How Adven uses real-time company data to streamline their sales process 

Key takeaways

• In 2017, Adven's sales team was at a turning point. The team needed a suitable CRM system and a service that could provide up-to-date business information.
• Adven's new strategy shifted focus to larger projects–rather limited in Finland.
• With the help of Vainu, Adven has found significantly more potential SMEs to be in contact with and offer more holistic solutions in line with the new strategy.
• With up-to-date company information, the team's understanding of the SME segment's market potential brightened—there was now twice as much potential.

The company

Adven and Vainu have been developing Adven's sales in cooperation since 2017. Adven is a growing Finnish company that offers energy and water solutions, operating in the Nordic and Baltic countries, employing almost 400 energy professionals, close to 200 in Finland. Vainu supports Adven's strategy to increase their market share through more extensive projects.

Up-to-date company data as a driver of growth

Adven's Sales Director Juha Elo recalls the early days of Vainu and Adven: "Despite our professional sales team, there was a lack of systematics in making sales. We did not have a CRM in place. Hence, salespeople and account managers had to maintain separate prospect and customer lists when forming a holistic view of the sales pipeline was time-consuming or almost impossible." Prospecting was not structured, and Adven's team spent much time looking for potential customers. "It was challenging to get information about projects that open up sales opportunities for us, especially in the SME sector, because SMEs do not have the same reporting obligations as large companies do," Elo continues.

Vainu's solution was the best match for Adven's needs: Vainu integrates with their Dynamics CRM, which meant that maintaining a reliable database would require less manual work. Furthermore, the team could systematically monitor the development of both the existing customer base and new projects.

More efficient sales process and customer tracking

One of the main goals of Adven's sales team was to increase the market share in the SME segment by providing more holistic solutions. But first, the process had to be put in order, along with implementing their new CRM. The team's customer lists, the top-100 prospects, and the so-called Hold-list were brought to Vainu to systematically follow these segments and be notified about all relevant changes within them. Hold-list consisted of companies where the need for Adven's services had already been identified, and discussions about cooperation had taken place, but the time for cooperation had not yet been ripe for one reason or another.

Elo explains how Vainu helps them on a daily basis: "In addition to prospecting new companies, we have up to 100 customers where something happens all the time. We are systematically looking for new projects to invest in. Through Vainu, we can always keep abreast of any changes happening in our clients, and we know which projects we should be working toward." The team's understanding of the SME segment's market potential brightened with up-to-date company information—there was now twice as much potential!

With the help of Vainu's signals, the sales team gets notified about, e.g., environmental permits and new projects, which, with the changes in production, often open up investment needs and, therefore, new opportunities for cooperation. "In the chemical industry, for example, we have been able to use Vainu's signals to identify which players in this segment are relevant to us," Elo explains. Now Adven's sales team and account managers know when contacting current or potential customers is necessary or profitable. For Adven, monitoring personnel changes among their core customer segments is also crucial. Improving the efficiency of the upper end of the sales funnel has considerably freed up time for the most important; customer work. "Above all, Vainu has simplified the way we do sales. For instance, when we have up-to-date financial information always at hand, we can immediately get an idea of whether it is worth proceeding conversations with that specific company," says Elo.

Deeper customer understanding and better customer experience

According to Elo, accelerating the beginning of the sales cycle and a more systematic approach to sales and managing the customer base has brought much certainty to the team. With Vainu's reports, every team member knows the situation in their customer segment, and there is an apparent reason for every customer contact. According to Elo, a deeper understanding of the customers has positively impacted the team mentally by bringing more confidence. This, in turn, is visible to customers and potential future ones as a better customer experience. "With the help of Vainu, we can quickly find all the information needed for the first customer encounter," says Elo.

Adven has continuously developed their sales process for the past three years, and Vainu has played a key role in streamlining the company's sales. "Good customer care describes well our cooperation with Vainu," says Elo and mentions that Vainu has been prompt in replying to his development requests.