It’s astounding just how many IT businesses we speak to that still adopt this attitude to reaching out in order to get new business.
Now, let me state now that I have the utmost respect for good tele-sales professionals, in the correct environment, or in leveraging existing relationships, they can be a very cost effective way of moving your business forward; but it appears that there is a critical over reliance on this process, when the phone to the sales department stops ringing, and a state of mind that says, “Well, it’s always worked in the past!”
Unfortunately, times change and the behaviour of the people we need to reach out to has also changed, and if we want to continue to reach the decision makers that will commit to our goods or services, then our approach has to change and above all, be RELEVANT!
This is what far too many organisations don’t do; they give no thought to who is likely to make the purchasing decision, how to engage with those individuals, via what platforms of engagement, or what their pain points are likely to be?
In the busy world we live in now, understanding this process and approach is critical to your success. If you are an owner of a business, just like me, and are the decision maker within your organisation, give this some careful thought and you will begin to get an understanding of the challenges that face us all as business owners.
To help bring some clarity to this, I will let you into my busy day, (which will probably be very similar to yours and your customers), and you will get an idea of why, if you want to sell successfully to new customers, you are going to have to change your approach.
Firstly, I have been in sales, operations and business development for over 25 years and like your customers, I am very busy and everyone in my organisation knows not to put a sales call through to me. Like you and your customers, I will come into contact with over 1,000 opportunities to be sold something every day, whether it be via email, social media, printed media, TV or commercial radio. It is a very busy market place, I call it “White Noise” and to get my attention, you have got to be different and separate yourself from the crowd.
Like your customers, when I get to work I am focused and structured on the challenges facing me today, with very little time to think about anything else! So the first thing I ask you to appreciate is this; “if you wanted to contact somebody at a worse time, to try and sell them something, or in a more difficult environment, well it would be a challenge to find a more challenging time than as an interruption to my busy working day!
Should a telesales individual get through, I will be cross that they are interrupting my day and wasting my time, when I should be generating opportunities for myself; not a good start or a positive sales opportunity. If I am feeling mischievous and have not immediately terminated the call, I might throw in a challenge? It will go something like this, “OK, well done, if you can show me the VALUE and WHY in your proposition, you will get my attention! You’ve got 30 seconds, good luck!”
This part of the process invariably fails, mainly because the individual on the other end of the phone can’t speak my language, (they are likely to be in their early twenties, whilst I am in my late forties), and does not know the problems I have that need solving. If they had taken the time to understand my business and the sector within which I operate, they could’ve got my attention by building empathy and then desire; instead they will invariably start “Feature Dumping” their proposition, in the hope that something will resonate.
I’m sure I do not need to go on in highlighting the challenges we all face; investing in cold calling as the “Do All” strategy for any sales environment or marketing process. It is akin to trying to sell type writers today; type writers were great, they had their time, but the moment the “Home Computer” came along, it was all over.
In the last five years more and more companies have reverted to this approach, not because it works, but because it is cheap to get 20 interns in a room somewhere to pound the phones, “Wolf of Wall Street” style. Well as strategy for growth, I ask you to think, is my business in the environment where this approach will be appropriate and successful? Will this approach get the attention of the people who need to hear my proposition? If so, will the people who have got access to these potential customers, be the people I want to deliver my proposition?
And let me give you some personal statistics; in the last 15 years I have never bought any product or service from an organisation that approached me via a cold call. Only 3 people, (and let’s give them credit), have got through to me on my personal mobile number. Only one individual lasted longer than 30 seconds; this was not because I was interested in his proposition, not at all. I liked him because he reminded me of myself, he didn’t take “No” for answer, he showed tenacity and persistence and never gave up. Did I buy from him, absolutely not; did I recognise raw talent that I could use in my organisation, if channelled and developed correctly? Yes I did, so I offered him a job.
Lastly and most importantly, let me shatter some myths about IT and other services sold to businesses, because this is key to empathy with your customers. They don’t care about their IT services or infrastructure, not until they are not working! Owners of businesses invest in goods and services for only 2 reasons; they are obliged to by legislation or because they understand how they can leverage these investments to make money.
Like the majority of business owners, I only cared about my IT systems when they weren’t working, because I knew it was costing me money. When this happened I would reach out quickly to find someone to repair this problem as soon as possible! The commercially aware and sales orientated IT sales organisation would’ve appreciated that they needed to earn my trust and respect, so at that moment, my moment of commercial weakness, I would pick the phone up to them!
If like me you are a busy owner/senior director of a business and this resonates with you and the challenges you face, I ask you to think about this: There is another way and if you would like to work with an organisation that can help you to grow your business, via an approach that is relevant to your target audience, is targeted at decision makers in your target verticals and offers the “Value and the Why” to your target audience; then I would be delighted to hear from you and discuss how we can work together and grow your business.
In this instance please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk or on 0118 947 1010; I look forward to hearing from you.
If you are currently running a successful IT business and beginning to start thinking about your strategy for exit, but are baffled by the task of developing, then presenting your IT business for sale and achieving a fair price, then I understand how this process can be all-consuming and bewildering, but help is at hand.
Having been on the developing for sale and exit journey myself, I know very well that this is a full time job, involving a carefully considered strategy and the implementation of everything that goes with it; for most people waking up today thinking “I think I’ll sell my business”,,,,, they need to think in terms of a 3 to 5 year project.
I can feel the sense of bewilderment already, but before you sign off, just bear with me and I’ll explain. Firstly, like most things in business, this process has become a lot more involved in the last 5 years and has become a specialist role in itself. And we shouldn’t be surprised at this; just think of the likely customers for your business; they are not charitable organisations, they are successful people who have the buying of a successful investment in mind; no thought at all about helping you retire to a beach in the South of France.
The days of easily leveraging forward projections on, or ratios of, goodwill are well and truly over, and as much as investors will still pay money for quantifiable potential, it is important to remember that perception is reality! So if you are going to present your business for sale and achieve the maximum value for all your efforts, I would advise you to appreciate the following.
- The Need to Sell On The Upward Curve.
- The Need to Show Growth.
- The Need for a Quality Sales Pipeline.
- And Never Forget That Perception Is Reality.
It would be my advice that you do nothing until you can satisfy all the above, at least. You want buyers to see a continuous upward growth and to be left wondering; OK, with this growth, wow, I can add value and really take this somewhere. Always leave then pondering how far the business can grow, not where the bottom is? Which is more than likely to be in their thoughts if you present flat-lining accounts, dwindling sales pipelines and no defined strategy for growth.
And finally, one last consideration for now; remember, no buyer wants to buy at the top, they must perceive that there is something in it for them, or why bother?
So, if we can’t present this investment picture to potential buyers, just how do we achieve this? Well, in the current challenging trading conditions, this has become more difficult and all businesses with growth at the forefront of their objectives, must appreciate that it can never be achieved by just waiting for the phone to ring more often.
Most market places in the UK are over supplied and as a consequence, there is a natural “Culling Process” taking place and if we are to avoid this and grow, someone has got to build the strategy and campaign for growth from the ground floor up.
As a minimum this will include finding the answers to the following questions;
Where are our target growth markets?
- Where do we have spare capacity and existing services that can be "Leveraged" and “Scaled Up?”
- How do we target the decision makers within our target markets?
- How do we create our message, including a valuable USP?
- How do we ensure our message is seen by the decision makers?
- What are the correct platforms of engagement for these decision makers?
- How do we generate and maximise opportunities to do business in these target markets?
- What’s the “Cost-Benefit” analysis?
- How do we deliver on this?
Now, if you do not already have people with the answers to these questions in your organisation, just how are you going to achieve this? Well, in the absence of a “Plan B” you are going to have to acquire them, which invariably involves “Buying a Winner!” And this not cheap; in today’s market and trading conditions, these people are very scarce and highly sought after.
They know this of course so this process will be many things, but it will not be cheap! Excluding the tertiary costs of employing these people, they are unlikely to be obtained on a basic salary that will be the side of £100K per annum that you would like, and will they will invariably want a share of the profits, if, that is, you can find one of these illusive people?
Fortunately there is another option available to the owners of businesses looking for sustainable and profitable growth, in order to either maximise the sale of their business at exit, or just to grow in this market, because you are not currently looking to sell.
You can engage Virtuoso Consultancy as your out-sourced Sales, Operations and Business Development partners. If you want to grow your business and via building sustainable, effective and highly profitable sales pipelines, then Virtuoso Consultancy can deliver this for you.
Working on a flexible basis around the needs of your business and supplying the skills and expertise required in order to succeed on your behalf, we have already constructed and delivered successful growth models for IT businesses operating in the Independent Schools, Pharmaceuticals, Legal and Recruitment sectors, to name just a few.
My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses and can deliver sales, operational, business development and marketing experience that is IT sector specific, straight to your door.
We know how to build these models, they are “Current” and continually evolving, we know how to target and speak to the decision makers in your target markets and most importantly, we know how to grow your business and make you money!
If this post has resonated and you would like to explore how we can help you achieve your growth aspirations, then please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning on 0118 947 1010, or at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk
How true this statement is, especially in the sales channel market place, which is an ever evolving environment where sometimes, and without warning, the landscape effecting your success can change and almost in the blinking of an eye!
What had been a successful business model, aligned with desirable products and/or services can implode and, in some cases, this happens literally overnight! I’m sure the producers of the world’s finest typewriters didn’t give the home computer a second thought, well not until it was too late!
Don’t get me wrong though sometimes, as it was with Betamax video, it is just “Over!” But sometimes it’s not the “Game Changing” products on their own that force evolutionary change on sales markets, it’s how entrepreneurial business professionals target your market sector with initiatives that will change forever the way business can be done.
These situations, and they are becoming frighteningly more frequent, invariably lead to a “Culling Process” in over-supplied markets and sales chains, where businesses that do not evolve, cease to be able to survive. As business owners we must remain “Current” and be proactive to how our market places are evolving, if we are to continue to thrive!
This is the challenge that many of our clients in the IT Sector are experiencing at the moment; a perfect storm is forming encompassing challenging trading conditions, reduced budgets and changes in the IT infrastructure in businesses, (the migration to cloud based services to name just one of them), and it is making life very difficult for many businesses in this sector.
To add to their woes, the phone is not ringing and many owners of IT businesses are having to appreciate the startling realities of 2 very different sales models;
1. Sales Model 1: The phone is ringing, I will pick it up and deal with the enquiry and sell the products and services requested.
2. Sales Model 2: The phone is not ringing enough to provide the growth in sales revenue that I require, I need to devise a strategy to identify new and profitable markets, engage with the decision makers operating within this sector and obtain their business.
Now let me stress now, all businesses need to deliver on Sales Model 1, it supplies our organic growth and it is an important skill set required by all businesses. However this model will only get us so far, eventually you will need to adopt Sales Model 2. So just how do we set about achieving this? Well, in the current challenging trading conditions, this has become more difficult, but all businesses with growth at the forefront of their objectives, must appreciate that sustainable growth can never be achieved by just waiting for the phone to ring more often.
Most sales market places in the UK are over supplied and as a consequence, there is a natural “Culling Process” taking place and if we are to avoid this and grow, someone has got to build the strategy and campaign for growth from the ground floor up.
As a minimum this will include finding the answers to the following questions;
-
Where are our target growth markets?
- Where do we have spare capacity and existing services that can be leveraged and “Scaled Up?”
- How do we target the decision makers within our target markets?
- How do we create our message, including a valuable USP?
- How do we ensure our message is seen by the decision makers?
- What are the correct platforms of engagement for these decision makers?
- How do we generate and maximise opportunities to do business in these target markets?
- What’s the “Cost-Benefit” analysis?
- How do we deliver on this?
Now, if you do not already have people with the answers to these questions in your organisation, just how are you going to achieve this? Well, in the absence of a “Plan B” you are going to have to acquire them, which invariably involves “Buying a Winner!” And this not cheap; in today’s market and trading conditions, these people are very scarce and highly sought after.
They know this of course so this process will be many things, but cheap will not be one of them! Excluding the tertiary costs of employing these people, they are unlikely to be obtained on a basic salary that will be the side of £100K per annum that you would like, and will they will invariably want a share of the profits, if, that is, you can find one of these illusive people?
Fortunately there is another option available to the owners of businesses looking for sustainable and profitable growth. You can engage Virtuoso Consultancy as your out-sourced sales, Operations and Business Development partners. If you want to grow your business via building sustainable, effective and highly profitable sales pipelines, then Virtuoso Consultancy can deliver this for you.
Working on a flexible basis, around the needs of your business and supplying skills and expertise required in order to succeed on your behalf, we have already constructed and delivered successful growth models for IT businesses in operating in the Independent Schools, Pharmaceuticals, Legal and Recruitment sectors; to name just a few.
My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses and can deliver sales, operational, business development and marketing experience that is IT sector specific, straight to your door.
We know how to build these models, they are “Current” and continually evolving, we know how to target and speak to the decision makers in your target markets and most importantly, we know how to grow your business and make you money!
If this statement resonates with you, you would like to know more about how you can gain access to these initiatives and you would like to work with an organisation that can help you to both, maximise revenues and thus profits, via an approach that is relevant to your target audience, then I would be delighted to hear from you and discuss how we can work together and grow your business.
In this instance please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk or on 0118 947 1010; I look forward to hearing from you.
It is often said that “The Only Constant Is Change”, and this is certainly true in business. All businesses are affected by change, some suffer during periods of change, but some thrive. Like you all I’m sure, I have witnessed much change in the business world and I’m sure we will all agree that, in times of great change, there are winners and losers.
The ground breaking and innovative music producer, Pete Waterman, calls these moments “Thriller Moments”, referring to the moment he first saw the video for Michael Jackson’s song, Thriller. The moment he saw it he knew the music world would never be the same again; he recognised it as a quantum leap forward in the way artists showcased and presented their work; in fact he knew then that nothing would ever be the same again in the music industry.
However, despite this massive period of change for the music industry, did it stop his production company and record label, Stock Aitken Waterman, from being successful? Absolutely not! But did it revolutionise the music industry? Absolutely!
Sometimes we are lucky, if we pay attention, if we come up for air and if we look, the warning signs of impending change can be seen, and we can prepare, adapt and then take advantage of the changes brought about by natural evolution in our business sector. And this is what I think is happening in the IT industry at the moment, in fact, think of this post as notice that the “Thriller Moment” is coming to a business like yours.
I believe the “Thriller Moment” in the IT sector will be the evolution of software. Namely, cloud based SaaS (software as a service) companies that are disrupting every function, in every company across every industry. In the US companies such as Salesforce, Workday, NetSuite, Marketo, and dozens of other platforms, have created new ecosystems that support tens of thousands of software start-ups and hundreds of thousands of non-traditional technology channels jobs.
Recent data from the US, (Traditionally 12-24 months ahead of the curve, when compared to the UK), shows that cloud implementations reduce IT resourcing by over 55%. This includes outsourced services that many channels have lived on since hardware and software licensing margins began to dry up.
Traditional “Generalist” IT providers are being out-manoeuvred by firms (or individuals) that focus on the 5 main vectors (LOB, sub-industry, segment, geography and technology). In many cases these aren’t “born in the cloud” companies, but industry or LOB focused consultants, service providers and independent contractors, that have been forced into technology as the industries they serve have made the same transition.
The data is now showing that cloud implementations are being won by ecosystem specialists as opposed to traditional IT and telecom partners. An example of this shift is Salesforce, which has 695 partners world-wide, driving over $20B in consulting and integration services. Using data and guidance from CompTIA and CRN, the best estimate is that the channel in the US has shrunk by 36% since the 2008 recession.
Now this is over 100,000 less partner companies in North America and 400,000 less world-wide.
For those surviving, it is estimated by major distributors, that a majority of their SMB partners are operating as “Zombie Businesses”, (technically insolvent!)
Adding to these discouraging numbers from the US, is that 40% of surviving partner executives are planning exits (retirement or M&A) in the next 8 years.
On the positive side, CompTIA predicted that 75% of the channel will be made up of millennials in the same time period.
Now unfortunately, many industry experts assumed that these millennials would be starting new businesses based on reseller, VAR, managed services, agent/sub-agent or solution provider type business models. Businesses affectionately known in the US as, "Born in the Cloud".
The problem with this assumption in the US, and we have to assume that we will follow this inconvenient market trend in the UK, is that the number of born in the cloud partners being created is drastically lower than the hundreds of thousands being lost in the US.
While the IT and telecom channel numbers are declining, this new generation of SaaS platform partners are exploding in the US. But, unfortunately, before your business can explore this new vector-based, millennial-led world, you will first need to understand how your company and products play, with the decision makers in your target demographic;
•Do your products and services integrate seamlessly with the major SaaS ecosystems?
•Are they priced in a per-person, per-month recurring model that can be added to your customer's current arrangements?
•Are they packaged in a way that you as a consultant or integration specialist can profit?
•Do you know who you are targeting with your services and how to identify and engage with them?
To put this into perspective, in the US it is estimated that the current cloud opportunity stands at $204B, according to Gartner, growing by double digits for at least the next decade. Unbelievably, 67% of current channel firms in the US are reporting that cloud demand has outstripped their capacity, whether that is technical capability or bandwidth, while a new generation of non-traditional partners are growing and profiting in this new world.
And all this at a time when many of the IT companies we are working with at the moment, are facing the stark realisation that their sales professionals have actually never sold very much in the past. In fact many directors and business owners we work with have realised that their expensive, highly paid sales professionals, have been mainly handling incoming enquiries and providing IT solutions to customers contacting the business.
Now, having said that it is important to realise that proposals still need to be constructed and delivered, meetings attended, current customers maximised, presentations made and business earned! But what happens when the phone stops ringing? Is your business equipped for the new reality of business development combined with selling services required by your customers, to customers who have not contacted your business?
So, if this resonates with you and you want to explore how we can help you prepare for the coming challenges, identify and target new market sectors and build the business development and marketing initiatives required, in order to take advantage of these opportunities, then please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning on either 0118 947 1010, on 07769 990719, or at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk.
I know passions have been raised and if nothing else, we have learnt just how divided our nation is, but I have been genuinely surprised by how last Friday has affected sentiment and how it has been reported in the media.
Now, I am not for one moment going to express my political views or try to explain why the referendum went the way it did, because, even if I could, it is now irrelevant. It was democracy at work and unless we want to move to North Korea or live under a dictatorship, for good or for bad, we are where we are and this is the “New Normal!”
I do think however, that it is shame that rather than interviewing the likes of Sir James Dyson, (Inventor of the Dyson Vacuum Cleaner), or Sir Anthony Bamford, (The Chairman of JCB), successful and aspirational business people who see the positives for our nation by being out of the European Union, the media have continually broadcast the “Merchants of Doom” since Friday, and I say to everyone, where is the positive?
My business partner and I have been selling IT services, luxury commodities and bespoke business development services for over 25 years, through many so called “End of The World” moments, and yes there have been challenges, some far worse than the challenges we face today, but there has always been a recurring theme;
“In Times Of Change There Are Always Opportunities!”
The pace of the world and the pace of change is faster than it has ever been, but good people are capable of great things and as before, we will survive and become stronger. I ask everyone to remember the poignant quote of the great industrialist, Henry Ford.
“Whether You Think You Can, Or Think You Can’t, You Are Right!”
All businesses, including our own, now have a stark choice; we either roll up our sleeves and look to take advantage of the opportunities that are now available, or we don’t. And in reality, that has always been our challenge, ever since we have been in business, so in reality what has changed?
The reality is that the majority of business leaders who were negative about the ramifications of Brexit were the leaders of big business, like Virgin and Ryan Air; well these are unlikely to be your target audience, and even if they were, there are 1,000’s of owners of SMB’s who are positive about being released from the red tape, bureaucracy and restrictive trade practices dictated by the EU.
Here at Virtuoso Consultancy, a specialist business development consultancy company working with IT Companies and MSP’s, we are specialists in providing the marketing and business development strategies required in order to grow your business in any market conditions.
Having ourselves owned and development many businesses over the years, including an IT infrastructure company which my business partner was instrumental in growing from £900k to in excess of £3 million during the challenging market conditions of the recession, we have a wealth of knowledge of how to successfully grow businesses.
Merging techniques from my own strong business development background outside the technology sector with my business partner’s wealth of experience in the VAR/MSP marketplace, has allowed us to create a powerful fusion of marketing and business development initiatives to draw new prospects to your business and maximise opportunities to do business with existing customers.
Some of the strategies we use include content marketing, blogging, LinkedIn initiatives, building a media presence, direct targeted marketing campaigns (including prospect data acquisition), SEO, utilisation of existing customer bases, converting social media leads into real life prospects, seminars, shows, and much more.
In addition, where required, we can also provide consultancy around managing the sales/enquiry process, management controls to maximise sales opportunities and structuring and scaling up the operational side of the business.
We can work to supplement in-house resources, or act as a fully managed outsourced service.
We'd love to have an informal chat with you over a coffee to see if there are any ways we could help you grow your business in these exciting times.
If this is of interest please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning on 0118 947 1010 or at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk
