Systems
Group International
Putting CRM solutions
into practice is often complex. One company that knows
this challenge well is Systems Group International.
Following the merger of its three divisions: solutions,
training, and network utilities and resourcing, this
enterprise-based network solutions supplier brought
SalesLogix on board to handle the amalgamation of three
sales teams and all their customer information.
 Systems
Groupęs new sales team sells consulting services to
large companies, from solution selection and resourcing,
to hosting training schemes for IT users. To cross-sell
within these areas, sales staff need access to a broad
range of information, such as details of course or product
availability, combined with customer histories and profiles.
However, because this information was fragmented across
the company, service sometimes suffered and sales opportunities
could be missed.
Geoff Worsley,
IT Project Manager at Systems Group International, explained
the problem: –Each group had its own way of keeping
customer records. One used ACT!, one used an Access
database system, and another relied mainly on bits of
paper.”
This disparity
led to poor communications among the sales team and
with customers. The various locations and forms of data
meant that customer information was often unavailable
or incomplete.
Another
problem was that one customeręs account could be serviced
by up to four staff. Without a way of accurately tracking
communications, customers would often be contacted several
times unnecessarily. This also led to customers not
knowing whom they should approach with account queries
because there was no clear point of contact for any
one customer.
Collating
customer information in one centralized system was the
obvious solution, but in System Groupęs busy sales environment
no one had time to waste re-keying data or moving it
from one system to another.
The
Cost of Information
For Systems Group, the lack of integrated customer information
was leading to wasted time and potentially lost sales.
Worsley explained: "We realized that there were a
lot of people wasting a lot of time, following up leads
that had already been handled. Because our systems werenęt
talking to each other, our staff had to shout across a
desk to find out whether so and so had spoken to a customer.”
Systems Group prides itself on giving customers the highest
level of customer service and so knew it had to act in
order to protect its reputation and contain the costs
of collecting and storing customer information. Worsley
commented: "Thankfully, we didnęt work out how much
this inefficiency was costing us. But in order to keep
our customersę confidence, we knew we had to find a way
to accurately manage customer information and make it
available to our staff.”
Choosing a Solution
Systems Group had two clear choices: to standardize
on one of its three current methods for managing customer
information, or choose one of a range of CRM solutions
on the market.
The first
option was rejected because none of the methods the
company was using could support the companyęs e-business
needs, nor the needs of its remote staff. The company
agreed that this need could not be addressed internally,
so it sought external help. However it also wanted to
avoid committing to a major CRM investment until it
could prove the solutionęs value in practice. Systems
Group therefore sought a modular, scalable CRM solution
that could be extended, as and when the need arose.
Integration was also very important. A solution was needed
that would integrate simply within its Microsoft-based
environment and run on SQL Server, NT workstations, as
well as the companyęs laptops and PDAs, so that it would
support the company's mobile workers.
One of Systems Group's IT managers saw an advertisement
for SalesLogix from Interact Commerce. "It seemed
to have everything we were looking for,” said Worsley,
"so we contacted Interact Commerce."
The company tested SalesLogix against other CRM solutions.
When compared to the companyęs list of requirements -
speed of development, scalability, ease of use, and ease
of integration - SalesLogix came out on top. Its modular
nature meant that the company could make a relatively
small investment up front, and yet gain a long term, profitable
CRM platform for the future.
Worsley commented: "We wanted a solution that could
be built up over time. Initially we weren't sure whether
we would just have a limited number of sales staff using
it, or all our consultants. We chose SalesLogix because
it provided us with the freedom to develop a broader CRM
strategy in the future.”
Taking
SalesLogix to the sales floor
Systems Group was under pressure to install the solution
as quickly as possible. However, because of millennium
compliance issues, it had to carry out the full pilot
within six weeks. Four salespeople who had various degrees
of experience using CRM solutions tested the solution.
This proved successful and the basic SalesLogix system
was rolled out over a weekend to every desktop in the
company.
Since then,
Systems Group International has used the application
to merge more than 6000 duplicate customer records,
eliminating multiple mailings. It has also been able
to streamline the way accounts are handled. Worsley
commented: –Previously we had up to four people working
on just one account because each customer could have
a contact for training, networks solution, general sales,
and consulting services. But with SalesLogix, we have
centralized information, which means just one worker
can coordinate all activity on an individual account.”
Designed
to Meet Growing Needs
During the first few months of 2000, Systems Group used
SalesLogix to transfer existing customer data into a
centralized database. It then expanded the use of the
software, adding its Advanced Sales Solution module,
to create sales reports and forecast future performance.
This allowed the company to gain an instant overview
of sales performance and reduce the amount of time required
to prepare weekly sales reports. Also, the ability to
quickly communicate progress to staff via the application
has significantly reduced the amount of time spent in
review meetings.
Delivering SalesLogix to the Web
Systems Group is currently planning to roll out another
function of SalesLogix - e-Leads. e-Leads is a web feedback
facility which converts messages sent through the website
into active sales leads within SalesLogix. This will significantly
reduce the amount of time it takes to respond to an e-mailed
customer inquiry. "At the minute,” said Worsley,
"an e-mail through the site goes to an administrator,
who passes it to the marketing department, who qualifies
the inquiry, then forwards it to our salespeople. This
can take up to a day. With SalesLogix, we will be able
to respond in a fraction of the time.”
More
Information of Better Quality
SalesLogix has not only increased the amount of customer
information available to staff, but has also given managers
a valuable insight into staff performance. For example,
the company holds cold calling sessions where everyone
has to make 50 customer calls. Before the introduction
of SalesLogix, it had no way of tracking the productivity
of these calls. Worsley explained: "We knew people
were on the phone, but we didn't know how well they were
performing. Now we know who, when, and why our salespeople
are calling and can measure their performance. Thatęs
invaluable information.”
Another
area of benefit is supplying information to mobile workers.
These teams visit customers to sell products or to provide
consulting services. With SalesLogix, mobile staff can
now not only record customer visit reports on their
laptops, but also synchronize them remotely with the
central database and so have instantly updated information
in front of them when they meet the customer.
But the most important development for Systems Group
has been the increased focus on selling using SalesLogix.
Worsley explained: "Our directors are pleased with
the way we are now responding to customers due to the
improved availability of information. Weęve worked really
hard to make everyone here an unofficial salesperson and
SalesLogix has contributed an enormous amount in terms
of delivering the right information, wherever it's needed.
Our staff now spend more time selling and providing high
quality customer care and less time on administration,
which makes everyone, from staff and customers to the
Directors, very happy.”
How will YOUR
company benefit from Compulan CRM?
For more information about this or other success stories,
contact Compulan.
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