iSales 100 by xkzero now supports iOS 10

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

xkzero is pleased to announce the compatibility of iSales 100 with iOS 10 – the latest mobile operating system by Apple. No action is required on your part. There is also no imperative for you to upgrade to iOS 10 as your current operating system will continue to function as well.

For those of you who do plan to upgrade to iOS we recommend that you back up the device first. Backing up the device is not required for iSales 100, but it is always a good idea when updating an operating system. Information on how to back up your device is available from Apple here. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203977

Is now the time for mobile sales in your manufacturing business?

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

Process improvement – process improvement – process improvement

process

As a manufacturing company process improvement is your credo. Process improvement is your mantra. Your DNA. It’s what you preach to your supervisors. It’s what you ingrain in the minds of your new hires. Process improvement informs everything you do in your work – and in manufacturing companies, process improvement informs everything from research and development to quality control to production planning, to packaging, shipping, receiving, and so on. But what about mobile sales in your manufacturing business? That could be a process worth re-evaluating.

Technology has given shape to most of the great process improvements in manufacturing business over the last 30 years. The great desktop PC era has revolutionized the way we work in business in almost every conceivable way all across your business from purchasing to materials planning to warehouse management, customer service and accounting. Paper-based and manual processes have been identified and targeted for replacement. Replaced by technology tools such as keyboards, monitors, printers, and scanners – to drive information and communication faster across your enterprise. The reason you’ve done so? To create a better experience for the user, to save time (aka labor cost), to accelerate your supply chain, and to improve overall communications. Quite simply – you made these changes in order to make your business better.

Yet, perhaps ironically, there is one group of workers inside most manufacturing companies whose jobs have not been impacted much at all by technology and process improvement over the last 30 years, and that is the outside sales rep. How can that be? The group of people most responsible for generating revenue growth, and most able to convey directly to your customers the experience of doing business with you – yes, that group – is by and large stuck using the same tools and following the same processes for the last 30 years.

A great many sales processes are built around:

Printed product catalogs
Price books
Spec sheets
Order forms
Phone calls back to the office
Email

These sales reps have little or no visibility to customer status, product pricing, ability to promise, cross sell suggestions. Whether the sales rep is onsite with the customer or prospect, at a special event, staffing a tradeshow, or roaming a showroom floor, the chances are they have a smart phone in their pocket – but the chances are almost as great that the smart phone will NOT have intelligence to help them close business or otherwise assist the customer. Smart phone and tablet technology is available now that can provide sales reps with far more meaningful interactions with customers.

Sales apps that are connected with your Sage ERP and CRM systems abound. The key is finding the right level of enablement for you and your sales team. As a manufacturing company this should be easily enough done because it’s all about making the selling process – the experience your customer has doing business with you – a faster, better informed and more complete experience. And that is exactly what you should expect to accomplish for your sales team.

xkzero specializes in Sage ERP integrated mobile sales, route sales, and direct store delivery automation for small and midsized manufacturers and wholesale distribution companies.

Sales Essentials for 2016: Sage Summit and Beyond

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

Sales essentials for growing businesses

Thousands of businesses will converge on Chicago for Sage Summit 2016 to learn and share stories of challenge, innovation and change.

We hope you’ll visit us at Sage Summit 2016 in Chicago—our hometown! At xkzero we help companies grow sales and increase profits by providing high performance, flexible mobile apps engineered to integrate with Sage 100 and Sage X3. This year alone, clients will transact about $1 billion in new business using xkzero mobile sales and delivery apps for smartphones and tablets. As far as who is using our apps, there are no bounds to the range of industries that view mobile as a sales essential for success.

Learn how leading companies across North America are using Sage and xkzero solutions to stand out and win against the competition. Especially if you rely on route selling or direct store delivery to serve customers and close new business, have outside sales reps, sell at trade shows, attend special events, or have a showroom floor or parts counter, we hope you’ll stop by our booth.

Want a preview of the xkzero mobile sales and delivery solutions for Sage 100 and Sage X3 that you’ll see at Summit? Register now for our free webinar – Sales Essentials for 2016: The Power of Mobile.

NEW DATE AND TIME: June 29, 2016, 12 pm EST

All Sage business partners and Sage 100 and Sage X3 end user customers are all welcome!

Mobile B2B Sales: A Practical Guide for Sales Reps

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

Mobile automation is the new standard for B2B sales

The mobile sales app for B2B represents the new standard for growing small and mid-sized businesses. It may be the greatest thing to happen for manufacturing and wholesale distribution sales reps since the invention of the printing press. Few technologies for business have the far-reaching impact on the quality of your work and your company’s bottom line of a mobile sales app.

If your company has outside sales reps, or sells at trade shows, on a showroom floor, from special events or on-site with a customer, for you, the era of the printed product catalog, the paper order form, and the fax machine is over. The integrated smart phone and tablet era is now. xkzero has summarized some important considerations for you here.

Salespeople

The impact of having everything you need in your pocket

Off you go to your prospect meeting. Off you go to the trade show. Off you go for another day on the showroom floor. Off you go, back to your hotel room. Off you go, equipped with a product catalog printed 9 months ago, a price list printed 6 weeks ago. Hoping the fax machine doesn’t get jammed when you send in your order. Hoping that a customer service rep is ready when you call to find out the status of the inventory you’d like to sell.

The new standard for B2B selling is the smart phone. It’s replaced the fax, the printed materials, and antiquated processes that hold back a business today.

How you will benefit from a mobile sales app as a salesperson:

You’ll be better prepared with fingertip access to up-to-the-moment customer and inventory data.
Customers and prospects will sense your increased confidence.
You’ll have the chance to close larger deals.
You’ll be able to complete high transaction volume sales more quickly.
You might not ever be late for a meeting again.

The price of not doing anything

Over 90 percent of the mobile sales automation projects xkzero has implemented over the past several years have been for companies that previously relied on the tools and processes of yesterday—printed product catalogs, paper order forms, and fax machines. For many of these businesses, sales reps had to call customer service for the status of anything customer or inventory related. Representing the entire spectrum of manufacturing and wholesale distribution industries, they have one thing in common. Once they switch from paper and manual processes to an automated mobile solution—they don’t change back.

More practical guides – Mobile B2B Sales: A Practical Guide for Executives

Ready to talk about charting a mobile sales strategy for your business? Contact us at info@xkzero.com or call 847-416-2009. Visit the xkzero website to learn more about our winning solutions.

Mobile B2B Sales: A Practical Guide for Executives

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

Mobile sales apps for B2B represent the new standard for growing small and mid-sized businesses. In fact, mobile B2B sales may be the greatest thing to happen for manufacturing and wholesale distributor sales reps since the invention of the printing press. There are very few technologies you can add to your business today that will have as far reaching effect on the quality of your work, and the bottom line of your business as a mobile sales app.

The new standard for B2B sales is mobile

If your company has outside sales reps, or sells at trade shows, on a showroom floor, from special events or on-site with a customer –for you, the era of the printed product catalog, the paper order form, and the fax machine – is over.

The integrated smart phone and tablet era is now. xkzero has summarized some important considerations for you here.

All stakeholders in your company—Executives, Salespeople, Operations Managers, Accounting and Finance and IT professionals—look at your business from a different angle. The great news is mobile can and will benefit all of them. But you need to avoid several pitfalls that can cost you money and headache.

If you have not yet mobilized your sales team, here are some important things for executives to consider.

Executives

From sales enablement to new revenue streams

Making or producing a great product is never enough to ensure business success, and relying on antiquated methods of selling can leave you vulnerable to new competitors that enter your market, hoping to disrupt.

More practical guides – Mobile B2B Sales: A Practical Guide for Sales Reps | Mobile B2B Sales: A Practical Guide for Operations Managers

A mobile sales app can do more than simply replace the fax machine with a smart phone as a means to get orders in your system. (Think about that for a minute.) It can turn you into a disruptor yourself.

How your team will benefit:

Increased revenue
New revenue streams
Reduced administrative costs
Better served customers
New and improved customer intelligence
Attraction of a new generation of sales reps and customers
More profits

Risk factors to consider:

Choice between a packaged solution and a solution that is custom designed specifically for your business
Adaptation by your team and overall usability
Ability to integrate with your existing systems
Achieving a justifiable ROI

The Cost of Inaction

Over 90 percent of the mobile sales automation projects xkzero has implemented over the past several years have been for companies previously relying on the tools and processes of yesterday – printed product catalogs, paper order forms, phone calls to customer service for the status of anything customer or inventory related. Fax machines…

These companies represent the entire spectrum of manufacturing and wholesale distribution industries.

One thing all of the companies have in common is that once they switch from paper and manual processes to an automated mobile solution, they don’t change back.

Ready to talk about charting a mobile sales strategy for your business? Contact us at info@xkzero.com or call 847-416-2009.

Visit the xkzero website to learn more about our winning solutions.

Former Sage Mobile Sales Specialist Joins xkzero

Posted on February 11, 2016 by xkzero

reposted for original publication via PR Web

Mobile sales app developer xkzero today announced the addition of Karen Foreman as mobile sales specialist. Foreman comes to xkzero from Sage where she served in a similar capacity selling Sage Mobile Solutions and CRM.

“We are very fortunate to have Karen join our team,” xkzero co-founder, Paul Ziliak said. “Her knowledge of the Sage channel and understanding of the unique needs of Sage customers alone brings us great value, but what really sets Karen apart is her passion for mobile as the next generation technology for business. xkzero continues to invest in its products to help small and mid-sized distributors and manufacturers grow. Adding Karen to our team will only accelerate the number of companies benefiting from the larger orders, new revenue streams and reduced administrative burden delivered through mobile.”

Regarding her decision to join xkzero, Foreman expressed enthusiasm about the company’s offerings. She said, “xkzero continues to make major investments in the evolution of its products. iSales 100 provides advanced mobile selling capabilities that can not only satisfy very unique requirements, but it is also incredibly easy to set up and use. xkzero Mobile Commerce (XMC) offers enterprise caliber functionality out-of-the box for companies using Direct Store Delivery (DSD), and Route Selling as a business growth strategy. Food and beverage producers and distributors are a natural fit for XMC, and its pre-built integrations to Sage 100 and Sage X3 create significant business advantages for growing companies.”

About xkzero:

xkzero specializes in mobile sales, route sales and direct store delivery automation for small and mid-sized manufacturers and wholesale distribution companies. xkzero is also a certified developer for Sage X3, Sage 100 and Sage 500, creating integrated and embedded mobile solutions into some of North America’s most popular and powerful ERP and accounting systems for the mid-market.

For more information about xkzero or to contact Karen, please visit our website, email us at info@xkzero.com, or call 847-416-2009.

Why Creating a Great User Experience Matters Most

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

Take a guess at the #1 criteria for having a great mobile sales app for your business? If you guessed creating a great experience for the user then you are correct.

The reason is simple. It’s because most (if not all) of your business goals for mobile are linked to user adaptation.

When you invest in a mobile sales app, naturally, you expect certain measurable results, such as these:

Larger orders
New revenue streams
Higher close rates
Reduced admin costs
Better equipped and informed sales reps
New intelligence

When you invest in a mobile app—whether you build one customized for your company’s needs, or choose an out-of-the-box option directly from an app store—it should improve the experience of doing business with you. This should be true all up and down the supply chain, but especially for the user of the app.

What, then, does it mean to create a great user experience?

Your new mobile sales app should be intuitive. If it seems like there may be a lot of training involved, keep shopping. It should be dependable. The app can’t be crashing on you every other time you use it.

Your mobile app needs to introduce something new—something memorable. Your app should reward the user and keep them coming back to the app again and again. Think maps to customer locations. Think item images, spec sheets or even instructional videos to improve the understanding of your products. Think geo-awareness, signature capture and other measures that improve accountability. Think alerts and push notifications. Think photos. Think new intelligence gathering and a means to understand customer behavior in ways you never imagined.

Creating a Great User Experience Matters.

Focus on creating a great user experience for everyone involved, and your mobile sales app initiative will be on a sure track to success.

Taking photos at the customer location, whether it be a display case – or even a proof of delivery, enhances your understanding of your customer and helps to create a great user experience

How to Download a Free Trial of iSales 100

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Paul Ziliak

Ready to kick the printed catalog / order form / fax machine habit? xkzero is here to help - you can download a free trial of iSales 100 directly from your iPhone or iPad and try it for yourself.

It’s true. And in less than 3 minutes you can download iSales 100 to evaluate the features and benefits of one of the most flexible and adaptable mobile sales apps you’ll find for B2B wholesale distribution.

Here’s a less than 2-minute video showing you the steps to download your free trial of iSales 100 for Sage 100.

How to Download a Free Trial of iSales 100:

Step 1: Search for iSales 100 on the Apple App store and launch the app

Step 2 – Login (User ID – xkzero Password – easy)

Step 3: Synchronize the data (tap on the circular button on the bottom and choose ‘Sync All’)

Step 5: Start Using the Free Demo of iSales 100!

The best way to learn how iSales 100 can benefit your business is to contact us for a personalized demonstration, including a demonstration of how iSales 100 can be personalized to meet your needs.

Contact us at info@xkzero.com or call 847-416-2009.

Mobile Technology—Intimidating or Enticing?

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Paul Ziliak

Mobile Technology: Is it right for your sales organization?

Mobile Technology.

How do those two words make you feel? A little intimidated? That’s okay. For most of us, when it comes to business and ERP systems, mobile technology is a new concept. Even if you don’t feel like an expert today, there is a great opportunity for you as a Sage partner to benefit from the mobile revolution.

As you may know, Sage is taking a new direction with Mobile Sales. However, this doesn’t mean that there is not demand and opportunity for mobile automation. To the contrary! Demand is high, and opportunities are great. Mobile automation is significant—and growing. This is especially relevant to manufacturers and distributors looking for new revenue streams, a new competitive advantage, or ways to reduce administrative costs.

So how do you benefit as a Sage partner?

I recommend you start by taking a look at your clients and prospects to identify the best opportunities for success. Because while you may feel a little hesitant about mobile, many manufacturers and distributors find the idea very enticing and they’re going to talk with someone about it. Why not you?

The key is tapping into the companies that would most likely benefit from mobile sales automation.

Any manufacturer or distributor can be a candidate, but here are some things to look for that will help you find the businesses that will benefit the most from mobile sales automation:

Do they already value and understand technology and the role it can play in their organization?
Do they have a remote or outside sales force?
Do sales people currently phone in or fax orders?
Does the company still rely on printed product catalogs or price sheets?
Do they make sales onsite at tradeshows or other special events?
Do they have counter sales or a customer showroom?
Do customers value their ability to promise product
availability based on actual warehouse inventory?
Do they sell B2B online, and if so, would they be interested in having a B2B app allowing customers to place orders anytime, anywhere?
Are they in “traditional” mobile sales industries like food or beverage?
Do they deliver their own products and capture signatures or require other kinds of proof of delivery?

See—there’s nothing scary or intimidating about these questions, right? And by making these inquiries to your clients, you’ve taken perhaps the most important step of all to being perceived as a mobile influencer—you’ve shown that you care about their company’s growth. This fact alone will be enough for some people to see you as an expert.

What if they answer “yes” to any of these questions?

Congratulations, you may have found yourself a mobile prospect. No need to be intimidated. When you work with xkzero, we always have your back.

We’re here to help you evaluate each and every opportunity, and coach you at every step of the way. If you’d like, we’re happy to participate on qualifying phone calls along with you—or even conduct those calls on your behalf.

If we’re fortunate enough to work with you and your clients you can earn great commissions, knowing that we’ll take care of 100% of the implementation and technical support. We’ve worked with dozens of Sage partners on mobile sales and delivery automation projects, some requiring only a few thousand dollars investment, with others making six figure investments. So whether you think the idea of mobile technology for business is enticing – or find it a little intimidating, know this: the opportunities with mobile are great and we’d love to work with you, too!

Would you like to learn more today? Email us at info@xkzero.com, visit our website or call us at 847-416-2009.

p.s. With the announcement of the discontinuance of Sage Mobile Sales, some of your clients will be looking for a new solution, and xkzero is here to help. You can learn more details here:
http://erpappsblog.com/sage-mobile-sales-retirement-announcement-promotion/

Sage Mobile Sales Retirement Announcement and xkzero Promotion

Posted on November 24, 2015 by xkzero

Often in life just as one door closes, another one opens.

With the announcement of the retirement of Sage Mobile Sales xkzero is happy to offer a special promotion exclusively for Sage 100 businesses.

There is no mobile sales app on the market today that is as easy to install and use that will meet the exact needs of your distribution or manufacturing sales team, than iSales 100. In fact, we believe that iSales is the most powerful, flexible – useful – mobile sales app for mid-sized and growing small businesses.

Selling from a Trade Show, the showroom floor, or a customer location? You’ll love how quickly and easily iSales will produce powerful results and have you standing out from the competition.

For those of you who purchased Sage Mobile Sales, we have special savings for you: switch to iSales 100 – Advanced Mobile Sales for Sage 100 between now and January 31, 2016 and receive these additional incentives:

10% off the initial purchase price of iSales 100
Plus, a 30 day full money back guarantee!

Here are some of the feature benefits of iSales (feature set varies depending on Edition purchased):

Transaction Processing – Create the Ideal User Experience

Process new sales orders, quotes, invoices and credit memos
Transaction restrictions by user
Add new customers and contacts on the fly
Signature capture
Receipt printing and emailing
Create Sales Order Memos
Edit ‘Bill to’, ‘Ship to’, ‘Ship Via’ during transaction entry
Reprint open orders and invoices
Select multiple items at once for rapid data entry
Lot / serial number support
Barcode scanning (also supports Alias item numbers)
LTL freight calculation
Sales tax calculation
And more!

Pocket Intelligence:

View open sales orders
View open invoices
View customer memos
Item Quantity On Hand, On Sales Order, On Purchase Order, Available
Hide / display price – cost – quantity options
Customer last purchase history by item
Select one or several or all warehouse codes for access

Smart Device Productivity:

Spanish language enabled
View inventory images from Sage 100 item masterfile
Hot lists (favorites)
Alert badges for new customers, contacts and items
Refined, easy to use data management
Phone, email, map, calendar integration

Technology:

Native iOS (Apple mobile devices – iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Exclusive / native integration to Sage 100
Offline synchronization via xkzero Web Services
iOS 7 and up
Sage 100 version 4.5 and up (2016 coming soon!)

Licensing:

Unlimited Device License pricing model
Unlimited Users – Unlimited Companies
Pricing based on choice of three versions – Inquiry Edition – Business Edition – Enterprise Edition
Private label option – enhanced modern B2B sales app

Try before you buy:

We might not be able to solve every mobile sales need with iSales 100, but we’ve built it in a way that let’s us satisfy most. Care to try it before you buy it? Just visit our website from your iPhone or iPad at www.xkzero.com/mobility and click on Download.

You’ll be redirected to the Apple App store where you can download the app, log in using the User: demo and Password: password.

Synchronize the data and give it a whirl.

Then if you have questions, contact us at info@xkzero.com or call 847-416-2009 and we’ll answer all of your questions and provide you a demo of the back end.

More iSales 100 resources here.

iSales for Sage 100: Try it before you buy it!

ERP apps

thoughts on improving your business by xkzero

Category Archives: iSales 100