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Rhonda Ridge, creator of AdminBase, asks:
Is the ‘new normal
long’ overdue?
Post lockdown, the Covid-19 virus
will leave us with changes in the way
that we go about many every-day
routines and tasks. Some of those
changes, whilst perhaps pushed upon
us initially, will have long-term benefits.
After all, the ability to process key
functions more quickly and accurately
at every stage of the window sales and
installation process, is damned useful
whatever the circumstances might be.
» AND, MAYBE WE WERE
overdue for a change up anyway
says Rhonda Ridge, creator of
AdminBase.
Nonetheless, we are moving
that way and the interest in
replacing windows and doors and
adding a conservatory, is growing
quickly. And, it is more crucial
than ever, that every indication of
interest is captured and nurtured
to ensure that we make the most
of every opportunity.
I believe that AdminBase, the
system that I wrote originally
more than 20 years ago, could
well have been developed
specifically for lockdown.
A great deal of imagination and
innovation has allowed installers
to reach out to homeowners
pondering the replacement of
their fading, leaking window
frames, with sales being
conducted via FaceTime and
Zoom and subject-to-survey
quotations being calculated with
surprising ease on the part of
salesperson and customer. Styles,
colours, hardware…everything
can be agreed without the
previously ‘essential’ home visit.
But just how slick and accurate
was the online, remote sales
chat, probably undertaken by
a home-based rep? How much
information was missed or lost
for example? And could the
call have been smoother, better
structured?
The AdminBase apps
cover each of the key sitebased
functions: sales, survey,
installation; and post installation
snagging and sign off. Each app,
using a tablet computer, takes
its operator through a logical,
step-by-step process that literally
drills down through every detail
required to accurately price up
windows, doors, conservatories,
roofline, whatever.
The sales app is highly effective
in making remote selling and
pricing slicker and more dynamic
- by as much as 70% faster and
more accurate, even compared to
an experienced salesperson using
conventional forms or notepad.
Once the dimensions have
been entered the sales app will
calculate the price and produce
a sales contract that can be sent
immediately to the homeowner,
even whilst they are still on the
call. The customer may then
digitally sign the contract, all
without any physical contact at
any point in the process. The
information then passed on to the
surveyor for the inevitable home
visit.
Of course, home visits are then
essential but, equipped with the
special AdminBase surveying app
that has been uploaded with all
of the information entered by
the salesperson (and probably
supervisor double-checked),
the key element of surveying
the property to be installed,
is possible both quickly - and
crucially - accurately.
The surveyor is taken through
the process by a series of prompts
and sizes and specifications are
checked and updated, with addons,
trims and fitters notes and
risk assessments all added logically
and intuitively. The survey
information is then transmitted to
the central AdminBase system via
Internet from the homeowner’s
property. An amended contract
can then be sent electronically
back to the client with any
variance highlighted between sales
and survey. Once signed off –
again electronically - survey data
can then be used to order digitally
from suppliers.
The mobile apps for Surveyor,
Fitter and Service Engineer are
all similarly structured, with
each using a single set of data
held centrally, eliminating
duplication, with prompts
guiding each process logically.
No more computer knowledge
than the ability to operate a
smartphone is required. At every
stage of the process human
contact is minimised or even
eradicated. The AdminBase
mobile apps feed all information
directly into and from the
central AdminBase system.
Even the most technophobic
users have found the apps to be
easy and intuitive to use, with
no previous computing ability
required and the cost is via a
surprisingly affordable, monthly
subscription.
CLEARVIEW-UK.COM » SEP 2020 » 47