January 2024

Contract Automated Talk CRM Systems
MAKING PROGRESS WITH AUTOMATION
Paul Hines, MD of Hinckley-based Progress Windows, Roofline and Conservatories,
explains how Business Pilot made his efficient business run even more efficiently.
Before we used Business Pilot, we were very
manually driven. I’d say we were working
hard rather than working smart.
We have great people working here at Progress,
but people can forget and have bad days. The
challenge for any double glazing company is its
communication, and for the most part this would
consist of phone calls: What stage is this job at?;
When will the survey be?; What time is the rep
coming around?; Who is the rep?; etc.
Managing that process using a manual system
was almost unmanageable, because of the time
and resources it took! And, of course, there was
the impact on the customer experience. They
didn’t want to spend their time chasing window
installation companies. And people’s expectations
are higher these days – customers expect to be
looked after and kept informed.
We’ve never not cared for our clients, but that’s
hard to get that across with a manually driven
system. Occasionally something would slip
though the net, and a customer would not be
completely satisfied, which is not where we
wanted to be.
Before we took on Business Pilot, we all had
access to a central spreadsheet, and some of
us kept records on paper. It all worked to a point
because all the information was there, and I’d say
we were better organised than many companies
in the industry.
But even with what we were doing, we just couldn’t
keep up with the expectations of all our clients.
What we needed was automation. Our system
only did what we told it to, and we needed to take
the next step forward.
Since moving to Business Pilot to manage our
internal processes and our relationship with
customers, we’ve ultimately been able to take on
more work, because it is a lot more automated,
more predictable, more systematic, and more
processed. That technology simply allows you to
“People’s expectations are higher these days –
customers expect to be kept informed”
spread your net further, and we have taken on
more clients because we now have a system to
deal with them.
The biggest potential problem I saw when
we invested in Business Pilot was the lack
of willingness by some employees to use the
technology, or even to use computers – especially
the fitters. But it is so user friendly that anyone
can use it – and everyone is! In fact, I asked
my staff to research the market, and they chose
Business Pilot.
Communicating with the customer
‘Automation’ is one of those words people use
that others struggle to understand. For us, it has
some real benefits, especially when it comes to
communicating with the customer. And there are
contact points at every stage along the quoting,
buying and installation journey.
For example, once a potential customer
is entered into the system, they will get an
automatic email to say ‘thank you’ and to give
details of the next step, which is to set up a
meeting with the representative.
I remember getting a call from a customer on the
second day we had Business Pilot, asking which
rep would be seeing them, and when. Normally,
we would have taken their details, and I would
have rung round everyone to find out who it was.
I would have then told that person to ring the
customer (and hoping that they did), otherwise
we would have been in the dark. Instead, on this
second day, the customer rings through, and
within three clicks we were able to say: “Yes, it’s
Keith coming to see you at one o’clock tomorrow.
He’ll see you then.”
There’s a time saving, but actually it’s the
customer experience that’s the most important.
They left having had their question answered
immediately, feeling empowered as a result.
Business Pilot has changed my business, and
our customer feedback proves it. If you want to
improve your business with the use of a CRM
system, then go for it. You won’t regret it.
Contact Business Pilot:
0333 050 7560
www.businesspilot.co.uk
50 T I JANUARY 2024 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST