1 ip communications solution selling matt barnes

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IP Communications Solution Selling

Matt Barnes

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Solution Selling Defined

To present a packaged suite of services & products that solve the customer’s business

issues so comprehensively that the initial acquisition cost is no longer a primary focus

during the decision making process.

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Why a Solution Sales Approach?

• Often that’s what you’re competing against

• That’s what an Executive understands

• Compared to the Visio + Bill of Materials approach it increases:

Close Ratio Competitive Differentiation Margins Total Available Revenue

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Where is Solution Selling most effective?

• You are involved from the beginning

• Medium to High Complexity Deals

• Competing against a hybrid PBX or upgrade

• You know the Cisco Solution will cost more

• The decision will be made by Executives

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Methodology & Tools of a Solution Sale

Educate

SolutionDemonstrations

Presentations

DevelopProposalPackage

ConductCompetitive

Analysis

PrepareExecutive

Presentation

DeliverProposalPackage

DeliverExecutive

Presentation

DeliverWritten

Proposal

TechnicalSolution

Development

Develop InitialApplication

DesignRequirments

Perform InitialAudits

Perform InitialTraffic Analysis

Perform InitialHardware Gap

Analysis

Perform InitialLegacy

IntegrationAnalysis

Develop InitialSolution Design

Develop InitialOperations/

SupportFramework

Develop InitialService

Requirements

Develop InitialStatement of

Work

BusinessSolution

Development

Conduct DetailedInterviews

DevelopApplication/

Solution Story

DevelopFinancial

Justification

ConsolidateProposalContent

BusinessSolution

DevelopmentTools

InterviewQuestions

PresentationTemplate

CNIC

TechnicalSolution

DevelopmentTool

ProposalPackage

Tools

PresentationTemplate

SampleProposal

RFI/RFPSamples

KnowledgeTransfer

Tools

Online Demos

Demo Scripts

SamplePresentations

Vertical ToolKits

Case Studies

Cisco/go/apps

CustomerRequirements

Document

SampleStatement of

Work

Sample Bills ofMaterials

ReferenceArchitectures

Qualification

Initial Discovery

Identify KeyStakeholders

QualificationTools

InitialQualificationDocument

ExecutiveSponsorInterview

Document

StrategyMeeting

Partner &Cisco

Competitive Info

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Concept of Mise en place

• Meaning: Everything is in place to get it done fast.

- First solution sale may take 7-10 customer visits.

- Need to get the entire process down to 3-5 customer visits.

- Should result in a more focused use of presales engineering.

- As you get better/faster the more solution selling will apply to smaller/less complex deals.

• Keys to Mise en place:

- Tools for interviewing & demos must reflect reality and be readily available.

- Need to know what steps can be skipped based on the customer’s buying criteria & deal complexity.

- Have to be able get to the right people/groups quickly. Usually via Executive Sponsor.

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Tactical Objectives of IPT Solution Sale

Achieve Executive sponsorship to facilitate/mandate interviewing outside of IT

Achieve Technical Management support while selling above them. Discover & quantify the customer’s FY04 business objectives Quantify the solution with the customer’s numbers Provide vertical relevance Minimize free planning & design work (Decrease Cost of Sales) Maximize total available revenue & margins Achieve competitive superiority Develop a reason to sell future services Overcome any ESO relationship hurdles. (If it exists)

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Qualification

Educate


Presentations


ConductCompetitive

Analysis

PrepareExecutive

Presentation


DeliverExecutive

Presentation

DeliverWritten

Proposal

TechnicalSolution

Development


DesignRequirments




Analysis


IntegrationAnalysis



SupportFramework


Requirements


Work

BusinessSolution

Development


DevelopApplication/

Solution Story

DevelopFinancial

Justification


Qualification

Initial Discovery


StrategyMeeting

Partner &Cisco

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Initial Discovery

• Project Success Criteria

• Critical Timelines

• Budgeting

• Competition

• Key Influencers

• Decision Makers

• Consequences of not moving to a new voice solution

• Obstacles to moving forward in a reasonable timeline

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Executive Sponsor Interview

• Do they have the power to get you critical demos and interviews?

• Are they capable of effectively representing your story to the Executive Team?

• The types of questions:

Strategic

Financial

Tactical Insight

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Before you invest more time ask yourself:

• Can we offer the right services?

• To the Cisco Team are we a benefit or negative to the Sales cycle?

• What parts of the solution sales methodology must we use?

• Which solution sales tools will we need?

• Can we win?

• Do we really understand the workload required to win?

• Will our business justification clearly outweigh the price tag?

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Educate

Educate


Presentations


ConductCompetitive

Analysis

PrepareExecutive

Presentation


DeliverExecutive

Presentation

DeliverWritten

Proposal

TechnicalSolution

Development


DesignRequirments




Analysis


IntegrationAnalysis



SupportFramework


Requirements


Work

BusinessSolution

Development


DevelopApplication/

Solution Story

DevelopFinancial

Justification


Qualification

Initial Discovery


StrategyMeeting

Partner &Cisco

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Educate

• Doing demos/presentations before the interviews helps the customer understand the possibilities.

• Must lay the foundation of ‘Why IP’

• Need two education approaches: Shotgun & Rifle

• Show Vertical Value

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Vertical Tool Kit Components

• White paper data on industry trends & ‘care abouts’

• IPT Case Studies (including key Applications/XML)

• Industry-specific Qualification & Interview Questions

• Industry-specific demos

• Relevant 3rd Party Ecosystem Applications

• PPT Solution Template

• Modified Project Management

• Sample Architectures

• Sample Bill of Materials

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What Makes An Optimal Demo?

• Mobility is critical

• Relevant IP Phone Services tied back to the customer’s business needs & industry vertical

• Business Demo for a Business Audience

• Technical Demo for Technical Audience

• Cover all the Cisco solutions & show 3rd party solutions

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Business Solution Development

Educate


Presentations


ConductCompetitive

Analysis

PrepareExecutive

Presentation


DeliverExecutive

Presentation

DeliverWritten

Proposal

TechnicalSolution

Development


DesignRequirments




Analysis


IntegrationAnalysis



SupportFramework


Requirements


Work

BusinessSolution

Development


DevelopApplication/

Solution Story

DevelopFinancial

Justification


Qualification

Initial Discovery


StrategyMeeting

Partner &Cisco

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Must have a story at all layers: Keep this in mind as you do interviews

1. More Efficient Asset Utilization1. More Efficient Asset Utilization1. More Efficient Asset Utilization1. More Efficient Asset Utilization“Help me save money”“Help me save money”

2. Integration with Existing Systems2. Integration with Existing Systems2. Integration with Existing Systems2. Integration with Existing Systems“Work smoothlywith what I have”“Work smoothlywith what I have”

3. Manage Risk3. Manage Risk3. Manage Risk3. Manage Risk“Give me flexibility to adapt to changing business conditions”“Give me flexibility to adapt to changing business conditions”

4. Business 4. Business VirtualizationVirtualization4. Business 4. Business VirtualizationVirtualization

“Help me work across boundariesinside and outside my business”“Help me work across boundariesinside and outside my business”

“Give me an advantage over my competition”“Give me an advantage over my competition”

5. Competitive 5. Competitive AdvantageAdvantage

5. Competitive 5. Competitive AdvantageAdvantage

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Interview Groups – touch whoever has influence

• Sales/Marketing

• Financial Executive (CEO/CFO/COO)

• Technical Executive (CIO/CTO)

Applications & Infrastructure

• Telecom/Facilities

Call Center Group

• Department Heads w/ key initiatives

• End Users

• Admin Assistants/Attendants

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Interviews – what are you looking for?

• Business Initiatives & Budgets Required contribution to corporate initiatives How are measured for success? Challenges / wish list

• Business/Operational Process Applications in use Application likes/dislikes Challenges / wish list

• Voice likes / dislikes

• How do they communicate internally & externally?

• Gathering & validation of ROI numbers.

• Disadvantages for remote sites & workers?

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Interviews —Telecom/IT

• Get their opinion of the user’s perspective

• Future needs/expectations

• Support requirements

• Staff Activities – must be able to counter balance protectionism

• ‘Care Abouts’

• Financial Data Phone Bills, maintenance, MAC, cabling costs

Budgets, planned expansions/upgrades

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Application Workshop as a sales tool

• Objective: Identify applications that cost-effectively solve business problems.

• Keys to Success1. Who are the right and wrong people to attend?

2. Must create competitive differentiation

3. Don’t just focus on XML.

4. Need a repeatable process that covers: Vertical Demo of possibilities Application Discovery Sample Application development (Aptigen) Quantification of the value of the Applications

• Often the killer app is just the extension of an existing application.

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Financial Justification

• Must be able to use the customer numbers gathered in interviews

• If your ROI does not significantly outweigh the costs you have not dug deep enough.

• Areas to touch:‘Hard Dollar’ ROI Modeling/CNIC

Calculations of ‘Soft Costs’/Productivity

Calculation of Business Initiatives

Inclusion of Leasing Options

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Financial Justification:Can you categorize the ROI in these terms?

• Reduction in Total Cost of Ownership

• Value of Future Options

• Increase in End-User Productivity

• Incremental Top-Line Revenue

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Technical Solution Development

Educate


Presentations


ConductCompetitive

Analysis

PrepareExecutive

Presentation


DeliverExecutive

Presentation

DeliverWritten

Proposal

TechnicalSolution

Development


DesignRequirments




Analysis


IntegrationAnalysis



SupportFramework


Requirements


Work

BusinessSolution

Development


DevelopApplication/

Solution Story

DevelopFinancial

Justification


Qualification

Initial Discovery


StrategyMeeting

Partner &Cisco

252525

Before you build the technical solution: Are you touching it all?

• IPCC Attach Rate - 60%+

• XML Attach Rate - 80%+

• End Use Training Attach Rate - 100%

• SmartNet Attach Rate – 90%

• Onsite Support Attach Rate – 90%+

• Wireless IPC Attach Rate - 75%+

• Unity UM Attach Rate – 80%+

• Security Attach Rate– 80-100%+

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Technical Solution Development

• Identify Initial Application Design Requirements

• Perform Initial Audit of Existing Infrastructure Architecture

• Perform Initial Traffic Analysis

• Perform an Initial Hardware Gap Analysis

• Perform Initial Legacy Integration Analysis

• Develop Initial Solution Design

• Develop Initial Operations/Support Framework

• Identify Initial Service Requirements

• Develop Initial Statement of Work

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Develop Proposal Package

Educate


Presentations


ConductCompetitive

Analysis

PrepareExecutive

Presentation


DeliverExecutive

Presentation

DeliverWritten

Proposal

TechnicalSolution

Development


DesignRequirments




Analysis


IntegrationAnalysis



SupportFramework


Requirements


Work

BusinessSolution

Development


DevelopApplication/

Solution Story

DevelopFinancial

Justification


Qualification

Initial Discovery


StrategyMeeting

Partner &Cisco

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Putting together the Solution Framework: Presentation Content

• Review of FY04 business objectives & project objectivesLinkage of how the solution addresses the objectives

Financial quantification of objectives, productivity & hard costs

• The Solution –

Emphasis on application benefits, hierarchy of needs & network leverage Solution Technical options with pros & cons of each

Lifecycle Services & Operational Framework provided

• Why You/Why Cisco

• Questions to ask the competition aka “landmines” & differentiators

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Putting together the Solution Framework: The Proposal

• Why Us?

• Business Case Analysis

• Financial Packaging Options

• Case Studies

• AVVID Marketing Collateral

• Service Descriptions/Methodology

• Statement of Work

• End User Training Framework

• Remote and Onsite Support Framework

• Sample User Design Templates

• Bill of Materials

• Engineering Resumes

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Competitive Differentiation Considerations

• Competitors’ financial positions?

• What business issues can the Cisco solution address that the others cannot?

• What are the architectural differences? Where are the functionality overlaps with other solutions?

• Where are the Cisco weaknesses?

• What is the strategy to position around those weaknesses?

• What landmines can be set for the competition?

• Is the same component-level redundancy, capacity, and functionality proposed?

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Partner Differentiation Considerations

• What customer lifecycle services do they offer?

• Has the customer identified the specific differences in the services proposal?

• What are the differences in the PDIOO processes to reduce project risk?

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Thoughts on Packaging

• Too much pricing detail is a bad thing

• Don’t split out planning & design

• A monthly cost via leasing is a good way to present information to Executives

1 ip communications solution selling matt barnes

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