Every customer conversation, in one CRM.
Helmsman builds custom CRM software that keeps every lead, quotation and customer conversation in one place, including the work of field sales teams and dealer networks. It is shaped around how your company sells and connected to stock and accounts, so the next person to speak to a customer knows everything the last one did.
From $3,000Typically $3,000 to $80,000See pricing
Last updated
Who needs CRM software?
You probably need it if…
- Leads arrive by phone, email and visits, and nobody can say how many were followed up.
- Quotations live in salespeople's inboxes and leave the company when they do.
- A customer calls, and the person answering has no idea what was promised last time.
- Field sales reports reach the office late, if they reach it at all.
- Dealer schemes are calculated in spreadsheets, and settling them takes longer than running them.
What does CRM software include?
- 01
Leads & enquiries
Every enquiry captured and followed up
Enquiries from calls, email and visits recorded in one list, assigned to a person and given a follow-up date, so none of them go quiet without someone noticing.
- 02
Quotations
Quotations that turn into orders
Quotations prepared from your own items and prices, revised with a history of what changed, and turned into an order without typing it again.
- 03
Customer history
One record per customer
Contacts, conversations, quotations, orders and payments held against the same customer record, so anyone who picks up the phone sees the whole story.
- 04
Field sales
Selling where the customer is
Visits, orders and notes recorded by the field team where the selling happens, and visible to the office the same day.
- 05
Dealers & schemes
Dealer networks, tracked
Dealer orders, targets and schemes worked out by the system from the sales behind them, so what each dealer has earned is clear to both sides.
- 06
Follow-ups & approvals
Reminders that do the chasing
Follow-up reminders, discount approvals and alerts that follow your rules, so a promising lead does not depend on someone's memory.
- 07
Sales reports
The pipeline on one screen
Enquiries, quotations and orders by person, region and product on live data, so management can see what is coming in before the month closes.
- 08
Integrations
Connected to stock and accounts
Orders carried on to stock, dispatch and invoicing in your ERP or accounting software, so sales and accounts work from the same customer and the same figure.
How does Helmsman deliver CRM software?
The full approachA CRM project starts with how your company actually sells. Helmsman sits with the sales team, the office staff and, where there is one, the dealer network, and maps how an enquiry becomes a quotation, an order and a payment, and where it gets lost along the way. What the system has to fix is agreed in writing before any screen is designed.
Screens are then designed around the people who use them every day, including a salesperson standing in a customer's office, and built in stages so you review working software as it comes together. Customer and contact data is moved from spreadsheets and old systems, the team is trained, and the CRM is connected to the systems that handle stock and accounts. After go-live it keeps evolving as the way you sell changes.
- 01UnderstandProcess map
- 02AnalyseRequirement document
- 03ArchitectSolution structure
- 04DesignScreens and flows
- 05DevelopWorking software
- 06ImplementLive system
- 07EvolveOngoing support
Industries we build this for
CRM questions, answered.
What is CRM software?
CRM (customer relationship management) software keeps a company's leads, quotations, customer conversations and follow-ups in one place. A custom CRM is built around how your own team sells, so it records the steps you actually follow instead of a generic sales funnel.
Can the CRM work for field sales teams?
Yes. Field teams record visits, orders and notes where the selling happens, and the office sees them the same day. The screens for the field are designed around how your salespeople work on the move.
Can the CRM manage dealers and distributor schemes?
Yes. Dealer orders, targets and schemes can be tracked in the same system, with scheme benefits worked out from the sales behind them instead of in a separate spreadsheet.
Can the CRM connect to our ERP or accounting software?
Usually yes, if that software has a way in, such as an API or a data export. A quotation that becomes an order can carry on to stock, dispatch and invoicing without being typed again, and payments show against the customer record.
Why build a custom CRM instead of buying one?
A ready-made CRM is often the right choice when your sales process is standard. A custom CRM pays off when the way you sell (through dealers, schemes, field visits or long quotation cycles) does not fit the product, and the team ends up keeping its real records in spreadsheets.