Auckland-based accounting firm Frank HQ is known for giving ‘frank’ business advice. The team of 10 pride themselves on giving small to medium-sized enterprises expert advice on topics ranging from compliance and business growth, to financial planning, deals and transactions.
A tech-driven business and a loyal user of Xero, Frank HQ always made sure each interaction or conversation with a client was an efficient and informative one that gave value.
But for a business so expert in advising its clients how to run a nimble business, the team at Frank HQ decided it was time to look at its own processes and assess how well its platforms and services were working for the business.
Cradle spoke with Frank HQ’s Chief of Operations, Linda Hodgson.
All the gear, with a Xero idea
Frank HQ and its team of accountants centre its work around helping clients run their business more efficiently, with managing time and relationships a key focus.
“Most of our clients are very good at what they do and these days software like Xero will do most of the work that traditional accountants used to be tasked with,” says Linda.
As a result, Frank HQ became very tech-driven and cut out any costs that didn’t add value for its clients.
When the pandemic took hold of New Zealand, speaking with clients increased tenfold. With all non-essential workers working from home, Frank HQ’s team communication wasn’t as streamlined as before; resulting in repeated phone calls, messaging and assistance.
With that came a new challenge for Frank HQ; how could each team member best spend their time to ensure they are adding value to clients, and how do they keep a record of the interactions?
Trying out Cradle
Before joining Cradle, Frank HQ had a traditional set up, with one phone number and a receptionist answering every inbound call. While the aim was to provide a professional, personalised service, clients found it cumbersome to be connected with the person they needed. With everyone working from home, connecting calls and passing on messages was near impossible - until Frank HQ joined Cradle.
After an assessment, the team at Cradle were able to install its smart desktop and mobile apps for every team member, seamlessly integrating with HubSpot, Frank HQ’s existing CRM tool.
“Cradle’s smart routing has completely changed the way we provide a service to our clients. Now, every client who calls us is automatically connected to the right person, no matter where one of our team members is,” says Linda.
Learning a new system can be overwhelming. When the team learnt some of their own gear was compatible, it made the learning period even easier.
“Cradle recommends Jabra headsets for the best experience, but we kept our existing Logitec headsets and they worked great.”
New Tech Stack, Who Dis?
After a few months of trying out Cradle and its integration with platforms like HubSpot and Xero, Frank HQ reported four key components of using Cradle they say attributes to its success.
Cradle enables them to quickly route calls in whichever way best suits their business. Customers can bypass a traditional receptionist and speak directly to who they need to, for example, who they spoke to last, or who owns the relationship.
Cradle integrated with HubSpot gives better data integrity and visibility, which leads to more prospects and more business opportunities.
The reliability of Cradle’s data analytics and the accuracy of Frank HQ’s CRM has improved dramatically.
“Before we answer a call, we know who’s calling and when we last spoke to them. That means much better customer service. It’s a more human touch,” says Linda.
Cradle allows a team to measure their performance by having calls, emails, meetings, notes, and deal activity recorded in Hubspot.
“The reporting shows us how many calls each staff member is making, and which customers we have and haven’t been in touch with,” says Linda.
Cradle’s systems have encouraged Frank HQ team away from emails and onto the phones to build valuable relationships.
Cradle’s smart desktop and mobile apps allow the team to make, receive and track calls from their laptops and mobile phones from anywhere with a Wi-Fi or 4G connection.
“While working remotely during the pandemic, Cradle enabled us to stay in touch seamlessly; both with our clients and our team. We can send messages, make, answer and transfer calls. The best past is it’s all logged,” says Linda.