The main update that went live this week was that we updated the route planner in the Outfield mobile apps to better handle a very large number of accounts. Before this update the user interface would sometimes slow when you had a very large number of accounts while you planned your route with multiple stops. After the update, the route planner is nice and snappy in this case.

Other notable fixes & improvements:

-   The importer has been updated to more clearly identify columns where an Outfield ID is needed, e.g. it now says Outfield Account ID rather than just Outfield ID.
-   The Outfield web interface received a face lift here and there. Specifically, we applied the new left border style (that made its first appearance a few months ago) has now been applied throughout the interface.

[![](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/left_border_style-1024x566.png)](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/left_border_style.png)

Route Optimization Improvements – Jan 26 Feature Updates

large_left_border_style-10

medium_left_border_style-10

small_left_border_style-10

thumbnail_left_border_style-10

left_border_style-10

We recently launched a couple improvements to Outfield forms. First, you can now add multiple conditions per field when you are building a form with conditional form fields. Here is an example screenshot of what that looks like:

[![](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/conditional_form_fields-1024x894.png)](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/conditional_form_fields.png)

Second, Outfield now supports forms with hundreds of fields as opposed to dozens for fields. This was a necessary update for inspection forms for example where a large number of fields is standard.

Other notable fixes & improvements:

-   Notes, custom fields, and other text that may contain URLs now have auto link detection and conversion into hyperlinks in the web interface, saving you a copy/paste job.
-   Phone numbers with extensions now have improved support

Multiple Conditions Per Form Field - Jan 18 Feature Updates

large_conditional_form_fie

medium_conditional_form_fie

small_conditional_form_fie

thumbnail_conditional_form_fie

conditional_form_fie

We have launched a couple of improvements to the Outfield Calendar to help you save time when planning your week or when planning on behalf of your field reps. First, we added calendar event importing via spreadsheet to the Import/Export section of the main side nav panel. This works very similarly to importing accounts or deals for example, and a template is available on the first page of the import process to help you get started.

[![calendar import template](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/calendar_import_template-1024x357.png)](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/calendar_import_template.png)

You can also now update your calendar events in bulk with an import. Speaking of bulk, the second calendar update is a new page to add multiple calendar events in one go right from the Outfield web app. Simply select the + Add More Events link at the bottom of the popup to create a new calendar event, and anything already completed will carry over so you don't have to re-enter these fields each time.

[![](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/add_multiple_calendar_events-1-1024x623.png)](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/add_multiple_calendar_events-1.png)

Other notable fixes & improvements:

-   We now show the form titles of any completed forms for activity right in the activity feed items for quicker reference.
-   We added a new 7 Day Breakdown table to the weekly activity pdf reports so you can easily see when you're reps are starting and ending their workdays and how many check-ins they are completing each day.
-   We now allow for creating deals with no name or amount, and instead of throwing an error it will automatically name the deal based on the account name or user name and default the amount to zero.

Calendar Planning Improvements - Jan 11 Feature Updates

large_calendar_import_temp

medium_calendar_import_temp

small_calendar_import_temp

thumbnail_calendar_import_temp

calendar_import_temp

_(Outfield’s new Closer’s Coffee serves as an information source for sales professionals_)

(**HOUSTON - December 19, 2019) -** Outfield, [a field sales app and mobile CRM solution provider](http://outfieldapp.com), today announces the launch of the [Closer’s Coffee](http://closers.outfieldapp.com/), a social media community that champions sales professionals, hustlers and entrepreneurs around the world. The community is an information source for sales professionals through written content, video interviews and conversation, along with profiling top business developers.

Members of the Closer’s Coffee community can communicate with one another to share ideas about topics critical to improving skills and acquiring knowledge. In addition, members will be able to compete against others in a fantasy league type fashion based on their individual sales performance.

“The traditional way of motivating sales reps through compensation alone is no longer the most effective method,” said Austin Rolling, CEO and co-founder of Outfield. “We believe a community that allows you to compete with others in a mild way is the motivation people need to help push them forward, and Closer’s Coffee is the perfect environment for that competition.”

The content on Closer’s Coffee includes written and video content and features the site’s signature show “Closer’s Coffee”. Written content is provided by a pool of contributing authors comprised of more than 30 industry professionals. Content categories include:

-   Insights - advice from industry thought leaders for sales professionals
-   Field Pass - a new way of telling the sales story through sports
-   Mind Matters - content focused on issues related to mental health as a business professional.

The Closer’s Coffee show is hosted by [Carlos Figarella](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-figarella-27a63266/), an industry thought leader currently serving as the Senior Enterprise Sales Manager at HTC Vive. Each episode features an interview with a business leader or sports professional to discuss the parallels between the sports and business worlds.

“Our goal with the show is to highlight the challenges and adversities faced while competing for success,” said host, Carlos Figarella. “We’re excited to provide sales professionals with a platform to learn and promote their personal brand.”

Currently, Closer’s Coffee has 6,000 newsletter subscribers, more than 19,000 Facebook followers and nearly 4,000 Twitter followers. If you want to be a guest on the show or contribute a thought leadership article, please visit [closers.outfieldapp.com](http://closers.outfieldapp.com).

###

**About Outfield:**

Outfield is a web and mobile-based CRM. and field sales app offering apps for iPhone, Android and web. They specialize in data-driven revenue and efficiency solutions for organizations with an outside sales force. Founded in March 2015 in Bryan, Texas, the platform currently serves outside sales and marketing teams in more than 70 countries. Outfield is on a mission to make outside sales and marketing simpler, smarter and more productive.

**Media Contact:** 

BLASTmedia on behalf of Outfield

Patrick Murphy

[patrick@blastmedia.com](mailto:patrick@blastmedia.com)

317.806.1900 x 102

Outfield Launches Social Media Community to Champion Sales Professionals

large_globe-image.jpg

medium_globe-image.jpg

small_globe-image.jpg

thumbnail_globe-image.jpg

globe-image.jpg

Outfield is a startup that specializes in data driven revenue and efficiency solutions for organizations with an outside sales force. We are looking for a Digital Marketing Specialist to join our team.

This is a Part-Time or Full-Time role and perfect opportunity for someone looking to begin their career within the tech space. The DAS role will be responsible for the execution of the company’s digital media campaigns across paid search, paid social media and display advertising. The DAS role requires someone who is logical (mathematical), creative, contextually detail-oriented and familiar with marketing and advertising strategy. The ideal person will have an appreciation for tech startups, business, sports and is looking to pursue career advancement opportunities within our organization.

The DAS will be working with our Outfield team. His or her responsibilities will be:

-   Maximize the reach of general and feature specific marketing campaigns through paid advertising on various platforms including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn.
-   The DAS role will be expected to make decisions around bid strategy and monitor the daily, weekly, and monthly advertising budgets set by the leadership team.
-   The DAS will be an integral part of the overall SEO strategy by evaluating online presence, conducting keyword research, making recommendations, and being the driving force behind the execution of the SEO strategy.
-   Participate in ideation and brainstorming sessions for generating new marketing campaigns, strategies, tactics, etc.
-   The DAS will be the subject matter expert on all things advertising/SEO and be held accountable for ensuring a positive ROI in accordance with both short and long term marketing goals.

**Job Qualifications**

-   Strong creative writing, ability to create test and learn campaigns, measure incremental results, identify opportunities.
-   Demonstrated analytical, organizational, customer service, communication (written and verbal) and critical thinking skills.
-   Candidate should be self-starting, entrepreneurial and thrive working within startups.
-   Ability to properly prioritize and manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously.
-   Working level knowledge of Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Ads Manager, and LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

Job Type: Part-time or Full-Time

Experience:

-   Digital Advertising: 2 years (Preferred)
-   Search Engine Optimization: 2 years (Preferred)
-   Creative Writing: 2 years (Preferred)
-   Analysis Skills: 2 years (Preferred)
-   Marketing: 2 years (Preferred)
-   Digital Marketing: 2 years (Preferred)

Working days:

-   Monday
-   Tuesday
-   Wednesday
-   Thursday
-   Friday

Email resumes to hello@outfieldapp.com

Digital Advertising Specialist - Part Time or Full Time

[Outfield](http://www.outfieldapp.com/) specializes in data driven revenue and efficiency solutions specifically for organizations with an outside sales force. We are looking for an AE to join our team FT.

This is a perfect opportunity for someone looking to join an emerging and disruptive tech startup. The AE role requires someone who is entrepreneurial, ambitious, and has a natural instinct for the hustle. The ideal person will have an appreciation for tech startups, business, and sports.

The AE will be working with our Outfield team ([www.outfieldapp.com)](http://www.outfieldapp.com)). His or her responsibilities will be:

-   Stewarding prospective clients throughout the early ages of the customer journey experience
-   Working with clients and prospective clients to understand and help them overcome their business challenges
-   Working cross-functionally with the Outfield team to identity and solve customer challenges
-   Identifying needs and opportunities based on trends taking place in our space
-   Calling new leads to generate interest in our services and solutions
-   Participating in ongoing communications with clients to ensure continued success and retention
-   Demoing and presenting application tools to prospective customers
-   Creating and presenting business proposals
-   Much more

**Qualifications**

-   Must have quality communication and presentation skills (verbally and written)
-   Must be a great listener
-   Individual must be able to work with little supervision at times
-   Must be a creative thinker
-   Must be coachable
-   Must be comfortable speaking with personnel of various backgrounds (including company executives)
-   A great teammate
-   Bilingual is a bonus
-   Work authorization: United States (Required)
-   SAAS Sales: 3 years (Preferred)
-   Account management: 3 years (Preferred)
-   Bachelor's (Preferred)

This is a salary + commission based position. If you’re interested, please send over a copy of your resume to [austin@outfieldapp.com](mailto:austin@outfieldapp.com)

Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance available

Account Executive

## Why Concurrency?

Data processing can be CPU-intensive, and if it is performed on the main queue, it can result in unresponsiveness in the UI. If you like ruining the UX of your app, then keep inserting or updating tons of objects on the main thread (which also controls the UI) every time time you make a `GET` request. Otherwise, keep reading to learn how to knock concurrency out of the ballpark. ⚾

## Your Core Data Stack Sucks

If you’re here, it’s probably because after a sleepless night of debugging, you realized your app is lagging because of inserting/updating many objects into Core Data. If you are reading this out of vigilance, then I must applaud you for being more proactive than I was. Either way, let’s learn how to make your stack not suck.

From a top-down view, we have

**Persistent Store Coordinator** - save object graphs to persistent storage and to retrieve model information. In other words, it takes stuff added in the main context and writes it to disk, hence “persistent”

**Main Context** - This will be the main context you use in your app. You access this context on your main thread.

**Private Context** (Secret Weapon) - When inserting/updating a large amount of objects, you will want to operate in this context. When creating a managed object context with a concurrency type of NSPrivateQueueConcurrencyType, the managed object context is associated with a private queue and it **MUST** be accessed from that private queue via a `perform` block. Have fun debugging if you ignore this pro-tip.

## Removing Lag One Thread at a Time

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, it’s time for you to copy and paste some code…I mean, diligently read it over…

\[gist https://gist.github.com/michael-mckenna/95aa876997315bcdd85dc1337677985e /\]

So where does the magic happen? Right there in the initializations of the managed object contexts. We set the `mainObjectContext` to have a coordinator as it is responsible for writing changes from memory to disk upon saving. The `privateManagedObjectContext` operates on a background thread, as noted by its concurrency type.

## Query Correctly

So far we learned how to make your Core Data stack not suck, and you got some code you can copy and paste. Let me add one more item to that list.

Let’s say you want to insert or update a lot of users you got in a network response. You will want to check if the user exists locally and update it with the corresponding user in the response, else insert a new user. Let’s add a search method.

\[gist https://gist.github.com/michael-mckenna/6b09529e529c56aa851d180cc50e4afb /\]

It is important to note that we are specifying the context to perform the fetch request. If we were to fetch objects in the`mainObjectContext` then proceed to insert them into the `privateManagedObjectContext`, you’ll be greeted with a crash.

## Home Run Time

The hard part is finished. Now let’s combine everything we have so far!  
\[gist https://gist.github.com/michael-mckenna/2ace7ac25fbcb5c0d69f84c6b23b8a4a /\]

IMPORTANT! Ensures private context changes are performed on the proper thread. Without this perform block, as mentioned earlier, you’ll run into errors.

Loop through each user in the array of user’s in the JSON response

Query for user. If the user exists, update the local user with JSON, else insert a new user.

_THE ORDER IS IMPORTANT!_ Save the private context, which pushes changes to the main context without blocking the main queue (thus preventing UI Lag). Finally, the object is written to disk.

## Debugging Tip

To help with debugging concurrency issues, go to Product -> Scheme -> Edit Scheme then add the following arguments:

[![debugging](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/debugging.png)](https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/9307172/Imported_Blog_Media/debugging.png)

## Summary

Set up a core data stack two have two managed object contexts, where the main object context has a persistent store coordinator and a private managed object context that has a parent context which is the main object context.

Set up a query method to query core data on the proper thread

Perform inserts and updates on the private context when inserting/updating lots of objects

Not too hard, huh? [](https://emojipedia.org/smirking-face/)

## Sources

[Apple Core Data Concurrency Docs](http://Adam/Tim/Bart/Jordan video call - order management UI kickoff)

Why Concurrency? Data processing can be CPU-intensive, and if it is performed on the main queue, it can result in unresponsiveness in the UI. If you like ruining the UX of your app, then keep insertin

large_debugging.png

medium_debugging.png

small_debugging.png

thumbnail_debugging.png

debugging.png

Core Data Concurrency - The Easy Way (Swift, iOS 9+)

You have likely been hearing about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) recently and we know you probably have a few questions. Here are some details including how it affects your experience with Outfield.

## What Is GDPR?

The GDPR is a big change in data protection laws in Europe since the European Union (EU) Data Protection Directive introduced in 1995, also known as Directive 95/46/EC or the Directive. The main goal of the GDPR is to strengthen the security and protection of personal data in the EU and effectively replace the Directive and all local laws relating to it. It's key principles involve improving fairness, transparency, purpose for data collection, data minimization, data accuracy & deletion, security, and accountability. Further, it applies to all US based companies, including Outfield, that do business in the EU.

## Outfield's GDPR Commitment

We are big fans of GDPR here at Outfield because it gives our users valuable rights over their personal data. It also helps our team provide an even better level of trust with our users regarding how their data is processed and stored over the internet. Furthermore, we believe GDPR is the new global standard for data protection and we continuously work to maintain GDPR compliance. The Outfield team is committed to always operating in the best interests of our customers and that includes GDPR compliance.

## Your Rights Under GDPR

The GDPR grants our users a number of rights for how to handle your personal data. Here is an overview:

### Data Access

You have the right to confirm with Outfield whether we are processing your personal data.

### Right to Object

You can object at any time to the processing of your personal data.

### Data Rectification

You can send us a request to correct or complete your personal data if the data is inaccurate.

### Restriction of Processing

You can request that Outfield discontinues access to and modification of your personal data.

### Data Portability

You are able to export your data for your team members, accounts, and activity in CSV format so that you can transmit your personal data to another company.

### Right to Erasure

This is also known as “the right to be forgotten.” Outfield now allows you to delete your personal data in the settings section of the Outfield web app.

## Outfield Security

Another key principle of the GDPR is data security. Here at Outfield, we are committed to inspiring trust and protecting the privacy of our customer’s data. As such, we use industry leading security practices and manage application security so our customers can concentrate on their business. It is this commitment that motivates our decision making every day and our team holds this responsibility in the highest regard.

We are heavily invested in using top tier data centers, 2048 bit Industry Standard SSL, encrypted passwords, token based authentication, and more to provide our users with peace-of-mind regarding their data. For more details on Outfield security, visit our [security page](https://www.outfieldapp.com/security).

## Additional Information

We have updated our [User Agreement](https://www.outfieldapp.com/agreement) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.outfieldapp.com/privacy) to reflect these new user rights and we suggest you have a look for the complete details. We have also created a dedicated [GDPR page](https://www.outfieldapp.com/gdpr) to help explain how the GDPR impacts your Outfield experience. As always, drop us a line any time if you have questions or feedback: [support@outfieldapp.com](mailto:support@outfieldapp.com)

Outfield & EU Data Protection (GDPR)

Location: Houston, TX

[Outfield](http://www.outfieldapp.com/) is a startup that develops data driven revenue and efficiency solutions for organizations with an outside sales force. We are looking for a Sales Development Representative to join our team.

This is a perfect opportunity for someone looking to begin their career within the tech space. The SDR role requires someone who is entrepreneurial, ambitious, and has a natural instinct for the hustle. The ideal person will have an appreciation for tech startups, business, sports and is looking to pursue career advancement opportunities within our organization.

The SDR’s responsibilities will be:

-   Stewarding prospective clients throughout the early stages of the customer journey experience
-   Identifying and calling new leads to generate interest in our services and solutions
-   Working with clients and prospective clients to understand and help them overcome their business challenges
-   Working cross-functionally with the Outfield team to identify and solve customer challenges
-   Identifying industry needs and opportunities based on trends taking place in our space
-   Participating in ongoing communications with clients to ensure continued success and retention
-   Much more

Qualifications

-   2-5 years of experience in Sales Development, Lead Generation, Sales, and/or Marketing (SaaS experience a plus, but not required)
-   Must have quality communication and presentation skills (verbally and written)
-   Must be a great listener
-   Individual must be able to work with little supervision at times
-   Must be a creative thinker
-   Must be coachable
-   Must be comfortable speaking with personnel of various backgrounds (including company executives)
-   A great teammate
-   Four-year university/college degree (or equivalent experience) preferred

This is a salaried position. Salary is based on experience. If you’re interested, please send over a copy of your resume to [austin@outfieldapp.com](mailto:austin@outfieldapp.com)

Cheers!

Outfield is looking for a Sales Development Representative to join our team.

CRM Playbook