STAjets transforms its sales operations with Zendesk Sell

For STAjets, a California-based aviation and management company that offers aircraft sales, management, and charter services, the sky’s the limit. What once started as a humble mom-and-pop shop in 2005 has grown into an organization with offices across the United States and an international portfolio.

Now a full-fledged aviation and aerospace company, STAjets boasts a growing high-end clientele—and a growing number of leads. However, with that welcomed growth came challenges—namely, a lack of sales pipeline visibility and the tracking tools needed to run the business efficiently. That led Zach Rutledge, director of charter sales, to find a solution that would take STAjets’ business to the next level. Prior to implementing Sell, STAjets did not have a formal management tool. Each rep managed their sales ad hoc, and managers kept track of their leads in spreadsheets. Given the company’s short 30-day sales cycle, those methods proved to be untenable.

There was no way for me to collectively see our pipeline—I had to constantly check in with my reps,” said Rutledge. “On average, my reps quote 1,000 deals per month, and the average quote is $40,000. Given the volume and values we were working with, I needed a customizable CRM.”

Rutledge initially evaluated systems he had previous experience with, namely Salesforce. “I started looking at Salesforce and I felt like a small fish in a big pond,” Rutledge said. “They had very little interest in adapting to my needs.” It wasn’t until he began looking at Salesforce’s competitors that things started to turn around.

In just three months after choosing Sell, STAjets transformed into a well-oiled sales machine. The sales team can now focus on the right deals at the right time. “I see a lot more organization in my rep’s days, and Sell does that by design,” Rutledge said. “I no longer have to tell them, ‘Here’s what I’d like for you to do.’ They just know.” This new level of visibility has added a sense of pride and competition amongst sales reps, who have enthusiastically adopted Sell.

“Not once have I had to go back and ask my employees to use Sell. They all instantly saw the results in their paychecks,” Rutledge said. “They saw in real-time how many leads they were leaving on the table because they just lacked the necessary tracking and visibility tools.”

With high adoption secured, Rutledge can now leverage reports like the Rep Performance Dashboard and Lost Deal Analysis to improve his team. “Before Sell, we were losing 15–20% of our leads,” he said. “They were falling through the cracks because we either didn’t know about them or we just didn’t follow up in time. Money was flying out the door.”

Sell is saving STAjet time and money by delivering a complete platform, not point solutions. “Every time I asked Salesforce for a feature, they suggested I use a plug-in or add-on,” Rutledge said. “In order to get the solution I wanted, I would have had to purchase four subscriptions through four separate companies. If one of those companies stopped supporting the product, I would have to search for another solution.”