Davide's space

Connect the dots:
If it doesn’t rain, grass doesn’t grow. If grass doesn’t grow…cows don’t eat. If the cows don’t eat then the rancher either has to sell the cows or buy hay to feed the cows. If everyone sells their cows, it drives cattle prices down. If everyone is feeding hay it drives hay prices up and cuts into overall profit. Supply and demand…it’s really pretty simple yet much like a Vegas dice game.
Selling technology is much different than raising cattle. Sure we may be subject to certain elements (such as the economy) but the marketplace and conditions are everevolving. Buyers are more intelligent, technology is capable of achieving a greater impact to the user’s business and the competition is ever-more aggressive. We have to change, stay fresh in our approach and be cognizant of market expectations to ensure we have a viable and attractive offer. Staying the same is the kiss of death in a technology driven business. It means becoming stale and outdated.
A sales strategy that worked 3-5 years ago is not as effective. We should recognize that the events occurring throughout the sales cycle are necessary and each serve a specific purpose. In relation to the metaphor used earlier, these events represent crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s They do not connect the dots for a buyer. This is a critical oversight that often results in lost sales.
For instance, throughout the sales cycle several events may take place:
• Response to an RFP
• Fact finding mission/discussion
• Validation of information collected
• Provide references
• Product demonstration
• Provide product brochures/descriptions
• A nice proposal complete with pricing and itemization of equipment to be
provided
To make a point, let’s isolate the effects of a product demonstration. Is this an
important event? Absolutely. In fact, it’s assumed by most people that if a would-be
buyer will not invest the time to see a product demonstration; (red flag) your
probability of earning the business is greatly reduced.
For the customer a product demonstration establishes:
• Clarity of feature/functionality
• Confidence in the vendor’s capabilities is enhanced
• Ability to visualize what the user experience will be long-term
For a Vendor the benefits of providing a product demonstration:
• It further qualifies the buyer. As pointed out earlier, if a buyer won’t take time to go through a demo, it is most likely a red flag indicating they have already decided your potential is of little interest to them. Conversely, most vendors recognize a higher closing rate when the buyer goes through a demo
• The ability to confirm that the technology is acceptable for the buyer and identify objections
• The ability to show mastery of the product
• Bonding with buyer as they see the vendor’s ability to convey and articulate the capabilities of a product to them
• Gaining further buy-in and opportunity for benchmarking
The obscure fact is that for all the positive things which can come out of a demonstration, to achieve maximum results it must prove what the impact of a solution will be to one’s business. It must connect the dots.
Part 1 of 2
Todd Walker
Vice President Sales
Iwatsu Voice Networks

I reviewed the results from the  voicecon webinar on the value of UC  from the first comprehensive “UC End User Productivity Survey”

The effort to identify and even quantify its benefits has consistently failed to result in clearly articulated business benefits; until now they claim! Analysts researched real-life UC end users from various  industries and disciplines within enterprise business organizations. They conducted detailed research and analysis interviewing a variety of end users, examining how they use UC in their daily work flow, and how UC has made an impact. Here are some highlights of those results!

• “100% of those polled said UC has positively impacted the way they do business.”

• “UC has reduced travel my time by 30-40%!”

• “Voicemail has been reduced by 80%!”

• “One problem in particular was solved in minutes, when it would have taken hours to solve before UC.”

• “If UC functionality were taken away from me, I’d demand it back! Seriously, it’s one of the big changes that I’ve seen since being in business.”

Executives, operations, IT, human resources, and marketing users were all interviewed for this study. The consensus was that UC has made a critical impact on their productivity. This is good stuff and validates what we have been talking about over the past 15 years. Unifying and Simplifying business communications can have a tremendous impact on streamlining business process and improving overall corporate productivity. This play directly to an organizations top line ( revenue) and bottom line ( profits).

The value of what esnatech provides with it's UC solution is matching the value of unifying core business applications such as Sales force automation, Groupware solutions, and or CRM and matching it to an organizations strategic operational objectives. This delivers the greatest and quickest return on an organizations UC investment.

rich presence:

Rich presence is an enhanced form of presence awareness in which participants can determine if other users are online and if so, observe to a limited extent what they are doing and how they are doing it.

Basic presence services divulge only the availability of another user. Rich presence goes further; subscribers can let others know:

• their location
• whether their device is mobile
• its specifications
• local time
• personal messages
• current employer or client
• the level of privacy desired.
• if the user is on or off the phone

Rich presence does not allow the transmission of sensitive data that could be used to harm or inconvenience the identified user.

Esnatech UC Client manager provides customers with True Rich presence delivered in a secure enterprise client that eliminates any rick of file transfer, and virus attacks. users can subscribe, and authenticate from their desktop, the web, smartphone or simply calling in using speech. for more information on the RICH PRESENCE client that is part of the ESNA UC offering visit http://www.esnatech.com/products/options/uc_manager.htm