Founded in 1956, Swish has grown from a family-owned janitorial supply distributor into one of Canada's leading providers of cleaning and sanitation products. With 300+ employees and 15 locations, it combines the personal touch of a local business with the reach of a national operation.
At a glance
- Industry
- Jan-San
- Employees
- 300+
- Locations
- 15
- Website
- swish.ca
- Proton products
- CRMeCommerce AI
Swish's competitive edge has always been its people: the sales reps, customer care teams, and leaders who truly know their customers. But as the company expanded, it needed a way to scale without losing the personal connections that set it apart.
The challenge: silos, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities
Before Proton, Swish's sales process was disjointed and reactive. There was a CRM, but adoption was so low it was more burden than solution — and the team focused on its top 20–30% of accounts, leaving the rest under-engaged.
“Sometimes the feedback we'd get from customers was that they didn't hear from us enough,” said Victoria Blair, Swish's Sales Enablement Leader.
Every branch had its own way of managing customers, and reps worked in silos. That created three problems:
Scattered data. Customer information lived across emails, spreadsheets, and an outdated CRM no one used.
Limited visibility. Reps had no way to know whether a colleague had already contacted a customer — so accounts got duplicate outreach, or none at all.
Inefficient processes. Reps spent 10–15 minutes digging through multiple systems to prepare for every customer call.
Why Proton? A CRM that speaks distribution
As leadership rebuilt the sales strategy, they wanted a CRM that supported a proactive, collaborative process. Proton stood out for three reasons.
Centralized customer data. Proton pulls customer data from Swish's ERP into one easy-to-use platform, so inside sales, outside sales, and customer care all work from the same information — no digging through old emails or spreadsheets.
“Just think of the best assistant you've ever had. You can plug an account number or contact name into the system and get all the information you need within seconds.”
Dave Purdy · General Manager, Swish WhitbyReal-time visibility and collaboration. Reps log activities, leave notes, and tag teammates for smooth handoffs — the backbone of Swish's collaborative selling model, and a window managers use to track progress and support their teams.
“If I was working on an account and knew Mike had been in contact, I could tag him and say, ‘Hey Mike, I spoke with this person today, and I think you might be interested in giving them a visit,'” said Zeina Shahabeddin, Swish's Inside Sales Leader. “That visibility made a huge difference for us.”
AI-driven sales insights. Proton doesn't just store data — it turns it into recommendations: which products to pitch, which customers to follow up with, and where new revenue might be hiding.
What sealed the decision: Proton was built exclusively for distributors, so it didn't need lengthy or expensive customization to fit Swish's business model.
“The value of Proton for our industry is that right out of the box, it speaks our language. It understands what challenges distribution companies have.”
Jason Moorehead · VP of Sales, SwishThe rollout: more than a software update
Rolling out a CRM at a company with “zero CRM culture” was no small task, so Swish treated it as a business transformation rather than a software update. Leadership set the tone early: the VP of Sales and general managers used Proton themselves — a clear message that this wasn't optional, it was the future of how Swish sells.
To drive adoption, Swish named Proton Champions to test the platform and give feedback ahead of the full rollout, then kept the momentum going with regular training sessions, newsletters, and open feedback loops. Within three months, reps who had never used a CRM were opening Proton every day.
Before
With Proton
Call prep
Before10–15 minutes digging through multiple systems before every customer call.
With ProtonA minute or two — account history, team activity, and talking points in one place.
Account coverage
BeforeReps focused on the top 20–30% of accounts; the rest rarely heard from Swish.
With ProtonTeam selling splits the workload, so every account has eyes on it.
Handoffs
BeforeNo way to know a colleague had already called — duplicate outreach, or none at all.
With ProtonNotes, tags, and activity logs make every handoff seamless.
The results: growth without losing the personal touch
Proton is helping Swish grow while keeping the personal service it's known for. The results so far:
Revenue growth through smarter selling
Swish has attributed $3.2 million in new revenue directly to Proton. The platform's AI-driven recommendations surface cross-sell and upsell opportunities reps would otherwise miss.
“One of our new reps, Jake, pitched products to a large account based on Proton's recommendations,” Zeina shared. “The customer said, ‘I never knew that Swish supplied those products.' Now we're in the final stages of closing a huge deal with that customer — all within Jake's first 90 days.”
A growth rate that nearly tripled
In early 2024, Swish was growing 2.8% year over year. For the same period in 2025 — after rolling out Proton across the sales team — that number jumped to 7.8%. Streamlined rep workflows and clearer pipeline visibility nearly tripled the growth rate.
Coverage beyond the top accounts
The old way left most customers under-engaged while reps concentrated on the biggest ones. Proton-powered team selling divides the workload, so the team covers far more ground together.
Call prep down from 15 minutes to a minute or two
“Before Proton, it would take me 10 to 15 minutes to do my research on an account,” Zeina said. “Now it's just a minute or two.”
Reps make more calls and have better conversations — and managers stopped stitching reports together: “Now I can just check Proton, filter for the inside sales team, and I have all the reports I need.”
Customers who never have to repeat themselves
With every team on the same data, customers get one connected conversation whether they're talking to inside sales, an outside rep, or customer care. Swish's personal service now scales to every interaction.
The ecommerce lift: $1.6M from recommendations
Proton's AI also went to work on Swish's online store. Recommended-product carousels, built from each customer's purchase history, connect buyers with items they genuinely need — and drove $1.6 million in online revenue in the first few months of 2025.
The bottom line: a growth partner, not just a CRM
Swish set out to scale its sales process without losing its personal touch. With Proton, it built a collaborative, data-driven sales culture with the results to show for it: year-over-year growth up from 2.8% to 7.8%, $3.2M in attributed revenue, and another $1.6M online.
By making selling smarter instead of harder, Proton keeps Swish's reps focused on what has set the company apart since 1956: serving customers.
