Look out, Salesforce.
Miller Heiman Group, which bases some operations in Arlington, has released a new sales analytics platform that it believes will majorly disrupt the CRM market.
Scout is a subscription-based software program that combines Miller Heiman’s sales training content with technology that recommends next steps for sellers. The cloud-based, mobile-first platform guides sellers through Miller Heiman sales methodology and suggests actions to improve the odds of winning a deal.
The company is known for its sales training, which is used by 30,000 people annually, according to Chief Product Officer Dana Hamerschlag.
“What we’ve done is created a sales analytics platform that can be a tool, or a coach, for an individual seller that starts to collate the decades of experience we have trainings folks,” Hamerschlag said.
Scout isn’t a direct competitor of other sales platforms like Salesforce – it can be used as a standalone product or integrated into a company’s existing CRM as a complementary analytic tool. The product is mostly built for sellers, but also includes insights for managers to more effectively coach salespeople based on individual performance.
Founded in 1978, Miller Heiman has been steadily improving its strategic selling methodology for four decades. The new product comes on the heels of a study the firm recently released, which found that sales leaders need and expect decision-making data from sales operations.
“What we’ve got is a Rosetta Stone that links the sales activity to the outcomes,” Hamerschlag said.
She said the firm started a pilot program early this year to test Scout with early-adopter clients including Safe Foods and Outland-Carillion. Last month, the full product was deployed to some early clients who currently are using it to run active sales. Scout is Miller Heiman’s first SaaS product.
Subscriptions for an enterprise license cost $20 per person per month, and individuals accessing the app independently pay $10 per month.
Miller Heiman, which has about 10 employees based in its Arlington office, also has digs in Chicago and Tampa, Fla. It has 700 facilitators, 200 consultants and 70 distribution partners worldwide.
The company worked with some local firms to develop Scout, including D.C.-based Brave UX for the user interface and Fast Rope Labs for web services and software integration. It has more than 4,000 customers and 63 offices globally, according to its website.
