The Challenge

AFS had grown on top of several legacy, flooring-specific tools. These systems supported basic operations but did not provide clean, actionable data. Reporting was segmented, automations were missing, and leadership could not see a unified picture of performance across markets, brands, and channels.

“We were relying specifically on “Flooring Specific” software. Unfortunately the flooring space is behind the eight ball on technology, so decide to take on the building of our own custom CRM. Before doing this we had a lack of true data and leading indicators. No automations. segmented reporting. Most of our decisions were based on sales results, instead now we can focus on the items that lead to sales.” – Nelson Boren, VP of Sales Operations, AFS Group

Why It Mattered

AFS runs a high-volume, multi-market operation with varied sales motions. Retail, commercial, wholesale, and programs such as Costco and aggregator partners all feed different lead types into the funnel. Without a unified CRM and analytics layer, it was hard to understand which channels drove profitable deals or how store teams were performing.

Leadership needed a system that could track every step of the journey. They wanted to see raw leads, contact attempts, appointments, orders, and collections in one place. They also needed consistent workflows for commercial deals, installation partners, and call center activity. The new platform had to support deep integrations and still remain flexible for future growth.

The Zenatta Solution

Zenatta worked with AFS in ongoing working sessions to design and build a custom Zoho ecosystem. Together they created a CRM data model for flooring, integrated multiple third-party platforms, and delivered analytics that made every stage of the pipeline measurable.

• Custom CRM Data Model for Flooring: Zenatta reworked the core CRM structure around Deals, Orders, Stores, Installers, Vendors, Referrals, and Submittals. Automations now keep key fields aligned, including:
  • Auto-populating Store and Brand on new records based on the user’s assigned store.
  • Syncing Deal Amounts from associated Orders and locking them once deals are Closed Won.
  • Linking Deals and Orders by Billing Group Number and Order Number with validation to prevent duplicates.
  • Creating boilerplate Submittal entries for new deals and scheduling Pay App reminder tasks seven days before due dates.
• Unified Lead & Appointment Capture: AFS handles leads from web forms, Costco programs, aggregators, and call centers. Zenatta:
  • Integrated Engageware so appointments create or update Leads and Deals, while keeping meetings in sync with CRM and adding deal details as notes.
  • Moved Centah lead generation from SiteGround to Zoho, improving reliability and visibility.
  • Built Flows and functions to push contact lists from Zoho to the Genesys contact center and keep them updated.
  • Set up logic for leads such as “Costco – Costco.com,” ensuring consistent routing and tracking.
  • Implemented click-to-schedule buttons and conditional “Schedule Now” behavior based on Customer Type.
• Commercial Deal Governance & Task Automation: For large commercial work, AFS needed structured review. Zenatta configured:
  • Automations that create contract-review tasks when Commercial Deals reach “Contract Review” with specific amount thresholds.
  • Different review flows when contracts are initiated by AFS or by the customer.
  • Repeating reminders for key financial dates and check requests prefilled from Orders.
  • Client scripts and workflows to update Orders when Deal fields change and to keep Account and Contact relationships in sync.
• Installer & Vendor Operations: AFS manages a large network of installers and vendors. Zenatta:
  • Moved installer documents into a dedicated module with status logic tied to document expiration.
  • Built automations for the “Stores Serviced” list and associated tasks, making it easier to see who can service which locations.
  • Imported vendors from RFMS and added cost calculations for monthly and yearly spend.
• Legacy System Migrations (RLM & Memphis CRM Plus): To give AFS a single source of truth, Zenatta:
  • Planned and executed multi-phase migrations from RLM for markets like Lexington, Louisville, and Indianapolis.
  • Migrated Tasks, Meetings, Quotes, and Attachments from Memphis CRM Plus into the new Zoho One instance.
  • Built data-treatment functions and Analytics tables to clean and validate migrated records before loading.
  • Cleaned up Customer Type values on Deals and then automated the mapping of those types to the correct pipeline.
• Analytics & Full-Funnel Reporting: AFS wanted to see the full picture from first touch to sold deal. Zenatta:
  • Set up dashboards in Zoho Analytics to track raw leads, appointments, deals, and revenue by channel, store, and brand.
  • Built an Aggregator Leads report and other channel-specific views for leadership.
  • Pushed RLM and other system data into Analytics through scheduled jobs and API integrations.
  • Created migration tables for retail and wholesale prospecting to support long-term reporting.
• Ongoing Support & Best Practices: Beyond configuration, Zenatta acts as a strategic partner. They run frequent working calls with AFS, refine automations, and provide guidance on Zoho best practices, Zoho Desk usage, Engageware flows, and survey-driven feedback processes.

“Zenatta helped us by aligning us with a partner that had experience in similar spaces for us and helping educating us on so good practices. We spend approximately 12-15 hours as week with our consultant on ideas or issues that we have.” – Nelson Boren, VP of Sales Operations, AFS Group

Results

With the new Zoho-based platform, AFS can now see the entire customer journey, from first inquiry to closed deal, in one connected system. Teams in each market share the same definitions, fields, and dashboards, which makes performance easier to compare and improve.

• Clear visibility from raw leads all the way down the funnel to sold deals.
• Accurate marketing attribution, making it easier to invest in channels that drive profitable work.
• Structured commercial workflows that ensure high-value contracts receive timely review.
• Cleaner data across Deals, Orders, Stores, and Installers, thanks to consistent automations and migrations.
• Faster collaboration between sales, operations, and leadership through shared dashboards and working sessions.

“The Zenatta team is always there when we need them! They have some really intelligent people within their organization and I am very happy we decided to partner with them. Definitely would recommend to anyone that is planning to build out or implement Zoho. They are the experts.”

– Nelson Boren, VP of Sales Operations, AFS Group