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Salesforce Success Story

How Burnips Equipment Doubled Sales with The Help of Summit and Salesforce Sales Cloud

The Winning Solution: Salesforce Sales Cloud with Complete Visibility, DMS Integration, Automated Document Generation, and e-Signatures

A Partnership That Powered Growth from the Ground Up

For generations, Burnips Equipment Company has been a cornerstone of the agricultural community in Michigan, providing essential equipment and services to farmers. With over 180 employees, their success was built on strong customer relationships and deep industry knowledge.

However, their traditional processes were beginning to strain under the weight of their own growth. Disconnected systems and manual paperwork were creating a ceiling on their sales team's potential, leaving valuable opportunities stuck in the mud.

This is the story of how Burnips Equipment partnered with Summit for a comprehensive Salesforce Sales Cloud implementation designed to revolutionize their sales process. This strategic project broke through their operational ceiling, leading to a monumental increase in sales from $2.1 million to $4.5 million year-over-year.

Meet The Client

About Burnips Equipment Company

Burnips Equipment Company is a farm and construction equipment dealer based in Michigan, USA. Founded in 1972, the company specializes in selling and servicing agricultural machinery, construction equipment, and lawn and garden tools. They offer a wide range of equipment from top manufacturers, including Case IH, New Holland, Kubota, and CLAAS.

Burnips has multiple locations across Michigan, serving farmers, landscapers, and contractors by providing equipment sales, parts, and maintenance services. They are known for their customer-focused approach and comprehensive selection of new and used equipment.

Burnips Equipment Co

The Challenge: A Growing Business Trapped by Disconnected Systems

Burnips Equipment faced a classic challenge of success: their operational tools could no longer keep up with their ambitions. Their sales team, the engine of their growth, was being held back by three critical roadblocks:

  • The Data Silo: Critical inventory information, including every piece of equipment (units), was locked away in their Dealer Management System (DMS). The sales team had no direct, real-time access to this data, creating friction, delays, and missed opportunities.

  • Manual Document Overload: The sales process was tangled in a web of manual forms, quotes, and contracts. Generating these documents was time-consuming, and getting physical signatures created significant delays, frustrating both the sales team and their customers.

  • Lack of a Central Hub: Without a modern CRM, there was no "single source of truth" for customer interactions, leads, or sales opportunities. This made it difficult for management to get a clear view of the sales pipeline and for team members to collaborate effectively.

Burnips knew they needed more than just software; they needed an expert partner to guide them through a complete digital transformation.

The Solution: A Custom Salesforce Implementation Tailored for Their Industry

Burnips chose Summit as their partner because of their proven ability to translate complex business needs into practical, powerful solutions. The project was centered on a custom-configured Salesforce Sales Cloud implementation built on four key pillars:

  • The Foundation: A Custom Salesforce Sales Cloud Implementation

    Summit implemented Salesforce Sales Cloud as the new central nervous system for the entire sales organization. Using a combination of standard and custom-configured objects, the platform was molded to fit Burnips' exact processes, allowing staff to seamlessly track customer actions, manage opportunities, and log product information in one unified place.

  • Bridging the Gap: The Custom DMS Integration

    This was the game-changer. As a core part of the implementation, Summit's developers engineered a custom API solution to create a seamless, bi-directional sync between the DMS and Salesforce. For the first time, the sales team had real-time access to unit and inventory data directly within their CRM. This eliminated guesswork and empowered them to act on opportunities with speed and confidence.

  • Accelerating Deals with Conga Composer & Conga Sign

    To solve the paperwork bottleneck, Summit integrated Conga Composer and Conga Sign into the Sales Cloud environment. This powerful combination automated the entire document generation lifecycle. Sales reps could now create complex, accurate quotes and contracts with a single click and capture secure e-Signatures in minutes, not days.

  • Empowering the Team for Lasting Success

    Technology is only effective if people use it. Recognizing this, Summit provided comprehensive user and administrator training. The focus was on practical application and ensuring the Burnips team felt confident and empowered by their new tools, driving high user adoption from day one.

In our Client's Words...

“The Summit team was great to work with, ability to explain things easily and interpret needs, and their thoughtful suggestions and understanding best practices in Salesforce made this project a success.  We appreciate that they never talked over our head or used too much jargon while interacting with our team.”

The Results: Unprecedented Growth and a Partnership for the Future

The impact of the Salesforce Sales Cloud implementation was immediate, profound, and measurable. By removing friction and empowering the sales team with world-class tools, Burnips Equipment unlocked a new level of performance.

  • Explosive Revenue Growth

    Year-over-year sales more than doubled, rocketing from $2.1 million to $4.5 million.

  • Complete Organizational Visibility

    The entire company gained a clear, unified view of all leads, accounts, contacts, and opportunities, fostering better collaboration and more strategic decision-making.

  • A True Partnership

    The success of the initial project was so significant that Burnips immediately deepened their relationship with Summit, purchasing additional support hours and moving forward with a Salesforce Maps implementation to optimize their field sales efforts.

  • Future-Proofing the Business

    With a scalable Salesforce foundation in place, Burnips is now planning its next phase of digital transformation, with a Field Service implementation on the horizon.

This success story is a testament to what is possible when a forward-thinking company partners with a dedicated team of Salesforce experts. Burnips Equipment didn't just buy a CRM; they invested in a strategic solution that will power their growth for years to come.

If your team is facing challenges with disconnected systems, manual processes, or a lack of visibility, Summit can help. Our expert Salesforce consulting and Salesforce implementation services are designed to unlock your team's true potential.

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Connect with Summit and count on our Salesforce experts to guide you in the right direction.

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