How American Woodmark Boosted Adoption by 14%

Complex Offering Creates an Equally Complex Sales Process

American Woodmark makes personalized sales its priority: Its custom cabinetry has over 550+ combinations of door styles, materials, and colors, plus dozens of hardware options and an abundance of accessories. Staying abreast of these offerings can be difficult — a common problem manufacturers such as American Woodmark face. “There’s a lot of complexity [in manufacturing],” shared Donny Miller, project manager for remodel sales training at American Woodmark. “Not only are the products complex, but the sales processes can be different across channels and the wide range of customers you’re selling to.”

To effectively position these offerings, American Woodmark’s reps needed specific product information at their fingertips — and they needed it at a rapid-fire pace. Without a system to efficiently surface these answers, American Woodmark’s teams struggled to find content. It was limiting, not just stalling reps’ ability to answer buyers’ questions on the fly but also impeding other customer-facing teams’ operations. “A sales rep might be looking for a video on how to set up a display whereas someone in customer care might be looking for a specific cabinet part for an order that was placed a couple of years ago,” noted Miller. “There can be different needs for different parts of the team.” A wealth of content, a variety of teams leveraging it, and an endless number of ways it could possibly be combined — American Woodmark needed to ensure its teams had the answers they needed at the instant they needed them. More than that, it needed a comprehensive solution it could grow into, an enablement partner it could mature alongside.

Unified Solution Delivers Business Value to Cross-Functional Teams

With Highspot, American Woodmark found more than just an “operator.” After implementing a strict governance strategy, it finally achieved a single source of truth. And with 84% content findability and a 58% well-governed content rate, reps knew where to turn for content — and were confident they could surface it in a heartbeat. “The search functionality within Highspot allowed us to [achieve] the goal of speed to answer and simplify [reps’] path to what they need,” added Miller. 

And those speedy answers served more than just field reps. Knowing that everyone at American Woodmark was operating in the same system and accessing the same content was game-changing for Miller and his team. That certainty gave the team confidence that sellers could deliver informed, high-quality buying experiences and that post-sales teams were equipped to usher customers forward with smooth, seamless service. That cross-team consistency opened unexpected doors for collaboration and ensured that customers received the same level of knowledgeable service at every stage of their lifecycle. 

Once its content was more accessible and its teams were more tightly aligned than ever, American Woodmark introduced Highspot’s Training & Coaching into the mix, seeking to upskill every employee — not just sales reps — with tailored and role-specific learning. “Learning battles complexity,” shared Miller. “Having that self-paced learning tailored to each group is really big for us.” American Woodmark is only just beginning its enablement journey and has lofty plans for the future of enablement, both for itself and the industry.

Enablement Partner Primes Industry Leader for Evolution

No longer stuck searching for content in the moments that matter, American Woodmark’s teams have felt the impact in their workflows. It’s a time savings they’re funneling back into the organization, beginning to craft a strategic vision for American Woodmark’s future with enablement. After boosting platform adoption by 14%, Miller and his team have now set their sights on ramp time, aiming to ease the pain of onboarding and help reps hit the ground running faster with effective training. “In manufacturing, you may have a complex product where it takes a while to learn that product and become a seasoned sales professional,” added Miller. “Taking that ramp-up time and lessening it — that’s how we’re looking at leveraging Highspot now.” 

As it looks ahead, American Woodmark intends to continue evolving its enablement strategy and leading the enablement charge in the complex world of manufacturing. With Highspot, it’s more than ready to do so.