July 23, 2024
Purity Life is the leading distributor of natural health products in Canada, supplying over 14,000 SKUs to more than 7,000 natural health product retailers across the country.
Before implementing Proton, Purity Life had little visibility into sales activities and customers' needs within its legacy CRM system. The company’s CRM wasn’t meeting their requirements and required going to external systems to get a full picture of what was happening in sales with the accounts which was time consuming . The sales team often found themselves bogged down doing account sales analysis and less time selling.
Matthew James, the company's CEO, recalls, "It was an old license-based system installed on a server, and we struggled to update it to meet our needs. There was really no intelligence to our old CRM. It was just basic information: what's the phone number, what's the email, what's the last interaction we had."
Recognizing these inefficiencies, Matthew started looking for a solution that could streamline their operations instead of holding the team back. During this search, he found Proton.
Matthew saw more than an average CRM in Proton. He liked that it was built specifically for distributors, gave recommendations to the sales team, and provided sellers with visibility into what customers were browsing online. "We have thousands of SKUs, hundreds of brands, and data across four warehouses. Proton processes this data and turns it into a meaningful format, allowing our sales team to make informed sales recommendations." Matthew emphasized that Proton simplifies selling by giving salespeople just the information they need. "Salespeople don't need the whole iceberg, just the actionable information to make their jobs easier. They have hundreds of accounts to call, so anything that reduces analysis time and increases customer interaction is a big win. Proton offers a simplified selling approach with information right at their fingertips. Proton recommends products for our sales team, tells reps what customers are due to reorder, and shows what they browsed online but didn’t buy. It provides better visibility and accountability. We went from a one-dimensional CRM to a three-dimensional one with Proton."
Matthew appreciated that Proton went beyond traditional CRM functionality by offering an add-on for their eCommerce site. This feature provided Amazon-style personalization of the web experience, which was essential since 40% of Purity Life’s customers purchase online. "With Proton, we could leverage AI to tailor the eCommerce site based on customer buying patterns," Matthew noted.
Proton’s implementation at Purity Life was a success. "In the whole scheme of things, it was relatively painless," Matthew noted. Proton’s in-house implementation team collaborated with Purity Life’s external ERP team to integrate the systems, ensuring all key ERP data (transactions, quotes, products, customers, etc.) were in Proton. Matthew joked that while the ERP provider usually complains about third-party integrations, they had no issues with Proton.
Proton’s intuitive design required minimal training for the sales reps. Carly Albrecht, the Inside Sales Manager at Purity Life, shared her experience: "Transitioning to Proton quickly showed its value. Our reps don't see Proton as a chore. We have a call target of 50 per week, but some reps are making double that. It's great to see such engagement. They're going above and beyond because they can see their progress every day in Proton."
The integration into their existing systems was seamless, facilitated by effective communication between Proton's team and Purity Life's ERP provider. This smooth implementation paved the way for quick adoption by the sales team, who quickly recognized the value of the new system.
Over 2 years into using Proton, Purity Life has experienced numerous benefits across their sales process, team performance, and productivity.
Sales growth: Proton has allowed sales reps to focus on selling rather than data entry and analysis. Matthew noted, "Our salespeople’s compensation is 50% commission-based. Giving them tools to make more money has been a win for everyone. Proton has helped us shift from a reactive to a proactive sales approach, driving significant increases in attributed revenue." Reps now have meaningful information to engage with retailers. They can say, "Hey, you haven't ordered this product in X months. Are you buying it from another distributor, or did you forget to buy it? Do you need more?" This creates conversations that can convert into sales. Carly Albrecht added, "Proton helps us get a good look at each retailer by showing us their year-to-date sales, customer status, and buying patterns. If a customer usually orders monthly but skips a month, Proton highlights this, prompting us to follow up. It identifies hotter leads that might not have been on our radar."
Time savings: Tasks that used to take 25 minutes per customer across three systems now take mere minutes with Proton. Carly emphasized the efficiency gains: "Proton pulls data from all three systems, so it's just all in one place." "Proton has been a huge time saver. She added, "A task that used to take about an hour once a week now takes me less than ten minutes, allowing me to do it every morning."
Increased accountability: Proton provides a tool to monitor sales activity and ensure targets are met. Carly explained, "I can track our sales team’s calls, who they pitched to, what they pitched, and the incremental revenue generated. This daily tracking allows us to monitor progress and meet our targets."
One-stop shop for customer info: Proton has created a 360-degree view of each retailer. Carly highlighted a success story: "One of our inside sales reps was on vacation, and I had to send an urgent email. With no previous history of the customer, I went into Proton and found all the necessary information to solve the issue promptly. It was a perfect example of Proton doing what it does best." As a result, Proton has streamlined the onboarding process for new sales reps. Carly mentioned, "When I transitioned from an inside sales rep to an inside sales manager, Proton made it easy for my replacement to pick up where I left off. All previous activities were available in one place."
Steering sales of specific products: Proton makes it easy for sales managers to set up campaigns and inform their teams, streamlining the workflow and increasing efficiency. Carly explained, "Proton includes everything needed for a campaign—discounts, promo names, SKUs. It sets up reps to be super efficient, spending five minutes on a call instead of twenty."
What truly sets Purity Life apart is their proactive approach to change. Recognizing when their old system no longer served them, they looked for a solution that would help their sales team rather than settling for the "good enough" status quo. Their commitment to finding a tool that boosts sales commissions reflects a forward-thinking attitude. It’s not about micromanaging salespeople; it’s about understanding which activities drive sales and enabling the team to achieve their goals more effectively and efficiently.
For other distributors facing similar issues, Purity Life's experience shows how a CRM designed for distributors can make a big difference. If you want to improve your sales operations, consider how a specialized CRM can help your business succeed.
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