Manual entry of new enquiries

Procedure

1. On the list of all enquiries, click on “Create new enquiry” on the right.
2. Fill in the mandatory fields for the contact (left, white background) and the enquiry (right, blue background) and confirm. 

Explanations of specific fields for a new enquiry

Contact type

On the left-hand side of the screen are three tabs with the three possible contact types in Finstral Contacts. Select whether the enquiry is from a private client, a commercial client or a planner. Additional fields appear underneath depending on the contact type, such as VAT number, company name, etc.

E-mail address or phone number

Either a phone number or an e-mail address must be provided for contact purposes. You can also store several e-mail addresses and phone numbers for each contact. The prefix for following entries is preset after the first entry. This speeds up future enquiry creation.

Language

The language of the prospective customer is given here. This field is always preset with the language that was last selected so that it does not have to be selected each time.

Address

The address may be mandatory depending on the enquiry type (e.g. if enquiry type “Brochure” is selected, Contacts requires the address for sending out the corresponding brochure). Here, too, the “Country” selection field is always preset with the last country selected. A practical detail: after creation, clicking on the address is enough to open Google Maps with the corresponding location. This way you can better plan your route for the day. 

Consent to processing of data

As soon as you create an enquiry, you must document the prospective customer’s consent to data processing as required by European privacy law. Depending on the origin of the enquiry, this documentation can be done in different ways: in the case of a phone enquiry, the time of the phone call and confirmation of the originator are documented. In the case of a personal meeting with the prospective customer, consent to data processing should if possible be given in writing. The signed document can be uploaded to Finstral Contacts.

Different address for the building project

You can enter an address for the building project that is different from the contact details on the right-hand side (blue background) of the screen. Optionally, a free text field is also available for assigning a name to the building project.

Enquiry types

Type of construction project (optional)

Please distinguish here between refurbishment projects and new buildings (or other). This field only appears for the “Offer” enquiry type.

Enquiry origin

Select the origin of the enquiry from a list of possible channels. 

Planner composition

In this field you can define the link to a Planner composition (5 digits) if this has already been created with or by the prospective customer.

Notes and files

Here you can enter a short note about the event and the details of the enquiry. You can either enter text directly into the input field or copy it in, e.g. from an e-mail. Simply mark the desired text with the mouse pointer and copy it (e.g. using the key combination Ctrl-C). Then click into the Note field and paste the text there (e.g. using the key combination Ctrl-V). Files sent with the enquiry, such as photos or plans, can also be stored directly here in the enquiry. You can drag and drop the files you want to attach into the Note field. Simply click on the file symbol and hold the mouse button down, then drag the file symbol over the Note field with the mouse and release it. This will work with all files up to a size of 20 megabytes. You can then find them all in the detailed view of the enquiry in the Notes as well as using the “Stored files” link in the left-hand column.

Automatic recognition of existing contacts

If you add a contact whose e-mail address already exists in Finstral Contacts, all other fields are automatically accepted from this existing contact. Note: If you make new entries in these fields, the existing contact will be overwritten.

Deleting enquiries

Deleting an enquiry as creator/processor is only possible as long as there has been no further action in the enquiry. This is in case the enquiry was created by mistake. Enquiries that the prospective customer has cancelled are not deleted but are instead removed from further processing via “Cancel enquiry”. In this way, the information of cancelled enquiries is not lost and the cancellations remain available for possible statistical evaluation.