Customer obsessed. That's the motto at Brookstone Windows & Doors, and it’s also how the team members describe themselves. With Southwestern Ontario’s harsh climate, high-quality windows and doors are a must, and the Brookstone team takes their responsibility seriously, from the first knock on a customer’s door through post-installation follow-up. But first, they have to use the right methodology to make the sale. 

The challenges

Brookstone expects their sales team to follow a specific methodology. But since leadership could only perform  ridealongs with two reps per week, it wasn’t clear whether team members stuck to the process.

“Before Rilla, I’d have to drive two hours on a ridealong to ring a doorbell and the customer might not even be home. That could be frustrating, and it’s a waste of time,” said Amber Hamilton, Sales Success Manager at Brookstone Windows & Doors.

Reps sometimes got nervous and flustered during ridealongs, so leadership still didn’t get accurate insight into a typical sales call.

“As a manager sitting in a home with a rep, they’re not their natural selves,” Amber explained. “They’re stressed, and although they try their best to be natural, it’s not the reality.”

Rilla offers accurate, real-time feedback, virtually

Rilla allows sales leaders to impact the selling capabilities of reps in the home based on real data. “I can be in every rep’s appointment to give real-time feedback and help them move forward,” Amber said.

Rilla also ensures that new sales reps follow the prescribed methodology. “Rilla allows us to coach them on the step-selling process so they can be more effective and start to close more quickly,” Amber added.

To make the best possible use of Rilla, Brookstone hired a specialist to review calls and flag potential opportunities for coaching—and celebrations. Content Specialist Fiona Cosman created a program called “Rilla Beats,” which features the best Rilla clips each week.

“In one instance, we had a really good one about our promotions. We posted it, and everybody listened to it. Then, the next day, I heard one of our other sales specialists using the same intro to the promos,” Fiona shared. “ It’s a beautiful thing.”

Sales leadership also uses Rilla to tap into the sales reps’ natural competitiveness, giving them additional motivation to keep improving.

“I can look at my appointments for the week and see my score,” says Sales Specialist Amanda Baldwin. “If it’s a 13 out of 17, I know there’s something I need to fix. And you can see other people’s metrics as well, so it gives you extra motivation to be an even better salesperson.”

The results

Using Rilla, Fiona increased Brookstone's ridealongs from two per week to 30–40 per day, a 7400% increase that’s had tangible financial results.

“My first month out, I did $150,000 in sales,” Amanda said. “My second month, I did almost $300,000. And that’s directly due to the feedback I was able to get from my manager, thanks to Rilla.”

Amber adds, “In Amanda’s first month, her close rate was 17%. In the next month, it increased to 22%.”

The team is excited about the future of Rilla at Brookstone, and the implications of AI. “We want to engage with it and be early enough to help develop and grow the program,” Amber says. 

With Rilla, Brookstone continues to be on the leading edge, using the technology to improve their bottom line.