What Returns Can You Expect With A CRM for Distributors?

Is your executive team hesitant to implement CRM software because they’re not sure what returns they can expect to see on their investment? Maybe your company has used CRM software before, but it wasn’t a CRM for distributors, so it didn’t work as well as they expected. 

Understanding CRM ROI is essential to getting buy-in from your team, and there are many ways you can estimate your savings and gains. However, it’s important that your discussion goes beyond hard costs and expected efficiencies to paint a full picture of the impact on your company’s revenue and top-line growth. 

One of the best ways to do this is by telling a story to illustrate what sales and operations looked like before and after a CRM. 

Clayton Controls and Lawn Equipment Parts Company (LEPCO) are two good examples of distribution companies that have achieved significant returns from a CRM. Clayton Controls offers both distribution and manufacturing services for customers with automation systems, while LEPCO is a family-owned wholesale distributor supplying outdoor power equipment, aftermarket parts, and accessories to more than 1,000 dealers.

Previously, these companies had significant challenges that hindered sales performance and customer relationships. By adopting a CRM, both companies are now well positioned for sustained growth in the distribution industry. Here’s what happened.

Before CRM Implementation

No Insight Into Customer Relationships and Interactions

A centralized CRM system is crucial for distributors to effectively track and manage customer relationships and interactions. Without it, businesses lack visibility into the complete customer journey. Understanding the relationship between bill-to accounts and individual (ship to) locations is essential. For some distributors, effectively communicating with both dealers and end users can also help to grow their business. This was the case for LEPCO, which has numerous dealers serving various territories across the Northeast. With White Cup, they can easily see the relationship between bill-to accounts and ship-to dealer accounts, as well as whether an account is a dealer or an end customer. This enables them to send tailored marketing messages, such as special promotions to customers. 

No Idea Why Reps Lose Deals

Another frustration that plagues companies without a CRM is confusion about why deals are lost. Without detailed analytics, it’s difficult to pinpoint the root cause so you can improve your team’s sales strategies. This leads to repeated mistakes, lost revenue, and not knowing how to coach your team to close the sale.

Sales Teams Spend Hours on Monthly Sales Forecasts

Manual forecasting is a burden on sales managers and individual reps that diverts their attention away from revenue-generating activities. Plus, human error can lead to inaccurate forecasts that negatively influence business decisions. If you want to achieve revenue growth, your sales reps should focus on selling, not administrative tasks.

Creating Quotes in Siloes

Many distributors use their ERP as the single source of truth for pricing and quoting, but sales team members rarely have access to the system. To create quotes, they need to gather essential information from customers within the CRM and then relay those details to the inside sales or customer service team who has access to pricing. Because quotes don’t appear in the CRM, they need to re-enter all the details to send it and follow up with customers to make sure they sign it. Then they need to ensure the signed quote is entered back into the ERP. 

Because White Cup CRM integrates closely with ERPs, sales reps can see all the product and pricing details they need to create quotes directly in the CRM. They can create automated workflows to follow up with customers, ensuring the deal closes and the sales pipeline is always up to date. And they have a full history of every quote that also appears in the ERP for accounting purposes. 

After CRM Implementation

Sales Opportunities That Are Easier To Identify

One of the biggest benefits of a CRM for distributors is that it transforms raw ERP data into actionable insights, showing sales teams which customers and products represent their best opportunities. 

For instance, they can see when customers last made a purchase and predict when they’re likely to reorder. They can also see top related products and make recommendations based on items customers have recently ordered. (And with White Cup’s built-in AI features, these recommendations appear at their fingertips.)

With a CRM that integrates with eCommerce, sales reps can also see customers’ online activity, including items they recently purchased or added to their cart so they can follow up with them offline. 

Documented History of Every Customer Touchpoint

Imagine a complete and comprehensive record of all customer interactions, ensuring no detail is overlooked. When LEPCO implemented White Cup CRM, they gained full visibility into dealers, end-users and the associated communications, cases and opportunities of each. 

Instead of writing notes to remind themselves to follow up with customers at specific times, they can create tasks and automated notifications that remind them at specific touchpoints, such as when a customer opens an email or a certain period of time has passed. 

Sales reps can refer to the customer scorecard for a full history of every contact’s recent orders, late shipments, and outstanding invoices before they engage with them. This helps them recommend more relevant products, answer questions and proactively address issues. In LEPCO’s case, they can also keep dealers up to date, leading to more opportunities. 

“Keeping our dealers and their staff informed of sales programs has increased our sales,” LEPCO parts department coordinator Josh Crowl said.

Insights that Improve Sales Coaching

A significant benefit of a CRM that includes business intelligence (BI) is access to real-time, automated analytics. These detailed insights empower sales managers to optimize team performance through data-informed coaching. By identifying strengths and weaknesses within CRM data, Clayton Controls managers can provide targeted guidance, ultimately driving sales success.

Faster and More Accurate Forecasting

With all the data centralized and up-to-date, sales leaders can create more accurate sales forecasts. White Cup BI helps teams forecast and predict demand, allocate resources efficiently, and make data-driven decisions.

Unified View of Project Details and Pricing

With a centralized CRM, all relevant departments have access to the same information, enhancing collaboration and efficiency. Project details and quotes are streamlined, improving interdepartmental communication and speeding up the sales process. White Cup CRM also includes built-in quoting, which helps distributors close deals 75% faster. 

Stronger Customer Relationships

With a CRM for distributors and built-in business intelligence, sales reps have the tools they need to stay in regular contact with customers, track their preferences, and respond quickly to their needs. This personalized approach leads to higher customer satisfaction and stronger loyalty.

Streamlined Collaboration Across Departments

The right CRM software unifies marketing, sales, and customer service teams so they’re all working from the same data. Marketing can run targeted campaigns based on sales data or specific criteria (such as all customers who previously clicked on a certain product email), while customer service can provide informed support based on past interactions tracked in the CRM. 

Automated Follow-Ups and Task Management

Reps never miss a follow-up or task thanks to automated reminders and workflows. The CRM helps prioritize actions, ensuring that every lead is nurtured and every opportunity is pursued at the optimal time.

Increased Revenue and Profitability

With a more efficient sales process, stronger customer relationships, and better data visibility, the business sees significant growth in revenue and profitability. The CRM helps the team focus on high-value activities that drive results.

What Returns Do Distributors See With White Cup CRM?

In a recent customer survey, White Cup CRM customers shared they are managing customer relationships significantly more effectively, closing deals more than 30% faster, and increasing average deal value by up to 20%. 

Calderon Textiles, a distributor that primarily serves the healthcare, hospitality and consumer products markets, uses White Cup CRM to keep their team focused on the sales pipeline, open opportunities, top-producing accounts and underperforming accounts. 

“It’s giving me a clear direction on how to allocate my time,” National Account Executive Marlon Wilkens said. 

Brittany Bursack, a purchasing manager at Clock Medical Supply, said White Cup’s activity feed helps her team quickly see opportunities in real time, while workflows empower them to act on those opportunities faster. For instance, they can schedule a series of emails to a customer who expresses interest in a certain product or have a rep reach out personally to a customer who places an order of a significant volume or dollar amount. 

Supply Den Inside Sales Specialist Shannon Johnson said she estimates her company is closing deals 30% faster with White Cup CRM while increasing the average deal value by as much as 30%.

“The most value has been finding declining customer sales and going after those customers to regain them,” she said. 

Ready to start seeing wins like these? Schedule a consultation to learn more about how White Cup CRM + BI can equip your team to achieve consistent, scalable revenue growth.