Deva has grown rapidly over the last few years and has an annual turnover of £20 million.

Behind the scenes at Deva a new management team has been busy consolidating the business and streamlining its operation. The decision to invest in VECTA sales intelligence software was made after the management carried out a survey to see how much time its sales force was spending on preparing for calls and looking for information about customers. The results convinced them that they could be working in a more efficient way. They recognised the benefits that VECTA would bring to the company in terms of time saving, improved communication flow and the ability to focus the sales team on best opportunities to increase sales.

"VECTA is a terrific means by which live sales information may be used to best commercial effect by a customer focussed and forward thinking organisation," says Deva managing director, Tony O'Neil. "The efficiency gains alone were enough to justify investing in the software and we could see that we were going to enjoy considerable benefit in terms of additional sales."

VECTA is a sales intelligence tool designed to analyse customers' buying patterns, resulting in improved sales productivity and overall profitability. The software is designed to highlight alternative and related products to increase the value of a sale and help users to cross- and link-sell more effectively.

The sales intelligence unlocked by VECTA increases the productivity of each sales call made by highlighting how much more could be sold to specific customers, significantly increasing sales to existing accounts. "Using VECTA we were able to identify an opportunity to sell additional product lines into one of our major nationwide distributors, a deal which proved to be very significant," says O'Neil. "In addition, VECTA tells our sales team when customers stop buying to ensure that potential problems are addressed in a timely manner."

Deva has implemented VECTA internally across its management and marketing teams. Its outbound sales force is equipped with VECTAPocket, the mobile control version of VECTA. "The technology has been adopted by even the most IT sceptical of the team," comments northern sales manager, Rob St Barbe. "They can see the benefits that VECTA can bring to their individual success and the ongoing success of the business."

VECTA is also proving to be of great benefit in the areas of recruitment. "We're finding it easier to attract new recruits because of the level of support we can offer and the depth of information made available to them through VECTA," explains St Barbe. "New sales people are fully operational and effective within two months, around a quarter of the previously expected time scale. VECTA really helps new staff members to integrate themselves into the company very quickly and to gain a thorough insight into the state of the business and Deva's position in the market."

Using VECTA a new sales person can make an excellent initial impression when visiting a customer for the first time in terms of efficiency and their knowledge of the account. "We use VECTA for all sales meetings," says St Barbe. "The team is instructed to spend extra time before a visit refreshing their knowledge of buying patterns to create call objectives. They then use VECTA in front of customers. As a result we are perceived to be a very professional organisation."

VECTA has become integrated into all the business processes within the company. "All sales presentations and sales meetings are driven by the information we get out of VECTA," explains St Barbe. "Packs are put together for customers and the sales representatives sit down with major accounts to help them understand their own buying patterns and the patterns of their individual branches."

This year has seen Deva achieving record sales and according to O'Neil much of this success is attributable to VECTA: "In Liverpool, which is a highly competitive area for us, VECTAPocket is now used on every call and sales have grown by 66 percent. VECTA is responsible for the majority of our sales growth and has provided benefits we had not even thought of before. It has revolutionised our sales decisions and sales practices alike."

"VECTA is a terrific means by which live sales information may be used to best commercial effect by a customer focussed and forward thinking organisation. The efficiency gains alone were enough to justify investing in the software and we could see that we were going to enjoy considerable benefit in terms of additional sales."

Tony O’Neil
Managing Director
Deva Taps Ltd