Siemens relies on Highspot to provide relevant documents to employees worldwide within seconds

Siemens provides the global industrial sectors of Digital Industries (DI) and Smart Infrastructure (SI) with current sales information using a new Sales Enablement solution, eliminating the need for lengthy searches. This achieves a better integration of sales, marketing and communications.

Siemens is a technology conglomerate active in nearly every country around the world. The primary focuses within these two industrial sectors are on automation and digitalisation in the process and manufacturing industries, as well as smart infrastructure for buildings and decentralised energy systems. In 2022, Siemens’ global revenue in the Digital Industries and Smart Infrastructure segments amounted to approximately 19.5 billion euros and 17.4 billion euros, respectively.

Both business sectors share a common challenge: Finding the correct and up-to-date sales documents is cumbersome and time-consuming. The marketing and communications teams also lack transparency about which documents are even relevant for sales.

The major challenge was to consolidate the decentralised storage system for sales information and to expedite the process of locating documents. Previously, users first had to download the files from the search results and view the document, only to find out that it wasn’t the file with the desired content. This inefficiency needed to be eliminated.

In addition, there was a need to evaluate the effectiveness of the distributed information. The goal was to save 25% of unused sales material.

The brief called for a fast system that could provide the right documents and videos within 30 seconds – for sales, marketing and communication. The solution should also be flexible for the end-user, to cater to both centralised and decentralised requirements. Siemens would like an uncomplicated and largely self-explanatory solution for its users.

Since the Digital Industries Software Business Unit has been using Highspot successfully for several years and in an effort to harmonise their suite of tools, both DI and SI chose the Highspot platform. At the end of 2020, a 100-page requirements document was created within two months, in which not only sales, marketing and communication, but also (cyber) security and data protection officers formulated their requirements. A significant emphasis was placed on compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Highspot was able to significantly fulfil the requirements and ultimately convince with the best cost-benefit ratio. The implementation was successfully concluded within only seven months. An existing self-developed system was quickly and easily replaced by the head office team with Highspot’s Sales Enablement solution.

Highspot — a good advisor and partner in all matters

Siemens discussed major and minor suggestions for improvement with Highspot in the course of the migration. For this, Siemens and Highspot were in daily contact, particularly regarding regional adaptations related to data protection and the GDPR. Throughout this process, Highspot responded promptly and proved to be a reliable partner, advisor and service provider, all in one.

Highspot also provided Siemens with advice and support at all times during the implementation challenges. For instance, after undergoing a rigorous security and integrity assessment, Highspot was able to connect its Sales Enablement solution with Siemens and integrate it into the various existing systems.

Taxonomy was another challenge for the implementation. Due to the various sources of origin of the documents, there were different designations for the same matter. Siemens had to ensure that data was not just poured into the system but also that it was consistent. As a result, Siemens established quality standards for creating documents, such as uniform designations and an expiration date for each document. This established a single source of truth with a uniform naming convention and consistent content.

In the autumn of 2021, Siemens integrated and launched its CRM tool. Since then, the use of both systems — Sales Enablement by Highspot and CRM — has become significantly more effective since they complement each other well, are mutually enriching, and facilitate evaluations that were previously unattainable.

Fast search results and broad acceptance of the Sales Enablement solution

The presentation of results, for which Highspot holds a proprietary patent, is impressive. The outcome is displayed similarly to Google — with graphs, text, and a description. Highspot uses automatic indexing of documents, making the content immediately evident. When the user hovers over a search result with the mouse cursor, it displays the content page by page, revealing what’s contained within the document. For videos, a frame every ten seconds indicates the content of the video. Sales, marketing, and communication have been able to significantly reduce their search efforts with this system.

Since the system was accessible to every employee from the outset, a rapid increase in daily access numbers was observed. Currently, Siemens records 20,000 system accesses per day, which clearly indicates the system’s acceptance.

The enthusiasm for the new tool is immense. Not only sales staff who go to the customer use Highspot. Colleagues working behind the scenes, as well as marketing and communication teams, also use Highspot regularly and with pleasure.

With just a few clicks, marketing and communication evaluate which documents genuinely resonate with the clients, and sales can effectively compile content from various sources, even customising it to individual client needs. This means that marketing, communication, and sales collaborate seamlessly without changes in media. Consequently, sales is well-prepared for every conversation and touchpoint, subsequently assessing which assets appeal to the clients the most.

Sales Plays for more efficient sales consultations

Siemens is increasingly making use of Sales Plays — the cornerstone of Highspot’s Sales Enablement solution. This consolidates Sales Guidelines and the associated assets, something that was only partially possible without Highspot. The incorporation of pitch templates that are tailored for clients reduces the workload for sales. Additionally, it ensures that external messaging is standardised and harmonised.