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For sales leaders like Zach Hoffman, having clean, digestible CRM data readily available is crucial. Working directly out of Salesforce often makes for a clunky user experience, and the faster his team can view and update their client data, the better.
”With every deal, you need a narrative. Good reps have the narrative committed to memory. They’re thinking about it all day. But when you’ve got 70 or so opportunities in the pipeline, I have to go back into almost every opportunity and I have to remind myself what the narrative was in order to create a next step. I don’t trust my own tasks sometimes.”
We agree with Zach. Not having a clear direction or proper records of the narrative can bottleneck your weekly workflow. But, more on that later.
First, who is Zach, and what does his company do?
ShulCloud, Shulware's flagship product, has provided software services since 2012 and is currently the #1 Synagogue Relationship Manager on the market. Shulware's mission is to allow Synagogue volunteers and staff to focus on what matters most: the people in the community. They provide robust custom solutions to handle member and program data. In addition to ShulCloud, their tool Kesef has offered bookkeeping services since 2009.
Zach is the Director of Sales, and Shulware and its software products serve Synagogues and Jewish communities worldwide. In addition to top-notch software products, Shulware offers comprehensive training and support to guide clients during onboarding. Its built-in payment processor also eliminates the need for third-party vendors, making sign-up a breeze.
With robust tools and services like ShulCloud and Kesef, Zach's sales team keeps busy. We asked for a peek into his schedule, and it looks like:
Monday: Pipeline review. What are the top deals, and which ones need the most attention?
Tuesday - Friday: Zach is slammed with calls. He gets little admin time in between meetings, so it’s important that his CRM data is cleanly laid out and easily accessible.
End-of-week wrap-up: Zach tries to sneak in some pipeline cleaning and wrap-up time at the end of the week to start with the freshest possible view again on Monday.
There are a few areas where the Shulware workflow could be streamlined. Here are the main challenges Zach was looking to address:
Salesforce fields don’t quite cut it: Zach uses custom fields to quickly capture and better visualize information. Every client has a different story to tell, and Shulware has a lot to offer. Native fields don’t get him very far.
A disjointed flow: Zach mentioned he has to hop around to different views and layouts to get the data he needs. This creates a bit of a time suck in the day.
Decision-making is tricky: Even when Zach configures the layout most suitable for his data, he’s still left second-guessing which deals most urgently need his attention. When he’s got dozens of opportunities in the pipeline, it’s tough to know how and where to divide your time.
We asked Zach what he liked best about Pod and how it could help him in his day-to-day. Here are the most game-changing features.
The guessing game of which deal to work on first is no longer for Zach with Pod’s Prioritize feature. It uses data-driven signals from your CRM to determine which deals are most urgent and what is the next action you can take.
“Every single task you do should impact a sale,” Zach says, on why he likes Prioritize and how to work effectively.
When Pod determines which tasks and deals take priority and which are most at-risk, you can make the most impactful moves in your pipeline.
You could use Prioritize, like Zach, at any point in the week, but it’s especially effective during:
Weekly kickoff: Roadmap your week ahead, and bring those quick wins across the finish line with confidence.
Pipeline review: When sales leaders want an easy bird's-eye view of the state of their pipeline, Prioritize will clearly lay it out for them.
The last week of the quarter: If you need the breakdown of which deals can make or break your quota, use Prioritize.
Pod makes managing your pipeline easily with custom views, intuitive record adding, and by keeping all your deals in one place. More specifically, Zach likes the streamlined contact syncing so he can get his Salesforce CRM data where it needs to go, fast.
“Contact adding is easier in Pod than any other tool I’ve used.” - says Zach.
When you’re the biggest player in your industry, like Zach, you need a tool that can support your organization’s volume of contacts and records. Pod can import your data with ease and have it in the custom view to suit your workflow. Managing your pipeline means no compromises and easier work done.
Pod syncs with both Salesforce and Google Calendar, so you can easily work with all of that data from one space.
“Pod is the only app that is actively trying to help sellers do what matters,” says Zach when we asked him what he liked best about the product.
Often, sales tools try to do too much, and they lose focus on what (or who) they’re aiming to help. The most effective sales tool shouldn’t also be a souped-up developer tool, a product management platform, or a business operations space.
Pod is built by sellers, for selling. Every product improvement or revision is being made to improve the game and close more deals.
One thing Zach and Pod have in common? They both strive for growth in the future. Whether that's feature releases, product launches, or more community engagement, there’s growth and change to be made, and we’re excited about it.
Zach has a really keen eye for making impactful feedback. He was eager to tell us where he’d like to see Pod grow, and we were pumped to listen. Here’s what he had in mind:
It’s feedback like this that helps us move and grow as a product. Our roadmap has a ton of exciting updates on the way!
At Pod, we’re all about helping sellers and sales leaders get their jobs done more effectively. With data-driven functionality, streamlined views, and even a built-in AI-powered coach, you can be confident in the moves you’re making in your pipeline.
Have you tried Pod out? You can get started for free or book a demo here.
