Best Practices – Page 3 – SE Knowledge Base

If You Own YourCompanyDomain.com, There is No Need to Send From “DO_NOT_…@…exchange.com”

Posted on December 3, 2014 by admin

In order to send eblasts from anyone@yourshowroom.com we need to update your domain records (for yourshowroom.com hosted @ yourregistrar.com), we can provide the records to be added in a csv (or excel) file.

This is not something we opted in for, but fully support. Our email relay provider has made their rules stricter to minimize spams.

There are 3 ways to handle this, (all 3 will require your login credentials for yourregistrar.com):
1. Ask your i.t. contact to make the change (with CSV/Excel file we will provide) and let us know once you’re done.
2. Provide your yourregistrar.com login credentials to us and we will do the rest. YOU SHOULD change your password after we’re done.
3. If you prefer not to share your password, we can remote connect and guide you through the process.

After the change @ your registrar, on average, it takes approx 2 to 4 hours (we have seen it as little as 30 min and as long as 6 hours) after the change takes affect. Next we will receive a notice that your domain is verified.

We will let you know and you can start/resume sending blasts as anyone@yourshowroom.com

Certain DNS hosting providers such as Yahoo will need to be contacted directly to add the new DNS records. Others like GoDaddy are fast and easy to update.

Note:
Though we have referenced your registrar in this blog post, your name servers (DNS Hosting) is what interests us:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_registrar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS_hosting_service

Limit Resetting Market Call Labels to a Person per Showroom

Posted on November 4, 2014 by admin

Why might it be a good idea to limit market call labels to one person in the showroom?

With one person in control, multiple reps aren’t resetting at the same time, thus making sure all phone labels remain as intended
The one person in control should have access to make sure it is OK by ALL reps that it is acceptable to reset market calls, avoiding accidental deletions
If one person is in charge, one person is responsible

Meet with your team and see if having only one person responsible for resetting market calls is right for your workflow. Have the admin user check “sAllowMktCallStatusReset” for the user responsible for resetting market calls, and uncheck for all others.

Reach out to us if you need any assistance, help@readytoview.com, 213 438 0600 ext. 502

Link Multi-Door Stores

Posted on November 4, 2014 by admin

If you have a customer with several contacts, all at different locations, Showroom Exchange allows you to link them together.

To enable the “Link Customers” option (chain-link icon) use the customize this view option.

You will be able to…

View them adjacent to one-another (indented layout shown below)
For the main location, see which sub-stores are linked
For the sub-stores, see which location the main one

distro

To link customers, click on the chain-link icon in the manage column (if you don’t see the icon, check “view distro” in customize this view). A popup-wizard will lead you to define it as a main location (e.g.; headquarters) or a store location (one of the doors).

distro3

To show the customer accounts linked layout, click “show distro” next to the pagination setting. After clicking “show distro,” the option will turn to “hide distro” so you can revert to the previous format

distro2

Hover the cursor over the darker chain-link icon to see it’s distribution. This way you can see the distribution without using the distro-layout that is activated by “show distro”.

The dark chain-link icon with a globe icon indicates the main location.
The dark chain-link icon without a globe icon indicates the sub-store location.

distro1

How We Use SE to Track Potentials

Posted on November 3, 2014 by admin

We at Showroom Exchange use SE to manage follow-ups with our potentials.

We use Showroom Exchange in two ways to remind us to follow-up with showrooms:

1) the rating/profile fields, and
2) notes with email reminders

The rating and profile columns are great for tagging your customers. The great thing about these columns is that they are open to YOUR implementation and can be updated in BULK.
For example, after we’ve given a showroom their first training, we’ll put a “t1” in their rating profile, and a “t2” after their second. This allows us to reach out to customers that may have missed their second training session, (i.e. we’ll type “*t1*|^*t2*” into the search bar at the top of the column to see who has had their first training but not their second).

Below, we search “pot” to find customers we mark as potentials, whom we can send PBEs to, make market calls, etc.

2) Make Notes with Emailed Reminders

We also use reminders in the notes feature to be reminded of a specific action. For example, if we contact a potential and want to make sure a follow-up occurs, we’ll make a note for that customer with an email reminder. The email that we receive in a month, or a week… is the reminder to follow-up with the customer.

To make a note with a reminder:

1) Assign a due date
2) Confirm the address you want to send the reminder to
3) Check the box next to “send an email reminder to”

Why is the Best Brand Receiving the Most Attention?

Posted on October 23, 2014 by admin

It’s not uncommon for the best performing manufacturer to take all of the attention.

Use manufacturer yearly comparison report to monitor booking distribution across your brands (i.e. see if all of your eggs are in one basket). Click here to see how to use the mfr yearly comparison report
Use the sales analysis to track ship through percentages to measure your designers manufacturing performance. Eliminate non-performing brands. Click here to see how to use the sales by mfr/customer & sales by customer/mfr reports

Market Call Labels – Make Sure You Reach Every Customer

Posted on October 21, 2014 by admin

While market call labels, like many features in Showroom Exchange, can be customized to adjust to the unique workflow of your showroom, below is one suggested use of market call labels- use it to keep track of your customers’ replies to your market (trade show) calls. Identify and follow-up with those customers that confirmed an appointment, but were unable to show.

First, make the labels you’ll need. Click here to see how to create market call labels. Add one for “attended.”

As you make your calls, mark the customers with their appropriate responses and make notes (in the market call column) when appropriate. Come up with an action plan for each label. For example, for every customer that says “follow-up,” set a reminder to follow up in 2 to 3 days before the show/market.

At the show or market, take note of who attends to mark their profile in Showroom Exchange as “attended.” After the market, you can look at who is still marked as “will attend” to see who wanted to see you but ended up missing their appointment. These customers have shown interest, so make sure to followup with them via phone call or PBE!

You can filter your customer list by market call labels. Use this to send eblasts and make notes to groups of customers based on their responses to your market calls. For the “follow-up” customers example above, filter by the “follow-up” label, click the “personalized bulk email” button at the bottom of the page, and in the popup, click on “notes for recipients” to make a note with a reminder for all “follow-up” customers (you don’t have to actually send an email).

You may also do the same by using the “add notes in bulk” icon.

When you’re done using these labels and its time to use new labels for the next market, use the market call label reset feature to reset labels and save your notes.

Compare Manufacturers’ and Customers’ Sales by Year

Posted on October 21, 2014 by admin

The manufacturer yearly comparison report and the customer yearly comparison report can examine and compare sales (for a specific period) over the last few years. Use these reports to view the ranking of custs/mfrs for each year, their % of total annual sales, their ship-thru %, and % changes between the years.

These are the perfect tools for monitoring the growth of your business, as well as the performance of your brands.

Find both the Mfr Yearly Comparison report and the Cust Yearly Comparison report on the reports tab

comparison reports3

On the Reports Criteria page, there are two important options different than the usual filters:

1. Decide if you wish to analyse sales based on order date or cancel date. Cancel date is the time frame typically used.

2. When you filter by date, the range must be within one calendar year, because that range will be analyzed in past years as well. Enter 01/01/## – 12/31/## to compare year totals, or select a smaller window of time to see how it compares to the same period in past years.

comparison reports2

The report results will show you customers or manufactures and their annual sales, breaking down each year by rank, active dollars, % of total sales, % shipping rate, and % change to the year prior.

comparison reports1

Best practices for the manufacturer yearly comparison report:

run this report annually to help plan your sales projections for the new year
compare manufacturers over the past several years to see which manufacturers have gained traction and which are falling behind

How to Make the Most of Showroom Exchange’s Software for Sales Reps

Posted on October 14, 2014 by admin

Showroom Exchange gives accessory and apparel showroom sales reps what they need more of—time to sell. Showroom Exchange always improves results- personalized marketing, simplified commissions and sales, and maintenance-free services, are tools that lead you to success. Whether you’re new to Showroom Exchange’s online sales software or you’ve been a subscriber for years, here’s how to make sure you’re getting the most out of our products and services.

Stay on Top of Customers

If you’re still using spreadsheets to track customers, now is the time to migrate to Showroom Exchange’s online sales software. Our innovative platform allows you to manage customers and their contact data, track sales, and even record customer contact history so you can get a quick snapshot of their past. It also gives you insight into how to keep them interested in future products.

Simplify Email Marketing

Showroom Exchange offers a personalized bulk email marketing solution that allows you to send and manage email campaigns, fax newsletters (using a 3^rd party service such as maxemail.com), and track their deliverability and open rates. You don’t have to pay for other email marketing services anymore. The email marketing solution is fully integrated, which streamlines your operations, provides vital business data, and saves your showroom money in the process.

Fill in Gaps and Maximize Sales

Missed orders can severely influence your company’s sales revenues. With Showroom Exchange, you can easily identify those missed sales and get in touch with customers right away to fill their orders.

Track Sales Commissions More Efficiently

The use of spreadsheets is archaic, decentralized, and time consuming. Showroom Exchange allows you to track your sales staff’s commissions. Everything is consolidated. You can generate detailed commission reports on each sales representative, saving you the hassles of manually calculating commissions for each pay period.

Never Miss an Open Order

Your business is only as successful as your brand’s delivery rate. If customers have to wait for their orders, they may lose interest in the specific brand that has delayed delivery. With Showroom Exchange, you can track open orders and even forward them to the manufacturer for payment and status updates.

Stay on Top of Your Showroom While on the Move

Excel spreadsheets and traditional sales software don’t go where you go, but Showroom Exchange does. We offer maximum accessibility—whether it’s from your computer, mobile device, or tablet. Our online sales software allows you to access orders, track customer data, and even track email marketing campaigns while you’re away.

Follow-up More Efficiently

Simply contacting customers from time to time is not enough—you also need to follow-up with them to ensure that they stay informed about new collections from your lines. Showroom Exchange allows you to tag customers for future follow-up and keep those hot leads “hot” so that you don’t miss potential sales.

Scan and Retrieve Faster

Whether you’re at the showroom, at a tradeshow, or on the road, you have the option to view order scans. If a customer ever has an inquiry, you can simply forward a copy of the order with a click of a button—regardless of location.

Say Goodbye to Maintenance Hassles

On top of I.T. administrative efforts, traditional sales software requires you to update and frequently purchase newer versions. But Showroom Exchange eliminates the hassle and costs of updates. We maintain the software for you. There is no download or installation required, and you don’t have to worry about a backup policy. Since our software is online and centralized, updates are deployed very quickly with minimal service impact during off-hours..

Save on Tech Costs With Unlimited Free Support

We understand that there is a lot to learn with Showroom Exchange, and we want you to get the most out of our online sales software and its systematized approach to effectively manage your showroom. That’s why we offer unlimited free support for every customer. We’re a one-stop shop. Given the common platform, the web-browser, we do not have to defer you to a third-party tech support when addressing common issues.

Showroom Exchange brings intelligence and efficiency to the management of your accessory or apparel showrooms to avoid missed bookings, capture uncollected commissions, and accurately analyze the health of your business. View a brief demo or call 213.438.0600 ext. 1 for a more personalized and in-depth demo.

Commissions Report

Posted on October 14, 2014 by admin

Use the commissions report to determine what is owed to you (the showroom) and what has to be paid out to your reps. The commissions report depends on consistent entry of commission statements (as invoices in Showroom Exchange). The commission entry process is VERY important as the information is used to determine the mfr’s ship-thru %, help determine what is still left open (more on open orders report), and ultimately showroom’s total earnings.

If your brands send commission statements without a payment, just to report their shipments, you would have entered the commission statements with the invoices ‘pdate’ left blank. The same report can be used to filter “Unpaid” invoices.

On the criteria page, you can enter filters to create very specific reports, such as those analyzing just one rep, just the showroom, or just one manufacturer. Note that you can also filter by paid/unpaid status.

Click “generate report” to see the result of the commission report, like the one below. The report shows commissions broken down by rep (including the showroom rep, i.e. the showroom as a whole) and manufacturer. A summary report only shows reps and the totals of how much they made from each line, while the detailed version lists invoices with their relevant information.

Aiming for Zero – Open Orders Report

Posted on October 14, 2014 by admin

The open orders report lists all orders that have not yet completely shipped (i.e.; more than 1% open).

The accuracy of the open order report is dependent on the consistent entry of commission statements (as invoices in Showroom Exchange).

Maximize your revenue!
Use this regularly to followup on open orders (especially after entering commission statements).

The report criteria page of the open orders report is very similar to other reports (select the filters to define what open orders you want to see).

You can filter by how “open” an order is based on $s (i.e. $500-%1000 open) or % (i.e. over 50% open).

Couple of important noteworthy filters to consider:

“show commission calculation”
Use this check-box to let the brand know the exact commission $ amount due for an outstanding open order. Use “Open $” and “show comm for SR rep only.”

“Show invoice info (detailed only)”
This is helpful to show existing invoices that you may have already entered from past commission statements.

Click generate report to see the report result like the detailed report shown below. Detailed reports show specific PO’s that are still open, broken down by manufacturer and rep, and other relevant information about the order.

The summary report show general shipping statistics for each brand.

Best practices for the Open Order report:

run open order reports after invoice entry
look at orders 10%-100% open if orders >10% open are not of interest
catch open orders from previous months (or years) by using an earlier date, i.e. 01/01/2001
remove open balances that will never ship using bulk cancellation to keep your records clean