Sun State International Trucks is a premier full-service truck dealership serving West Central Florida. Family-owned and operated for more than 20 years, the company is one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the region, generating more than $250 million in annual revenue.  

A fast-moving business with limited sales visibility 

With a portfolio spanning truck and trailer sales, leasing, parts, and service operations, Sun State depends on strong customer relationships and fast-moving sales processes to compete in a challenging market. As the business expanded, Sun State needed a modern way to unify customer information and support intelligent account management across every division.  

The aftermarket parts organization, in particular, operates under intense pressure. Sales reps complete between 55 and 60 in-person customer visits each week — often 8 to 12 a day — in a market where competitors are always ready to step in.  

While their ERP system showed what customers had bought, it offered no insight into why buying patterns changed or whether certain high-margin categories were under-penetrated. Reps became overwhelmed with raw data, unable to identify risks or potential selling opportunities.  

Unifying CRM and ERP for intelligent account management 

Sun State selected Sugar Sell as its CRM platform across wholesale, leasing, parts, and service, providing a consistent, comprehensive customer view for sales teams. SugarCRM’s sales-i added Revenue Intelligence to the mix, transforming raw ERP data into immediate insights to help reps identify gaps and upsell/cross-sell opportunities.  

“Using Sugar Sell, sales reps engage in customer conversations armed with insights on customers’ current and potential purchases – giving them an advantage in picking up additional business and increasing sales volume.” 

Steve Jiran, VP of Parts Sales 

The shift was immediate. Instead of walking into visits with general questions, reps now arrived with an action plan. As Steve shares, reps could now say, “Last month you bought 10 of these; this month you didn’t buy any — what changed?”  

This level of insight elevated customer conversations. Sun State introduced a structured QDR (Quarterly Data Review), giving customers a data-rich view of top products, declining items, and new growth opportunities. Some customers remarked that no one had ever presented their business to them this way before. 

Steve continues, “The more information you can offer a customer, the stickier you can be with that account, going across functions into other areas of the business.”  

“We’ve grown from $25M to $250M — and our sights are set on $400M. To get there, we need the kind of data-driven selling Sugar gives us.” 

Steve Jiran, VP of Parts Sales 

Sugar’s unified platform also strengthened coordination across business units. With insight into activities from trucks, trailers, service, and parts all in one place, reps could coordinate outreach and deepen account relationships. This aligned closely with Sun State’s broader growth strategy, which includes expanding into product lines such as trailers, yard spotters, financing, and fabrication services. 

Measurable sales results 

• 6% overall parts revenue growth in a down industry year 

• 5% increase in aftermarket sales, supported by Revenue Intelligence 

• 10% increase in productivity and time savings for sales representatives 

• 100% CRM adoption within 90 days 

• Greater cross-department visibility, enabling coordinated customer engagement across all business units