Customer Case Study

The Backstory

Building Products Inc. (BPI), a family-owned building materials distributor, supplies building materials and millwork to retail lumber yards. In 2021, BPI had an under-utilized ERP-provided CRM, and their sales reps often relied on spreadsheets and handwritten notes, stuck in an order-taking mode. Kyle Schull, the company’s CEO, had a goal to transform the company’s sales process, encouraging salespeople to ask fact-finding questions and move beyond repetitive order-taking. Kyle explained, "It got old asking customers over and over again, 'What do you need? Is there anything else I can do for you?' They always said, 'No. I called and ordered what I needed.'"

Choosing Proton

Kyle discovered Proton at a conference for distributors, where he met Benj Cohen, the CEO of Proton. He learned that Proton’s CRM offered predictive analytics and product recommendations, which could help BPI transition from order-taking to proactive selling. Proton’s AI recommendations were a significant factor in their decision, as they saw the value it would bring to their sellers. “Using Proton, we could say, 'Hey, have you checked your stock on A, B, and C items? We see here that those may be due to reorder.'" 

Implementation Adoption

The implementation process was designed to increase adoption, with weekly calls for management and training sessions for the reps. BPI took ownership of the training process very seriously. Kyle emphasized the importance of internal training: "Proton’s very intuitive for users, but getting salespeople to change their habits and use a new system, especially if they're coming from spreadsheets or handwritten notes, is crucial. They need to understand this is not just an info repository for management, but a tool that will give live recommendations to help increase sales, commissions, and ultimately paychecks. Ensuring a full cultural change and buy-in is key."

Impact & Results

The implementation of Proton at BPI brought about a significant transformation in their sales process. Proton’s enabled BPI's sales team to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach. Here are some of the notable benefits they experienced:

360-degree view of the customer: "Proton made it a lot easier for us to take a look and say, 'All right, what has the history been with this customer? How have we pitched them? Are we up or down in this product category?' It was very useful for both the salesmen inside and outside as they were going out and making their pitches. It helped increase our share of wallet with those customers and was very helpful for the sales managers and executive team to track performance across different categories."

Speeding up the onboarding process for new salespeople: "We've uploaded all of our literature from our vendors into Proton, allowing new reps to quickly search for what they need. This has been a huge help for the next generation, speeding up their learning process and enabling them to make recommendations to customers based on historical data."

Streamlined quote follow-up process: "Proton has increased the amount of sales our team has been able to close. The system's attributed revenue feature ensures that pitches or quotes are followed up on promptly. I don't think they would be following up on all those quotes if they didn't have easy access to the information in the system."

Reorder reminders: "The 'due to reorder' feature has made our sales team much more proactive in discussing new sales opportunities with customers, rather than just reacting to incoming orders. This has helped us increase the order size per invoice."

Cross-team collaboration: "Proton has improved communication between the inside and outside sales teams. When an outside sales rep logs a call, the inside sales team can immediately access that information. This knowledge transfer ensures everyone is on the same page, improving overall efficiency and customer service."

Final Thoughts

BPI's success with Proton underscores the importance of having a clear sales process before implementing a CRM. A common misconception is that a CRM will provide a sales process, but BPI knew where they wanted to take their sales team. Their vision of a collaborative, proactive sales team enabled them to leverage Proton effectively. Leadership's commitment to driving cultural change, even among older reps, was crucial. By approaching CRM as a value-added tool rather than a monitoring system, BPI achieved significant adoption and ROI with Proton.

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