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Reed Construction Data, a vendor of construction information products, has announced an enhancement of Reed DataLink, its service that gives customers the ability to select and import projects and related information into third-party customer relationship management (CRM) or sales force automation (SFA) applications.


The product allows users to give their sales forces leads and market intelligence. "The amplified Reed DataLink service reduces the traditional time of SFA or CRM information implementation from months to a matter of days, increasing the effectiveness -- and results -- of the users' front-line sales team," according to company officials.

Reed DataLink is an option with the online service, Reed Connect, which was updated with new features in February and has become one of RCD's most successful product launches. With DataLink, companies with sales management systems can integrate select data from Reed Connect directly into their own environments.

This is designed to boost the value and efficiency of a customer's SFA system by providing information and updates to an end-user's SFA screen.

"DataLink gives our customers an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on market information, managed through their own applications," said Craig Roberts, Director of Product Management with Reed Construction Data. "By design, this product aligns with the technology our customers already use, regardless of what system they have in place."

Technology from Cast Iron Systems is used to power DataLink's integration services. Iain Melville, CEO of Reed Construction Data, said Cast Iron "gives us the flexibility and capability to insert our market data directly into any customer SFA or CRM system."

Sales PRM, an experienced sales, business analysis and CRM organization based in Atlanta, has also joined Reed Construction Data to provide professional services for DataLink's integration.

Sales PRM has listed the "Top Ten Reasons You Know You Have A PRM Problem:"

10. You spend most of your time in spreadsheets?

9. Your channel managers have become expensive data collectors?

8. Partners answer the same questions over and over and over?

7. Partners complain about your administrative burden and requests?

6. You regularly fight battles with your sales force and competing partners?

5. Your partners complain about the difficulty doing business with you?

4. Qualified new partners find it difficult to initiate partnerships discussions with you?

3. Partners repeatedly ask you for items on your partner extranet?

2. Your partners would rather do business with a competing vendor?

1. It takes you days or weeks compiling data in order to produce reports.

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David Sims is a contributing editor for ContactCenterSolutions. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.