The problem was sharing this knowledge effectively. Sickness or holidays caused major headaches for the management of FSL, as an absent sales person meant absent information. This knowledge has now been transferred into a database which has been customised to allow notes and amendments to be made alongside the contact details. Staff can now quickly cross-reference sales information to ensure that when new business leads are followed up or existing contracts reviewed, they can call on the experience and 'knowledge' of the whole sales force. We've probably only just scratched the surface in terms of functionality but already things like work scheduling have improved.
Staff now get reminders popping up on the screens of important calls or contracts to review.
As a result there has been a dramatic change in our response rates to customer demands. FileMaker 3.0 provides FSL with the ability to compete at the highest level for some of the largest automotive accounts in the country. Tim Halliday, believes that it pays to keep up with the latest technology, and more importantly with the best technology. Clients expect us to be able to answer their needs quickly, it makes us look good if we are able to respond in a fast and efficient manner. Over the past three months our own understanding and use of FileMaker has grown and I fully expect our client list to follow suit.