Landslide Looks to Take CRM to a New Level

Landslide Technologies has launched an update to its product for salespeople that it said goes beyond standard customer relationship management (CRM) (define) software.

Landslide Summer 2008, released earlier this week, incorporates Web 2.0 capabilities customizable portals, a redesigned graphical user interface (GUI) for easier navigation, mash-ups for background information on customers and a customizable set of best practices. The new release also includes a set of optional VIP phone support services at extra cost.

“We focus on process management for the sales force,” Saman Haqqi, Landslide’s vice president of marketing, told InternetNews.com. “Not only do we tell users the phases of the sales cycle, but we also tell them how to complete the sale effectively.”

Landslide Summer 2008 lets salespeople set up private portals with each of their prospects. Once they upload documents related to a sale into that portal, it automatically e-mails the prospective client a password.

On the other hand, when a prospect opens a document or provides a comment, the system automatically sends the salesperson an e-mail alert. “That lets the salesperson follow up in a timely manner when clients show interest,” Haqqi said.

The update also includes a mash-up using SalesView, an on-demand business search and intelligence application from InsideView. This combines data from LinkedIn and Jigsaw, traditional business database sources such as Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) and Hoovers, and the result of Web searches, to give salespeople background on prospective customers when they log those customers’ companies into the system.

BlackBerry support in the works

Currently, Landslide is available only through a Web browser. Haqqi said the company will port it to the BlackBerry hand-held device soon.

This article was first published on InternetNews.com. To read the full article, click here.