March/April 2015 // Public Gaming International //
43
Why Lotteries
are Investing
in Sales Force
Automation
L
et’s face it, sales visits are expensive. Each visit to a retailer is
a big investment, so it’s important to make each retailer visit
count. Enabling all your customer information and interactions to
be accessed in one place, anywhere, Hudson Alley’s OnePlace helps
shift sales reps from reactive to proactive mode. We call it “walking
in with a mission.”
Sales Force Automation (SFA) is the technique of using software to
automate the business tasks of sales, including order processing, con-
tact management, information sharing, inventory monitoring and
control, order tracking, customer management, sales forecast analysis
and employee performance evaluation. OnePlace is SFA on steroids
and applied to Lottery’s specific needs, enabling your sales reps to
provide better service to Lottery retailers, increase sales, and increase
its funding to the Lottery’s beneficiaries.
“OnePlace is an industry leader in providing relevant and timely sales
data in a concise manner. The Arizona Lottery is thrilled to have this
robust information available to assist in driving sales for all of our retail
partners.” said Raynie Hosto Director of Sales at the Arizona Lottery.
Since 2004, Hudson Alley (formerly named OrderPad Software)
has been the leader in sales force solutions for lotteries. Its solu-
tions are currently used by more than twenty U.S. lotteries. Since its
launch in 2012, OnePlace has become the most widely used lottery
sales force automation solution in the world.
PGRI asked
Terri Avery, the Deputy Executive Director of Sales,
North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL)
, a few questions about
their decision to invest in Sales Force Automation.
Was it a difficult decision to invest in a sales-force automation solu-
tion? What were some of the considerations that inhabited the decision-
making process?
Terri Avery:
The NCEL was looking for a solution for a system
and data to be available both off and online, meaning that the system
must be fully functional without network connectivity. We were fac-
ing challenges with no Internet connectivity while in Retail locations,
specifically in rural areas, Eastern &Western parts of the State.
Our goal was for Sales Reps to maximize their time in the field,
achieve real results during a sales visit, increase lottery ticket sales and
improve the service that the NCEL provides to its retailers. Hudson
Alley’s, One Place I-pad app, has positioned us to be true “sales” rep-
resentatives in NC!
Were you concerned that your sales staff might not embrace sales-force
automation tools and learn how to use them effectively? What have you
observed since implementing Hudson Alley’s One-Place—does the sales
force like it and use it effectively?
T. Avery:
The Sales Team embraced the tool immediately. Hudson
Alley guided us through the pilot phase with approximately 10 team
members and in phase 2 deployed the full sales force (100 users).
The Team uses the tool during every retailer visit. The sales report-
ing is up-to-date, easy to understand and accessible. This allows the
Team to focus on increasing sales. Overcoming retailer objections
with the Instant and Draw game reports have proven to be successful
for our Team.
What are the main benefits, the main ROI, for your investment in sales-
force automation?
T. Avery:
My Favorite—inventory management report—called
“Space to Sales.” This is an area where the SRs update Instant Inven-
tory by Price Point in the dispensers. The app then analyzes the sales
of each game by validations & suggests changes for facings based on
sales. Each retailer visit, the NCEL strives to reach a perfect Instant
ticket mix in dispensers. With this tool, SRs and retailers can easily
monitor their progress.
This report also allows the Sales Management Team to analyze In-
stant game performance in retailer locations.
How relevant are ongoing product upgrades—do they enhance perfor-
mance and are they readily assimilated by the sales team?
T. Avery:
Hudson Alley listens and understands the NCEL busi-
ness needs. We completed our first upgrade in February, an online
training class was conducted by Hudson Alley with all NCEL One
Place users. Hudson Alley completed the enhancement training and
provided a substantial amount of time for Q&As with the Team.
We are impressed with the One Place app & the Hudson Alley
Team. With One Place, the Sales Team has a tool that can provide
up-to-date sales reports for Instant & Draw games for our Retailers.
■
For more information or to speak with Hudson Alley Software, Inc.
executives, please contact:
Adam Perlow, Chief Executive Officer, Hudson Alley Software, at
or 212-625-6600.
