Today we have selected Nikolaus Kimla to take his interview. He is the Founder and CEO of Pipeliner CRM.
First of all, how are you and your team doing in these COVID-19 times?
Pipeliner is doing very well during these tough times. Before COVID-19, we already had a digital strategy and a decentralized team working from home beforehand. Our team members have been happy avoiding their commute, so the transition to remote work was already working for us. We also outsourced our marketing and SEO teams years ago.
Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded this company?
Born in Austria, I adopted an entrepreneurial spirit to survive and enjoy my teenage years. At age 16, I started my first business, selling t-shirts, sweaters, and other items, and by the time I turned 18, I had started my own photography studio. Over the last 40 years, I have created six businesses, three of which are still going strong today. I founded Pipeliner in 2011 with a mission to positively influence the mindset of salespeople and remind them of their higher purpose to be a “wealth creator and peace producer.” When salespeople are positively influenced by and supported with intelligent data, they will make more informed decisions and become better salespeople. This will ultimately lead to more prosperity, creating the conditions for peaceful co-existence.
How does your company innovate?
At Pipeliner, we stay very focused. We have a solution for all sizes and continue to create new features that speak to the people and their current difficulties. By deeply understanding the core problems and using our CRM software, we can improve incrementally and determine what is working and is not.
How did the Coronavirus pandemic affect your business, and how are you coping?
The pandemic definitely affected our business because some of our customers were going out of business, especially in England. On the positive side, businesses were less hesitant to jump on new opportunities and integrate new software systems. We saw many new customers eager to adapt to the new changes of the world and implement our software to support them.
Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?
The difficult choices were made years before when we decentralized our team when no one else was. It was a new way of working and took some time for us to adjust. Since we made this choice before the pandemic, we were prepared and comfortable working from home while many other businesses struggled to adjust. During the pandemic, coaching the employees mentally was the challenge. Many people faced personal and mental obstacles due to isolation and illness that could affect their work. Endurance was a trait that my team members and I mindfully practiced to stay strong during these adversities.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?
At Pipeliner, we use over 50 different SaaS solutions. We didn’t need to add any additional tools during the pandemic since we had everything in place. Without all of these tools, it would have been challenging to navigate this crisis.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
There are many CRM solutions, but we are the only ones truly trying to impact and positively influence salespeople. At Pipeliner, we believe that ‘solopreneurs’ can change the world. We continuously provide new features and knowledge so they can excel in all business areas. Endurance, long breaths, a growth mindset, and continuous innovation are key factors that strengthen our longevity in the CRM space.
Your Final Thoughts
After the crisis, we all must come together and learn something from this experience. Our new slogan, which will be introduced this summer, is “Win Together.” So many businesses have been lost, and it is our duty to help each other. If there are only big companies at the end of the day, no one will win. With our new approach, we are putting the R back into CRM – we want to emphasize from the mechanical view that human interaction and collaboration are key to sales and business success.
- Spokesperson: Nikolaus Kimla
- Company: Pipeliner CRM
- Website link: https://www.pipelinersales.com/