An Easier, More Actionable Solution

When Kim Hicks took charge of the Cornerstone Flooring sales team, the company was using a Microsoft Dynamics CRM system that had never been customized properly. “It was a jumbled mess and really difficult to use,” says Hicks. “There were tons of features we didn’t need, and it was impossible to get a snapshot of what our salespeople were doing.

After extensive research, Cornerstone decided to switch Pipeline CRM. Even with a full-service onboarding package, the first-year costs would be less than one-quarter of the investment required to customize the existing system – and the ongoing return on investment would be even greater..

Moreover, Pipeline CRM was much easier to use with “wonderful” reporting capabilities and “out of this world” customer service.

Data that Drives Results

“We’ve had a 100% increase in trackability,” says Stoudt. “We weren’t able to track anything before. Now we track every aspect of our performance. What’s working and what’s not working. Who’s working and who’s not working.” With Pipeline CRM, Hicks saw usage go through the roof. “We have so much more information now!” It’s still early to see the full impact on Cornerstone’s bottom line, but they’ve already seen their time-to-close metric drop from an average of 42 days in Q2 2015 to 24 days in Q3 2015.

Hicks offers two explanations for this dramatic improvement. Salespeople have better insight into their own data, so they always know where they stand and where they need to follow up.

Meanwhile, timely, detailed reports empower Cornerstone’s owner Dan Hess to be a more effective sales coach.

“He can jump on opportunities and provide direction,” says Hicks. “He’ll say ‘Here’s a better way to get past this objection’ or “We’re waning on this one. What’s going on?’ Many times his advice to the salespeople goes a long way.”

With Pipeline CRM, we’re communicating better and closing deals much faster. The best thing is the reporting. All the information we need to accelerate our business is right at our fingertips.

Kim Hicks, Sales Administrator at Cornerstone Flooring

Proactive Account Management

“Most of our business is repeat business,” says Hicks. This makes nurturing relationships critical. “Pipeline CRM tasks and reminders help keep salespeople on their toes. If I feel like something is lacking, I can send a note, and they can immediately follow up. In the past, if a project wasn’t happening for nine months, we might wait eight months to touch base. That doesn’t happen anymore.”