Entered CNET Catalog: 02/08/2005
SKU: CNETMAXIMIZER8
Manufacturer: Maximizer Software
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Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/16/2005
The monthly calendar view supplies details at a glance.
The Maximizer interface is easy to comprehend. The major sections--My Work Day, listing your current tasks and appointments; Calendar for scheduling tasks, including printing to paper Franklin Planners and DayRunner organizer formats; Address Book for maintaining contacts; Hotlist for targeting your best prospects; Email for accessing Outlook; Company Library for closing a sale with the latest presentation and market info; Personal; and OrderDesk for invoicing sales--are all listed along with their icons on the left and include multiple means of access, via a menu option, a button bar option, or a right-click. Maximizer 8.0 provides numerous improvements over previous releases, including its ability to export Maximizer Address Book entries directly into Outlook. But Maximizer 8.0 surpasses Act Premium for Workgroups with its native ability to track and close sales in greater depth. For example, Maximizer might aid a sales employee for a clothing manufacturer who needs day-to-day involvement with customers. Within Maximizer's Opportunities screen, that salesperson could tag each new lead with a sales prospect ("doubtful," "very good," and so on). Maximizer's Company Library feature keeps handy documents that will help make the sale, including price lists and images to attach to a Web site or a brochure. The Maximizer OrderDesk then finishes the sale, letting the salesperson fill out an order form or an inquiry--complete with address, item codes, and comments--for electronic forwarding to the appropriate departments, including the merchandise warehouse.
The daily, weekly, and monthly calendar views in Maximizer 8.0 have also been revised to hold more information drawn from other modules in the contact manager so that tasks, appointments, even conference room scheduling is possible. There's also an accounting add-on for Intuit QuickBooks that allows users of both apps to view vendor and customer info. Transactions in Maximizer 8.0 automatically sync with the appropriate QuickBooks data file, allowing a salesperson, for example, to electronically send her order to a number of appropriate departments, including accounting, sales, and inventory, at the same time. Act Premium 2005 integrates with Peachtree Accounting instead of QuickBooks.
Maximizer 8.0 includes Crystal Reports, from Business Objects, which lets you quickly and effectively design professional-looking documents.
Maximizer 8.0's most significant change, however, is its replacement of ReportSmith, from Strategic Reporting Systems, with the superior and more versatile Crystal Reports from Business Objects. For example, a real estate agent could use Crystal Reports to generate comparative pie charts detailing the resale value of homes in different local areas for his customers, or a sales manager could turn out graphs comparing wholesale product movement by national region and time of year. Crystal Reports is available as a separate add-on to Act Premium 2005, but we like the convenience of its inclusion within Maximizer. Maximizer Software provides a lot of technical support. Live support is available for Maximizer 8.0 by telephone Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. Following product registration, the first hour or the first five incidents (whichever occurs first) within 30 days are free. After that, things get very expensive, very quickly: $45 per incident on a standalone computer. In a multiuser environment, the first month is $150 per incident, and $200 per incident after that. The fees are higher than expected for software of this caliber.
Context-sensitive help screens offer useful guidance throughout the application.
The context-sensitive in-program help system is effective, with entries for everything from the most generic (Address Book) to the specific (Print Column Report). Maximizer also provides a stellar online searchable knowledge base, though it does not offer e-mail support. There is a printed 32-entry tutorial database and a printed and indexed 200-plus-page user guide, too, but those who'd rather get up to speed quickly might prefer to pay $49 for the optional 100-page training guide.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
User since vrs 3
Pros: Great PIM very flex
Cons: Always has had poor support
Review: Installs and updates have never been smooth. I have used and looked at many PIM programs and always felt that Maximizer fits me well. Just dont call for support.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Do not buy this product
Pros: absolutely none
Cons: Hard to install; riddle with bugs; difficult to do mail merges using MS Word; terrible customer support
Review: I've worked in the software business for more than 15 years and have seen the best and the worst the industry has to offer. This is at the bottom. The software took over 5 hours to load "properly." The reality is that it was never installed correctly. Every two hours of use requires at least 1 hour of hassle with bugs. Doing simple mail merges was so difficult it was faster for me to cut and paste when doing less than 200 letters. Customer support never had an answer to a problem so I was faced with paying $75 for 1/2 hour of a technicians time or figuring it out on my own. I would have been more productive with a typewriter and Rolodex.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Shame on Maximizer for putting this crap out . Worst software I have ever bought
Pros: It's so bad, it makes ACT! look good.
Cons: It wouldn't install correctly. knowledge base solutions didn't work. telephone support consisted of the individual reading the user's guide to me.
Review: If you buy Maximizer to use on Vista, you deserve all the problems you are about to get. I can't warn you enough. I'm going back to ACT!
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Many bugs and callback support that does not call
Pros: It is not bad when it runs
Cons: Expensive, Bad Support evan with expensive support agreement, many problems with sync and other database related issues.
Review: We have invested quite some money to try this. We had Version 9.9 SQL and there were many problems with it, sales staff is rude and support is only callback with an average waiting time of 12+ hours. There are many unresolved issues with sync and remote connections that not even support can resolve when they finally call back. All in all this was a real bad experience. Make detailed research before you buy anything from the company because you will most likely regret it.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Love the Product - Not the Company
Pros: Relational Database
Cons: Customer Support Poor
Review: I have been a Maximizer user for almost 10 years. I switched to ACT! because it seemed that the new Maximizer owners required an upgrade every time they fixed a problem or added a feature. Support was nonexistent without an expensive support program, even for problems in the program.
ACT! was less expensive and easier for my sales force to use, and came out of the box with the ability to share databases without additional software.
ACT! is not compatible with the new Office or Vista. ACT! support is nonexistent without a contract, and when ACT! could not tell us how to install the product on Vista, we developed our own work around.
We are going to give Outlook with Business Contact Manager a try. It seems to have everything we need, including the ability to share a database. I'll write an Outlook review when I have more information.
ACT! was less expensive and easier for my sales force to use, and came out of the box with the ability to share databases without additional software.
ACT! is not compatible with the new Office or Vista. ACT! support is nonexistent without a contract, and when ACT! could not tell us how to install the product on Vista, we developed our own work around.
We are going to give Outlook with Business Contact Manager a try. It seems to have everything we need, including the ability to share a database. I'll write an Outlook review when I have more information.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
So-so product at a reasonable price
Pros: Reasonable price for a flexible, fully-featured product
Cons: Does not interface well with non-Microsoft products; limited reporting capabilities
Review: Our small company has been using Maximizer for about a year, having replaced GoldMine. We are not entirely happy with it, but recognize that its limitations are probably compensated by a reasonable price.
The good points:
1. Great flexibility to customize the database (address book)very easily.
2. Very wide range of features and tools.
3. Opportunity management functions are limited, but easy to use.
The bad points:
1. Notwithstanding the large number of predesigned reports, Maximizer is really rather limited in its ability to report data in any other way. The custom report design function is poorly documented and very difficult for most users.
2. Calendar management is extremely cumbersome and inflexible -- bordering on useless. Maximizer does not carry appointments past midnight into the next day; and, once entered, some important calendar fields cannot be edited.
3. Maximizer does not integrate well (in some cases not at all) with non-Microsoft products.
The good points:
1. Great flexibility to customize the database (address book)very easily.
2. Very wide range of features and tools.
3. Opportunity management functions are limited, but easy to use.
The bad points:
1. Notwithstanding the large number of predesigned reports, Maximizer is really rather limited in its ability to report data in any other way. The custom report design function is poorly documented and very difficult for most users.
2. Calendar management is extremely cumbersome and inflexible -- bordering on useless. Maximizer does not carry appointments past midnight into the next day; and, once entered, some important calendar fields cannot be edited.
3. Maximizer does not integrate well (in some cases not at all) with non-Microsoft products.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Still the best!!
Pros: list-based interface
Cons: putting in new features I wanted, which meant I had to upgrade
Review: I like the Maximizer product. It’s pretty easy to enter opportunities and schedule meetings. I keep track of key tasks using the hotlist feature. The biggest difference I’ve found – and I’ve looked at a lot of options – is Maximizer’s list-based interface. This is the way people like to work and I don’t understand why the other products haven’t copied this yet.
I know some of the new online contact mangers are pretty easy to access on the Web, but HAVE YOU SEEN THE PRICES?!? They work out to something like $500 - $1000 per year. Way too much! Maximizer is less than $200. I’ve been using an older version for three years so it’s definitely worth the price.
I know some of the new online contact mangers are pretty easy to access on the Web, but HAVE YOU SEEN THE PRICES?!? They work out to something like $500 - $1000 per year. Way too much! Maximizer is less than $200. I’ve been using an older version for three years so it’s definitely worth the price.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
I've looked at the competition and they don't stack up!
Pros: flexibility, usability, graphically pleasant
Cons: After 13 yrs use, I haven't found one.
Review: Outlook is for non-power users. Act is the leading competitor but lacks the features of Maximizer and, as far as I'm concerned, trails by many lengths.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Unlike all others
Pros: List-view dashboard
Cons: Steep learning curve
Review: Maximizer has been a best-kept secret. While the masses unintelligently wander to the loudest offerings (Outlook, Goldmine and ACT!) they fail to investigate what's available. In looking at Maximizer, one major difference is obvious. The data stored is presented in list views instead of card views. This provides you with all the contacts within a company or all the documents to a contact or all the history for a contact or all the tasks for a contact at-a-glance. Once you have used this, going to one of the other software programs is like putting training wheels back on. Very limiting and you find yourself working hard, not smarter as you did using Maximizer.
The other betterments include the ability to create lists of contacts/companies and saving them to later use; one-click quick/easy access to documents previously created for contact/companies (this is a chore in other programs); true dynamic linking of actions, notes, etc to the contact/company they belong to; ability to relate more than one contact/company to an action or event.
I never used it but Maximizer also provides backend linkages to websites for those who want to do business through a website. Maximizer simplifies the fullfillment tasks.
I highly recommend Maximizer for help-desk and stand-alone use and I have recommended it for over ten years now. When will someone come up with something that's really competitive? They just refuse to admit their basic designs are flawed.
Maximizer is available in trial form. Try it out! Then try out one of the others. You'll be amazed at the difference in program intelligence.
The other betterments include the ability to create lists of contacts/companies and saving them to later use; one-click quick/easy access to documents previously created for contact/companies (this is a chore in other programs); true dynamic linking of actions, notes, etc to the contact/company they belong to; ability to relate more than one contact/company to an action or event.
I never used it but Maximizer also provides backend linkages to websites for those who want to do business through a website. Maximizer simplifies the fullfillment tasks.
I highly recommend Maximizer for help-desk and stand-alone use and I have recommended it for over ten years now. When will someone come up with something that's really competitive? They just refuse to admit their basic designs are flawed.
Maximizer is available in trial form. Try it out! Then try out one of the others. You'll be amazed at the difference in program intelligence.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Good with some very important limitations
Pros: easy to use (once you get used to it)
Cons: very poor edit and import/merge capabilities
Review: this is a good product with most of the things you are likely to want to do handled very well. For me, there are two big pains. Firstly, the editing capabilities are not as powerful as I would like. (e.g. if there is a change made to a telephone area code that affects a company (or companies) where you have, say, 100 contacts with direct dial numbers, you have to make 100 changes; which is ridiculous - surely some sort of find and replace could be implemented).
Secondly, if you want to import extra contacts from a spreadsheet it does not work well. If you have one company listed at 10 locations with 30 contacts at each in your spreadsheet, you wont get the mirrored once you import.
If Maximizer would fix these, I'd give it a 9 or 10
Secondly, if you want to import extra contacts from a spreadsheet it does not work well. If you have one company listed at 10 locations with 30 contacts at each in your spreadsheet, you wont get the mirrored once you import.
If Maximizer would fix these, I'd give it a 9 or 10
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Great Product, Great Support
Pros: Simple, uncluttered, easy to use interface (unlike Goldmine), very fast, great handling and display of multiple contacts from same organization (what Act! 2005 & Outlook Business Manager should be)
Cons: calendar interface could be more attractive, absence of m Llamagraphics Life Balance)ulti-stage tasks (like
Review: I have been working with and continuously evaluating contact managers, PIM's, and CRM products for more than 20 years. I personally have extensively used the following products and various versions of those products: Goldmine, Act, Salesforce.com, Sharkware, Palm Contact Manager, Outlook and Maximizer. None will do everything I want to do with the simplicity that I would like.
That said, Maximizer comes the closest. I have worked with various versions from this company since version 1. For various reasons, usually foisted on me by new employers, I used and supported the other products mentioned since then. However, now that I have started my own company I have reevaluated the leading products and selected Maximizer for my own organization. The company's support during my evaluation of the newest release, Version 8, has been nothing short of phenomenal. Not only is the product fully featured and very robust, they are open to suggestions for enhancement. I have had enough opportunity over the years to work with the people from Maximizer to see how various enhancement requests have been incorporated into the product in various versions. Of all the products I have used they seem to best understand what users want and need from a CRM/PIM/contact manager. I am looking forward to using their product as the foundation for my own company's sales and marketing efforts.
That said, Maximizer comes the closest. I have worked with various versions from this company since version 1. For various reasons, usually foisted on me by new employers, I used and supported the other products mentioned since then. However, now that I have started my own company I have reevaluated the leading products and selected Maximizer for my own organization. The company's support during my evaluation of the newest release, Version 8, has been nothing short of phenomenal. Not only is the product fully featured and very robust, they are open to suggestions for enhancement. I have had enough opportunity over the years to work with the people from Maximizer to see how various enhancement requests have been incorporated into the product in various versions. Of all the products I have used they seem to best understand what users want and need from a CRM/PIM/contact manager. I am looking forward to using their product as the foundation for my own company's sales and marketing efforts.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 12 user reviews
Stay away from the company that makes this product
Pros: Not sure, never got it working and got no customer support
Cons: The company just does not care about its customers.
Review: It seems a shame you have to write things like this but, this company is one of the worse we have ever dealt with, the product might be good but the company is terrible, it is even worse then Ameritech in Dayton Ohio. Our team Took a long time to try to determine what CRM to use, and because we previously used Sharkware we went with the company that bought them, and did a way with the product we used for so many years. It could not have been a worse decision. No one would believe what we went through but we tired so very hard to find a resolution. We paid a lot of many for the enterprise version and they could care less. They never even helped us get it working. They just continued to try to sell us the new version. It was just terrible you simply would not believe how much time and money we spent trying to resolve with this Canadian based company. I simply wanted to write in when I saw no one else made a comment about this Maximizer because it seemed I had a responsibility to you; CHOOSE ANOTHER COMPANY TO DEAL WITH, unfortunately not sure who…still looking myself.
