With or without a lead tool to success?
Reliable and time-saving - that's how people know the products from REINER SCT. The leading German manufacturer of card readers also relies on speed and transparency in sales. In terms of lead management, the company relies on leadtributor. The result of the lead tool: more overview and measurable ROI.
Company overview Reiner SCT
What do 1. FC Köln and Hannover 96 have in common? Both sports clubs use the time recording system from REINER SCT in personnel management in the areas of merchandising, catering, gastronomy and administration. Since 1997, the Furtwangen-based company has been one of the premier league clubs in the field of readers for chip cards.
REINER SCT specializes in high-quality home banking security solutions and intuitive time recording and access control systems. At the Black Forest family-owned company, development, sales and end customer service come from a single source. Whether online banking, time recording or terminals for access control: REINER SCT guarantees the best security and quality made in Germany. |
Goal: Process business leads quickly
In order to provide customers throughout Germany with the best possible support and to contact interested parties immediately, REINER SCT has built up a strong partner network over the years. "We have 350 partners throughout Germany," explains Thomas Peter, Sales Manager IT Channel. "Of these, 65 are so-called 'Certified Partners' with a special status. This depends largely on minimum sales and qualification." A complex product naturally entails a more intensive sales process. "It usually takes four to six weeks from first contact to closing."
How the first contact is made? Thomas Peter says:
✔ "We get the majority of our leads through referrals.
✔ Others we generate through marketing campaigns. Others come from online requests for trial versions".
"It's important for sales success that exactly the right partner gets the right lead. And that this partner immediately takes care of processing the lead. Preferably on the same day that the prospect sends an inquiry."
Gut feeling was yesterday - Lead Tool is today
Lead distribution at REINER SCT was mostly done without lead tools and more by gut feeling, says the sales professional. "That also worked out great. I knew who from the partner network was most suitable for a particular lead.
"This was distributed via Excel lists or simply informally by phone call. But Thomas Peter increasingly missed one thing: the measurability of sales.
Where did the revenue of a partner come from?
How many of the forwarded leads led to a business deal in the first place?
Which product was sold to which customer?
What he had in his hands were only figures on total sales. Detailed feedback from the reseller? Not at all.
That was too vague for him. Thomas Peter started researching lead tools. He searched the Internet for the term "leadmanagement". And soon came across leadtributor.
Why use a lead tool?
Finally, a web-based software that gave the partner a feedback tool. And guaranteed transparency in the channel. He was immediately enthusiastic about the idea.
Thanks to the leadtributor's report functions, Thomas was able to see Peter for the first time:
✔ which partner processes which lead,
✔ how long the sales process takes
✔ how many sales appointments are completed
✔ whether and when a closing is pending
➔ and if not, why business leads are lost to whom.
Customizable and easy to use
The first thing that convinced him was the flexibility of the lead tool:
This is how leads get directly into leadtributor via our contact form. There, partners can pick the lead."
According to the principle: first come, first served.
After all, competition stimulates business.This is where Thomas Peter has to laugh. "In the beginning, there was a lot of bickering: Each partner feared that the others would be faster and take away the leads. But it soon turned out that there were enough leads for everyone, and the situation eased.
We were also able to manually set the maximum distance between business leads and partners in leadtributor. This reduced the number of resellers considered in each case."
In the period from December 2015 to July 2016, a total of 888 leads were distributed via leadtributor. And processed in the channel.
After an initial test phase, the system finally went online in February 2016.
Tip: |
What Thomas Peter also appreciates about the new lead management software is how easy it is to use. No time-consuming training was necessary. "I understood the system in 30 minutes and was ready to go," he says. |
After the campaign is before the campaign
To date, 30 Certified Partners have been connected externally and 15 employees in sales and support internally. For REINER SCT, the investment in the leadtributor has paid off. All resellers have made sales with the new tool.
And Thomas Peter is downright thrilled:
✔ "I can see immediately where sales are being made
✔ how many leads are brought to closure by a partner
✔ which partner is particularly active
✔ what strengths he or she has."
And then he sums up the benefits of automated lead distribution:
"The leadtributor finally creates facts. It's a permanent fixture for me in my sales work."
But the leadtributor is also an asset for marketing.
➔ Because information on every business lead flows back into the CRM system at REINER SCT and is ready to be further exploited. After all, after the marketing campaign is before the marketing campaign.
REINER SCT has signed a 1-year contract for the leadtributor. In doing so, he pays for the use per user and can adjust this monthly. The channel partner thereby assumes the costs for their own use. After one year, he is free to decide whether to terminate the contract. But Thomas Peter doesn't even think about it: But Thomas Peter doesn't even think about it:
"I can no longer imagine a working day without leadtributor."