Sales Partnerships, Inc. - Best New Version of a Business Intelligence Solution

Company: Sales Partnerships, Inc., Broomfield, CO
Company Description: Sales Partnerships, Inc. is the premier direct sales outsourcing company in the world, offering branded representation that delivers rapid revenue lift for the most influential B2B firms in the world. Whether it's brand activation, customer acquisition, or retention, SPI is the leader in providing scalable and proven solutions to the Fortune 500.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Business Intelligence Solution – New Version

Nomination Title: SPI Develops AI-Powered Territory Management Tool Enabling Safer Field Sales During COVID-19

Describe the features, functions, and benefits of the nominated product or service (up to 350 words):

Operating a field sales organization during a global pandemic required an unprecedented response from our IS team, who were able to quickly develop our proprietary BI-powered territory management technology to keep as many of our agents active in the field while also ensuring that they were operating in as safe of an environment as possible in order to avoid contributing to the spread of COVID-19. This technology solution allowed us to operate safely in the field during a pandemic.

Specifically, the BI tool allowed SPI to re-route reps in real-time around COVID hot spots and territories where they would lose productivity. Without this intelligence solution, we would have had to shut down 40% of our sales activity, resulting in a substantial loss of revenue and staff.

From a revenue perspective, their efforts implementing the tool on a daily basis across the US enabled us to generate $100 million in revenue for our financial services client, a Fortune 500 financial services organization. It allowed us to exceed quota in 2020 (with pre-COVID targets), while our industry peers saw on average a 30% drop in sales.

The BI tool gives us the ability to have multi-layer, interactive mapping functionality so that our support team can adjust territories in the moment as new COVID data comes in. They then communicate the new routes to managers and reps so they can plan their sales activity for maximum productivity and safety. Because the tool is powered by BI, our support team was able to do this process continuously, oftentimes reshaping and designating new territories multiple times per day to keep everyone active and safe.

SPI has been the only field sales organization in North America using BI-powered territory management technology to continue sales operations during COVID-19, and it has enabled us not only to continue to operate (when other competitors shut down field activity all together) but also to exceed our yearly quota for 2020 while keeping our reps and customers as safe as possible. This solution simply does not exist elsewhere, positioning SPI as a pioneer in the field of intelligent territory management.

Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):

To support this information, we have attached:

1. The SPI Territory visualization and Management document outlines the platform we have and how it enables our field sales reps to remain active and safe. It also details the general functionality of the tool (the prior version had also been a Stevie Gold award winner.)

2. The Covid QuickView document details the variation of this tool we created for public health departments and the CDC (it is referenced in the text of our nomination.)

3. The Field Sales case study places this use of technology in context for our overall success in field work for 2020.

4. Lastly, we included a link to the SPI web site providing background on who Sales Partnerships is as an organization.

At the end of Q1 in 2020, SPI updated it’s existing territory management technology to enable Business Intelligence to drive our field sales activity.

Outline the market performance, critical reception, and customer satisfaction with the product or service to date. State monetary or unit sales figures to date, if possible, and how they compare to expectations or past performance. Provide links to laudatory product or service reviews. Include some customer testimonials, if applicable (up to 350 words):

This technology has had a direct impact on the field sales representatives at SPI, including how they operate in the field, their efficiency and performance, and their own sense of safety.

As one rep in Portland puts it:
“Working in downtown Portland, Oregon, during a pandemic and civil unrest is not an easy task being a field agent. The city follows COVID-19 restrictions set up in place by the Oregon government, which poses a challenge to scheduling and routing around these areas across the greater Portland area. SPI and their routing tools have made it very easy for me to target exactly where I needed to work, steering me clear of COVID-19 local restrictions and areas where social unrest and rioting was taking place. This gave me peace of mind knowing SPI had my best interest in mind and routed me to parts of my territory that would set me up for the best success while keeping me safe.” - Current Portland Field Agent at SPI