Business Relationship Software Feature Article

Although the Internet decade has driven many changes in school libraries, one axiom remains true for Salem Press: a personal touch is the most effective sales tool when providing university, high school, and middle school libraries and public libraries with reference books.

Salem Press wanted to respond to today's fast-paced business environment and challenging economic conditions without losing that personal touch. The company wanted to increase the efficiency of its sales by integrating them with other business functions; Salem Press also wanted to equip telesales representatives with new tools for greater productivity. The publisher found answers to these challenges with a system based on FrontRange Solutions award-winning GoldMine software, working with 1stDirect.com, a preeminent FrontRange Solutions Partner.

1stDirect.com worked closely with Salem Press' Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project leader and sales manager, Pamela Brunke, to customize a GoldMine solution that would make sales processes, and salespeople, more efficient. The new Salem Press telesales system launched using GoldMine's powerful features and ability to integrate easily with external systems as leverage. The main features and capabilities of Salem Press' telesales system in GoldMine include:

-- Integration with Salem Press' mainframe accounting system: Salem Press' telesales reps rely on information stored in a billing system called MAS-90, housed on a mainframe at Salem Press' West Coast office. 1stDirect.com created a GoldBox(C) link with MAS-90 that pulls accounting data from the system, configures it and imports it into GoldMine. In this way, sales from the prior week are entered into GoldMine, keeping information up to date. This eliminates attempts to sell customers products they've already purchased and reduces duplicate orders.

-- Streamlined order-writing: The sales team uses QuoteWorks(C) to write orders through GoldMine; they click on an icon that launches QuoteWorks, which imports the customer's billing and shipping information from GoldMine. The rep then enters item numbers that automatically populate the order with item name and pricing information, saving time and greatly reducing order errors.

-- Comprehensive reporting: Salem Press' GoldMine system includes comprehensive reporting capabilities from MasterMine(C), which are used in a wide variety of ways. For example, Salem Press can execute targeted direct marketing campaigns for revisions and new editions of reference books by running reports that list buyers of a particular edition. The buyer data is imported into GoldMine, where it is used to generate personalized letters and mailing labels, saving significant time over manual customer record review and letter-writing.

Brunke witnessed first-hand how GoldMine has helped Salem Press' telesales team become more focused, organized and productive. "GoldMine suited every need we had in the sales department," she said. "It's gotten everyone working in a consistent manner, our processes are uniform, and all of the sales reps are working more effectively. It has really improved the way we operate. And as a manager, GoldMine reporting helps me see what's happening in the call center in real-time. There are no gray areas; I can pinpoint and address issues quickly."

"The whole Salem Press sales organization uses time better and works more efficiently," said Bob Ritter, president of 1stDirect.com. "Reps no longer need to spend a lot of time looking through paper files, because GoldMine puts complete information at their fingertips."

As resources permit, Brunke would like to expand the functionality of Salem Press' GoldMine system to further integrate information and automate processes. Future plans include the ability to directly enter order information into MAS-90, as well as upgrading the server where GoldMine resides.