When business is booming, it is vital for an integrator to run his business with maximum efficiency. That’s where business-management software comes in. According to the upcoming CE Pro 2018 State of the Industry Study, residential custom integrators grew revenues by 11.4 percent in 2017 and expect to grow by 13.6 percent next year.
With so much anticipated topline revenue growth, it can be easy for integrators to lose track of the bottom line. Indeed, according to a CE Pro survey, 63 percent of the time an integrator misses the profit goal on a project it is due to a self-inflicted error, ranging from poor sales estimates to inefficient technicians.
The need for improved efficiency is one reason ConnectWise software is gaining recognition in the custom integration industry. Traditionally thought by some to be only for managed service providers, the software company’s solutions are proving to be just as successful when implemented in other technology markets
There are a variety of solutions offered to cover end-to-end business management including:
- ConnectWise Manage for hyper-efficient business management
- ConnectWise Automate for robust remote monitoring and management
- ConnectWise Sell for professional quote and proposal automation
- ConnectWise Control for lightning-fast secure remote control
- ConnectWise Unite for unified cloud solutions management
Don’t get too overwhelmed. Of the products available, there are two key solutions that are most applicable for system integrators – ConnectWise Manage and ConnectWise Sell.
ConnectWise Manage gives integrators the ability to unify everything – from projects to services, marketing to sales, and service delivery to finance. Integrator Dave Stamm, CEO of Stamm Technologies & Stamm Media in Milwaukee, Wis., says before buying ConnectWise Manage, “We weren’t doing some things or we were using multiple systems that weren’t integrated.” There was no information control repository, says Stamm.
Stamm’s field team uses mobile devices to track information about particular jobs and is able to quickly update the progress of the work even though they spend most of their time on the road.
Sometimes to sell a job, Stamm Media spends time doing renderings and design, and that’s also tracked, capturing useful data about the cost of lost sales. Plus, Stamm says, late or incorrect invoices are a thing of the past. Prior to implementing ConnectWise Manage and Sell, monthly invoicing on long-term projects was often overlooked. The ability to now customize invoice templates based on the type of project and specific terms makes billing accurate and easy.
ConnectWise Sell boosts sales efficiency with quote and proposal automation that helps dealers get quotes out the door and profits into their business. Dave Stamm also uses ConnectWise Sell, referring to the software as a “game-changer” with the ability to create default sets of pricing and easily configure volume discounts for repeat clients and create and send quotes and invoices from any device.
“You’re cutting out the delay in time by making the edits right away,” says Stamm. “That’s good for us and for the clients.”
ConnectWise Sell also features one function Stamm didn’t think much about when he first heard about it but one that’s become popular among the sales reps: activity points. The reps can track their actions on their various jobs, which give them points along the way to the project’s completion. They compete with each other to rack up points.
“It’s a fun competition for them and obviously it’s a good thing for the business because we know these things are getting done,” says Stamm.
