About 15 years ago, I reviewed Client$ource an automated sales/marketing DOS software package that included management control of the process and tracking reports. It was easy to use and I really like the product. Client$ource became a windows product and was marketed as SaleSource. Unfortunately, I lost track of this product.

David Schuppler, a Milwaukee agent, is a long-time industry automation advocate. His new company, Automated Selling Process, LLC, markets and supports this latest generation of SaleSource: SaleSource 2.0.

The SaleSource Role
SaleSource turns leads (suspects) into prospects and prospects into customers using strategies consisting of events, which are letters or phone calls. Automated Selling Process does not supply leads (except the 200 provided, for new users, to prime the pump); SaleSource can import leads from an agency or contact management system, including the agency's customer database or lead supplier. ASP provides the initial letters, events, and strategies to have an agency running their first campaign and printing letters, within a couple hours of installation. Automated Selling Process, does not offer proposal or sales support software, however, this software is available in bits and pieces and/or as complete systems from agency management and other software vendors.

SaleSource replaces Act!, GoldMine, and other generic contact management systems for an agency. SaleSource is different from generic contact management systems because it comes with built-in insurance lines of business: Commercial Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Personal Lines, Bonds, Life Insurance and Financial Services. SaleSource can send out letters to prospects within a few hours of installation, whereas other packages have long learning curves and setup times. Generic packages are more flexible ("You can do anything with ABC software"); however SaleSource is much more useful in a practical way. The slogan: "SaleSource: It's Simple; It Works." is a fair and accurate way to describe the difference.

SaleSource 1.1 vs. SaleSource 2.0
If SaleSource was a good product, how is SaleSource 2.0 better? Because it is a native-IP Application Service Providers (ASP) service and because Schuppler has made a number of improvements.

SaleSource is a true ASP software solution. It was written specifically to run on the Internet and be accessible through browsers. This makes SaleSource different from other ASP software that merely take client/server, traditional Windows software and use Citrix or some other remote operations software to make it accessible through a browser. Software designed as ASP software runs more efficiently on the Internet and make better use of the browser, something not possible with Citrix hosted client/server applications.

Since SaleSource is available through the Internet, an agency can share use with a telephone call center contractor. For instance, when a campaign calls for outbound telephone contact, that step can be delegated to an outside firm and employees there can be easily plugged into the process – without the clumsy need to trade files back and forth. The agency and the outside contractor can share the campaign management software and its database through SaleSource. An agent or producer can access their marketing campaign "Anytime, Anyplace and Anywhere," whether they are on the road, in the office or at home - a connection to the Internet is all that is required to keep the marketing of their business rolling.

SaleSource 2.0 has all the features of SaleSource 1.1 – with many improvements. The new software uses Microsoft SQLServer – a fast, reliable, and popular product – but the agency doesn’t need to license SQLServer or have a server to run it on; Automated Selling Process takes care of that. The new program includes more report options than its predecessor.

The original SaleSource was intended to support communication with prospects and customers through mail, phone, and personal visits. Times have changed, and now we have e-mail. Automated Selling Process has chosen not to add full e-mail capability to SaleSource as another communication channel. Why not? The original Client$ource/SaleSource concept was to create relationships through managed, regular personal communication. Unsolicited e-mail is increasingly a problem and increasingly unwelcome in agencies. SaleSource does not support broadcast e-mail today, though that might change. SaleSource does however work with your e-mail program to send out e-mails to individual prospects by clicking on the e-mail icon next to the e-mail address for that prospect. This ensures that all of your e-mail communications come through the same software package.

Elements of SaleSource
SaleSource runs marketing campaigns automatically. It acts as a marketing manager and administrator, sending out letters and creating producer call sheets every day. Each day, users enter feedback into the system indicating which tasks have been completed and their outcome. The software will orchestrate the next step in the campaign.

A campaign is composed of a series of events. An event can be a letter, call, or visit. SaleSource comes with an inventory of strategies, events, and templates that can be modified or added to by the agency – though it makes most sense to try some of the standard strategies before getting fancy and designing one's own.

Besides an ordered series of events, strategies specify the timing between events. For instance, one strategy may prescribe an initial introductory letter, a request for appointment letter, and then a follow-up call, with four days each of the events. The agency doesn’t need to track the process with Excel or Outlook. SaleSource is on the job and takes care of it. The agency need only run the Daily Process and everything drops out of the system what is needed for that day. That is what makes SaleSource work, and is its difference from good intentions derailed by the press of daily agency emergencies.

SaleSource includes a feature called "trickle drop" that allows leads to be fed to producers at varying rates. That's useful and realistic but not easy to accomplish with generic programs like ACT!.

Agencies typically have two serious problems when running marketing campaigns: one, they have trouble keeping on top of them (that's why SaleSource's self-administration is so attractive); two, they are unfamiliar with how to set up successful campaigns – in form and content. SaleSource provides scores of proven templates (letters), making it a no-brainer to get started making money. The agency does not have to have endless meetings trying to figure out how it should approach a BOP campaign, for instance, or what to say along the way. SaleSource provides the leg up.

Let’s go!
When I first saw Client$ource 15 years ago, it seemed to me that nearly every agency could benefit from it or something like it. Agents can profit from the right kind of managed marketing campaigns. But campaigns are a lot of work to set up and then administer. SaleSource allows agents to have their cake and eat it to. You can have a systematic marketing effort and still have time to play golf every day What’s not to like? "SaleSource: It's Simple; It Works!"