Success Stories

Attain Technologies Reaches New Heights with ChannelOnline™; Reseller reduces time creating quotes and processing orders by 85%

A fast-growing IT consulting business based in Denver, Colorado, Attain Technologies is a market leader in delivering full-service technology solutions to Colorado-based and multinational corporations. Attain's customers turn to the company for its expertise in conducting technology assessments, implementing security, enterprise management and productivity solutions, and developing custom applications for specific business requirements.

But success did not come easy for Attain, having been founded at an inauspicious time: May 2001. "Our timing for starting the business was terrible — the market had crashed in April — but we decided to do it anyway. Then came 9/11. We were just hoping to stay afloat," remembers Jim Freeman, principal of Attain Technologies. "Eventually, we started making money and, by 2003, we were completely unprepared for the demand from customers for our services."

Because the company's engineers and pre-sales consultants had to go to each individual distributor's website to check pricing and availability, they wasted precious time creating quotes and processing customer orders. Recalls Freeman, "Due to this inefficient process, we were actually losing money on transactions of less than $2,500. We had to find a better, cheaper way of handling hardware and software orders — which amounts to half of our overall business — or get out of the product business altogether."

From Build to Buy to Implement - with Instant Results

The company's initial plan was to turn to Attain's own internal application development staff to create a proprietary sales cycle automation system that interfaced with all of its distributors. Says Freeman, "We were 75% sure we were going to build it ourselves during the company's slow period at the end of the calendar year, but the overriding concern was how we were going to maintain the solution when sales ramped up again in March and the consultants were in the field with paying customers."

In January 2005, a business colleague told Freeman about CNET Channel's ChannelOnline solution and he thought it sounded like the perfect alternative to building the solution in-house. After evaluating the product for two weeks, Attain Technologies decided to implement ChannelOnline. Says Freeman, "We implemented the product in a phased approach, and everyone in the company was up and running with ChannelOnline in about five weeks after we turned on the subscription. Even better, we immediately saw a return on our investment."

Faster Quotes Provide Foundation for Phenomenal Growth

Since implementing ChannelOnline in early 2005 for its entire quote, order, purchase, and tracking process, Attain Technologies has grown its product and software revenue by 185 percent-with the same number of employees. Says Freeman, "That's astounding growth by any measure, especially without adding anyone to the team. Even more amazing is that we generated this additional business in just 15 percent of the time we used to spend doing a lot less business. And it's all due to ChannelOnline."

One of the primary reasons for the phenomenal growth of the company's revenue is the speed with which Attain's employees can create quotes and place orders. "What used to take hours now takes minutes but, more importantly, what used to take two or three separate communications — a customer calls, the sales rep researches the information and builds the quote, then the rep calls or emails the customer back with the quote — can now be done in one, single communication," notes Freeeman. "There's no more 'sales tag' so we can wrap up a call and make a sale in less time than it previously took just to get the information out of the customer!"

Staying on Track with ChannelOnline

Beyond improvements in ordering and purchasing speed that ChannelOnline brings to Attain, the products' new QuickConnect integration with Intuit QuickBooks has quickly become a must-have for the company. Says Freeman, "QuickConnect allows two employees — the controller and myself — to do what most companies have three or four people doing. With it, we don't waste time massaging the data. Instead, we can spend our time analyzing data, which helps us make better business decisions. That's key when you're growing quickly."

Recently, the company had its mid-year review and looked back over the previous semi-annual review periods. "Two years ago we were seriously thinking about getting out of the hardware business completely. Looking at our growth over the past two years, we're glad we didn't, to say the least," says Freeman. "ChannelOnline allowed us to keep on track with our original business plan, which was to be a full-service solution provider, not just a consulting organization. It allows us to deliver the solutions we recommend, which is a huge boon for our company."

Attain Technologies Sees ChannelOnline in its Future

Freeman adds, "as we continue to grow the business we're making sure that all of our customers have a login for our e-commerce storesite. We think customer self-service is one of the most economical ways to continue to grow our hardware and software revenues profitably. By using ChannelOnline to help customers select the right products and spending more time understanding their needs, the growth continues to scale at a very predictable cost. If you can control costs as you grow in the triple digit range, it's one less thing to worry about when it comes to running our business."

About Attain Technologies

Attain Technologies integrates the traditional technology cycle into a seamless, flowing process that gives IT more flexibility and allows their client's business to grow. For more information, call (303)790-7100 or visit www.attaintech.com .