Lightning protection is personal safety: DEHN optimizes sales with Dynamics 365 Sales

DEHN faces challenges in construction projects: long durations, frequent plan changes, and many contacts. The sales team must identify these evolving needs and provide the appropriate lightning protection solutions.

DEHN introduced Dynamics 365 Sales as a platform for sales and customer relationship management. The switch to Dynamics 365 Sales simplifies the work of the sales staff by providing centralized information and efficient project control.

This means that DEHN is now working in Sales 4.0, which enables the maintenance of customer relationships through effective, centralized information and project management, and increased sales through efficient processes and increased flexibility.

A city hospital is under construction. The building’s lightning protection is designed at the start of the construction project, yet the system itself will be purchased only once the hospital is finished. Fast-forward five years and construction is almost complete. However, the shape of the roof has changed from what was originally planned and a different lightning protection solution is now required. For the experts at DEHN, this situation no longer poses a problem, because the company’s entire field service switched to Sales 4.0. Employees can now access all the information they need to adapt a system from a central source: Dynamics 365. As a result, DEHN can complete the deal affected by the planned and subsequent changes without any trouble.

The challenge: Long construction periods and frequent blueprint changes complicate sales

Public administration buildings, office and residential buildings, schools, daycare centers, and hospitals—these are all generally large-scale construction projects that are required by law to provide proper lightning protection. After all, if a lightning strike to a hospital knocks out critical equipment, then people’s lives are at risk. Dietmar Müller, DEHN SE’s Head of Sales Representative Germany and Country Manager Switzerland, explains: “Every construction project, whether it’s a new building or a renovation, must factor in lightning protection from the start. That’s what makes our market both important and highly stable.” But Müller is also aware that the market has its difficulties. “The kind of projects we get involved in run for a long time. Building, say, a new hospital can take up to five years,” he says. Moreover, such large-scale construction projects involve a great many players—from the architects who design the building to the various contractors that install the different building systems. And like any construction project, things don’t always run according to plan; changes might be made to the layout, the height of the building, or the design of the roof. This in turn alters what type of lightning protection products are required.

That’s why it’s so important, Müller says, for DEHN’s sales process to meticulously keep track of project workflows and contact persons. “On any project, our sales reps in the field always have to know its history, who their contacts are, who’s responsible for what, and what the project status is. That way, they can offer the right lightning protection solution at precisely the right time.” In the past, this information was managed in separate lists and solutions, but this decentralized approach led to sales processes that lacked transparency. “Constantly having to manually trawl through a series of inconsistent lists to cobble together the information I need to make the right sales call was inefficient,” Müller says. That’s why DEHN set out to make life easier for its sales teams. The answer was to establish Dynamics 365 as a central platform for sales and customer relationship management (CRM).

In the course of a comprehensive restructuring, we revamped our sales organization and realigned our processes. Dynamics 365 Sales has proven to be the ideal tool to support these new workflows. We’ve dubbed this transformation ‘Sales 4.0.’

Joanna Rosner, Project Manager D365, DEHN SE

The solution: Dynamics 365 as a central hub for sales decisions

For its sales activities, DEHN now uses Dynamics 365 Sales. The platform centralizes project management and makes the patchwork system of lists and tools obsolete. All relevant information required for sales activities and related decisions is now stored in one place. The result is a 360-degree overview—both of customers and construction projects. “We’ve done more than simply introduce a new tool,” says Joanna Rosner, Project Manager Dynamics 365 at DEHN.

“In the course of a comprehensive restructuring, we revamped our sales organization and realigned our processes,” Rosner says. “Dynamics 365 Sales has proven to be the ideal tool to support these new workflows. We’ve dubbed this transformation ‘Sales 4.0.’”

Managing sales activities in Dynamics 365 means that DEHN can now make them more efficient. “Let’s say that Germany is set to host a major sporting event. I can schedule the required activities for my sales teams, for instance to reach out to the relevant decision-makers for the stadiums,” Müller says. “With the help of Dynamics 365, we can now take a more strategic and precise approach to how we manage our sales activities.” By defining clear strategic goals, such as targets for the number of completed sales activities, the company is now also better able to measure its success.

With the help of Dynamics 365, we can now take a more strategic and precise approach to how we manage our sales activities.

Dietmar Müller, Head of Sales Representative Germany and Country Manager CH, DEHN SE

Thanks to centralized information tracking, the sales teams always know at what stage in large-scale construction projects to reach out to their contacts or to schedule a consultation. “Each project offers various opportunities for us to make a sale,” Rosner says.

“In Dynamics 365, we store detailed information covering who we can approach about each specific project, where that person is based, and what they’re responsible for,” Rosner explains. In this way, DEHN can send the appropriate sales representative to the relevant contact person at the right location. This massively reduces the amount of effort required along the entire process chain.

At the same time, DEHN is now able to respond much faster to changes occurring during large-scale construction projects and without derailing the sales process. “Say that by the time a hospital is finished, the design of the roof is somewhat different from what was originally planned. We can now access all the relevant information immediately,” Müller says. “In Dynamics, we can call up the original designs, quickly make the necessary adjustments, and complete the sale as planned.”

The effects of the Sales 4.0 transformation can also be felt in other markets. In Italy, the sale of DEHN products is sometimes handled indirectly by external sales agents, but the operational processes are identical. “We procure the lightning protection products from our head office in Germany and sell them either directly or through our local sales agents. In other words, we manage sales via three separate channels,” says Walter Biffi, Sales Manager Italy at DEHN.

“Managing our complex sales setup isn’t always easy. But thanks to the transformation to Sales 4.0 and the implementation of Dynamics 365, it’s become much simpler,” Biffi says. That’s why DEHN is planning to roll out Dynamics 365 Sales to all its markets worldwide. The goal is to protect people by ensuring that the best possible lightning protection solution can be installed quickly—regardless of project duration and blueprint alterations.

Managing our complex sales setup isn’t always easy. But thanks to the transformation to Sales 4.0 and the implementation of Dynamics 365, it’s become much simpler.

Walter Biffi, Sales Manager Italy, DEHN SE