Alta West Capital

 

Alta West Capital helps more people buy their own homes with Salesforce

New regulations. Market changes. Global pandemic. You never know what’s going to happen next. Alternative mortgage lender Alta West Capital works with borrowers, investors, and brokers to help people become homeowners, even in uncertain times. And with Salesforce, the company has shown that it’s ready for anything.

When COVID-19 hit Canada, for example, Alta West Capital didn’t close down like many of its competitors. CEO Chuck McKitrick, along with the management team, equipped the team with new laptops and had every member of staff up and running to work from home within a couple of days. “Thanks to Salesforce, we were able to keep the wheels turning with no staff layoffs,” explained McKitrick. “In fact, we had our best month ever – our sales were up by nearly 20% compared to the previous year.”

Alta West offers an alternative approach for people buying their own homes.

Alta West Capital has been helping people become homeowners since 1991. As an alternative mortgage lender, it helps those that may not secure a mortgage from a larger bank, including immigrants and self-employed entrepreneurs.

The company takes great pride in its people-first approach. “The financial industry can be very focused on the bottom line, but I want our business to have meaning beyond dollars and cents and make a positive impact on people’s lives – whether they’re staff, stakeholders, or borrowers,” explained McKitrick. “Salesforce makes this easier by uniting everything in one place, enhancing the way we communicate with our clients, and enabling us to analyze where we are so we can pivot to where we need to be.”
 

Explore the products that are helping Alta West Capital grow.

 
 

Sales Cloud

Find customers, close deals, and grow accounts faster with Sales Cloud.
 

Einstein Analytics

Einstein Analytics revolutionizes the way you understand and refine new strategies around your business.
 

Disparate systems complicate business analysis and compliance.

In the past, Alta West Capital had used a variety of different systems to capture contact details, deal information, and communications. But in a growing company, this led to a fractured approach that made analysis time-consuming and complicated. And with teams working in siloes from disparate documents, there was no cross-pollination of ideas. “We needed a better way to manage our data to improve efficiency and simplify compliance with industry regulations,” said McKitrick.

When McKitrick started to look for a real estate tool that could bring his business together, he found the market was severely lacking. After talking to a friend that had recently become a Salesforce architect, however, he started to look into the Salesforce solutions. 

Salesforce means the company is equipped for lockdown.

Alta West Capital’s Salesforce journey began in February 2019, and by March 2020 – just 10 days before COVID-19 lockdown - the company had rolled out Sales Cloud, Pardot, and Einstein Analytics.

Just after lockdown came into effect, Lighting Dialer was added to the toolbox. The solution was rolled out in just a couple of days so staff could reach out to clients at the click of a button and check if they needed anything. “We weren’t trying to sell, we just wanted to see if our clients and partners were okay and whether we could help them in any way,” said McKitrick. “It was really easy to do with Lightning Dialer, and created a massive amount of goodwill.”
 

I’m astounded at how effective the analytics are - they’re so effective that we’ve picked up errors that had been perpetuated in spreadsheets for years.”

Chuck McKitrick, CEO, Alta West Capital

Unifying data and communications enables 10% increase in overall business efficiency.

With Salesforce, Alta West Capital has connected all of its stakeholders: investors, mortgage brokers, and borrowers. The team has created an underwriting module in Salesforce that captures all their data and manages the flow of communications.

For example, when a mortgage deal is made or accepted, Salesforce automatically notifies all the stakeholders and schedules a follow up call with the borrower to keep things moving. “With Salesforce, we’ve taken what was a purely functional relationship and added in the human element,” said McKitrick. “We’ve freed staff up from manual tasks so they’re able to spend more time looking after our clients and stakeholders.”

McKitrick estimates that Alta West Capital has made efficiency savings equivalent to up to three or four full-time staff out of 28, thanks to Salesforce, which means everyone has more time for customer care.

Easier reporting simplifies compliance.

Some of these efficiencies have been made through improvements in reporting. With Salesforce, Alta West Capital can automatically generate many of the documents it needs to submit to regulatory bodies for compliance purposes, including weekly, quarterly, and annual reports.

McKitrick and his management team can also conduct complex analyses by slicing and dicing deal data. For example, the team can identify where the best deals come from, who are the strongest partners, and how to convert them into loyal stakeholders. “I’m astounded at how effective the analytics are - they’re so effective that we’ve picked up errors that had been perpetuated in spreadsheets for years,” commented McKitrick. “We can set a target for the quarter and see how we’re achieving against it on a day by day basis.”

Advanced analytics and artificial intelligence inform business decisions.

With Google Analytics and the company’s website feeding data into Salesforce, the team can also analyse where their leads come from. “We only started using Pardot and Einstein Analytics a few months ago, but it’s already changing how we market and price what we’re doing, and how we’re connecting with stakeholders,” added McKitrick. “We have a dedicated member of staff using Pardot to link everything together and manage client communications, and she loves it!”

Leveraging artificial intelligence for further insights is next on Alta West Capital’s agenda. “We’re currently importing 500 old deals from spreadsheets into Einstein, and I’m intrigued to see what predictions emerge,” said McKitrick. “It will help us focus the business on where we’re likely to achieve the most.”

Smarter CRM means a more agile, efficient, and focused business.

Alta West Capital is constantly improving with Salesforce, implementing new processes and reports every week. As well as making the business more efficient, it’s also bringing teams together as they’re sharing ideas across previously siloed departments. “It was a big step to set aside the tools we’d been using for years and start fresh, but it was so worth it,” said McKitrick. “With Salesforce, I can steer the business in the right direction - whatever challenges we face.”

With greater staff collaboration and the agility to adapt quickly to new circumstances, Alta West Capital is on a roll. “With Salesforce, we can be infinitely flexible,” concluded McKitrick. “It simplifies and automates the minutiae of day-to-day business so we can focus on achieving our grand vision of helping more people buy their own homes.”
 

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