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Case Study: State Side Sales

 “dynaMACS uses GoogleMaps to plan efficient routes when we visit multiple customers. We spend less time in the car and more time selling.”

Joe Durbin, President
State Side Sales, Inc.

Client Challenge

State Side Sales Agency was using rudimentary sales and commission software that didn’t provide enough useful information to meet their needs. The agency chose dynaMACS and instantly had a wealth of meaningful data to analyze performance, track trends and operate proactively. As the years passed, the agency became accustomed to having all the sales and commission information they needed at their fingertips. When State Side Sales stopped using dynaMACS and tried to get by with different software, they missed many of dynaMACS’ features.

 




dynaMACS Solution

Joe Durbin, President of State Side Sales, read an article on LinkedIn about dynaMACS’ ability to map routes when visiting multiple customers, and he saw an opportunity to improve his agency’s efficiency. “We were already missing our favorite dynaMACS features. When I saw the GoogleMaps function, I knew it was time to go back to dynaMACS. We now spend less time in the car and more time selling and building relationships.”

While looking at the sales numbers, reps select the customer addresses that they want to visit. A map view of all locations is displayed, along with the most efficient routes and directions between locations. Sales reps can also re-sequence the route if they choose. “We’re increasing efficiency, reducing travel time and maximizing reps’ time.”

The agency also has the ability to select a territory and see performance data for the top 20% of manufacturer/customer relationships (using sales volume). “We use this as a performance indicator and we see trends faster. It’s another level of knowledge that we didn’t have without dynaMACS.”

dynaMACS continually adds new functionality, and the support team is on hand to show State Side Sales tips and tricks for extracting detailed information organized in meaningful ways, with just a few mouse clicks.

Tip #1704 – Quickly Identify New and Inactive Manufacturers in dynaMACS Sales IQ

The Sales IQ screen has been enhanced in dynaMACS Version 2016 to quickly identify new manufacturers and inactive manufacturers with a color scheme.  This is based on the Manufacturer Status in the manufacturer record.

  1.  A NEW manufacturer name will now be displayed in the color GREEN.
  2.  An INACTIVE manufacturer name will now be displayed in the color RED.

    Manufacturer Viewer Screen

Tip #1703 – Transferring a Portion of One Sales Rep Territory to Another Sales Rep

dynaMACS makes it easy when you are changing your agency territories.  Instead of moving one customer at a time, dynaMACS can move multiple customers at one time.

In the following example we will transfer all of sales rep Jim Black’s accounts in the state of Kentucky to the new sales rep Rick White.

Customer Global Update

First you must run the Customer Global Update.

  1.  From the main dynaMACS screen select Edit>File Transfer/Combine>Customer Global Update.
  2. Select the Yes button from the Restore Point? dialog box to create a restore point.
  3. In the Customer Global Change screen enter the state code “KY” in the State field.
  4. Enter the “from” sales rep code “JB in the Sales Rep field (old rep).
  5. Enter the “to” sales rep code “RW” in the next Sales Rep field to the right (new rep).
  6. Select the Update button.
  7. Select the Print button from the Printing Options dialog box to print the Audit Trail report.
  8. This report shows a list of the customers that will be transferred from sales rep “JB” (Jim Black) to sales rep “RW” (Rick White).
  9. After reviewing the Audit Report select the Yes button to continue.

    Transfer Sales and Commission History to New Rep

    1.  From the main dynaMACS screen select Edit>File Transfer/Combine>Mfg/Cst/Rep Transfer (1).

    2.  From the Manufacturer/Customer/Sales Rep Transfer/Combine (1) screen select the Wizard button at the bottom right hand corner which will redirect you to the Wizard screen.  You will be prompted to create another Restore Point.

    3.  Select Sales Rep from the drop down list for the field: I want to transfer or combine all data for a:.  Select Sales Rep and for the field: To a different.  Then select the Proceed to Selection button.
    4.  Enter the Sales Rep code that you are transferring from under Transfer Data From i.e. “JB”.
    5.  If you wish to transfer the sales rep splits, check the box Transfer Commission Splits to this Sales Rep?
    6.  Select the Proceed button.
    7.  Select the Yes button on the Please Confirm dialog box.

    8.  From the Printing Options screen select your printer and then select the Print button.

    9.  Review the report and then select the Yes button to complete the transfer.

    10.  Select the OK button after all records have been transferred.

    11.  From the main dynaMACS screen select Edit>File Transfer/Combine>Mfg/Cst/Rep Transfer (2).

    12.  Print the report when prompted by selecting the Print button.
    13.  Select the OK button on the Please Confirm dialog box to complete the transfer.

Tip #1702 – Organizing Your Agency Workflow to Accommodate all the Various Manufacturers

One of the many challenges sales agencies face is dealing with the many forms and documents received from each of the manufacturers that the agency represents. Whether a document gets entered into dynaMACS, QuickBooks or just filed, it is helpful to document the process for each unique manufacturer document received.  We suggest that you create a binder with a tab for each manufacturer and use the form below (or something similar) for each document.

Create a Binder

  1. Set up a binder with a tab for each manufacturer.
  2. Behind each tab you should have the dynaMACS Manufacturer Document Workflow Worksheet (example below) and examples of all other documents you receive from the manufacturer.
    Example:
    To obtain copies of this worksheet and all other dynaMACS worksheets go to Help>Learning Center from the dynaMACS Main Screen.  You will also find them in the dynaMACS Implementation Kit that you receive upon purchasing your software.

Case Study: Mizzen Marketing

 “dynaMACS is an empowering tool for understanding sales and analyzing trends.”

Lisa Ortega, Operations Manager
Mizzen Marketing

Client Challenge

When it came to tracking sales and commissions, Mizzen Marketing had two primary issues: accuracy and visibility. The agency had used two different tools. With Excel, the agency noticed inaccurate sales numbers, likely due to accidental deletions. Over time, the file grew to a monster of a spreadsheet that was difficult to use and extract data from. Quickbooks provided a more accurate representation of the numbers, but data was only visible in basic reports and was stored on an accounting firm’s system, so Mizzen had to wait for information. Lisa Ortega, Mizzen Marketing’s Operations Manager, knew there must be a better way. “I mentioned to a colleague that I wanted software designed specially for sales agencies. He told me about dynaMACS.”

dynaMACS Solution

From the beginning, it was a smooth transition. “dynaMACS offered the best features minus the headaches. dynaMACS aligned perfectly with how we wanted to track sales and commissions,” Ortega says.

In the audiovisual space, many manufacturers sell products through distribution channels, so Mizzen Marketing must be able to track the distributors’ performance as well as the sales of the customers buying from them. With dynaMACS, the agency creates unique “Manufacturer/ Distributor” codes so they can easily evaluate the manufacturer as a whole or by individual distributor. We can also see the buying trends of the customers – who they buy from and at what volume.”

Because Mizzen Marketing can see trends, the agency is able to be proactive. “It’s insightful on so many levels,” Ortega says. “Everything we need is right at our fingertips.” Even the sales reps in the field have easy access and can pull up data on their laptops before going into a sales meeting.

Ortega calls dynaMACS an “empowering tool for understanding sales and tracking.”

Tip #1701 – Using the dynaMACS System Information Setup Screen to Pre-Select Reporting Options

In dynaMACS you can set defaults for some of the reporting options which will save you time by eliminating the need to set them each time you run a report.

  • You can choose to build State/Region codes on the fly when running a Sales Analysis report if they are missing from the customer record.  This feature will combine the State Code plus the first 3 digits of the zip code from the customer address.
  • When running Sales Analysis reports you can choose to automatically skip to a new page for select codes if the Customer ABC code contains any one of the pre-selected codes.
  • Print Sales Analysis reports sorted alphabetically by the Look-Up code rather than Customer code.
  • Set Agency Commission printing options to Print Always, Never, or Prompt the user.
  • Set default to turn off automatic page skipping on all general reports.

Access Reporting Options

  1. From the dynaMACS main screen select Other Functions> Administration>System Information Setup. 
  2. Select the Reporting Options tab from the System Information Setup screen.

Select Options for Sales Analysis Reports

  1. To build the State/Region code “on the fly” in Sales Analysis reports, select the checkbox.
  2. To set Page Skipping for customers with the pre-selected ABC codes, enter the ABC code here.
  3. To print Sales Analysis reports sorted in alphabetical order using the Look-Up code rather than the Customer code, select the checkbox.

Select Options for Sales Entry/Commission Reconciliation/Open Invoice reports

  1. Select your preference for Printing Agency Commission from the drop down box.
    • Prompt will prompt the user to print Agency Commission for users that can see commissions.
    • Never Print will set the default so Agency Commission will never print for all users.
    • Always Print will set the default so Agency Commission will always print for users that can see Agency Commissions.
  2. To disable automatic page skipping, check the box next to “Default for Don’t Skip Page on Level Break”.
  3. After all of your Reporting Options have been selected, click on the Save button.