Avonelle asked how I use Highrise, and why someone might use it over Outlook. She said:
[Highrise] worked great for keeping track of things associated with people I wouldn’t normally add to my Outlook contacts. But Outlook is such an integrated part of my day-to-day life, I have a difficult time imagining how Highrise could enhance that without weighing me down with extra effort to keep everything in sync.
I use it for a variety of things. Here are the highlights for me:
Follow-ups
When I need a response from someone to keep a project moving, I blind carbon copy my Highrise email address (dropbox+tomorrow.xxxx@highrise.com or +thisweek or +nextweek) . This sets up an automatic to-do that will remind me later to follow up. And when that reminder does comes up, I’ll have a copy of the email at hand, their phone numbers right there on right side of the screen, and a full history of my communications with that person. Last year alone, I used it to track some 1,000 follow-ups.
Not just you, but your company
From any contact’s page, only a click away is the full history of all the conversations I’ve had with anyone at that company. I find that useful, especially when trying to keep track of hundreds of different conversations with people all over the country. This would be of high value for our team to coordinate communications since we all talk individually to our customers in the field. But for now, I just use it to remember my own conversations.
Beyond companies, you can also create add-hoc groups by tagging people. Example: give me a all conversations with people from the local .NET user group, or all conversations with Sales Managers.
Track Important Topics
I also use it to track specific topics. For example, I have a Highrise Case that tracked all of the things around our kitchen remodel from last summer. Cases work well to group all project-specific conversations together.
Better than Outlook Folders
Folders are nice, but they have their limits. When you create a folder in outlook, you can only keep email in that folder. Highrise lets you keep files, emails, and phone-call notes all in one, easily accessible place.
Anyway, I like it
And it seems to work well for me.
Tags: 37signals, emerging tech, linkedin
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Thanks for the details. For me, your approach for tracking follow-ups seems like the most intriguing feature. In fact, that is similar to how I used to use “I want Sandy” before she disappeared into the abyss. I also think cases and the new “deals” features are really great. And the application is just beautiful – 37 signals creates truly lovely user interfaces.
The big disappointment to me with Highrise is the price. Yes, there is a free plan, but it excludes files and severely limits you to 1 case and 1 deal. To truly take advantage of those additional features, I’d have to upgrade to a Solo plan which is $29/month. They do offer a “Personal” plan which is only $12/month. That is more along the lines of what I’d be willing to pay, but since that plan limits you to 3 cases and 3 deals I’m not enthusiastic to try it.
I guess I use other things to do what you are describing. I keep phone call notes and links to relevant files in OneNote, which I synchronize across multiple computers. And i use the Outlook add-in Xobni which allows me to see all my email conversations for individuals. It doesn’t keep my phone conversations, but most important phone calls I have end up with a follow-up email, so this isn’t really an issue for me.