Customer stories


Dunn & Bradsheet

Knowledge is Power

Before you can make the sale, you need to know your market.

That's why businesses looking to widen their customer base turn to D&B (formerly Dun & Bradstreet) for essential information on new sales prospects. And now, accessing that information's much easier -- because D&B has turned to FileMaker Pro, the award-winning database software application from FileMaker, Inc.

D&B's Sales Leads service helps companies in every line of
business find ideal prospects for their products and services. Whatever
your business is selling, from ballpoint pens to high-tech consultations,
D&B can help you find a wide array of potential customers
-- by showing you just who's buying from your competitors! From giant
corporations to start-ups, from big retail franchises to the corner
store, the details are ready for instant access by means of a powerful
FileMaker Pro database.

The database is the brainchild of Darren Amato, a D&B Area
Sales Manager based in Parsippany, New Jersey. Darren figured that his
clients could be served more efficiently if the information they needed
was searchable and distributed over the web, rather than by means of
phone calls or faxes. The question was how to do it? Over lunch, a
colleague suggested he look into building a database with FileMaker Pro.

Darren was skeptical - he's a sales manager, he says, not a software
wizard - but he decided to give it a try. He bought a copy of FileMaker,
took it home and experimented - letting his instincts be his guide.
'After fooling with it for a while,' he remembers, 'I suddenly realized
'Hey! I'm going to be able to do this!'

And so he did.

'I never touched a database before this,' Darren emphasizes. 'I didn't
take any classes or read any books. I just did it -- it's that easy!'

Now, D&B clients have Web access to more than 270,000
entries, using Standard Industrial Codes to classify businesses of every
size and type according to what they do. Client companies can search this
database right from the D&B website -- figuring out which
companies are the best matches for the products or services they want to
sell. The information arrives immediately, ready for instant action.
That's the kind of knowledge that really is power!

'Our clients love it,' says Darren. 'Our sales representatives and
customers use it every day. We've probably been able to close our selling
cycle for new clients from eight days to three or four days. We used to
have to handle it with faxes and phone calls -- now we can do it all
right over the web.' And the system is so successful, that Darren is
expanding and upgrading it to include many more records.

You'll never get where you need to be in business without guidance on how
to get there. Providing that guidance is what D&B does best.

And helping to keep that information flowing, as quickly and efficiently
as possible -- that's what FileMaker Pro does best!



Contact information

Contact Info for Customer:

Darren Amato
Area Manager Marketing Sales
D&B
973-605-6401


Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • Businesses looking to widen their customer base turn to D&B for essential information on new sales prospects. And now, thanks to a Web site powered by FileMaker Pro, clients can access that information over the Internet.
Industry
  • Finance/Banking
  • Information Technology
  • Medium-Large Business