Case Studies｜Premier Corporation

Efficiency by overall consideration of appropriate sales

ーHow did you come to introduce UPWARD?

We are developing our business through 14 offices nationwide, and up until now we have increased the number of merchants through rather straightforward sales efforts. Currently, there are more than 14,000 auto credit merchants alone nationwide, and we have a sales force of 60 people, each of whom is in charge of about 250 companies. With such an increase in the number of companies, there is a limit to how much we can organize in our minds, and we began to think about visualization, standardization, and streamlining. It was at this time that we came to Salesforce, and that is how we ended up with UPWARD. Sales vehicles are equipped with navigation systems, but it is difficult to realize that when you go from Company A to Company B, there is actually Company C in between. We even put a map on the wall and mapped it, but it was difficult to create a proper route. We are in a world where we have to show up at the customer's place, so we have to think about "proper sales" in a comprehensive manner to improve efficiency. That is where UPWARD has been useful.

Over 130% compared to last year, with a steady increase in results.

– How is UPWARD implemented at Premium?

SALES ACTIVITIES CAN BE CATEGORIZED INTO "NEW SALES," WHICH INVOLVES DEVELOPING NEW FRANCHISEES, "PROSPECTING SALES," WHICH INVOLVES GOING TO FRANCHISEES THAT HAVE NOT PLACED ORDERS WITH US FOR A LONG TIME, "PROMOTION SALES," WHICH INVOLVES GOING TO OUR REGULAR CLIENT FRANCHISEES, AND "COLLECTIONS," WHICH INVOLVES GOING TO EACH OF THE MERCHANTS THAT HAVE PLACED AN ORDER TO OBTAIN A CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT. CONTRACTS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS MONEY AND HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE MERCHANT'S BUSINESS, SO WHEN MAKING A PLAN FOR THE DAY, WE FIRST DETERMINE THE NECESSARY COLLECTION VISITS AND THEN CONSIDER WHICH ROUTE TO TAKE FOR SALES ACTIVITIES. UNTIL NOW, THIS WAS DONE ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS, BUT NOW THAT UPWARD SHOWS US POTENTIAL ROUTES, WE CAN DECIDE ON THE MOST EFFICIENT ROUTE. ALSO, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MERCHANTS THAT GENERATE SALES EVERY MONTH, IT IS NOT A GIVEN THAT THEY WILL APPLY TO US, AND IF WE CANNOT PROVIDE VALUE THROUGH OUR INTERVENTION, THEY MAY STOP DOING BUSINESS WITH US. TO PREVENT THIS, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE MANAGER TO CHECK, FOR EXAMPLE, "ARE THE 00 MERCHANTS MAKING A GOOD PROPOSAL?" TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR MANAGERS TO CHECK THINGS SUCH AS, "ARE THE 00 FRANCHISEES MAKING GOOD PROPOSALS? BY VISUALIZING SUCH AREAS, EVERYONE WILL BE ABLE TO GET A BIRD'S EYE VIEW. I DON'T KNOW IF THE INTRODUCTION OF UPWARD IS ALL OF THE ABOVE, BUT THANKS TO UPWARD, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STEADILY INCREASE OUR PERFORMANCE THIS FISCAL YEAR BY MORE THAN 130% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

More time with customers and more time to build trust

– How effective has UPWARD been?

I AM OF THE PAPER MAP GENERATION, SO MY CAR NAVIGATION SYSTEM IS SET TO THE NORTH DIRECTION, BUT YOUNGER PEOPLE TEND TO SET IT TO THE DIRECTION THEY ARE TRAVELING. BUT YOUNG PEOPLE TEND TO SET THEIR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS TO THE DIRECTION THEY ARE GOING. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD MEMORIZE THE MAP, BUT RATHER THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT EFFICIENCY BASED ON A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE MAP. I WOULD LIKE OUR SALES STAFF TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF GRASPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF MERCHANTS, GRASPING SALES DESTINATIONS, AND SETTING UP A SCHEDULE WITH OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY IN MIND. IN FACT, THE NUMBER OF SALES HAS PROBABLY NOT CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY. RATHER, I FEEL THAT THE "QUALITY" OF SALES HAS IMPROVED. SINCE WE HAVE ELIMINATED WASTE AND IRREGULARITY, WE CAN NOW FOCUS ON SALES ACTIVITIES ONE CASE AT A TIME. UPWARD IS ALSO USEFUL AS A SUPPORT TOOL.

Aiming for further efficiency through sales tailored to the customer's situation

– What is your outlook for the future?

THE ABILITY TO THINK FOR ONESELF WILL NEED TO BE DEVELOPED IN THE FUTURE, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE SYSTEM COULD SUGGEST RECOMMENDED ROUTES BASED ON THE SALES LIST THAT HAS BEEN CREATED. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE APPOINTMENT TIMES FOR THE SECOND AND FOURTH APPOINTMENTS ARE FIXED, THE SYSTEM WOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW WHICH MERCHANT WOULD BE BEST TO VISIT AT THE IN-BETWEEN TIMES. IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE CANDIDATES BETWEEN COMPANY A AND COMPANY B, IT WOULD BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO CHOOSE THE MERCHANT THAT BEST SUITS THE SITUATION, RATHER THAN SIMPLY GOING TO THE NEARBY MERCHANTS. I THINK THAT IS THE NEXT STAGE. I THINK THAT IS THE NEXT STAGE WE SHOULD MOVE ON TO. ALSO, AMONG THE MERCHANTS WE ARE IN CHARGE OF, THE LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE MONTHLY SALES PLAN, CAMPAIGN STATUS, ETC. IF SUCH DETAILS COULD BE LISTED AND PLANS COULD BE MADE FOR EACH MERCHANT, AND FURTHERMORE, IF THE INFORMATION COULD BE VISUALIZED AFTER TAKING INTO ACCOUNT SALES TARGETS AND THE FREQUENCY AND TIMING OF ACTIVITIES, I THINK IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO CONDUCT SALES ACTIVITIES EVEN MORE EFFICIENTLY.