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The most important thing to remember when getting your data ready for import is to have all of the column labels in the same row. This will simplify the import process. You also need to make sure that you have the base geography set correctly. If you are creating a US five digit zip code map then all of your data imports will need to have the 5 digit zip code for every row of data. If you are importing data for a Canadian FSA file you first need to have the Canadian FSA shapes purchased and installed, and then all of your data will need to have the FSA for each row of data.
During the import process you either need to have the account ID or account name. We recommend using both, but the ID is the most important. All of the imported data will be linked to this account ID.
You can also import an account segmentation that will create a a different icon for every account type that you import. You can then toggle them on/off from view
You can update any data set that has been imported into your AlignMix file. If you are updating account data then make sure you have imported the initial data set with an Account ID. All of the account data is linked to this ID. Then during the new updated import you can link all the new data to that ID. You then will have the option to overwrite the existing data set or import a new data set linked to the account ID’s.
If you imported without an Account ID you can still update data but there are a few more steps. You will first need to delete the data sets that are linked to the accounts. And then also delete the accounts. This way you can import a fresh account file that will place the account icons on the map and also link the new data sets. When you delete the accounts and data you are not deleting the zip to territory assignments. Those will remain on the map so that the only thing you now need to import is the new account file.
During the account import process you can also import an account segmentation. If you do not have your accounts segmented/split into different groupings then you can still import your accounts but they will all have the same icon.
Importing a segmentation allows the software to create a different icon for each account type. These icons will also be shown in the account legend in the top right of the screen. You can then toggle on/off different account segments in configure layers.
You can hide some or all of your accounts by clicking on layers, and then click on the accounts layer button. If you have imported an account segmentation then in configure layers you can hide/display individual account segments without having to hide/show them all at once. If you imported accounts without account segments then you can only show/hide all the accounts.
In other sales territory mapping packages it’s a real hassle to edit imported account segments. That is not the case in AlignMix 2021. In just a few clicks you can rename any customer segment that has been imported into your AlignMix file.
By watching the video above you will learn how to rename or edit your customer segments in less than one minute.
You can now Customize the Account Segment Legend via the configure layers tool. Also, when you import your sales account data into the AlignMix mapping software, the software will now automatically auto fit all of your segments so that they all fit in one column on the right hand side of your screen.
Finding and reassigning accounts can be a real hassle without the proper tools. In this brief video you will learn how to copy a list of accounts from Excel and paste them into AlignMix so that you can first find these accounts and then reassign them to another sales territory. This is one of the easiest ways that you can create account overrides, also known as special ownership accounts.
The alignment scope allows you to change what is lassoed and selected when using the lasso or touch align tools. By default the alignment scope is set to zip codes and accounts. This means that when you lasso an area the lasso tool is capturing zip codes and accounts. If you change the alignment scope to o zip codes only, then when you lasso an area the tool is only grabbing zip codes, and not the accounts. The third alignment scope setting is for only accounts. The only accounts setting allows you to lasso only accounts and then you can assign just the accounts to a different territory without moving the zip to territory assignments.
Any data set that is imported into AlignMix can be deleted with just a few clicks. You can delete all of the data in the map or you can delete data in a small section that you lasso. You can also delete individual accounts with data if you imported sales accounts with an account ID.
To delete all of the sales accounts in your map you can lasso the entire country. When you let go of the lasso tool a summary will appear, in this summary you will see everything you have lassoed. From here you click on next. This window will show you several options that you can perform with this lassoed area.
Select the Delete accounts options and it will delete all of the accounts that are found in the lassoed section. As soon as you delete these accounts the account legend in the top right of the map should disappear. If you still see the account legend, then you have not deleted all of the accounts on the map. Make sure to select the entire country including any islands that may belong to the country you are working on. For the USA, make sure to include Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in the lasso.
Another way to delete all of your accounts is to use the configure layers. If you follow this process you will need to delete each account segment. Click on configure layers (this is found on the home menu and also in the view menu). When configure layers opens you will see a new window appear on the screen. On the left side you will see each section that you can customize. In the accounts section you will see a list of every account segment (you will only see account segments if you imported segmented accounts).
Now, select the first account segment you want to delete. After you click the account segment you then click the trash can icon at the bottom of the configure layers window. This will delete the account segment. You will need to repeat this process for each account segment that you have imported. Click OK when you have deleted the final account segment. You will now see the account legend in the top right of the screen disappear. This will confirm that all of the account segments have been deleted. To double check that all accounts have been deleted you can lasso the entire country. The map summary will show you that no accounts are found in the lassoed area.
If you are also planning to delete all of your imported data sets then you will need to follow a few more steps to completely delete the data from your file. Click on Data Definition (found on the Home Menu). When data definition loads you will see a full list of every data set that has been imported on the left side of the widow. Click on a data set to select it, then click the trash can at the bottom of the window to delete the data set. Once deleted you will not be able to recover this data set. So, make sure you really want to delete this data set.
If you delete the data set by accident you can either close the file without saving and reopen it, or you can re-import the data into this file. Once again you can double check that you have deleted the data sets by using the lasso tool and lasso the entire country. You should now see that there are no data sets or accounts found in the lassoed area. If there are still data sets and accounts in the summary you can repeat the steps above to delete the data and accounts from the file. You can also delete individual sales accounts if you imported the accounts with an account ID. All you need to do is copy a list of the account IDs. Once those IDs are in your clipboard you can then paste them into AlignMix.
You can do this by clicking on tools, and then click on paste from clipboard. You can also type ctrl v on the keyboard to paste the IDs directly into AlignMix. When you paste these IDs a new window will appear in AlignMix. Click next. You can now choose to delete the pasted accounts. Only the accounts that you have just copied/pasted into the software will be deleted. All other accounts and data sets will remain intact.
Any data set that has been imported into AlignMix can be deleted in the Data Definition Tool. When you delete the data there is no Undo button. So make sure to save your file before deleting data just in case that was a mistake. This process will only delete the data sets that are imported, it will not delete the locations of your sales accounts. If you want to delete the account locations as well then you will need to lasso the whole country and delete the accounts, or go to configure layers and delete the account segments in that view.
Any area that you lasso will show you a map query when you let go of the lasso tool. In the bottom left of this window you will see a copy button. This button allows you to copy a list of zip codes and/or account IDs that are found in the lassoed area. You can then paste this list into Microsoft Word or excel.
Using the lasso tools you can lasso an area of zip codes and accounts. When you let go of the lasso tool a map query will appear showing you exactly what you have lassoed. Clicking on the filter tab will allow you filter by territory and by account segment. The filter by segment option will only be available if you have imported your accounts with an account segmentation.
Account overrides (Special Ownership Accounts) are accounts that reside in one territory but are actually assigned to a different sales territory and sales rep. These overrides may exist because of a typo or just accounts that have never been re-assigned to the proper territory. It is important to find these overrides to make sure they are assigned to the correct sales rep.
Why would you have an account override? Account Overrides mainly exist in order to maintain business relationships that may be sensitive to change. If you have a sales rep that has been seeing the same client for 20 plus years then you would not want to make any changes. This is why you would create an override for this account and make sure that the original sales rep will continue to call on this special account.