Technology newsmaker Q&A Kelly Gregory

The approach we took was to put something in the hands of the sales rep on the road, make it easy to read, and easy to share and explain to the customer. You can look at the analytics and see where you can grow that business. You bring the data into the conversation, which is always an eye opener.

You can see the sales trends, week-over-week sales, and recent rise/fall numbers. If those numbers drop quickly you can act quickly. Customers want you to notice if they quit buying from you. Once you know the lay of the land, you can find potential areas for growth or where there could be business where there currently isn’t.                

What are some of the features and functions customers have found to be the most valuable?

The rise and fall comparisons are very important. We also have a tool where the salesperson can take a group of customers that are alike and compare them. It makes sense that they should be buying from you at the same level if they are the same size and service the same types of vehicles. You can break those out by part types, and it will really stand out if a customer isn’t buying a product from you but other customers are. That helps stimulate the conversation.

Some sales managers also are using these tools to get the information out across the entire sales team.

What are the biggest challenges that distributors face in terms of sales?

Being on top of current data is important. You have to be able to engage the customer more. Another challenge for managers is being able to know what their salespeople are doing, and keeping track of those daily activities.

Another frustration is having to come up with a valuable reason to make a sales call. You need to be able to add some value.

You have to stay competitive and be current. You can’t drag around a clipboard or you are going to bore your customers to death. The customer will be more interested in someone who can show them a visualization of the sales data.

What do you think will be the next phase of analytics in the aftermarket?

Sales reps want to be able to compare their sales with their competitors, but that’s a tough one. There’s exposure there.

Manufacturers have a fairly high-level view, so we are working on creating a collaborative project between the manufacturer and the WD so they can work on promos and build sales on both sides. Getting that visibility out there helps. You don’t know what you don’t know until you see it. We’re trying to create analytics that make that whole process easy so the companies can do it quickly and efficiently.

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