For more than 40 years, our client has been a trusted name in industrial distribution, supporting manufacturers and construction firms across several regions. Known for its commitment to service excellence and reliability, the company has maintained steady growth through traditional sales models. However, with today’s fast-paced digital competition, the 25-person sales team needed smarter tools to accelerate deal cycles and unlock new growth potential—without expanding the team.
The Challenge
The sales team was drowning in administrative tasks. Reps spent up to 15 hours per week pulling together pricing, building quotes in Excel, and drafting proposals manually. Because every proposal required multiple approvals and cut-and-paste from old templates, it often took 5+ business days to get quotes to customers.
Competitors with more modern systems responded faster, and our client Industrial began to lose bids despite having competitive pricing. Conversion rates fell by nearly 10% over two years.
Follow-up was inconsistent as well. Reps often forgot to re-engage after sending quotes, resulting in lost deals. Managers lacked visibility into where deals stalled in the pipeline, making it difficult to coach the team or forecast revenue accurately.
The tipping point came when a $2M annual account switched to a competitor citing ‘slow responses and lack of follow-up.’ Leadership realized they needed to modernize sales execution or risk further erosion.
The Solution
SPARK was integrated with Salesforce CRM and Microsoft Outlook, and embedded into the sales team’s daily workflows. Key capabilities included:
- Automated Proposal Generation – AI created branded, accurate proposals in minutes based on product catalogs and pricing rules.
- AI-Powered Lead Scoring – Historical win/loss data was analyzed to prioritize high-potential opportunities.
- Personalized Email Drafting – Outlook integration allowed reps to send AI-generated follow-ups tailored to customer context.
- Manager Dashboards – Real-time pipeline insights enabled leadership to coach reps and forecast with confidence.
Unlike generic AI tools, SPARK was delivered as a fully managed package including software, 20 hours of monthly AI consulting, and continuous monthly enhancements to align with the distributor’s sales processes.
Implementation Journey
SPARK was implemented in four agile sprints:
- Sprint 1 (Weeks 1–2): Connected Salesforce CRM and ingested historical sales data.
- Sprint 2 (Weeks 3–4): Automated proposal templates in Word/PDF with product and pricing integration.
- Sprint 3 (Weeks 5–6): Enabled personalized email drafting directly within Outlook.
- Sprint 4 (Weeks 7–8): Rolled out AI-driven lead scoring and manager dashboards.
The Results & Benefits
SPARK delivered measurable, transformative results within the first year:
| Metric | Before SPARK | After SPARK | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Quote turnaround |
5+ business days |
2–3 business day |
60% faster |
|
Conversion rate |
25% |
30% |
+20% improvement |
|
Annual revenue |
$18M |
$19.2M |
+$1.2M growth |
|
Rep productivity |
50 hrs/week |
65 hrs/week selling |
15 hrs/week saved |
Beyond hard numbers, reps reported reduced stress, customers praised faster responses, and managers gained unprecedented visibility into the sales process.
Testimonial
“Before SPARK, my reps were buried in admin work. Now, they’re back in front of customers where they belong. We’ve shortened our quote cycle, improved win rates, and increased revenue without adding headcount. It feels like hiring five more reps, but without the payroll burden.” – Marketing Director at a Retail Company
Looking Ahead
Our client Industrial plans to expand SPARK to:
- Integrate with its ERP system for inventory-aware pricing and availability.
- Add predictive pricing models to win more competitive bids.
- Deploy AI coaching features to help managers guide reps based on pipeline signals.
With monthly enhancements and ongoing consulting included in the package, SPARK will continue to evolve with the distributor’s growth strategy.
