Sales tools
Sales tools as a link.
Instead of attaching PDFs, your sales team sends a link: to the whole catalog, to a selection for one customer, or to files for your agency.
Who it's forFor sales managers, field sales, and marketing at a cable manufacturer.
In short
- Catalog link: your whole lineup, public
- Showcase: a selection for exactly one customer
- Kit: files for agencies and distributors
- Inquiries, replies, and opens in the portal
Cables for your plant
What are digital sales tools?
What it is
Sales materials are no longer files; they are links to pages that show your cables.
Your cables are in the portal once, with images, technical data, a cross-section drawing, and a 3D view. From there, you share them in three ways. Each is a link, and each has a different reader.
Three options from one source: the catalog link takes everyone to the whole lineup, the showcase takes one customer to a selection with a contact card, and the kit takes an agency to files to download.
Your cables in the portal
Catalog link
Who it's forAnyone searching
Showcase
Who it's forExactly one customer
Kit
Who it's forAgency, distributor, press
Key terms
- Catalog link
- The address of your public catalog. Anyone can open it, search it, and send an inquiry about a cable.
- Showcase
- A selection of up to 30 cables for exactly one customer, with your note and your contact card. Only people who have the link can see the page.
- Kit
- A package of files to download, such as images and datasheets for an agency or a distributor. The link expires on a date you choose.
- Prospect
- Anyone who sends an inquiry about a cable from the catalog. The inquiry appears in the portal under “Prospects.”
- Analytics
- The numbers for all of it: views, searches, downloads, inquiries, opens, and QR scans.
How does it work?
How it works
You select cables, copy a link, and later see what came of it.
The example follows a showcase. For a kit, you select files instead of cables. The catalog link is available as soon as your catalog is online.
The process in six steps along one line: you select cables, set the note and the sender, and send the link. Your customer opens the page and replies. The portal shows the reply and the opens.
YouYour customerThe portal
YouSelect cables
YouSet note and sender
YouCopy and send the link
Your customerOpen the page
Your customerReply on the page
The portalShow reply and opens
Step by step
- Step 1 of 6: You
Select cables
You create a showcase in the portal and select up to 30 cables. You can add a sentence about each.
- Step 2 of 6: You
Set note and sender
You write a note to the recipient and choose whose contact card appears. It can also be a colleague's.
- Step 3 of 6: You
Copy and send the link
The portal generates a secret link. You copy it or open a draft in your own email program.
- Step 4 of 6: Your customer
Open the page
Your customer clicks the link and sees your selection. They don't need an account or a password.
- Step 5 of 6: Your customer
Reply on the page
There is a form below the cables. Your customer checks the cables of interest and writes you a message.
- Step 6 of 6: The portal
Show reply and opens
The reply appears in the portal with the showcase, and the sender gets an email. The portal counts how often the page was opened.
What you see afterward
Analytics shows views, searches, downloads, inquiries, opens, and QR scans. You choose 7, 30, or 90 days and see how they compare with the previous period.
What analytics shows
- A visitor opens a cable's page in the catalog.
- The visit is counted for this cable, and so are searches, downloads, and QR scans.
- No cookies and no IP address. The numbers come as CSV.
What does my customer see when they open the link?
What your customer sees
Your customer sees a single page: your selection, your note, and your name.
The page is available in German and in English; you choose the language for each showcase. Search engines do not index it.
Cables for your plant
What the numbers show
Your note
The greeting and your message to the recipient are at the very top.
Your contact card
The sender's picture, name, job title, phone number, and email address.
The cables
Up to 4 images per cable, your sentence about it, and the key technical data.
Cross-section drawing and 3D view
Both appear for every cable that has them.
Reply and PDF
Your customer replies using the form or downloads the selection as a PDF brochure.
Catalog link, showcase, or kit: which one do I use when?
The three options compared
The catalog is for everyone, the showcase is for one customer, and the kit is for someone who needs files.
The options are not mutually exclusive. The catalog stays online, and you send a showcase on top of it after a conversation.
Three cases, each with an arrow to its option: if everyone should find your cables, use the catalog link. If a customer gets a selection, use the showcase. If someone needs files, use the kit.
IfEveryone should be able to find and view your cables
thenCatalog link
IfA customer gets a selection from you
thenShowcase
IfSomeone needs files to work with
thenKit
| Aspect | Catalog link | Showcase | Kit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best when | Everyone should be able to find and view your cables | A customer gets a selection from you | Someone needs files to work with |
| Who it's for | Anyone searching | Exactly one customer | Agency, distributor, press |
| What's in it | All published cables | Up to 30 cables you choose | Files from your media library |
| How long | Permanently | 90 days, until a set date, or indefinitely | Until a date you choose, 365 days at most |
| Who can find it | Search engines and anyone with the address | Only people with the link | Only people with the link |
| What comes back | Inquiries about a cable | A reply naming the cables of interest | Downloads |
| What's counted | Views, searches, downloads, inquiries | Opens: first, latest, and total | Opens and downloads |
| Typical use | The link in your signature or at the trade show booth | After a conversation or an inquiry | The agency is building the new brochure |
More on this Catalog, showcase, kit: who sees what →
What do I gain, and where are the limits?
Advantages and limits
A link is always current and can be counted, but it replaces neither a quote nor a conversation.
Advantages
Always the latest version
You can change a showcase even after sending it. Your customer sees the latest version the next time they open it.
You see whether it was opened
The portal shows the first open, the latest open, and the total.
Replies don't get lost
Inquiries and replies are in the portal with the cable or the showcase, not just in an inbox.
Shows more than a PDF
The cross-section drawing and the 3D view appear right next to the images.
Withdraw at any time
A withdrawn link no longer shows anything. You can't do that with an attachment.
No account for the recipient
Your customer doesn't need an account or a password. The link is enough.
Limits
No password
The secret address is the only protection. Anyone who shares the link shares the page.
You send it yourself
The portal does not send the link. You copy it into your own email.
Opens without names
The portal counts how often the page was opened, not by whom. It does not notify you of each open.
Replies by email
You reply from your own inbox. There is no conversation thread in the portal.
No datasheet in the showcase
A showcase shows images and key data. The datasheet and the table of sizes are in the catalog.
No prices, no cart
Neither the catalog nor the showcase lists prices or takes orders.
No CRM integration
The analytics tables are available as CSV. No CRM is updated automatically.
Not the right tool if:
- You need a binding quote with prices; a showcase is not one.
- The materials are confidential and must be password-protected.
- Your customer should be able to order directly on the page.
How is this different from PDFs by email or my own website?
Compared with today
The difference comes after sending: a link stays current and reports back, and an attachment does not.
Your website stays as it is. You can embed the catalog there.
An email with five PDF attachments: they are as current as the day they were sent, and nobody knows whether they were read. By contrast, an email with one link to a page that stays current and counts opens.
Until now
PDFs by email
How currentAs of the day it was sent
With a link
Link from the portal
How currentAlways what's in the portal
| Aspect | PDFs by email | Your website | Link from the portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| How current | As of the day it was sent | As current as someone keeps it | Always what's in the portal |
| Was it viewed? | You never find out | Only with your own web analytics | Opens per showcase |
| Follow-up questions | Somewhere in an inbox | Usually a general contact form | In the portal with the cable or the showcase |
| Selection for one customer | Put together by hand | None: everyone sees the same | A showcase with your selection |
| Withdrawing | Not possible | Delete the page | Withdraw the link |
| Effort each time you send | Find, check, and attach files | None, but nothing personal either | Select cables, copy the link |
What do I need, and what does it cost?
What you need and what it costs
You need your cables in the portal; showcases, kits, inquiries, and analytics cost no credits.
What you need
Your cables in the portal
The cables must be set up in the portal. We build them from your construction data, individually or as a whole lineup.
Images of the cables
A cable in the public catalog needs an approved image. You order images in the portal.
A profile for each sender
Name, job title, phone number, and picture fill the contact card. Without a profile, the card shows your company.
Legal notice and privacy policy
The public catalog goes online only after both links are on file.
No setup project
A showcase takes three steps: select cables, write a note, copy the link.
What it costs
Showcases, kits, inquiries, and analytics cost no credits. You pay credits for images and videos. Your plan determines how many cables you can publish and whether the catalog runs on your own domain.
What else do people ask?
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people still have before you start.
- Does the recipient of a showcase need an account?
- No. The link is all they need; it is secret, is not indexed by search engines, and can be withdrawn at any time.
- What does analytics store about visitors?
- No cookies, no IP address, no search text. The catalog footer states what is measured, and an owner can turn tracking off.
- Does everyone on the team see their colleagues' numbers?
- Yes. Everyone on your team sees the analytics for the catalog and the showcases. QR scans are the exception: a team member sees only their own row, and owners see all of them.
- Can I change a showcase after sending it?
- Yes. The link stays the same, and your customer sees the latest version the next time they open it.
- What happens when a link expires?
- An expired or withdrawn link no longer shows anything. You can duplicate a withdrawn showcase as a new draft.
- Can I try it without signing up?
- Yes. The demo portal shows showcases, kits, and inquiries with sample data. Analytics is not shown there.