Context
Dukosi is a leading-edge technology business that provides a verifiable ‘CV’ for batteries, providing the life story of each and every cell. The technology transforms the way complex batteries are designed, deployed and managed in emerging high-volume applications such as electric vehicles, grid energy storage and other industrial settings.
Challenge
On receiving a significant investment into the business in 2019, Dukosi brought in VP of global sales & marketing, Roger Appelo. To better understand the business’ potential, he identified the need for a scalable solution that would allow them to manage sales, leads and output more effectively.
As he explained, “All the business’ efforts had been put into developing the product. However, we’d reached the stage where we needed a system that took us from using spreadsheets to having an intelligent CRM that would allow us to manage the sales funnel effectively.”
Concept
Dukosi, brought in ThirdEye to develop an implementation of Sales Cloud that would give them greater control over the whole sales process.
ThirdEye started by guiding Dukosi through what would be an ideal sales cycle for the business and defining the internal role hierarchy, which identified which actions each member of the team could make. The system has also future proofed, making it easy to add new employees as the business grows.
To aid the sales team, ThirdEye created a series of Battle Cards, which are easy to use visual aids that compare Dukosi’s pricing, product features and customer service to their competitors. The cards also allow the sales team to add insights about their competitors as they go along.
The system also provides a Risk Log that flags up any issues the sales team faces by placing an alert next to the opportunity. This allows the team to identify then mitigate against any objections they receive during the sale.
Dukosi typically has multi-year contracts with their customers that can span over ten years. ThirdEye’s implementation of Sales Cloud not only stores all the details of the deal but allows them to track deliveries over time and compare them to the initial agreement. This gives them visibility which allows them to accurately forecast output and deliveries, and then ensure that the customer is billed correctly.
As Roger extols, “For the first time it’s enabled us to visualise the value of our pipeline.”
Conclusion
- For the first time the business can track opportunities and manage the sales funnel effectively.
- Effectively align customer billing with the products being delivered to their customers.
- Provide easy to use tools that enable the sales process.
ThirdEye’s aim was to deliver value to the business without adding complexity. They targeted Dukosi’s most significant needs and provided then with an east to manage platform that meets their current needs but provides a solid base for them to build on.
“In only a few weeks from appointing ThirdEye, we had a system up and running. I think that that’s probably a world record for a Salesforce implementation. What I liked about them is that they are not only extraordinarily diligent but quickly understood our challenge and got on and delivered a first-class solution in record time. They took us by the hand and forced us to think things through, and then implemented what we’d discussed within 24 hours.” Roger Appelo, VP of Global Sales & Marketing.