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"There were 15 people in that room with 15 completely different looking proposals. It was the Wild West. I asked, Why are we doing it this way?"
Scott Jimenez, Senior VP
About AFCO
AFCO, a leading provider of specialized food safety and equipment solutions, has been growing 15-18% since April 2024, but their proposal process couldn't keep up. The team was drowning in paperwork while riding their growth wave—spending too many hours creating, managing, and sending RFPs, RFIs, and other documents to close deals. They needed a smarter approach to standardize pricing, eliminate inefficiencies, and speed up their deal cycles—something everyone could easily adopt.
The Challenge: 15 Proposals, 15 different versions.
Before partnering with Talewind, AFCO's sales and leadership team gathered for a meeting in Las Vegas. Scott Jimenez, Senior VP at AFCO, was frustrated with his current situation:
“I was personally spending hours pulling data from multiple departments—finance, legal, equipment—just to get a single proposal ready.”
During the Vegas meeting, he asked everyone to display their proposals on screen. What he saw confirmed his concerns.
"There were 15 people in that room with 15 completely different looking proposals. It was the Wild West. I asked, 'Why are we doing it this way?'
This proposal patchwork led to wasted resources, inconsistent pricing, and hindered scalability.
The Solution: A Literal ‘Sign’ From Above.
Scott recognized his team needed a new system. While getting ready to board a plane at the Portland airport, he saw a sign…literally. The sign read ‘Simplify Your Proposal.’
The sign wasn’t just text, it was a eureka moment. Scott thought of those 15 different proposals and how the majority of the work was falling on his shoulders.
It reminded Scott of his conversation with Talewind at a conference in Chicago.
“I immediately thought of what Talewind was offering. I told them how I was getting caught up on too many tiny deals and needed to better spend my time. They matched exactly what we were struggling with—consistency, speed, and ease of use. I need to give those guys a call,” said Jimenez
Implementing Talewind: Going Live Faster Than Expected.
Scott was excited to bring in Talewind because their current process was exhausting. His only hesitation was whether Talewind could handle the complexity of their proposals and ensure pricing remained accurate.
Once he saw how Talewind could take his data, structure it within their proprietary software, and automate proposals with just a few key inputs, he knew it was the right solution. With Talewind’s hands-on support, the efficient rollout even surprised Scott:
“I gave them all this data and answered a few questions. From there, they knocked it out of the park. The patience, support and guidance was second-to-none. Our whole sales team was shocked how fast it took and how accurate the documents were." Jimenez explained.
The Results: Spending 80% Less Time on Sales Docs.
Night-and-Day Difference in Efficiency
Since implementing Talewind, proposals that once devoured days, now take as little as 15 minutes to create—achieving an 80% improvement in efficiency:
"Now, instead of spending hours behind a desk, our team can create professional proposals in minutes and get back in the field faster. It's a complete transformation," shared Jimenez.
Precision Pricing
AFCO leveraged Talewind’s pricing calculator to standardize and optimize pricing, significantly enhancing their operating margins:
"Talewind’s pricing calculator has been key. It standardized our pricing and significantly improved our margins. Now we have clear targets and can confidently manage profitability," said Jimenez.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Customers responded positively to the Talewind showroom, appreciating the professional, streamlined, and easy-to-navigate experience:
"Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. They love having everything accessible in one spot. It eliminates confusion and makes the buying process straightforward," noted Jimenez.
The New Standard: Becoming Essential to AFCO’s Success.
Talewind quickly became a go-to solution for AFCO’s document creation process. Adoption of the platform became a company-wide goal, directly tied to employee bonuses, highlighting its strategic importance:
“Our CEO values speed and efficiency above all. With Talewind, we've eliminated internal silos, accelerated our deal cycles, and enhanced profitability. It’s now a critical tool tied to our team's performance goals," Jimenez shared.
Beyond Typical SaaS: A True Business Partnership.
Unlike traditional SaaS providers, Talewind partnered deeply with AFCO, offering flexibility, creative ideas, and continuous support:
“Talewind isn’t like typical SaaS platforms. They’re flexible, proactive, and genuinely invested in our success. We appreciate their creativity and ongoing suggestions, something we’ve never experienced from other software providers," Jimenez said.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Talewind’s Impact.
Encouraged by the success and significant ROI, AFCO is actively exploring ways to expand Talewind’s role beyond sales documents. With Talewind already streamlining proposals, pricing, and approvals, the next step is integrating its automation and expert support into contract management, service agreements, and other internal workflows.
"We see more potential with Talewind. We’re actively looking at how else we can leverage their expertise to simplify additional processes," Jimenez concluded.
The Talewind Transformation
- 80% reduction in proposal preparation time.
- Significant improvement in operating margins due to standardized pricing.
- Improved internal efficiency and employee satisfaction.
- Enhanced customer experience and faster sales cycles.
AFCO’s success highlights the difference between traditional SaaS and Talewind. While most platforms expect teams to learn and manage complexity, Talewind flips the script—seamlessly combining automation with hands-on support to remove the friction from sales, so deals move faster with minimal effort.
