Driving sales growth with technology

DsceNrr-v, rHIS coLUMN focused on the challenges of -[\serving customers who have grown accustomed to an Amazon.com shopping experience. The key takeaways for staying competitive and relevant in today's environment included using technology to advance and support your sales organization. In an industry that is slower to adopt technology and traditionally reliant on strong personal relationships to conduct business, this can be a challenge.

However, there are a number of organizations that have embraced and are driving sales growth through the use of proprietary or third-party technology solutions. Those tools include online sales or e-commerce platforms, mobile apps and integrated customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

"A mobile app that is accessible through a tablet computer or smartphone gives a sales team the ability to access real-time inventory pricing and accounts receivable information, enter quotes, open sales orders, and input sales leads on the fly," said Anthony Muck, senior special projects manager of DSMi, a software company specializing in the building products industry. "A lot of our customers appreciate how this tool can replace a binder full of sales sheets that are outdated as soon as they are printed."

We at U.S. Lumber Group, Atlanta, Ga., recently began using Salesforce.com for CRM to be responsive to customer requests, consolidate customer information, and facilitate sales.

We've always struggled with information flying around from 90 different directions. Now our sales reps can have all their customer and product information

Lumber Association

available through their tablets when they're meeting with customers.

Like U.S. Lumber, many organizations struggle with consolidating historical customer sales data and contact information in one place. Housing that information in a central CRM system like Salesforce.com, ACT or similar technologies, can streamline and improve a company's sales and marketing efforts and grow revenue. Access to detailed, accurate customer data means a marketing team can send targeted offers and communications to the right people at the right time and increase conversion rates.

U.S. Lumber's roll out of these technologies began in spring 2014, so adoption across the organization is still underway. However, the sales representatives who can

A Speciatr Series fronr North American Wholesale tumber Association

now easily locate sales history, pricing, programs and other details in real time have provided positive feedback to me about their experiences.

Recognizing the trend that more and more of our customers want to transact with us online, U.S. Lumber is also developing an online e-commerce site. We will be able to provide customers with customized program pricing and all product documentation in one spot. The new U.S. Lumber catalog will also allow customers to track the truck delivering their orders and provide them with a real-time ETA.

The willingness of our president, Jeff Mclendon, and leadership team to invest in technology has put U.S. Lumber at the forefront of the industry when it comes to innovation. As a company, we are dedicated and focused on using technology to enhance our customers experience with us.

Building Producrs Inc. (BPI), a supplier of building products headquartered in Watertown, S.D., recently implemented the DMSi PartnerView online portal. Through this tool, its customers can find and print invoices, view open orders, get shipping status, enter quotes, and perform other functions at any time of day.

"Now, our customers don't have to get off of the phone with one of their customers to place orders," says Cas Rangel, chief information officer for BPI.

Rangel believes the convenience, time savings and other features of this new tool have resulted in increased customer satisfaction.

Over the past year and a half, BPI has also focused on other technology investments, such as a new phone system and a custom-built CRM system that will integrate with the customer portal and phone system.

Not only do these enhancements position BPI for greater marketing and sales success by centralizing customer data, they also ensure business continuity, which prevents lost sales and customer service issues.

"If something happens that closes one of the branches, I can have those operations up and running the same day at another branch," said Rangel. "And our staff can work remotely if needed."

To learn how other peers are leveraging technology to enhance their sales efforts and drive revenue growth, I encourage you to attend NAWLA's Leadership Summit, March 22-24. 2015. at The Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, Az. The event brings together mid-level managers and executives and industry-leading companies to discuss top-of-mind business topics and solutions for driving revenue growth and streaml ining operations. Additional details are available at www.nawla.org.

By fames Olsen