Customer Case Study

Aquifer is a fast-growing distributor with a strong service mindset and a reputation for putting customers first. Founded in Saskatchewan back in 1968, they’re a premier supplier of plumbing and heating equipment, pumps, waterworks, water treatment, and water purification equipment.

As Aquifer grew quickly over the last several years, the team started to feel growing pains with its sales process. It soon became obvious it was time for a new approach. 

The challenge: growing pains for a larger team

Aquifer has grown fast — scaling from 13 to over 200 employees over the last 25 years, with much of that growth happening since 2020. But as they added more reps, more accounts, and more data, their old way of tracking sales activity started to break down.

“Everybody had a different way of tracking their calls. We didn’t have a CRM. And with the size we were—and the size we wanted to be—we knew we had to figure it out,” explained Crystal Howat, Director of Technology and E-Commerce.

Reps were each managing their own system: some scribbled notes on paper or sticky notes, others kept spreadsheets or dug through old emails. 

This worked well enough for a smaller team, but as the team grew, so did the gaps. Sales managers couldn’t see what was happening in the field. Follow-ups slipped. Reporting took hours. Handing off accounts became a challenge and information started falling through the cracks.

“Follow-ups weren’t happening as much as everyone hoped,” noted Schaun Corbett, VP of Sales.

It was then that Aquifer knew they needed to find a better system. One that could scale with them and help them grow even faster, instead of adding more friction and headaches for the team. 

How Aquifer works today: more structure, better collaboration, and less guesswork

Today, every part of Aquifer’s sales organization runs through Proton.

Outside reps use it to plan their day, log call notes, and prep for meetings on the go. With Proton’s mobile app, they can review tasks, customers’ order history, and recent interactions from their phone while traveling so they walk into every customer conversation prepared. These reps are expected to contact every customer in their territory every six weeks, so Proton makes it easier for them to stay on track.

“We want our reps focused on selling—not crunching numbers or interpreting data,” Aaron Soloski, Sales Manager, said. 

Inside reps and CSRs rely on Proton as a central hub. They assign tasks to outside reps, drop in quick updates, and use reorder prompts to suggest products before a customer even hits the counter.

Proton also brings clarity and consistency to how the team tracks and shares call notes. Instead of reps writing up Word documents that managers then had to summarize and format, reps log their own notes directly into Proton. Notes are now searchable, shareable, and actually get used.

“Just the ability to summarize and share call notes easily with the branch has been huge,” emphasized Aaron Soloski, Sales Manager.  “We used to edit and summarize them manually, now it’s just three clicks. It’s probably gained us a day each week.” 

Structured workflows and shared visibility have made onboarding and coverage easier too. If a rep is sick or on vacation, anyone else can step in without missing a beat. The entire team works off the same source of truth, whether they’re in the office, at the counter, or out in the field.

“If someone’s off sick or on holiday, anybody on the team is able to jump into their accounts and know exactly what’s happening,” said Crystal Howat, Director of Technology and E-Commerce. “That makes onboarding new reps and coverage easier, and helps us maintain the same level of customer service, whether the rep is in-house or not.” 

The team is now more aligned, more efficient, and better prepared. And that shows in their results: since they adopted Proton back in 2023, they’ve increased their average order values 47% and increased their average monthly revenue 34%.

This all boils down to keeping reps focused on the right activities. “The reps are spending a lot more time selling and a lot less time on admin tasks,” noted Aaron Soloski, Sales Manager. “They're engaged with clients and more prepared. Increased revenue is a result of the reps being more on their game.” 

Improving Aquifer’s commercial quotations process

Another improvement is that Aquifer’s quotations team now works out of a dedicated commercial pipeline built specifically for how they manage bids. Before Proton, there was no coordination between branches. 

“We used to see large projects quoted by our quotations team, but communication didn’t always reach outside sales for proper follow-up,”  said Schaun Corbett, Vice President of Sales. “Proton’s had a big impact helping with that.” 

Today, reps across offices can see which jobs are being quoted, which vendors are involved, and which customers are bidding.

“We’ve come a long way from having no visibility into commercial quotations to now having complete transparency,” highlighted Crystal Howat, Director of Technology and E-Commerce. “Reps don’t need to go to the commercial quotations team anymore to find out if someone is bidding on a job. They can see it right there.” 

This new level of coordination has upgraded the entire sales experience. Quoting used to happen in silos, leading to missed follow-ups and duplicate efforts. Now, the sales and quoting teams work in lockstep.

How Proton helped Aquifer increase AOV and average monthly revenue 

Since going live with Proton two years ago, Aquifer has grown its average order value by 47% and increased average monthly revenue by 34%. Here’s how Proton helped make that happen:

• Equipping reps with the right context. With full account history, past call notes, reorder prompts, and AI-generated buying insights, reps no longer waste time guessing what to pitch. They walk into every call prepared to sell what each customer actually needs—and to upsell more effectively. 

“We’re not just trying to make more calls, we’re making more capable sales calls,” said Aaron Soloski, Sales Manager.

• Focusing the team on revenue-generating activities. Instead of chasing down information, reps are spending more time engaging with customers. Follow-ups happen faster. Deals move forward. Managers have real-time pipeline visibility, so coaching and intervention can happen quickly.
  
• Strengthening team alignment and visibility. Proton gives inside reps, CSRs, outside reps, and managers a shared view of every account so everyone knows who’s doing what, when. Now handoffs are smoother, follow-ups don’t get dropped, and managers can spot issues before they become problems. One example: the commercial quotations team now has a dedicated pipeline, making it easier for field reps to track quotes and keep deals moving.
• Guiding reps to the right opportunities. AI-powered product recommendations help reps identify what to pitch next, based on the behavior of similar accounts, so reps can quickly uncover new revenue without just relying on gut instinct.

All of this adds up to more impactful conversations, tighter handoffs between teams, and more consistent execution, which translates to better service, happier customers, higher order values and increased monthly revenue.

Conclusion: a smarter, more scalable sales system

Proton has helped Aquifer scale their sales motion without sacrificing what made them successful to begin with: strong service, trusted relationships, and a team-first mindset.

Now every team, from outside sales to inside sales and commercial quotations, works from the same source of truth. Information flows easily across departments. Managers don’t rely on gut feel. Reps prep faster, follow up more consistently, and walk into meetings ready to sell.

“I would absolutely recommend Proton to anybody in the distribution business,” said Schaun Corbett, Vice President of Sales. “It checks all the boxes for us.”