The right tools can vastly improve your business. Ron Callis, Jr looks at a few of these tools and lets you know how they could help improve your business and increase your bottom line.

We should all strive to improve the operational efficiencies of our businesses. This is a key driving force behind most business owners in the custom electronics industry, and any other business for that matter.

One of the most frequent questions I receive is whether there are any software tools that I recommend to improve business process. The answer is yes. Over the past few years I have run across software tools that I have used to improve my business operations and many of my ESC clients have done the same.

Software Tools

• Salez Toolz

What it Does: This presentation software changes the way we sell custom electronic systems. The software empowers the sales person to quickly and efficiently present pre-designed systems and packages to their prospective client in the very first meeting. Each package will have a name, description, price and image. This makes the discovery phase of selling a fun and informative process for both you and the client. The software runs on both PCs and Macs and is now also available on the Apple iPad. You can export the completed estimate to a personalised report in either Excel or PDF format and send to the client at the end of the meeting.

Why you should use it: For many ESCs the toughest part of the selling process is trying to determine what the client wants and what they are willing to spend. An effective way to handle this issue is to present the client with predesigned systems that state their functional description of performance and their installed price. For example you could show your client five different home theatre packages at various price points. You will then have the opportunity to explain the difference in systems and why the price increases or decrease from one package to the next. If you go through all of the available services your firm offers, the client will be able to make an informed decision regarding which systems they want included in their project and at what budget they will be comfortable. You can then roll into a design phase with a target system and budget in mind.
Learn more: www.saleztoolz.com

• D-Tools

What it Does: D-Tools SI5.5 software simplifies and streamlines the entire system integration process. It is used to create quick proposals, detailed system designs, manage projects for on time and on budget delivery. The software integrates with both industry standard AutoCAD and Microsoft VISIO to create detailed designs that are dynamically linked to equipment lists for complete, accurate design and documentation of low voltage systems.

Why you should use it: Using D-Tools software will significantly increase the efficiency and accuracy of your proposals. It allows the system designer to build an engineered proposal rather than simply building a parts lists. The engineered proposal includes all hardware and labor factors that will be required to accomplish the project scope as defined during the discovery phase. The proposal can be backed up with detailed connection schematics that will ensure all input and output criteria and resource allocations have been accurately accounted for during design. At Firefly Design Group we use the SI5.5 software platform to provide design and documentation services to hundreds of integrators around the world. This software, when properly implemented, will enhance your business process and increase your bottom line. Check out D-Tools’ website for their Certified Partners that can assist with this implementation.
Learn more: www.d-tools.com

Cloud Based Software Tools

• Box.net

What it Does: Provides a simple and secure method to share files.

Why you should use it: I must admit that I love this site and have used it religiously for the past two years. It allows the user to create folders and upload files for sharing or peer review via a fun and easy to use interface. It also eliminates the IT worries and headache of managing your own FTP server. Here is a tip: If you send out email newsletters, you can link to content that has been uploaded to your Box.net account. For example, you could place a link within the newsletter to download your company marketing brochure. When the user clicks on the link, they will be able to download the file from your Box.net account and you will be sent a notification email informing you that this has occurred.
Learn more: www.box.net

• Echosign.com

What it Does: Electronic contract signature service that allows you to get contracts signed in minutes rather than days.

Why you should use it: A wonderfully simple online service that allows you to upload your client contracts and send them out for an electronic signature. It has streamlined the contract signing process at Firefly Design Group into a few simple steps that are both quick and easy for my team and my clients to follow. Echosign also stores all signed contracts for future reference. They also provides a dashboard with useful information such as percentage of sent contracts that have been signed and average time it takes to sign a contract. Here is a tip: The online tools lets you determine whether the receiver has previewed the contract and if so at what time and on what date. So, if you have sent a contract and it was opened and previewed but it hasn’t been signed… there might be a problem or question that warrants a phone call.
Learn more: www.echosign.com