Overview
CIMCO is a division of Toromont Industries focused on designing, engineering, installing, and servicing industrial refrigeration systems. Since 1913, we have dedicated ourselves to reliable refrigeration for our customers.
We see sustainability as an area where the industry can collaborate. Our approach to R&D is focused in three main areas:
- Embrace natural refrigerants that have net zero emissions
- Create more efficient products to reduce energy consumption
- Prioritize green power by repurposing energy from waste heat
Supernova Award Category
ESG & Sustainability
The Problem
As a company focused on sustainability, it's vital that we support our sales representatives so that they learn faster, sell more effectively, and stay longer. We're not just training people to sell a product, but also to understand why the product is important, both from an economic and environmental point of view.
Our sales team was scattered across the US and Canada and was handling customers with a wide range of needs, from individual ice rinks looking to reduce energy consumption to municipalities striving for net-zero carbon emissions—this complexity was creating silos we needed to break down.
The Solution
In 2018, we moved to Zoho CRM to unify our sales process in order to centralize our data, automate our workflows, and use Zoho's reporting capabilities to gain insights that have made us proactive in our problem solving. The automations we've built within CRM move our reps through the sales process, saving them time on each interaction. The workflow also manages contracts which are fully integrated with PandaDoc to create, revise, and sign contracts, while keeping those documents associated with their accounts, and the reports we get in CRM bring all of that data together to give us full visibility into our company.
The results
Our reports show management where the pipeline is the weakest, if an individual rep needs to improve, and where our overall system needs work. If we hadn't centralized our processes and data, we would still be addressing these problems reactively. Instead, we address the issues right as they start.
Since CIMCO approaches sales not just from a product angle, but also one that focuses on community, sustainability, and equity, customers benefit from working with more knowledgeable sales representatives, so retention is a major concern for us. Using data and analytics, we're now able to identify what employees need to be successful and the skills that make someone a great fit at CIMCO. We've been able to improve training and coaching so when someone isn't getting something right away, we can help get them back on track. We break down numbers specific to each sales person and account, and then use those numbers to create customized coaching plans.
Because of the automation built into their work flows, reps also don't have to spend their time figuring out who they need to contact or what the next step is, so they can spend more time focusing on interacting with and helping the customer.
Most importantly, we've managed to earn customer trust and deploy countless systems to further conservation and sustainability efforts.
Metrics
Since deploying Zoho CRM, our salespeople have flourished. We've achieved a 100% adoption rate, and sales have increased 30% despite economic challenges.
The insights and information available within the CRM help employees track our growth as a company and allow us to offer more meaningful recognition for outstanding work, backed by facts and figures. Approval ratings for our sales reps have doubled.
We've also seen our employees benefit from the changes in monumental ways. They learn faster and stay longer, but more importantly have expressed optimism about their future at CIMCO.
The Technology
Zoho CRM's out-of-the-box system paired with its customizability facilitates the whole opportunity pipeline, from lead to cash. Workflow automations save time in this process for sales reps.
Zoho CRM's analytics use in-house AI that powers our forecasting and lead scoring.
Integrations for tools like Zoho Marketing Automation and PandaDoc enable our team to connect to customers and measure the success of campaigns, create sales quotes, and achieve increased efficiency.
Disruptive Factor
At a higher level, increased sales and efficiency bolster the sustainability initiatives that are fundamental to our company. On the road to net-zero, we need to get as many people onboard as possible, as early as possible. By moving to our current sales system, we created new ways to view and utilize that data to address problems sooner. The effects of this extend beyond sales into every part of the company.
As our climate is warming, the ways we create our energy and food, and how we heat and cool ourselves, need to be viewed in a holistic way. We noticed that refrigeration since systems move thermal energy from one place to another, they can be up to seven times more efficient at moving heat than gas furnaces. As we look to decarbonize, we are looking at systems that move thermal energy from an entire building/community perspective so that we can offer fully circular energy systems.
It is becoming more and more challenging for average North Americans to afford the cost of living, and our municipal projects will play a huge role in responding to the growing need for affordable housing. When you offer a truly sustainable solution that hits the social, economic and environmental check boxes it is like scoring a hat-trick (3-goals) in hockey. We are finding applications for heating and cooling in public districts, as well as private projects in ice rinks, city centers, and facilities throughout the food chain, from farms to distribution centers to grocery stores.
Shining Moment
One of our proudest achievements is taking place in the small Alberta municipality of Blatchford, Edmonton. In its endeavor to become a 100% green community, they installed a custom CIMCO heat pump for Blatchford's energy station to create a community space with a circular energy system. This pump will produce 75% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a standard residential community. The pump is 5X more efficient than a natural gas furnace and serves more than 1,000 homes.