End Encryption
Ensure that emails are encrypted from the sender to the recipient to prevent unauthorized access.

• Encrypt Email Attachments
Use encryption software to secure email attachments, making it harder for sensitive information to be accessed, even an email is captured.

Anti-Phishing Techniques
• Educate Employees on Phishing

Conduct regular training sessions to help employees recognize phishing emails and understand the tactics used by attackers.
• Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Require MFA for email access to add an extra layer of security.
• Use Anti-Phishing Tools

Deploy anti-phishing software to detect and block phishing attempts.

Secure eMail Gateways
• Deploy a Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
Use SEGs to filter emails for spam, malware, and other malicious content. SEGs can also enforce email security policies.
• Regularly Update SEG Software

Keep your SEG software up to date with the latest security patches to protect against new threats and vulnerabilities.

• Enable Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
Use ATP features within your SEG to detect and respond to sophisticated threats such as ransomware and zero-day exploits.

Backup and Recovery

• Regularly Backup Emails
Ensure that email data is regularly backed up and stored securely. This helps in recovering emails in case of data loss or a cyber attack.

• Test Backup and Recovery Processes
Periodically test your backup and recovery processes to ensure they work effectively in the event of an incident.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about ASWi’s Managed Services and to learn more about securing eMail within your organization.

The should do, did do cycle

In my experience, changing personal behavior looks like this:
“I should” – recognising the need for change
“I will” – resolving to change
“I am” – doing something different or differently
“I did” – moving from the original intent

Each stage has its challenges.

1. I should
I should exercise more. I should eat differently. I should call my loved ones more. I should work less. Shoulds can feel exceptionally draining because this type of self-talk reminds us of what we’re not. It can be confronting, which leads us to bat away and minimize those feelings. We may talk ourselves out of the ‘should do’ many times before we resolve to actually do something about it.

2. I will
I will join a gym. I will cook more at home. I will call my parents every Sunday. I’ll stop checking my emails after 6pm. Resolving to change is a powerful step. You may feel a surge of clarity, focus and energy from making the decision, so use this heightened motivation to commit yourself to actions that will support the new behavior. Don’t mistake deciding to change with actual change. The job’s not done yet

3. I am
I go to the gym three times a week. I cook at home on weeknights. I call my parents every Sunday. I switch off my email every night. We’re doing it! We’re actually doing it! The quicker you can get to the “I am” stage, the better, because this is when behavior really changes. You’re turning up consistently and repeatedly. You may feel virtuous and rejuvenated. Confident that you’ll never go back. But beware.

4. I did
I used to go to the gym. I used to cook at home. I speak to my parents quite regularly. I try to check emails so I can keep on top of things. If “I am” is the stage where the change seems assured, “I did” is the epilogue, looking back on what happened 3, 6, 12 months later. The reality is we often regress. It’s difficult to sustain the intense commitment we feel when we’re closer to the ‘need to change’ realization.

Which leads us back to what we should be doing, and the cycle continues.

By Bri Williams

Don’t Ask For Yes

Chris Voss, a world class negotiator, believes that you should stop asking “yes” questions. People like hearing “yes”, they don’t like saying it. His point is we shouldn’t push for “yes” because it makes people defensive.

Instead we should aim for “no”:
• Rather than “Can we do this tomorrow?”, ask “Would you be against doing this tomorrow?”

• Rather than “Is this a good time to talk?”, ask “Is now a bad time to talk?”

“No” gives them agency. They remain in charge and are less defensive as a result.

Overpacking

Have you ever wondered why you overpack for a holiday? The reason has significant implications for your business. Participants in a 2008 study were asked to choose from a selection of chocolate bars.

In one experiment, they were asked to choose one chocolate bar each week for 3 weeks. In another, participants were asked to choose 3 chocolate bars upfront that they could then consume over the coming weeks.

Now, your choices shouldn’t matter whether you choose them all now or as you go, but that’s not what the researchers found. Those who chose ahead of time selected a wider variety of chocolates than those choosing close to the time of consumption. Known as diversification bias, when we make a decision for the
future, we are likely to overestimate our need for variety. That’s why we overpack for the trip we’re about to take and why customers pay for things they don’t end up using.

It’s about contingency. Planning for just in case. I’ll join this gym just in case I want to take a Zumba class. I’ll buy this phone just in case I need more battery life. I’ll choose these chocolates just in case I feel like eating something new. Perversely, variety might attract more business in the short-term but result in customers who don’t experience the value they expected.

Because they forget they were paying for contingency. After all, it’s only towards the end of our trip that we resent the overstuffed suitcase. At the beginning it seemed like a good idea.

How will you remind them what you are really providing?

Nearly every weekday, a motivational quote is posted on X/Twitter by @ASWiDelivered and on LinkedIn by @ASWi.

• “The most important shot is the next one.” Ben Hogan
• “Don’t be too proud to take lessons, I’m not” Jack Nicklaus
• “Of all the hazards, fear is the worst.” Sam Snead