Unifying Data, Accelerating Validation: A Q&A with Jeremy Franks of Flowserve
In this interview, we sit down with Jeremy Franks, Manager of Sales Operations at Flowserve. With a decade of experience, Jeremy shares his unique perspective, having evolved from managing the company's global booking system to becoming a primary user of that same data. He discusses the critical role of streamlined reporting, how the partnership with Xactly provides invaluable industry insights, and how tools like Xactly Connect have revolutionized their validation process by integrating disparate data sources into a single, powerful Power BI dashboard.
Q: Could you tell us about your role and background?
A: Jeremy Franks is the Manager of Sales Operations at Flowserve, where he has worked for about ten years. He began his career there managing the company's global booking system, which consolidates sales data into a single database. In his current role, he is now a primary user of the data from the system he helped create.
Q: What do you love about sales compensation?
A: Summary: Jeremy enjoys the people aspect of the job, noting that "sales guys are a lot of fun." He is particularly proud of having overhauled his department's reporting process, which has made it much faster and easier for the team to see data, identify potential issues, and respond accordingly.
Q: What do you love about your partnership with Xactly?
A: Jeremy values the partnership because it has helped him understand industry standards and learn about the different tools available to improve his processes.
Q: What is something that sets Xactly apart from other companies?
A: Jeremy believes Xactly's key differentiator is its ability to handle all of the "little complicated pieces" unique to their business while still keeping the process automated.
"Having a tool like Xactly where we can put in all the little complicated pieces that we have and still have it automated...that really makes Xactly stand out."
Q: What new Xactly features or solutions are you most excited about?
A: Jeremy is most excited about Xactly Extend because it "opens up more options" and makes more tools available. His team is currently in the process of implementing the quota planning tool (Xactly Plan) and he is already considering other applications to adopt in the future.
Q: What Xactly product have you had the most success with?
A: Jeremy has had the most success with Xactly Connect. This tool allows his team to pull data from Xactly into Power BI, where they can consolidate it with other sources like their global booking system and Workday. This allows them to compare data, ensure accuracy, and validate records on a single dashboard, which he notes has significantly sped up their validation process.
"It's really sped up that validation process using Connect."
Please note: The questions and answers above have been edited and condensed for clarity and reading ease. To hear Jeremy Franks tell his full story in his own words, with even more detail and context, be sure to watch the complete video interview.