42 | JUNE 2020
Business
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
RE-LAUNCHING SALES
& INSTALLATIONS
OUT OF LOCKDOWN
The way that windows, doors and
other home improvements are being sold
and installed will change forever. But
maybe we were overdue for a change up
anyway says Rhonda Ridge, creator of
AdminBase.
When the lockdown was announced by
the Government, the British window, door,
conservatory and roofline industry closed
its doors overnight, with many companies
clearly having anticipated the decision, so
immediate was the response.
As I write, despite there being considerable
confusion about the rules of engagement
for working in private homes, the prevailing
attitude of the window and door industry is
one of a determination to get back to work.
The attitude of homeowners, however, has
yet to have been properly tested of course
– showing interest is a far cry from actually
signing contracts that will allow strangers
into their still-locked down homes.
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, will
be just the answer. But of course, you would
expect me to say that. But as if predicting
the coronavirus, last year we launched a
range of mobile tablet apps – for iPad and
similar devices - that 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 site-based 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. Using information
that we at AdminBase
pre-install on behalf of our
customers.
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 add-ons,
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 Admin-
Base 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.
Post lockdown, the Covid-19 virus will
leave us with changes in the way that
we go about many every-day routines
and tasks, including the way that home
improvements are sold and installed.
But 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
perfect as you relaunch your company out
of lockdown.
www.abinitiosoftware.co.uk