Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/737160
18 "I remember we had some people who understood it immediately but not every- one," he says. "It defi nitely takes coaching for people who are not used to looking at data or using software. There's a learning curve, and it takes a while to get everyone on the same page." "Adoption is a slow process," adds Spitzke. "You are changing how people do their jobs and there will always be some hesitation to share their relation- ship, or perhaps their lack of relation- ship, with their customer." Devany says he's combated this con- cern at Betts Truck Parts by stressing how CRM can improve the quality of each customer touch. CRM creates transpar- ency throughout a sales force that allows associates to be better informed during every customer interaction. "We want the quality of our touches [to be] at the highest level possible," he says. Bzeta agrees, and says he's witnessed CRM do that for Fleet Brake. He even has examples, citing a recent case where the sales of a product line by a sales person in one area triggered a sales person two time zones away to propose, and then close, a similar sale. "The other sales person saw [what the fi rst had done] and made a similar proposal to a similar customer and we received some new business," he says. "You don't all have to be in the same room to understand the same informa- tion about your customer base. You don't have to be in the same room with the sales guy or the counter guy," says HDA Truck Pride Director of Marketing Kristen Phipps. "Everything is there for everyone." CRM is a pretty handy time-saver, too. "On the conservative side I would think it frees up nearly an hour per day in paperwork for a sales rep," says Rawleigh. And that's just post sales calls. Raw- leigh says the time savings provided by Sales-i's data analytics tool is even more signifi cant. "It puts all of that informa- tion immediately at your fi ngertips. I think that's invaluable," he says. All of these features make CRM a worthwhile endeavor. "I don't think most companies have [customer] database programs to retrieve and capture customer information in the manner that CRM programs have today," says Gaddis. "It helps your sales people become better at what they do." Devany agrees, adding that CRM helps the independent aftermarket keep pace with tech-savvy and well-funded competitors. "I think with where technology is going if people don't start embracing this they'll be passed by. [Competitors] are becoming more and more advanced. It's going to be diffi cult for aftermarket busi- nesses to stay in stride with them without these tools," he says. Yet it's also important to recognize a CRM isn't a miracle cure. "It's one of those things where you get out of it what you put into it," says Phipps. "If you don't put the information in cor- rectly or don't train your people on how to benefi t from it they aren't going to." "A CRM cannot improve your busi- ness. What it does is give you visibility into issues," adds Spitzke. "It provides you with the information so you can react accordingly. It provides manage- ment with more information on what is happening at a ground level and provides sales with a more professional set of tools to stay on top of issues and opportunities." T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 It defi nitely takes coaching for people who are not used to looking at data or using software. There's a learning curve, and it takes a while to get everyone on the same page. – Doug Gaddis, vice president, Ogburn's Truck Parts Cover Story Aftermarket distributors currently using CRM agree that systems providing transactional sales data can have the most tangible impact on a company's bottom line.