Sales activities increase 225% at Evans Manufacturing

Behind every branded pen or coffee tumbler you pick up at an event, there’s a network of manufacturing and distribution. And that network calls for a strong customer relationship management tool. But for promotional products manufacturer Evans Manufacturing, managing relationships and nurturing leads was handled via emails and spreadsheets. Without a centralized system to manage customer data and track interactions, the sales cycle was slowing and threatening Evans’ competitive edge in a market that demands fast, personalized engagement.

By implementing Freshsales CRM, Evans Manufacturing gained a central hub where all distributor and customer data was organized and easily accessible. With real-time insights, the sales team can now engage in relationship-based selling—anticipating customer needs, offering personalized product recommendations, and delivering an experience that sets them apart.

Sales activities such as meetings, email conversations, and phone calls skyrocketed 225% within eight months of the Freshsales rollout, and revenue grew by more than 25% in two months. Freshsales didn’t just streamline the company’s processes—it enabled Evans Manufacturing to fully embrace the relationship-driven sales model that the market demanded.

The company

Evans Manufacturing is a California-based company founded in 1994 that designs and manufactures promotional products. Its offerings—ranging from custom-branded drinkware and writing instruments to pet products and travel goods—are available to companies through Evans’ vast network of distributors.

The challenge

As a manufacturer of personalized promotional products, Evans Manufacturing’s success depends on a complex network of distributors, each with reps managing numerous customer relationships. But the sales team relied on Excel spreadsheets that left them without visibility into these relationships—or a centralized system to manage customer interactions.

“We had large distribution entities with reps in each office, and each rep had dozens, sometimes hundreds of clients,” says Greg Armstrong, vice president of sales at Evans Manufacturing. “We needed to have that nested loop well drawn out and organized.”

Customer data was scattered across different applications, without a single view of the customer. The sales team was forced to take a reactive approach, spending more time responding to distributors requesting bids or samples than reaching out to prospective customers or expanding existing accounts. “Our Excel-based customer relationship management approach was a horribly manual process,” says Armstrong.

Evans also lacked the ability to tailor sales and marketing outreach. The company had a massive email list, but it was unsegmented, so the company sent generic email blasts with no clear follow-up strategy. "We didn’t have features to monitor click-through rates (CTRs),” says Armstrong. “We were checking open rates but couldn’t align the opens with specific accounts."

Evans struggled to provide the personalized, relationship-driven service essential for standing out in the promotional products market. The company sought a robust CRM solution to centralize data and enable proactive, relationship-based selling.

The solution

After assessing several CRM platforms, Evans chose Freshsales for its user-friendly interface, rapid deployment, and affordability. The implementation process took just three weeks, allowing Evans to quickly transition from its outdated system to the CRM.

Freshsales unifies all distributor and customer data into a single platform, eliminating manual tasks and reducing the time spent toggling between spreadsheets.

Customer segmentation and behavior tracking features in Freshsales Suite enable Evans to run targeted marketing campaigns, track click-throughs for email campaigns and plan automated, personalized strategies for connecting with customers. Now, sales reps can offer relevant product recommendations and prepare samples before distributors' reps even request them.

“With Freshsales, we can pull the required information and have a virtual sample done before prospects even ask for it,” says Armstrong. "This immediately impresses them."

Impact

Using Freshsales, built on Neo Platform and powered by AWS, Evans Manufacturing saw a 225% increase in sales activity over eight months and a revenue boost of over 30% in just the first two months. The CRM’s detailed customer insights have empowered Evans’ team to anticipate distributor needs more effectively, improving the support they provide throughout the selling process.

Easy access to distributor and customer data enables Evans to target prospects more precisely, customize messaging, and develop products suited to specific businesses. Email campaign open rates have improved by up to 300%, with easier tracking of CTRs.

“This new way of engaging clients is faster, more personalized, and highly relevant,” says Armstrong. With Freshsales, Evans has the tools to strengthen its distributor relationships and excel at relationship-based selling.