How ready is your sales team? – asks Paul Black, sales-i’s co-founder
When we founded sales-i nearly 18 months back, one of our underlying tenets was to deliver a new breed of sales intelligence service exclusively on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Now many would see this as a no-brainer. After all Gartner and most other respected global analysts had been forecasting a stupendous growth in this deployment model for some years; and the chickens are definitely coming home to roost as more than 80% of organisations now consider this low risk, pay as you go approach to buying software.
The appeal of procuring software functionality on a monthly subscription basis is growing all the time, as organisations wake up to the associated low cost of ownership, and rapid speed to market in deploying new functionality. Vendors too can look to a future of more reliable and forecastable revenues and feel less vulnerable to market changes. So is it really that simple switching from a product sale to a service sale or do vendors need to address gaps in their sales training or indeed consider recruiting a different type of salesman altogether?
Well for me the sales process is completely different in the SaaS world and not all salespeople will make the switch that easily. The theory behind SaaS is build, manage, deliver, support and sell – and to do all of this remotely. In reality the customers buy because they trust. Although the trust may not come from a face to face meeting as most SaaS sales are conducted over the web and phone. This is a new dimension for the traditional enterprise software sales rep who now needs to sell a long-term relationship that will be tested over time rather than a one-off product sale. Equally the SaaS sales model demands more deals per sales rep at a lower value per sale. Sales compensation plans take this longer term view too often recognising the initial sale but further rewarding increases in account value over time. So the one off ‘glory sale’ and its associated commission, is no more.
This is not a transition that every ‘enterprise software’ sales rep will take to easily. As we expand our SaaS sales force we are looking to develop salespeople who can adapt to ‘service-based selling’ which is all about purpose and passion and being able to sell conceptually. Together with our sales team development specialists, EGOstream we will go beyond simply recruiting sales people and instead develop and mentor the right sales people to adapt to this service-led world. And I’ll be happy to report back on how we get on; warts and all, I promise.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Monday, 10 March 2008
The Show Must Go On
Says Who? - asks Kevin McGirl
Discussing the costs of running a sales and marketing operation with a group of customers – I was shocked to discover that a large percentage of budgets are still ‘religiously’ set aside for trade shows. Having recently attended the Spring Fair show at the NEC – I have to wonder why they bother.
In previous years, getting off at junction 6 of the M42 involved lengthy queues – not this year...straight in...empty buses from the car parks...no wait at the show entrance....have I come on the right day? Inside the Halls the atmosphere is like one of those abandoned ghost towns in Western movies...tumbleweed rolling through deserted streets. Has everybody been kidnapped by aliens?
Unsurprisingly salespeople on the stands looked very jaded – some made the effort to engage in eye contact in the faint hope that the warm body passing their stand might just be a prospect – most were so dispirited that they stayed slumped on their bar stools (only available from the official NEC contractor at £75.99+vat per day). In a recently published article, international analyst firm Bloor Research indicated that the typical ‘all up’ cost of a salesperson is £250 per day – so surely these valuable resources should be in front of customers!
Many of the stands were very impressive – clearly costing six figure sums. Trade show organisers must be able to hypnotise exhibitors – convincing them that if they do not attend they will be treated like lepers by their peers and their customers will assume they have gone out of business. Plus competitive leapfrog leads to bigger, bolder stands and the rush to book the prime spots for next year’s show.
Why do companies fall for it? – answers abound: “we have been coming here for years” (classic inertia); our customers expect to see us here (this is expensive PR and customers aren’t attending anyway so they won’t know if you don’t show up!); “our competitors will be there” (what happened to original thinking?); “we won a big order here 10 years ago” (pure nostalgia); “our sales guys get together and bond” (save a fortune and offer to take them to Spearmint Rhinos if they hit their targets).
Next year – don’t go – invest the considerable sum of cash saved in improving the effectiveness and motivation of your sales team. Plus, target customers with ‘one to one’ marketing techniques: personal, timely and relevant...a ‘sniper’s’ rifle approach rather than the ‘blunderbuss’ of a trade show.
The good news is that sales-i can help you achieve this for just £1 a salesperson per day – less than the cost of a coffee at the NEC.
Kevin McGirl, sales-i.com
Discussing the costs of running a sales and marketing operation with a group of customers – I was shocked to discover that a large percentage of budgets are still ‘religiously’ set aside for trade shows. Having recently attended the Spring Fair show at the NEC – I have to wonder why they bother.
In previous years, getting off at junction 6 of the M42 involved lengthy queues – not this year...straight in...empty buses from the car parks...no wait at the show entrance....have I come on the right day? Inside the Halls the atmosphere is like one of those abandoned ghost towns in Western movies...tumbleweed rolling through deserted streets. Has everybody been kidnapped by aliens?
Unsurprisingly salespeople on the stands looked very jaded – some made the effort to engage in eye contact in the faint hope that the warm body passing their stand might just be a prospect – most were so dispirited that they stayed slumped on their bar stools (only available from the official NEC contractor at £75.99+vat per day). In a recently published article, international analyst firm Bloor Research indicated that the typical ‘all up’ cost of a salesperson is £250 per day – so surely these valuable resources should be in front of customers!
Many of the stands were very impressive – clearly costing six figure sums. Trade show organisers must be able to hypnotise exhibitors – convincing them that if they do not attend they will be treated like lepers by their peers and their customers will assume they have gone out of business. Plus competitive leapfrog leads to bigger, bolder stands and the rush to book the prime spots for next year’s show.
Why do companies fall for it? – answers abound: “we have been coming here for years” (classic inertia); our customers expect to see us here (this is expensive PR and customers aren’t attending anyway so they won’t know if you don’t show up!); “our competitors will be there” (what happened to original thinking?); “we won a big order here 10 years ago” (pure nostalgia); “our sales guys get together and bond” (save a fortune and offer to take them to Spearmint Rhinos if they hit their targets).
Next year – don’t go – invest the considerable sum of cash saved in improving the effectiveness and motivation of your sales team. Plus, target customers with ‘one to one’ marketing techniques: personal, timely and relevant...a ‘sniper’s’ rifle approach rather than the ‘blunderbuss’ of a trade show.
The good news is that sales-i can help you achieve this for just £1 a salesperson per day – less than the cost of a coffee at the NEC.
Kevin McGirl, sales-i.com
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