Q&A with Lead Solutions Manager Nick Adams
by Cynthya Porter
As the use of apps has exploded in recent years, so too have the number of ways in which to make them more useful. In this Q&A with Modus Engagement lead solutions manager Nick Adams, the app maker explains how its popular app platform got it’s start and how it evolved into the multifaceted tool that it is today.
ECN: How was Modus’ app platform created?
Adams: Modus actually started out as a solution developed inside a medical technology marketing company. A client of that firm came in and asked for some type of sales software to put on the new iPads its sales team would be using in the field, but it had to be something that could be managed remotely. Current Modus President and CEO Orrin Broberg saw the app in use and knew it had nearly unlimited potential as a sales and marketing tool. He partnered with the creator to spin the app out into its own company in 2013.
ECN: What is the company’s main product and what niche does it serve?
Adams: Our main product is the Modus platform used by sales and marketing teams. The product’s earliest iteration for outside sales and face-to-face marketing was called App Data Room, but we have added a variety of features to our product including lead capture and qualification, content creation capabilities, communication, tracking, and more. We have tied all of those features together into a customizable, expandable product that can serve as a complete sales and marketing tool. A pre-designed version of the app is available through the App Store, but we also develop custom solutions for clients who have unique requests and needs.
ECN: What are the greatest challenges in building a good app?
Adams: The biggest factor in play when building a good app is keeping it simple from a usability perspective, while also adding in the powerful features required to meet the needs of large, global enterprises with complex distribution channels. Too often, apps get overly complex and cluttered, and they end up looking like “button soup” over time. Also, a good app needs to take into account that every client has its own unique challenges that builders should have the ability to address through customization, and it needs to be reverse-engineered from the end goal to make sure it is truly meeting customer needs.
ECN: How has the product evolved?
Adams: When it was first created, App Data Room was designed to address a specific client need for a sales tool that was easy to use by a mobile sales force and could be updated through a central office. As our clients’ needs have evolved, so has the app, with multiple features added to the platform based on the real-world wish lists of our clients. Because it is so user-friendly while being versatile and powerful at the same time, our product has gained a lot of traction in industries like construction and manufacturing where the sales force might be less likely to be familiar with mobile sales technology.
ECN: How have sales and marketing changed or evolved because of Modus and similar providers?
Adams: Sales teams are able to be so much more mobile than they were in the past thanks to Modus and other apps like it. You can have a salesforce all over the world receiving content updates immediately, and each can customize the way the information is accessed through the app to meet the specific interests of the customers they are serving. Unlike the past when you had no idea if literature was ever even looked at or shared, now sales managers can track exactly who reviewed the material, which points they were most interested in, and who they shared it with. This kind of product has revolutionized the sales industry and a manager’s ability to pinpoint and react to client interest.
ECN: What type of success has Modus enjoyed?
Adams: Modus has won a stack of awards for its product, including: twice being named a Top Sales Tool by Smart Selling Tools, silver and bronze awards from American Business Awards, a Great User Experience Award from Finances Online, an Innovator Award from PM 360, and a nomination for a Tabby Business Award, just to name a few. But Modus has another stack of awards that the company is proud of: It is consistently named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Minnesota Business magazine, which we think is a great testament to the culture at Modus where we work hard and play hard together as a team and take a lot of pride in the product we’ve created.
This story originally appeared in the May/June issue of Exhibit City News, p. 64. For more pictures and original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/may-jun_ecn2018
