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Customer Story

Brokers’ Trade Association Simplifies Service With Salesforce

The re-integration of the CRM package helped VBO Makelaar’s brokers focus on providing better service with less administration

Related services
Salesforce

Industry
Transport | Trade | Logistics

Company
Xebia

VBO Makelaar is a trade association of over a thousand brokers, appraisers and rent specialists operating across the Netherlands. With transparency and innovation the organization enables members to build sustainable relationships with satisfied clients. Alongside a thriving residential department there are separate departments for corporate and agricultural real estate. What started in 1985 as a small enthusiastic group of real estate brokers and appraisers has grown into a renowned association for professional brokers, appraisers, rental agents and real estate students that acts as an advocate for its professionals across the industry.
Why
A prior attempt at upgrade was unsuccessful
What
Re-integrated Salesforce with customer service and finance systems included
How
Invoicing and client management became more automated with improved reporting

Over-Complicated System, Little Improvement

VBO had already attempted to upgrade its CRM software to Salesforce, using a partner with no implementation experience or certification of the software. This resulted in a solution that gave little improvement on the previous platform.

VBO asked Xebia to analyze the integration and help put things right. Primarily, the ICT infrastructure was over-complicated, with multiple systems operating together meaning no “single version of the truth” existed. Furthermore, the implementation didn’t allow for further integration or development, meaning future goals such as telephone integration or customer service were either very difficult or impossible to realize.

As a result, adoption of the software across the organization up to this point was minimal.

“After our first meeting ”reduction of complexity” became the motto for our re-implementation. Xebia helped us simplify what was a hodgepodge of software to a single user-friendly system.”
vbo-logo
Hans van der Ploeg Chief executive officer, VBO Makelaar

An Efficient Rebuild

VBO worked with Xebia to plan a sustainable re-implementation of Salesforce, which included additional goals for a more complete solution than originally planned.

A full customer service and complaints procedure was created using the “Case Management” module, allowing members to prioritize their clients’ needs. The members’ admin module was also upgraded, including adding invoice generation. VBO combined this with a seamless integration of Salesforce with its financial system, meaning managers could create reports on payments status, revenue and lead times seamlessly, leading to greater efficiency for all. The overall usability of the system was also enhanced as VBO looked to encourage adoption across all of its stakeholders.

Enthusiasm Means Greater Roll-Out

The seamless management of sales invoicing and customer service now available within Salesforce was the biggest win for VBO Makelaar’s brokers. Hours of manual work and systemic frustration were eliminated thanks to the re-integration. Brokers’ clients immediately received quicker and more accurate resolutions of questions and complaints, while management at all levels could finally access accurate information with confidence to assist in decision-making.

Encouragingly, enthusiasm about Salesforce increased drastically amongst all users, meaning VBO can now start thinking about the next evolution of the integration: extending the functionality to the professional training it provides within the sector.

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