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Leveraging New Tech Stack to Better Track KPIs and Guide Decision Making
Sandler Training had lofty goals for continued growth—and Colum Lundt, CRO at Sandler Training, knew the key performance indicators (KPIs) he wanted to track to monitor Sandler’s progress towards those goals.
There was only one problem: Sandler’s tech stack was getting in the way of compiling and reporting on those KPIs.
Sandler was using a cobbled mix of tools, and those tools made logging activities difficult and time-consuming for the sales and marketing teams.
Because none of the tools could do everything that Sandler wanted, it had to implement additional tools to make up for their shortcomings.
“We had six different technologies people had to log into,” says Colum. “It was just too much.”
This complex tech stack led to poor user adoption, which impacted the quality of data accumulated—and Colum’s ability to track the company’s progress.
“If we don’t have the data, we can’t track how we’re doing against our goals,” says Colum.
Limited ability to report on the KPI data Sandler did have was another problem. Colum describes the situation with its existing CRM:
“The native reporting wasn’t intuitive, so we needed external tools to get the types of reports we needed with drill-down capability,” says Colum. “But nothing was integrated.”
These issues rankled Colum and his team, not just because they got in the way of tracking KPIs, but because they went against Sandler’s reputation as a top-level, professional organization.
“Our mantra is to operate at the highest level with best practices,” says Colum. “People expect Sandler to set the gold standard as a sales organization.”
Colum was looking for a solution that could consolidate sales, marketing and other processes on one platform when a Sandler salesperson suggested that Colum take a closer look at the HubSpot CRM platform.
Colum was immediately impressed with HubSpot CRM’s user-friendly interface and how simple it was to set up.
Shortly after, he and the head of marketing decided to implement Marketing Hub as a first step to consolidating marketing, sales, service, and operations on HubSpot CRM.
Consolidating Marketing, Sales, Service and Operations on HubSpot CRM
Colum was thrilled by the ease and speed of the Marketing Hub rollout, implementing it in about one-third the time it took to implement legacy tools.
“I’m a sales guy, not a technology guy,” says Colum, “and it was easy enough for me to learn how to build it out.”
When Colum and his team did have questions, they could quickly find what they needed in the HubSpot Academy.
“The amount of content and resources available, including chat and help, was great,” says Colum. “It was the best experience we ever had with this kind of support.”
Sandler’s experience with Marketing Hub was so positive, the company continued on to implement Sales Hub, Service Hub, and Operations Hub to replace what remained of its old tech stack.
Higher user adoption for more complete data
Because HubSpot CRM is so much easier to use than Sandler’s legacy tech stack, users are much more willing to adopt it and input their activities.
“HubSpot removes a lot of the friction and resistance to logging,” says Colum. “The reps find it very easy to input data—and they see the value in doing it.”
Higher levels of user adoption mean more complete information for managers and other decision-makers.
“HubSpot removes a lot of the excuses because it’s just so easy to use,” says Colum. “And when you have better adoption, you have better data.”
Better data insights for planning and optimization
Having better data at his fingertips means that Colum can learn from that data and detect important trends.
For example, Colum is using the data to find ways to optimize and improve, such as evaluating sales cycle length, time to close, and deal size.
His team is also tracking activities, indicators and results for existing clients versus net new clients through different pipelines within the tool.
Meanwhile, the sales and marketing teams are using data at a more granular level for leads and customers.
“We’re getting greater insights into prospects and their behavior,” says Colum, “which helps us prepare for meetings and get ahead of any issues that might be developing.”
Enabling user learning
HubSpot CRM is also enabling user learning among teams through features such as playbooks and snippets.
“We’re a learning company, so we’re always thinking about how we can connect learning to performance to reinforce best practices,” says Colum, “and HubSpot supports this approach perfectly.”
For example, Sandler has woven key learning elements into the HubSpot CRM platform by using snippets to link to relevant training.
“If you’re a salesperson planning for an upcoming call, you have a link right there that can take you to the relevant training to help you ask the right questions,” says Colum.
Measuring customer service levels
Sandler is a big believer in using surveys to measure the service it’s providing to its customers before, during and after engagements. Service Hub is making that process even easier.
“With Service Hub, we can truly manage our customer NPS,” says Colum. “We can see how the training is going and measure and monitor the efficacy of it all.”
Syncing operations around the globe
With 250-plus locations in over 30 countries, Operations Hub provides Sandler with the opportunity to sync with other offices around the globe that are also using HubSpot CRM.
“Getting insights across the globe will allow us to ascertain broader patterns that can benefit all of us,” says Colum. “HubSpot really is the high tide that raises all ships.”
40% Higher User Adoption
After the initial HubSpot CRM implementation, Sandler Training saw a dramatic increase in user adoption. Column estimates that the number of logged interactions has gone up 40%.
While these results are impressive, what really sets HubSpot CRM apart for Colum is that it’s built with user experience top-of-mind.
“HubSpot CRM is made from the salesperson’s perspective,” says Colum. “It empowers teams to hit their goals, not get in the way of them.”
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