Like many great products, Business Pilot was created to solve an issue – our directors needed a software solution for their home improvement businesses. They still run those companies today and that’s a key reason why so many contractors and installers choose Business Pilot.
Jim Breslin runs an installation company in the UK, called Cherwell Windows. As a busy home improvement company, Cherwell Windows had lots of ‘moving parts’ and things to keep track of – just like your company!
Jim had a software program that was 20 years old, and was the best solution when he started using it manage the business. But it was clear that they needed something new.
The software just couldn’t handle the demands of a modern home improvement contractor like Cherwell Windows and Jim thought: ‘there must be another way’.
A chance meeting at a local event with Elton Boocock, who had been involved in marketing automation for 20 years, started something big.
They hit it off and with their combined experience, they looked across the different areas of the business, asking the question: ‘how can we do this better?’
This was only the beginning and armed with a packed out list of what they needed the system to do, they set off to find a solution. It wasn’t easy. They looked at the ‘big-name’ CRM systems to see how they could be tailored to deliver what they needed. They talked to their existing system supplier about developing the features they needed to create something more appropriate for a modern home improvement company. And after a while it became clear that they would either have to compromise on what they wanted or it was going to be prohibitively expensive to achieve. The brick wall had been hit.
Then there was the lightbulb moment.
Whilst they were pondering their next steps, almost in unison, Jim and Elton declared: “We can’t be the only company facing these issues!”
And that turned out to be very true.
The seed was planted.
Ryan Breslin joined Jim and Elton at this point. Having been in the family business for 15 years, Ryan had a really good idea of what needed to change and how the team was working on a day-to-day basis.
The three of them began the long process of building a modern installation business management system from the bottom up.
The goal? To create a system that was perfectly designed to support the modern home improvement and contractor company.
It wasn’t an easy job and it soon became clear why there wasn’t a viable system for what they needed. But, they thought, there must be someone else out there who wants the same thing as us.
Another chance happening proved this to be true! Ryan (Breslin) met Ryan (Schofield) and they got talking about the process that Jim, Elton and Ryan has been going through.
It turned out that Ryan also ran a successful home improvement business, Thames Valley Window Company, and was thinking along the exact same lines as the Cherwell Windows team. He was also considering how he create a modern system that would help his business run more smoothly.
And so our trio become a quartet!
New ideas came to light, the system grew, improved and gre some more. New features were added until we were ready to share Business Pilot with the home improvement world.
The response was incredible and many of the early Business Pilot system users are still onboard with us today!
Well that was a few years ago now and our system continues to grow.
More installers and contractors join the Business Pilot Community every month, new features and updates are added to the system on a regular basis and we’ve helped countless business owners to improve efficiency, save time and boost profits!
That’s enough about us…how about you? Are you ready to transform how you do business? Take your free trial today to see how Business Pilot can help!
As part of our free trial, we will send a whole series of how to videos to help you get to grips with the Business Pilot Installation company CRM system. Because the system is much more than a regular CRM, we are even on hand to talk you through how other installation companies are using Business Pilot as a business improvement system. If you would prefer to book a call with an existing user before the trial, call us on +1 (863) 3406691 or use the live chat facility.
© Business Pilot (CRM) Ltd
