Transformation @ Work

54 | Making the Most of Slack’s Suite of Apps & Automations

Nothing kills productivity like “swivel chair” moments, when employees have to pivot between multiple platforms and programs just to get their job done. But what if you could condense all of your daily tasks into the same platform you already use for daily communication, and work seamlessly in one place throughout the day– no pivoting required? Whether you’re brand-new to the solution or you’ve been messaging coworkers on Slack for years, there are likely still some game-changing features you might not know about. From approvals to integrations, check out the latest Transformation @ Work to learn how to transform Slack into a superpowered collaboration station. Key Insights 02:01: Understanding Slack’s transformation from a communications platform to an all-in-one collaboration solution 02:40: How switching between programs and solutions can add up to significant time costs for employees– and how Slack can help 04:36: Exploring Slack’s template library, and what its out-of-the-box automations have to offer 06:01: How employees can leverage Slack’s workflow builder to create custom third-party automations 08:15: Slack automation in action: real-world use cases for how teams are streamlining processes via automation 10:35: Leveraging Slack apps to strengthen company culture and deepen employee relationships Guest Bios Krishna Patel, Partner Engineer, Slack Krish has spent the past several years working deeply with Slack as a solution, which gives him an in-depth understanding of the product and its capabilities. In his current role as Partner Engineer for the solution, he works closely with partners and developers to drive product integrations and deliver technical solutions to address needs across the Slack ecosystem. Kishan Patel, Senior Solution Consultant, Gerent An 18X Salesforce-certified product expert, Kish brings years of experience and a wealth of technical expertise to his current role as Senior Solution Consultant. He specializes in building strong relationships with internal and external partners to identify pain points and develop winning solutions that drive customer success.

53 | Enabling Dealership Employee Success Through Automation

Employees only have so many hours in the day. They can either spend that time fighting with manual processes and repetitive tasks, or they can focus on building relationships with customers and growing the business. This is especially true in automotive dealerships, where that personalized experience is more important than ever, and time-consuming, repetitive tasks cause major frustration for employees and customers alike. How can dealers free up that precious employee time, so they can focus on what matters? In this episode of Transformation @ Work, our experts uncover how Salesforce Automotive Cloud can automate and streamline processes and workflows, setting up dealership employees for success. Key Talking Points 03:15: Benchmarks and habits of truly enabled employees, and how those employees add value back to the dealership 04:38: Why workarounds and manual solutions are a red flag when it comes to employee enablement 06:51: How Salesforce Automotive Cloud can automate daily tasks and help dealership employees reclaim their daily capacity 08:03: The importance of bringing employees onboard and soliciting feedback during every step of the Salesforce implementation 11:11: Setting benchmarks for success: key metrics and goals for managers to watch for during implementation 13:24: What dealerships can achieve by enabling employee success with process and workflow automation Guest Bios Brian Schumacher, President, ResultsGuru.com Brian is a long-time technical consultant, having worked with Harley Davidson Canada’s network performance team for 15+ years. He brings 40+ years of experience in technical and business consulting in automotive to his current role, as well as keen insights into how dealerships can leverage technology to get better, more accurate results. Jennifer Thompson, Automotive Practice & Pre-sales Leader, Gerent Jeni is a tenured consultant with 20+ years of experience analyzing the technology needs of Automotive and Manufacturing companies. During that time, she spent 16 years working directly with dealer management system tech companies and 7 as a consultant, heavily engaged within the Dealer & OEM space. Prior to her role at Gerent, she served as a Pre-sales Engagement Manager in Salesforce’s Manufacturing practice.

52 - Project Rewind - Sales Cloud Success (Feat. PTR Group)

The sales process is the lifeblood of any manufacturing organization – and yet, despite its importance, it remains a source of frustration for many organizations. Blue sheets, log books, cumbersome spreadsheets; these hallmarks of a manual sales process bring with them headaches, siloed processes, and often missed opportunities. Faced with trying to overhaul their sales process, PTR Group turned to Salesforce. In this episode of Transformation @ Work, find out how Gerent was able to help PTR group achieve this goal, unlocking valuable new cross-selling opportunities along the way. Key Takeaways 01:30: How PTR Group’s manual sales process impacted collaboration and cross-selling opportunities 04:57: How Gerent worked to overcome PTR Group’s hesitance in learning new technology, and helped them embrace Salesforce 06:45: Choosing the right Salesforce administrator, and why that is an essential step in the implementation process 08:40: The importance of relationship building: How Gerent and PTR group worked together to build a better sales process 11:27: Unlocking greater visibility and cross-collaboration with Salesforce Sales Cloud 14:50: The impact that Sales Cloud has had on PTR group’s sales process and ability to cross-sell to existing customers Guest Bios Philip Moroco, Chief Commercial Officer, PTR Group Philip brings over 19 years of experience to his current role as Chief Commercial Officer for PTR Group, a manufacturer of metal and plastic components that create sub assemblies for OEMs and suppliers across a range of industries. Roger Yeager, Supply Chain Manager, PTR Group Roger has acted as Supply Chain Manager for American Cap, a subsidiary of PTR Group, for over 23 years. In addition to his current role, he acts as Salesforce administrator for PTR Group, and worked alongside Gerent throughout the implementation process. Zohaib Noorani, Senior Solution Consultant, Gerent In his current role as Senior Solution Consultant, Zohaib combines over a decade of manufacturing experience with four years spent in the Salesforce ecosystem to help clients solve complex business problems using agile & hybrid methodologies. Indubala Kachhawa, Project Manager, Gerent Prior to joining Gerent, Indubala has worked in the technology and consulting space for over 15 years. That extensive experience provides her with valuable insights in how clients can build better processes and digital workflows through technology.

51 | How Personalized Experiences Turn Automotive Leads Into Opportunities

Delivering a personalized car buying experience is a “holy grail” for any automotive dealership. After all, by meeting the customer where they are and anticipating their needs, employees are truly empowered to turn incoming leads into high-value opportunities. But how do you unlock those experiences when customers might only visit your dealership once a year at most? In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we’re looking at how better data structuring and predictive AI capabilities can overhaul customer-dealer interactions and transform the car buying experience. Key Insights 02:36: Imagining an ideal, personalized dealership experience, and how technology can help facilitate that 03:52: Current barriers keeping dealers from delivering personalized experiences to customers 06:00: How dealerships can leverage technology to capture, structure, and action customer data— regardless of where it comes from 09:04: How Salesforce Automotive Cloud can enable employees to convert leads into opportunities and build real relationships with customers 12:31: Adding AI to the mix: leveraging predictive AI to anticipate customer interactions and enable employee success 15:57: The crucial role of high-quality data in maximizing employee readiness and personalizing customer experiences Guest Bios Jennifer Thompson Director, Automotive Practice & Presales, Gerent Jeni is a tenured consultant with 20+ years of experience analyzing the technology needs of Automotive and Manufacturing companies. During that time, she spent 16 years working directly with dealer management system tech companies and 7 years as a consultant, heavily engaged within the Dealer & OEM space. Prior to her role at Gerent, she served as a Presales Engagement Manager in Salesforce’s Manufacturing practice. Nathan Wilton Delivery Director, J.D. Power Nathan brings over 10 years of automotive experience, as well as a background in financial services, to his role as delivery director with J.D. Power. In his current role, he works directly alongside dealers and OEMs to help them unlock the power of technology and data to transform their sales and operations.

50 | Project Rewind: Salesforce Travel Essentials

Travel agencies take pride in offering customers a relaxing, simplified alternative to the chaos of booking flights, hotels, and vacation destinations. But what is simple for the traveler is often anything but for the professionals responsible for coordinating vacation logistics. Too often, agents are overwhelmed by data and left to navigate unsupportive, user-unfriendly booking and CRM systems. This is precisely the problem Cruise & Vacation Desk was dealing with — and why the agency’s leaders reached out to Gerent to help them find a better solution. In this episode on Transformation @ Work, we break down the end result of that partnership: Travel Essentials, a bespoke Salesforce solution purpose-built for the needs of the travel industry. Key Insights 01:40: Challenges faced by travel agents when booking vacations for customers: complicated data streams, managing multiple relationships, and more 03:41: The complexities of managing customer data and relationships without a comprehensive CRM 04:47: The current state of how travel agencies manage data: complicated, costly house-built CRM solutions 06:34: Why Cruise & Vacation Desk sought out a better option for managing customer data 07:20: Key features Cruise & Vacation Desk needed in their CRM to truly simplify the booking process 09:45: How Travel Essentials helped Cruise & Vacation Desk transform the booking experience 10:45: Business outcomes Cruise & Vacation Desk were able to unlock with Travel Essentials 11:24: Exploring the scalability that Travel Essentials offers Cruise & Vacation Desk and similar travel agencies 12:38: How Travel Essentials supercharges Cruise & Vacation Desk’s marketing capabilities 14:55: How Cruise & Vacation Desk plans to leverage Travel Essentials for future growth 16:58: Looking ahead: what Travel Essentials offers to the travel industry at large Guest Bios George A. Barnett, Jr., President and General Manager, Cruise & Vacation Desk George has been part of the Cruise & Vacation Desk team for over 20 years, eventually taking over the company from his father and stepping into the role of president and general manager. Andrew Bonichi, Vice President and COO, Cruise & Vacation Desk Andrew has worked in the travel industry for over 30 years, the past 21 of which has been with Cruise & Vacation Desk. As Vice President and COO, Andrew leads his team in delivering industry-leading vacation packages and rewards programs to their customer base. Ketta Riley, Practice Leader, Travel, Tourism, and Entertainment, Gerent Ketta has over 35 years of travel and hospitality leadership experience, 10 of which have been spent working on Salesforce implementations. She leverages her experience combined with extensive knowledge of industry market trends to support our customers’ businesses. Valentine Christopher, Director of Delivery, Gerent Valentine brings over 25 years of experience in IT consulting to his current role, with over 8 years specifically in the Salesforce ecosystem. In his current role, he leverages that experience to help set up businesses in the travel, tourism, and entertainment industries for success with Salesforce.