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Case Study: Pacesetter Sales & Associates

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 “The savings in overhead costs is astronomical. eSi reduced  data entry time from hours to minutes, and saved us from having to hire another administrative resource.”

Craig Lindsay, CPMR, President
Pacesetter Sales & Associates

PacesetterSalesAssociates_LogoClient Challenge

As Pacesetter Sales & Associates watched business continue to grow, it also saw overhead costs rise, as thousands of sales invoices poured in from factories each month and data entry consumed a significant amount of time. It got to the point where the agency was going to have to hire another administrative person just to keep up. “We don’t have room for high overhead costs,” said Craig Lindsay, CPMR and President of Pacesetter Sales & Associates.

Pacesetter_StatisticsdynaMACS Solution

Pacesetter turned to dynaMACS and its eSi module, which provides the ability to import sales and commission data electronically from factories, thus eliminating much of the agency’s data entry – and the need for that second resource. “Simply put, it’s been a huge time- and cost-saver,” says Office Administrator Debbie Lindsay.

“When we bring on a new manufacturer, we make it a requirement that they send data electronically. We feel it’s that important,” adds Craig. The discussion impresses principals and positions Pacesetter as a technically competent and progressive firm. More than half of Pacesetter’s factories now send sales information electronically.

For field sales reps, the sales analysis reports are invaluable, helping them stay on top of activity in their territory and making them more proactive salespeople. In particular, Debbie says they rely heavily on a report sorted by manufacturer sales for each salesman.

As it turns out, it’s not only the sales agency who is benefiting from the comprehensive reports – manufacturers and customers are as well. They get better service and the agency shares detailed sales data with them. “Many principals don’t have a good reporting mechanism, so they ask me for information. They love the 5-year sales history. It’s the same with customers, who ask me how they’re doing, because they’re not sure. I can quickly email them some very helpful reports. It proves we are a true business partner,” Craig says.

Tip #1501 – dynaMACS HELP Options

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The dynaMACS Help menu provides several resource options for information and quick access to assistance within the dynaMACS program.  The following tip will explain the options available.

  1. You can access the Help menu from the menu bar.HelpMenu_Image
  2. Selecting the What’s New… option will open a PDF document that contains information about new functionality in your version of dynaMACS.
  3. Selecting the Previous Release Notes option will open a sub-menu listing available previous release notes in PDF format which details the fixes and enhancements for each release.Help Menu 3
  4. Selecting the Getting Started option will open a PDF document that discusses the pertinent “getting started” subjects when first using the dynaMACS application.Getting Started
  5. Selecting the dynaHELP option will open a PDF document that contains help on functionality of all features of dynaMACS.dynaHELP
  6. Selecting the Remote Support option will open Team Viewer which is a remote access program.  This feature should only be used when talking with a member of the dynaMACS support team.  This will allow dynaMACS support to connect directly with a dynaMACS user during a support call.Remote Support
  7. Selecting the FAQs on the web option will launch your web browser and go directly to the Frequently Asked Questions page on dynaMACS.com.FAQ's
  8. Selecting the Live Demos on our website option will launch your web browser and go directly to the demos page on dynaMACS.com.LiveDemoImage
  9. Selecting the Show Tips option will open the dynaMACS web site displaying all of the dynaMACS Support Tips.  Here you can enter a key word search in the Search Tips field or simply click on a tip from the list.Show Tips
  10. Selecting the Register dynaMACS option will open the Register dynaMACS screen to email your registration to dynaMACS.  This is typically done only when a dynaMACS Support Team representative advises that this be done.Register DM
  11. Selecting the Check for Software Update… option will close your dynaMACS program and open an update program.   It is advised that you check for software updates on a monthly basis.CheckforSoftwareUpdate
  12. Selecting the About dynaMACS option provides information about dynaMACS software.About DM

Tip #1412 – dynaMACS End of Year Checklist

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The end of year is an ideal time to review your dynaMACS database.  The following checklist will help guide you to areas that may benefit from a review.

Manufacturer:

Mfr_Status

Commission_Rates

X-Ref_Override

Sales Reps:

SalesRepsSplits

 

Customer:

Cust_Rep_Assignments

Cust_Classifications

 

Customer_Status

Customer_Transfer

Goal Tracking**:

Goals
Goals_Seasonality

Disclaimer

Case Study: FactoryLink

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 “dynaMACS helps us grow our business.  It is far superior to other software we’ve used.”

Mark Hauberg
Owner, FactoryLink

Client Challenge

FactoryLink has used its share of sales agency software: Two brand name products and a custom program. But none delivered the reporting, ease of use and detailed data that FactoryLink required.

“Reporting required sorting through reams of paper. We couldn’t dissect data in meaningful ways,” says Owner Mark Hauberg. Our custom software worked when the agency was smaller, but as we grew, it didn’t meet our needs. We were frustrated with the products and knew there had to be better software available.”

FactoryLink_StatisticsdynaMACS Solution

As Hauberg began the search, he saw a demonstration of dynaMACS at a trade show and was impressed. “dynaMACS is far superior to what we’d used in the past. It fit the bill,” Hauberg says. FactoryLink found the sales and commission software that matched how the busy agency operates.

With the ability to “cut and dice” information and look at various aspects of sales and commissions, he says, “Information is power, and dynaMACS delivers. It helps us grow our business.”

With Sales IQ, dynaMACS’ powerful performance analysis tool, Hauberg can instantly view data in hundreds of combinations such as:

Sales by territory

Customer and sales rep performance

    • 5-year sales history for any manufacturer
    • All manufacturers, sequenced by year-to-date sales
    • Monthly data for the entire agency, by any combination of manufacturer, customer or sales rep
    • Commissions paid
    • Low-performing areas with opportunities for growth

 

Hauberg also appreciates that reps get information as soon as it is in the agency’s system. “It helps me manage my sales force. It’s the best choice and has been a wonderful change for the business.”

Tip #1411 – Using Smart View in dynaMACS

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 Smart View is a feature in dynaMACS that lets you view customers with sales history for a selected manufacturer.  This feature is available from the Sales Entry and the Locator screen.

Example of Using Smart View in Sales Entry

    1. From the Sales Entry screen with a manufacturer selected (the manufacturer LJM has been selected for this example), click on the Customer Search button to display the list of ALL customers.
    2. Notice that in this example there are 287 customer records.Sales Entry - Cust Viewer 1
    3. Click on the Smart View check box to display only customers with history for this manufacturer.
    4. Notice that in this example there are now only 72 customer records displayed.  These are the customers with sales history.Sales Entry - Cust Viewer 2

Example of Using Smart View from the Locator

      1. From the Locator screen enter a manufacturer code i.e. LJM.
      2. Select the Locate button.Locator
      3. Notice that in this example there are 287 customer records.  This displays ALL customers.Customer Viewer 1
      4. Click on the Smart View check box to display only customers with history for this manufacturer.
      5. Notice that in this example there are now only 72 customer records displayed.  These are the customers with sales history for Lee Jacob Mfg.Customer Viewer 2

Tip #1410 – Using Right Click Options in dynaMACS

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Have you discovered the dynaMACS “right click” feature that is available in Sales IQ,  the Viewer screens and cRm for quick navigation?  When using this feature in Sales IQ you can quickly drill down to specific data when analyzing your sales and commissions. If using this feature in any of the Viewers, you can get directly to Sales IQ for the selected manufacturer, customer or sales rep.  If you have cRm you can use this feature from the viewers to access cRm actions such as writing a letter, adding activities, adding customers and manufacturers to the Marketing Center and accessing Sales IQ.

Using Right Click in Sales IQ

The following example we will look at the use of the right click function from Sales IQ to see the sales reps for a manufacturer and who their customers are.

  1. From the Sales IQ screen, select the Manufacturer tab.
  2. Highlight the manufacturer, right click and select Show Sales Reps from the drop down list.  (In this example we are going to look at the manufacturer Lee Jacob Mfg.)SIQ Home Screen 1
  3. The next screen displays all sales reps for the manufacturer Lee Jacaob Mfg.
  4. To see all of the customers for the sales rep Jim Black that buy from Lee Jacob Mfg, highlight and right click on Show Customers from the drop down list.SIQ Drill Down 1
  5. The next screen displays all of Jim Blacks customers that buy from the manufacturer Lee Jacob Mfg.SIQ Drill Down 2

Additional Right Click Options

Now that you know how the right click functionality can make your information search much easier, there are other areas within dynaMACS that have this feature.

Customer Viewer and Manufacturer Viewer

Right clicking on a customer or manufacturer will take you directly to Sales IQ.  In addition, if you have the dynaMACS cRm module, you will also have options to open cRm, add activities, write a letter or add to the marketing center for blast emails or bulk mailings.

Customer Viewer

Sales Rep Viewer

Right clicking on a sales rep will take you directly to Sales IQ displaying the details for the sales rep.

Sales Rep Viewer

cRm Screen

The use of the right click in dynaMACS cRm will help you manage your activities, such as add, edit, delete, etc.  You can also change the status of activities quickly.  Other options are applying a record as a selection and going directly to Sales IQ for a selected record.

cRm