Multiple or several contacts open together.

[#1]

I often have a busy day of phone calling, trying to call or follow up a 'hot list' of many contacts on many issues. It can generally take 2 or 3 calls to get through, or a P A may give me a time to try again a bit later. As I keep trying the calls I need to be able to go quickly from contact to contact, or if they return my call, to bring them up immediately. Currently I tend to work from the calendar screen, but that assumes I have scheduled all the calls, then I have to go back to the Calendar, right click on the activity/go to contact to bring them up..

I would to be able to keep all these "active today" contacts open and available all day, by one click.

This would be in the Contact screen.

These would not be contacts that could be brought up in 1 lookup.

They would not be any particular Group (but the option to create a group from them or add them to a group would be good).

Creating a "temporary group" for today's contacts would not work as it is still a lot of rigmarole.

It could appear as tabs with the contact name along one side of the contact screen.

It could appear as a big button called "Todays Calls" on the left hand bar. Then by right clicking on the contact one could "Add Contact to Todays Calls/List". Clicking on the button would bring up the list of "active contacts".

Maybe all the contacts accessed today could automatically be added to a "Todays Calls" list as I go.

I've tried using the Back button just to get back to the last contact but that too is frustrating, I don't seem to get back to where I thought expected to!

I'm not sure I am expressing this very well, does anyone else 'get it'?

[#2]

An alternative way of working is to use the Task List view as opposed to the Calendar View.

Then filter the type to CALLS and the date to to TODAY

This gives you the list of active contacts that you need to call and get through to today. Customise the columns to make sure the phone number is visible. 

Then, when you get through, double click the contact name to get to the details of the contact. 

After the call, go back to the Task List, tick off the call, add any notes etc  and then get onto phoning the next one. 

[#3]

Hi, thanks for feedback. Haven't really looked at working with Task view much, will try it for a while, looks like it kind of does what I had in mind. Have had further thoughts on my idea which incorporate other aspects of how an office/phone/servoce based salesperson works. Not talking telemarketing or call centre here, more consulting type sales. Will try tp crystalise them further and re-work the idea.

Further to your comment on putting the phone number in the columns, the problem I have here is that I have created a custom field for DDI number  (as it is not available in the default contact layout) and Customise Columns does not include custom fields in the available fields.

That leads to 2 further submissions I will suggest:

1. Customise Columns include custom fields in available fields.

2. DDI Phone Number be included as a Standard Contact layout - it's the lifeblood of telephone selling. (That's if these things haven't happened already; I'm still toiling with Act9 which still works well for me apart from the Ph Country Code bug I have previously discussed in these forums.)

[#4]

I have a similar need - in that there is a small group of contacts I call regularly.  For me, if I could add a few icons to the top (one for each contact), that would address my need for quick access.  Is there anything out there that addresses this?  Putting them into a group doesn't really solve the problem because by the time I have navigated from the contact I am at to the appropriate group and then selected the right contact etc - I could have typed in their name.