Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Business Challenges:1. Current Sales Opportunity tracking did not provide reliable opportunity to sales conversion

information. Poor pipeline management information. 2. Current Sales Opportunity tracking system did not provide enough actionable information

for manufacturing demand forecasting.3. End User and Channel Partner data was not useful for direct marketing campaigns, or for

providing a 360 degree view of the customer experience.4. Service center contacts with customers where managed on a disparate system with no

visibility to Field Sales Representatives.5. No actionable information captured on post sales customer service performance.6. Sales Rep ramp-up time in selling process effectiveness was running 12-24 months, due to

process and technology complexity, thus impacting field sales turnover.7. Company experienced a failed attempt to deploy CRM solution 12 months earlier under

executive sales management leadership.

Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Industry Research: “Leveraging the 360 degree Customer View to Maximize

Up-sell and Cross-sell Potential”, by Peter Ostrow

Prior to embarking on change initiative we did research to better understand Best-In-Class performance requirements, focus, and objectives to help guide and provide ROI metrics.

Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Industry Research: “Leveraging the 360 degree Customer View to Maximize

Up-sell and Cross-sell Potential”, by Peter Ostrow

Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Industry Research: “Leveraging the 360 degree Customer View to Maximize

Up-sell and Cross-sell Potential”, by Peter Ostrow

Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Industry Research: “Leveraging the 360 degree Customer View to Maximize

Up-sell and Cross-sell Potential”, by Peter Ostrow

Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Approach:1. Improve knowledge of Customer contact across entire sales, marketing, and sales

operations organization. Deploy an integrated CRM solution.2. I established a cross-functional project team, and became executive sponsor.3. Interviewed all levels of sales, marketing, and customer service to understand needs.4. Surveyed customer base to establish baseline customer service satisfaction rating.5. Developed a current state and future state process map with information data flow

models.6. Defined user information access requirements (mobility, off-line, and tethered).7. Developed ROI and reviewed current CRM software technology providers. Developed

and deployed an RFI and RFP process selecting Salesforce.com.8. Conducted a test pilot with sub-set of user population.9. Developed implementation strategy based on a phased roll-out through internal

corporate departments and then through field sales districts.a) conducted user surveys after each implementation group.b) documented “lessons learned” which were leveraged w/ each subsequent

group.

Migrating Business Toward Excellence

Results:1. Implemented Salesforce.com across customer service, inside sales, and field sales

for 300+ users in a 12 month timeframe, while meeting a <1 year payback on the $500,000+ investment.

2. 83% of customer sales contacts, opportunities, and pipeline information was updated regularly, compared to less than 35% with previous application.

3. Established key performance metrics for field sales beyond traditional Incoming Orders, Shipped Orders, and % to Goal metrics. These new metrics provided the basis for sales management to begin to measure the “effectiveness” of each sales representative.

4. Integrated Customer Account Masters, Project Quotations, Customer Sales History, and MS Outlook eMail systems with the CRM application providing:

a) detail product forecasting data for manufacturingb) improved visibility of the “customer experience”c) elimination of 3 other disparate customer information systems.

5. Overall Sales increased by more than 10% within 12 months post implementation.