BlindsBook Blog |

May 21, 2018May 21, 2018

Reduce the Time Involved in the Window Covering Sales Cycle

The average person isn’t aware of the amount of time that goes into the window covering sales cycle because they don’t take into account the time it takes from when a quote is made to the acceptance. Because every client is unique and has different needs, it is safe to say the length of the sales cycle is entirely dependent on the customer you’re working with.

Let’s use a person with a limited budget, for example. This person requires a low price and is seeking competitive quotes while the clear-sighted “downsizer” has the funds to splurge and requires a greater amount of attention. In most cases, you will have a multitude of personas during the sales process and the goal should be to expedite each sales cycle.

A simple method to influence the length of the sales cycle is to secure the “next phase” with the customer once the measure and quote phase is complete. Make sure you’ve mutually agreed on a date and time to call or meet again with a clearly defined call to action that includes, among other details discussion of the issued quote and any questions the customer may have.

Once it’s time for the next step, set up a follow up using software like BlindsBook so you can avoid the dreaded “phone tag” which will only serve to waste time.

This update is by BlindsBook, a powerful, comprehensive window covering software and management cloud system. Our software streamlines the entire process of window covering for professionals from beginning to end through easy scheduling, creating sales and work orders in seconds, providing accurate quotes, and taking the hassle out of ensuring accurate measurements, all with your personal business name and logo attached. Visit www.blindsbook.com for more information and to sign up for a free trial or call 888-208-5230 for any questions.

May 18, 2018

The Importance of Remnants Control

In our previous blog, we discussed how BlindsBook can be tailored to be used as a “mini” solution for customers that may not need or do not wish to purchase the full suite of features provided by the software. One of these solutions is remnants control which does not require an ongoing subscription and can be purchased for a one time fee, allowing the business to own and use it as they wish on their own systems. Remnants control creates less waste by preventing leftover fabric ‘cutouts’.

Remnants control is a highly important factor to consider as it may affect a factory’s bottom line negatively if it isn’t diligently monitored. A factory that does not do remnants control may find itself ordering new or additional rolls of fabric because there is no record of the number of cutouts that currently remain from previous jobs. Without proper control, these remnants will continue to increase and when the end of the year arrives, the factory has spent lots of money on countless cutouts that were ultimately never utilized. Hence, it is imperative to maintain these records accurately to keep costs down. With BlindsBook, remnants control is simplified and the number of cutouts are always up-to-date.

May 14, 2018

Use the Power of BlindsBook as a Mini Solution

One thing we strive to stress about BlindsBook is how all-encompassing it is. Instead of having to use multiple tools to run your window covering business, BlindsBook is the one solution ready to assist with virtually all of your technical or software needs.

While BlindsBook is intended to be complete management system with tools for all aspects of creating orders and managing your customers, it can also provide fabricators a “mini solution” for use in their factory as another option for those not yet ready to upgrade to the full suite. For example, remnants controls is one of these mini solutions that do not require an ongoing subscription and can be purchased for a one time fee, allowing the business to own and use it as they wish on their own systems. Remnants control is a powerful solution that creates less waste by preventing leftover fabric ‘cutouts’. We will explore the importance of remnants control in the next blog.

Are you a business or fabricator that can benefit from BlindsBook as a “mini” solution? Call us and we’ll be happy to discuss how its many tools can streamline certain aspects of your business.

May 7, 2018

Upgrade Your Window Covering Business with a CRM

If you read our previous blogs regarding some of the robust features of BlindsBook, you may have some degree of understanding of the many things it can do to streamline your business. One of these features is its Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) which allows you to easily keep track of your clients. If you’re on the fence, let’s explore a few ways a CRM alone can improve your window covering business operations.

Better customer relations. From selling your blinds or window coverings to marketing, a CRM provides an organized way of tracking all of your customers in a centralized manner, allowing you to offer better service by having a better grasp of their needs.

Improved communications with your internal staff. Rifling through file cabinets when you need to refer to a client, make changes, or communicate something about them with someone else internally is cumbersome and time-consuming. Again, a CRM provides a central solution to share data with your internal staff so everyone is always on the same page regarding a customer’s needs including product measurements, fabric, etc. Any changes made are virtually instant.

May 1, 2018

A Pair of Reasons to Choose BlindsBook

BlindsBook provides a comprehensive solution to completely manage your window covering business including a suite of tools to take the guesswork out of making accurate calculations. If you’re on the fence about trying the service, our free trial is a great way to get a feel for the software and what it can do for you. In case you need additional reasons, here are two to consider.

Maximize your profits. One of the key benefits of BlindsBook is how it can dramatically save you time and skyrocket your efficiency. Because there is little to no paperwork involved, you can spend more of your time concentrating on closing sales versus having to micromanage.

Boost your rate of closing. Creating estimates through BlindsBook is incredibly simple and incredibly accurate. With the software, you can present estimates to your clients that capture their unique window covering requirements while ensuring that the measurements being made are free of errors. Close the sale quicker with the peace of mind knowing everything is correct and readily available.

April 26, 2018

No Room for Errors in Window Coverings

In today’s age, close enough just won’t do. When customers are purchasing blinds, they want to be able to know the exact product they’ll be receiving as well as accurate prices. Yet there are still businesses that are relying on the number crunching abilities of software that provides estimates for window treatments versus accurate figures. While these solutions may be tried and true, they can also cause unnecessary bumps in the process by requiring further verification of details and more follow-ups, as well as having to wait to confirm the final price.

As the window treatment/covering industry continues to grow in options on a practically daily basis, it is imperative to always have measurements and pricing options that are absolutely accurate and can be determined without errors. These errors will only result in slowing down the process of closing more sales as well as delaying the final product in an industry where accuracy and time are of the essence.

With BlindsBook, you have an all-in-one software solution that includes the tools to give your customers the accurate measurements plus the accurate prices tailored to your business. Close more sales and focus more on providing great customer service and exceptional products.

April 23, 2018April 24, 2018

Manage Your Growing List of Customers with BlindsBook

Here’s an interesting fact. According to an article published on the South African business technology media company ITWeb, the revenue for customer relationship management (CRM) software outperformed that of database management systems in 2017, essentially making CRM number one when it comes to software markets.

With that in mind, we’re proud to say that BlindsBook is the CRM solution for your window covering/treatment business. A sophisticated CRM is one of the many features of the integrated management cloud system. With our CRM, all of the information from all of your customers is at your fingertips and just a few clicks away in a comprehensive and organized solution where you can store essential data to keep track without having tons of files or having to waste time looking through a file cabinet for that one particular customer. Furthermore, the CRM can be used to effectively close sales and you can easily perform pending sales follow-ups while also facilitating marketing projects. As a cloud solution, all of the vital customer information is available to you virtually anywhere you happen to be.

April 16, 2018April 24, 2018

Eliminate Errors and Work Smarter with the Fabric Calculator

To further illustrate how BlindsBook can streamline your business and dramatically enhance your productivity, today we’re going to shed some light on the powerful Fabric Calculator. With this robust tool, every item required to sell products such as illusion and roller shades is simply a matter of entering the correct information.

The Fabric Calculator includes fields for the product number, the style, colors, the width and the height, side/bottom channel, the mechanism, and even useful fields to enter any information regrading extra work that may be required, to name a few. All of these fields are presented in a user-friendly interface and all of the prices are based upon your unique business charts and prices, ensuring that the calculations are accurate.

Speaking of accuracy, the Fabric Calculator piratically eliminates a common mistake which typically involves entering incorrect dimensions. With the Fabric Calculator, this time-wasting and potentially costly mistake is erased thanks to validation rules that are set to each individual product. Additionally, only accessories that correspond to the specific product being ordered are available for selection, further eliminating the odds of choosing incorrect accessories.

Are multiple curtains of the same type being ordered? Why waste time creating orders for each one? The Fabric Calculator saves valuable time by duplicating/cloning orders so you can concentrate on providing your customers professionally accurate quotation as well as invoices, labels, sales, and work orders that are error-free and ready to go in minutes versus hours.

April 9, 2018April 24, 2018

Which BlindsBook Version Is Right for Your Business?

At BlindsBook, we want everyone to be able to improve and streamline their business by using our powerful window covering software. Since every business has a different budget, we’ve made it easy to incorporate the software into your budget by offering three different levels/versions of the software based on your needs.

All versions of BlindsBook include the following features:

Easy scheduling for your entire team.
A customer manager allowing you to classify clients (i.e.: designer reseller, etc.).
The robust quotes manager that does the calculating for you based on your prices and charts.
Sales and purchase order creation.
A report creator so you can keep track of all aspects of your business.

Upgrade to the Fabricator version and you’ll also receive the following additional features:

Work order creator allowing you to create orders in mere seconds so you always know what’s happening in your manufacturing factory.
Seamless compatibility with QuickBooks software.
Materials order generator (coming soon).

The Fabricator Plus unlocks the full power of BlindsBook and includes all of the aforementioned features plus:

A reseller feature which includes customer management, scheduler, quote, and sales order All of your orders are immediately sent to your premium company.

This update is by BlindsBook, a powerful, comprehensive window covering software and management cloud system. Our software streamlines the entire process of window covering for professionals from beginning to end through easy scheduling, creating sales and work orders in seconds, providing accurate quotes, and taking the hassle out of ensuring accurate measurements, all with your personal business name and logo attached. Visit www.blindsbook.comfor more information and to sign up for a free trial or call 888-208-5230 for any questions.

April 2, 2018April 24, 2018

BlindsBook: An Ideal Solution for Retail and Fabricators

BlindsBook is a powerful tool for managing your window covering business in a centralized, comprehensive solution. To provide further detail into how some of its robust features work, let’s go into some detail.

For all retail and fabricators, the pricing estimates come from your business charts and prices. These can easily be imported from an existing Excel CSV file through a user-friendly interface. Using this method, you can rest assured that quotes will always remain exact to their pricing. Businesses that do not utilize BlindsBook may use QuickBooks which provides general pricing. While this software assists with making an invoice, it may not detail the pricing based on the unique charts and prices of the business.

Speaking of QuickBooks, the BlindsBook software allows seamless integration with the popular accounting software. A salesperson simply needs to export the invoice to QuickBooks with one click and then they can charge. There is no need to rewrite the invoice.

BlindsBook allows distinct products to be quoted based on distinct calculators including a roller shade calculator and drapery calculator. Motors can also be added as mechanisms and any extra tasks that may be required such as removing an old blind can also be calculated/factored into the quote.

For fabricators, the Manufacturing Worksheets are a powerful tool. These are the work orders used in the factory to create the blinds which include accurate cut deductions, removing the need for confusing equations. The information of this spreadsheet comes from the product specification entered into BlindsBook’s “create new line” calculator. Information is entered once in here and quotations, sales order, invoices, manufacturing worksheet, packing list, and labels are created. Production labels and final labels can be easily created as well a packing list providing detailed instructions for installers.