Maximizing the Value of Salesforce.com
By integrating the ShoreTel IP phone system with Salesforce.com, Verteks helps RME boost sales productivity and tap robust call reporting features.
If anyone understands how to effectively develop and manage sales processes, it’s RME. The Tampa, Fla.-based firm specializes in comprehensive direct marketing solutions that drive consumer response. A key component of RME’s strategy is the use of data to drive lead-generation campaigns and social event marketing programs.
When RME began looking for a new phone system, the company naturally turned to Verteks Consulting, a longtime trusted partner. Verteks recommended the ShoreTel Unified Communications and Enterprise Contact Center solutions — and showed RME how the ShoreTel platform could integrate with Salesforce.com.
“We came to work with Verteks as a vendor for our previous phone system and Verteks was my first choice when we needed to replace that system with something new,” said Scott Marvin, IT Director, RME. “Verteks came in and quickly installed the system for us and proceeded to implement all of the additional features and functions that ShoreTel provides, both standard with their equipment and the addons we purchased along with it.”
Combining ShoreTel with Salesforce.com in a customizable user interface enables agents to handle calls more effectively. Unified communications functionality and on-screen data facilitate real-time collaboration and speed response times. Call reporting features enable sales managers to fine-tune processes.
“Verteks has really good engineers who handled the integration. Their expertise made the difference and we’re very pleased with the result.”
“Ours is a sales and marketing organization, and it’s primarily outbound sales,” Marvin said. “After learning that ShoreTel had Salesforce.com integration, we asked Verteks to add that piece. It has been a great system — it seems like there’s nothing it can’t do.”
An Extension of Salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) and sales force automation (SFA) solution and one of the most popular Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications available. It enables organizations to maintain a single, shared customer profile company-wide and manage opportunities across the sales cycle. It also provides comprehensive reports and real-time dashboards that enable organizations to track and measure their sales activities.
By integrating Salesforce.com with the ShoreTel system, Verteks helped RME enhance the features of both solutions. The ShoreTel Salesforce.com Call Center Adaptor allows agents to dial, answer and transfer calls, put callers on hold, initiate conference calls, and more — all from within the Salesforce.com application.
ShoreTel also adds call reporting data to Salesforce.com. This feature enables continuous server-to-server export of ShoreTel Call Detail Records to Salesforce.com, linking call activities to Salesforce.com reports and dashboards.
“We first purchased the ShoreTel Salesforce.com Call Center Adapter, which connected our phone system into Salesforce.com. That works really well,” Marvin said. “We are also using ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center to route inbound calls to different agent groups within our sales organization. An agent can update the Salesforce.com record that goes along with the call.
“The ShoreTel reporting component pushes our Call Detail Records into Salesforce.com every five minutes so we can see reports in one interface. The sales managers like it because it’s almost real time. And all of our calls are recorded so they can go back and listen to the phone calls that were made to specific prospects or customers.”
Part of the Sales Process
RME considered a number of phone systems and found that ShoreTel offered the features and reliability it needed at a competitive price point. Marvin says he likes the way the ShoreTel system is engineered and that the ShoreTel switches are solid-state appliances. He also likes the design of the desktop handsets.
The opportunity to work with Verteks was another important plus.
“Verteks has always provided good service, so I stuck with them,” said Marvin. “They have really fast turnaround times. Whenever I’ve had a critical problem, they have been prompt in getting back to me as soon as I report the issue.
“Of course, the ShoreTel system is so solid that nothing ever really goes wrong with it. We haven’t had any downtime at all.”
Salesforce.com integration is a little-known feature of the ShoreTel Unified Communications solution. Verteks leveraged its extensive experience with the ShoreTel platform to rapidly implement a solution that precisely met RME’s needs.
“Verteks has really good engineers who handled the integration,” Marvin said. “Their expertise made the difference and we’re very pleased with the result.”
RME’s phone system has always been an integral part of its sales activities. Thanks to Verteks and ShoreTel, RME’s sales processes are now tightly coupled with the ShoreTel IP phone system, improving agent productivity and customer service and providing sales managers with the data they need to maximize results.
