Minster Windows and Conservatories Ltd (March 2004)

Minster Windows and Conservatories Ltd near York is just one of a growing number of satisfied users of Windowlink’s Vector Plus conservatory software, which combines a 3D presentation facility with instant on screen pricing. However, for Minster Vector Plus is proving not only a highly effective sales tool but also a means of enhancing overall business efficiency.   

Minster Windows and Conservatories is a trade fabricator with a retail division installing between four and five conservatories a week. A demonstration of Windowlink’s software range convinced the company that Vector Plus would enhance its presentation skills and resolve many of the difficulties associated with quoting for a conservatory. “Pricing a conservatory is much more complicated than estimating for doors and windows because many more items need to be included in the build process,” explains Minster’s Sales and Marketing Manager, Joann Furnival.   

Installed in Minster’s showroom, Vector Plus enables sales personnel to design bespoke conservatories on screen with the homeowner and provide an accurate price at the click of a button using the software’s pricing module. Stored price matrices and pricing rules are set up within the program as standard, together with a checklist of prompted questions based on information provided by each individual user. This list also ensures that nothing is overlooked on the quote, as any errors can prove costly.   

In addition to the obvious sales benefits, Minster also regards Vector Plus as an excellent means of keeping track of costs and margins, which is vital if a company is to remain profitable. The company’s surveyors use the software to check actual costs against the price quoted and calculate the margin on each job. And taking this concept one step further, Windowlink is currently looking at programming the software to generate purchase orders, thereby streamlining the whole administration process.   

Having seen the benefits for its own business, Minster is now looking at promoting Vector Plus to its trade customers with a view to supplying the software direct. “And by becoming their software provider as well as their fabricator we will have an additional bond between us as we are keen to develop long standing customer relationships rather than ad hoc purely price-based sales,” concludes Jo.

Winning more business with Windowlink (June 2003)

Nuglas, a long established fabricator and installer in East Sussex, is about to go live with Vector Plus, Windowlink’s new fully integrated conservatory pricing program. A long-standing user of the Vector conservatory sales presentation package, Nuglas had no hesitation in upgrading to Vector Plus, which enables production of professional quotations complete with a total cost at the click of a button.  

 With sales of conservatories now accounting for just under half the annual turnover, Nuglas recently opened a Conservatory Centre with a dedicated sales team. Since the company started using it in 2000, Windowlink’s Vector software has enabled the sales team to deliver a more polished presentation to prospective customers, as Kevin Holland, Sales and Marketing Director explains, “A rough pencil sketch is a thing of the past and just doesn’t compare with what we can do with Vector.”  

 Incorporating Windowlink’s easy-to-use pricing facility, new Vector Plus includes stored price matrices and pricing rules, together with a checklist of prompted questions based on information provided by each individual user. These are programmed into the software by Windowlink - Nuglas has seventy-two questions on its customised module. The checklist ensures that nothing that could affect the price or timescale for completion is overlooked. Customers can also see the effect of any changes as the sales person works through the design process on screen.  

 Nuglas has, in fact, updated all its terms and conditions relating to conservatory sales in line with the introduction of Vector Plus. Every quotation will now be calculated on the new software and they are investing in portable sales presentation kits for every member of the sales team, including a laptop and printer.  So although Kevin is keen to stress that there will be no pressure to place an order on the night, they will now be able to give homeowners an accurate quotation on the spot rather than them having to wait a day or so,  “I believe Windowlink’s Vector is the best of its kind on the market and it’s certainly contributed to our sales success.”   

Vector Plus is available either as a complete design, sales and pricing package, or as an upgrade for existing users to their current Vector program. For further information or to arrange a free no-obligation trial of Vector Plus, call 0870 770 1640.