Automating Applications for Improved Client Experience
Discover how TASC modernized their data collection and document automation processes to improve their client experience.
In 1975, Don Rashke identified a need to support small businesses and farmers across America. As a former farmer and small business owner, he knew these organizations were missing out on tax-saving solutions and employee benefits options. He created an organization that would eventually become known as the Total Administration Services Corporation (TASC).
We caught up with Tammy Steller, TASC’s project manager, to learn more about how they support their mission using Formstack.
When TASC started solving problems for organizations in the agribusiness market 40 years ago, the most advanced technology in corporate offices was a fax machine. Technology has evolved significantly since then, and the team at TASC started to realize it was time to bring a few of their paper-based processes into the 21st century.
TASC leadership took a step back to analyze all their processes and identify which processes would benefit most from an upgrade. They decided to start with their proposal and application processes—both of which were cumbersome in their original paper form.
“We used to have a 23-page paper application that a Regional Sales Director (RSD) and the provider worked with the client to complete. It was a very clunky process without a great way to identify which fields needed to be filled out,” Steller said.
This back and forth between RSDs, providers, and clients was time-consuming and didn’t provide customers with the best possible experience. TASC became focused on finding a way to make their sales team more efficient. With nearly 100 RSDs out in the field working with large distributors and clients, TASC needed to provide an easier way for them to get sales into their database to support their clients.
TASC assigned two business analysts with the task of identifying a product or set of products with the power to update their outdated processes. During this search, they had a few priorities in mind. They knew they were looking for:
“We went with Formstack because the platform was so easy to use. Formstack provides a lot of resources to ensure customers are successful,” Stellar said. “With features like Conditional Logic, and general ease of use, Formstack helped us streamline our processes so our sales team can spend more time selling.”
TASC was able to take advantage of multiple Formstack products for Salesforce workflow automation. They started by creating a comprehensive online customer application form that uses Conditional Logic. With this form, RSDs no longer need to work intensively with clients to complete applications because customers can access and complete the form from a link, and they only see the fields that apply to their purchase.
Form submission data is then sent to Formstack Documents and Formstack’s native Salesforce app to initiate the proposal process. Staff is able to use data from the submitted customer application, in addition to Salesforce, to create and automatically send proposals to clients and to update client records in Salesforce. With Formstack Documents and Formstack for Salesforce, TASC was able to create Salesforce workflows, benefit from document automation, and completely transform how they move from customer applications to proposals.
“We work with the Formstack suite of tools to pull in opportunities using Formstack for Salesforce. We then use Formstack Documents to build out a beautiful PDF proposal that we can send out to our clients,” Steller said.
Formstack’s suite of tools additionally alleviated TASC’s pricebook challenges. While both RSDs and distributors work directly with clients, TASC distributors do not have access to Salesforce, where TASC maintains their pricing information. This pricing information is critical for RSDs and distributors to correctly create proposals. Originally, staff had to search multiple sources before locating the correct information. Now, Formstack for Salesforce and Formstack Documents work together to provide staff with a comprehensive pricebook with the click of a button.
Steller described the expansion of this workflow by saying, “Giving all of our distributors access to Salesforce isn’t an investment TASC is interested in making. So we’re building out logic within the Formstack Salesforce app to take pricing information directly from Salesforce and add it to our proposal creation form.”
TASC recently made their web proposal live, and RSDs are using it with clients. Once they started this new proposal process, it only took a few short weeks to send out 80+ proposals. Now, the TASC sales team isn’t inundated with follow-up calls from distributors or clients when applications aren’t completed correctly or information is missing.
Stellar summed up TASC’s experience with updating their process by saying, “Formstack’s suite of tools has helped us become more efficient and create a right-touch experience for our customers.”
