• one new feature that adds a contact from the selected e-mail in your Outlook Inbox to your ACT! database or
• there are a few add-ons that can make this task much easier than just typing the data.

ACT!’s Built-in Answer

If you identified Outlook as your e-mail system in ACT! (Tools, Preferences), then you can add a contact from any e-mail in your Inbox. Only the Name and the E-Mail: are automatically copied from the currently selected e-mail.

1. Open the e-mail that you want to create a Contact for and scroll so that you can see their signature address information. (Since only the Name and E-mail are copied, then you will want to be able to see additional details for filling in the New Contact dialog that will display.)
2. In Outlook: Click the Create ACT! Contact icon at the top of the open e-mail (if you are using Outlook 2007 or later, click the Add-Ins tab to access the icon.)
3. Enter any additional information found in the signature. Don’t forget the Business Address tab in the New Contact dialog.
4. Click OK.
5. Look up the contact in ACT! and add information (like ID/Status, Referred by or Limited Access) as necessary.

Third-party Software Answers

There are a few third-party solutions that are a bit more full-featured. For example, eGrabber’s AddressGrabber™ Standard (~$70) converts highlighted contact details (from an e-mail, web listing, or Word doc) such as Name, Title, Company, Street, City, State, Zip, Phone, Fax, Email address and Web site and automatically adds them into ACT! (after checking for duplicates).  

I have another option that is free for one year. Contact Capture by Broadlook will also export any selected contact or list data into your defined database. However, the Contact Capture does NOT check for duplicates before exporting (hey, it is free). In addition, one potential down-side to this product is that when it creates a new contact, it also creates a new Company (in the newer versions of ACT!) and you can’t turn that feature off… though some will like this. After a year, you will be prompted to renew your license. It currently costs about $200. You can download your first year licenses here:
http://www.cornerstonesolutions.com/downloads/Broadlook_install_ccapture_b290.exe