Lúcio Sardinha, CEO of UP Language
UP Language is a language consultancy, specialized in English and Spanish for business, with different types of courses and consultancy projects in large multinationals. And it is using solutions from Salesforce, the world's leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, to integrate departments, improve processes, leverage opportunities and strengthen customer relationships.
In addition to in-company courses, UP Language offers international certifications in Business English, administers placement tests for recruiting companies and designs personalized immersions for students with specific needs, such as candidates who need to achieve a high TOEIC score or executives who will conduct training or presentations abroad.
UP Language uses the Sales Cloud solution at all stages of the sales cycle, from the first contact with the customer to the management of students, including invoicing. The finance and academic departments still use other systems, but they are already receiving input from Salesforce. “The expectation is that, within a year, the entire business will be managed by Salesforce, such as orders, CRM, inventory and billing”, says Lúcio Sardinha, CEO of UP Language.
Financial gains from new technologies
Among the main gains with the adoption of the tool are the 31% increase in new sales between 2013 and 2014, in addition to the 66.5% growth in lead generation during the 2014+2013 biennium compared to 2011+2012. In the area of e-learning, sales growth between 2013 and 2014 was a frightening 296%. “A good part of this growth is due to better monitoring of customers and the standardization of processes, thanks to the adoption of Salesforce”, says Lúcio.
To reach the numbers above, the UP Language sales team had to implement an important culture change. Before the implementation of the solution, the sales history was only with the salesperson, without visibility by the company's management. Now, the scenario is quite different: “Currently the commission is not directed to the seller if the process is not properly recorded in Salesforce. This way we managed to change the behavior of the team and also the concept of management of the company”, explains Lúcio. Today, the sales team's tasks and achievements are displayed in reports and dashboards, enabling managers to easily monitor the productivity of the team, which has now been more successful in meeting the expectations of demanding customers, especially those who prefer customized courses.
Another important change generated by the implementation of Sales Cloud was the standardization of procedures in the financial area. Lúcio says that, before Salesforce, the finance department did not act homogeneously and this had a negative impact on the relationship with companies and students. Now, with the absorption of finance by Salesforce, the rates of errors and reworks have significantly decreased, increasing customer loyalty.
The necessary adaptations in the Salesforce solution were carried out by UP Language itself, without hiring an external consultancy or using paid applications. Instead of purchasing these services, the company chose to purchase the best support plan available to Salesforce customers. The assistance provided by the support team was decisive for the tool to be customized efficiently.
UP Language already offers language consulting throughout the country, and now plans to expand the offer of in-company classes with the opening of new units in several states. The objective is to have regional coordinators, to enable sales with local characteristics, in addition to gaining visibility and faster responses. “The changes we made with Salesforce will be easily replicated and managed in the new units,” explains Lúcio.
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