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Visibility Into Sales Helps Distributor Close More Business

Published Date
Author Tony Castellano

For sales managers, getting visibility into just how well their teams perform can be a constant challenge. Manually checking with each salesperson takes too much time and distracts them from selling. It’s also a hassle if the systems storing the sales performance data are not integrated. And without a solid reporting tool, managers have to fall back on the inefficient process of using spreadsheets. 

One of our distribution customers that sells health and beauty products solved this challenge by integrating their ERP and email systems with a new CRM platform. They had already migrated to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and used Outlook for email. There was also an existing custom CRM application, but expanding the functionality of the software would have required expensive rewriting of the codebase. 

Enter the third key piece to solve the puzzle—Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales. With NAV and Outlook already deployed, we integrated them with the CRM platform so data flows automatically among all three systems.  

 

Integrated Systems Help Keep Tabs on Sales Activities 

With the three integrated systems, notes transfer back-and-forth automatically between CRM and Outlook calendars. The sales team also gets follow-up reminders generated by Dynamics 365 Sales. And the quote-to-order process in their ERP is embedded into Dynamics 365 Sales so the sales team can access the quote process easily within CRM, their primary application. 

The payoff of the integrated solutions has been a big hit among the management team. They can break down leads by status to help the sales team convert prospects into customers, which includes a mix of other distributors and retailers. Managers can also keep tabs on the sales performance of the website, which consumers around the globe use to order products. 

 

Customer Activities Also Easier to Track 

Another key tool integrated into the mix that provides managers with greater visibility into sales activity is Microsoft Power BI. It automatically generates and pushes reports on newly-generated leads and the impact of follow-up activities.  

As a result, managers can now more easily identify when someone on the sales team might need help closing on a particular deal. Managers also have access to reports on overall customer activities, and they can track customer feedback to see if the company is properly following up on issues with shipped products. 

Looking ahead, the management team plans to collaborate with us to turn on the Sales Insights feature of Dynamics 365 Sales. So when distributor discovers a prospect is considering a competitive product, they will be able to immediately access information about that competitor. And that will allow the distributor to better position proposals to have a better chance of converting prospects into customers. 

For information on how Western Computer can help your company improve its visibility into sales activities to help your sales team convert more prospects into customers, contact us today to start the conversation.