The most recent articles from Infomatics

Meeting the SME challenge

Jackie Kingsley — 2003-03-31T23:00:00.000Z

Jackie Kingsley, Infomatics, Monday 31 March 2003 at 23:00:00

Jackie Kingsley asks the experts about the secrets of selling to small businesses.

On the face of it, the future for those in IT sales who are thinking of switching their attentions to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) looks bright.

Datamonitor predicts that total European SME investment in IT will rise from $76bn in 2002 to $109bn in 2006, with the IT services sector demonstrating the greatest growth.

While spending by large organisations on enterprise resource planning, supply chain management and customer relationship management applications is expected to remain flat for the foreseeable future, the SME market is predicted to experience significant growth.

It would be a mistake, however, to smugly picture all those SMEs as proverbial low-lying fruit, ripe for the plucking by even the laziest vendor.

For while SMEs are clearly big business in potential, accounting for 99.8 per cent of the UK business population and employing 12 million people, the research consistently shows that over half of their owners don't consider IT to be a key component of business success.

Even more disturbingly, no fewer than 45 per cent of small businesses believe that the IT industry lacks professional standards.

Suspicious minds

One reason for this distrust is that SME owners feel let down by recent IT innovations. In a survey of SME IT spend carried out by Profectus Group, they shoot down applications such as 3G, Voice-over IP, broadband and streaming media for not living up to expectations.

No surprise then, that the SME attitude towards buying IT is frequently characterised by suspicion and lack of enthusiasm.

IT is often seen by SMEs as, in the words of one software provider, "a grudge purchase". Furthermore, there is evidence that SMEs still don't really see the potential of technology and fail to exploit it.

For example, the Profectus Group survey showed that many SMEs still view their IT systems simply as an enabler of a business process and not as a strategic contributor to the business plan. A massive 43 per cent consider IT as just another overhead.

There may be sound reasons for this scepticism. "IT is a headache for most businesses and SMEs especially, as some do not have the financial or human resources to deal with the technical problems that arise," argued Richard Althorp, managing director of Sol-Tec, an IT solutions provider and itself a SME.

"The reason why SMEs see IT as an unnecessary evil could be down to past experience. During the dotcom boom, many companies became convinced that they had to invest in the latest and greatest technology, which proved unnecessary and expensive.

"Now that the boom is over and the dust has long settled, SMEs are seeing the waste they incurred and have a bad impression of the IT companies that advised them in the first place."

Jeff Meulman, managing director of Via Net.Works UK, makes a related point. "Many SMEs understandably feel disillusioned by IT," he explained.

"SMEs have sometimes been sold overcomplicated or unsuitable IT systems that they do not have the in-house expertise to manage.

"Furthermore, these systems are backed up by customer service that is sometimes prone to treat SMEs as second-class citizens behind high-value large corporate accounts."

Clearly then, to succeed in the SME market sellers face a tall order. They must regain the trust of businesses and rekindle their enthusiasm for technology. But how?

New approaches

As a first step, vendors should acknowledge that selling to SMEs demands an entirely fresh approach, not merely a scaled-down version of the methods used with big corporates.

Owner-managers want to feel that the seller is interested in their particular business and will resent any approach they see as patronising.

"The first thing that SMEs can see through is when a corporate software vendor announces that they've had a Damascus-like experience and are now SME-focused," said Colin Boag, managing director of JBS Computer Services.

"Leopards don't change their spots and corporate software vendors moving into the SME space betray by their words and deeds their corporate roots."

The most obvious contrast between SMEs and larger organisations is that many of the former do not have dedicated in-house IT departments.

In fact, the responsibility for technology may even fall on individual owner-managers or managing directors themselves.

This lack of expert intermediaries has ramifications that can challenge a salesperson more used to dealing with large companies.

"The difference with SMEs is that you cannot use the IT department as a buffer between you and the business problem," explained Dale Vile, a corporate salesman who moved into SME sales before becoming an industry analyst with Quocirca.

"Decisions are generally made by business people and, in a surprising number of cases, the guy who actually runs the company.

"As a salesperson, you therefore have no choice but to engage with business decision-makers to close a deal if that deal is at all significant.

"Such decision-makers are likely to have limited technical knowledge so benefits have to be expressed in business terms, and often spelled out pretty explicitly. That's a completely different type of sale."

The less formal, faster sales cycle that dealing with SMEs entails may also come as a shock to the system for some salespeople.

"SMEs usually need a less formal approach: two meetings to agree service levels, product package and pricing. They don't expect fancy PowerPoint presentations or large written proposals," said Marcos Richardson, European director of WebtraffIQ.

"Legal documentation is required but they would rather have a simple and concise agreement which doesn't need a costly lawyer to look over."

Having said this, many IT sales and marketers specialising in SMEs stress that selling to this market is not actually difficult - just different. And it can be very satisfying.

"I love selling to the smaller organisation because the buying process is so much simpler, the people you deal with tend to have a broader knowledge base and the benefits your product can bring to bear on that company are so much more tangible," said Georgia Leybourne, sales and business development manager at Albany Software.

SELLING INTO SMEs: FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE

Know your market

While selling to SMEs is different to selling to larger organisations, it's also important to appreciate that SMEs are different from one another.

The term itself is very broad and definitions can vary: Datamonitor, for example, classifies the SME or 'mid-market' sector as comprising companies with between 10 and 1,000 employees.

But it isn't just a matter of disparities in size and resources. SMEs will expect you to focus on the business benefits of technology when you are selling to them, so it will often be important for you to know something about their business. And that could be just about anything.

"My advice to anyone targeting SMEs is to verticalise," said Vile. "Choose a few sectors that you can become familiar with enough to have a sensible conversation about the prospect's business or the market they operate in, then focus your efforts."

Short and sweet

SMEs are time-poor, so it's essential that you keep the whole process of buying technology in whatever form as easy, efficient and straightforward as possible.

As well as frequently not being technical experts, SME decision-makers are often extremely busy running a multitude of aspects of their companies, so the less documentation, presentations and meetings involved in making a sale, the better.

"I can almost guarantee that the SME will have little time and little patience for long, convoluted sales pitches. Time is money and they need the solution quickly and efficiently sold, closed and implemented," said Leybourne.

Winning trust

Because many SMEs have a once-bitten-twice-shy attitude to buying IT, honesty and reliability are essential.

The basics are more important than ever: focus on selling solutions, rather than products; and never promise anything you can't deliver.

Building up trust is also essential, because the person buying the technology often has a very personal stake in the investment. Indeed, the money may be coming out of their own pocket rather than a seemingly bottomless corporate budget.

Back to school

Because you will probably be dealing with people for whom IT is not a primary function, there is an educational element involved in selling to SMEs.

"More often than not, SMEs don't have the time to find out what technology their business needs, so you should educate and guide them through the maze of information out there and show clear understanding of how technology can make a difference to their bottom line," commented Tim Evans, head of marketing at BT Business.

While doing this, however, you have to keep the particular needs of SMEs in mind. They will expect to see a far quicker return on their investment than larger companies, so it's essential that you seek out and demonstrate the ways in which technology can bring tangible results to their business.

Be a flexible friend

In order to win over SMEs, it's important for sellers to tailor their solutions to their particular needs.

Vendors should be providing solutions that are specific to SMEs in terms of scalability, price and versatility, and not just delivering a pared-down version of what is traditionally supplied to large corporates.

"If SMEs are not buying equipment at the moment, and are still wary of buying IT, then why not suggest an alternative route?" said Althorp.

"One cost-effective and safe way for an SME to be tempted into spending money on IT again is through leasing, which can provide many benefits not only to the vendor, as it means that it creates sales, but to the SME, as it can cut costs."

SIZING UP A SALE: GETTING THE SME APPROACH RIGHT

Always be accessible.
Provide the buyer with a single point of contact.
Avoid convoluted sales pitches.
Focus on direct, tangible business benefits.
Keep your communications brief and to the point.
Be prepared to be flexible.
Suggest a pre-installation list of timed deliverables and performance criteria, agreed with the customer.
Appreciate that SMEs need a faster return on investment than larger corporations. Avoid solutions that require overly complicated installation/operation.

Putting a spring in the sales team's step

Infomatics staff — 2003-02-25T24:00:00.000Z

Infomatics staff, Infomatics, Tuesday 25 February 2003 at 00:00:00

With a possible upturn around the corner, lacklustre sales teams will be left standing by those full of vim and vigour. We look at ways of re-injecting energy into the sales effort.

Many industry forecasters can see at least a chink of light at the end of the darkest tunnel in IT sales history. Growth, albeit on a small scale, is on its way for 2003.

But many sales teams, rocked by redundancies and demoralised by months of chasing elusive deals, are low on energy.

Months of bad news have taken their toll and morale is down. Which, ironically, may mean that just as a brighter dawn is about to break, some sales teams will not be best placed to face a brighter tomorrow.

As a manager, of course, your job is to pick your team up off the floor and wind them up again, ready to take on the world.

So how can you turn your team from a bunch of battle-weary individuals into the hottest sales force in town?

Have a plan

Leading by example is an obvious way of inspiring your team to become more motivated. Your own enthusiasm for new ideas and initiatives is key to generating positive energy in others.

But effective leadership is also about having vision. You must be able to show clearly what the team needs to achieve in order to ease the company's pain.

"Leaders must be well organised and capable of helping the team to organise itself to accomplish established goals," argues Robert Maddux, author of Team Building (Kogan Page).

"One of the strengths of a good leader is the ability to see a future of the organisation that is better in some important ways than what currently exists.

"This view must then be communicated in such a way that employees can organise their resources to achieve the desired results."

ACTION POINT: Sit down and define your and your team's top-line objectives. Maximum space allowed: 10 bullet points on one side of A4.

Buddy up

Low morale leads to business inertia. This not only affects how the members of your team deal with customers, but how they interact in the office.

So-called 'Buddying', a simple exercise to bring the whole company together, and at the same time get some jobs done that have been hanging around for ages, is a great tonic.

Mandeville Recruitment Group sets great store by its buddying scheme. "We have a motivation day every six months for all staff from all of our offices," explained managing director David Riley.

"It gives us a chance to get together and share our achievements and set our goals for the six months ahead."

A motivational speaker is invited to give the exercise an extra boost. "The main aim was to act as a kick-start to help you get going/get you taking action now with regard to longer-term aims," said Riley.

"Buddies are often people who would have no involvement with each other (senior/junior or from different divisions or locations). So it brought people together and allowed them to hear from someone other than their line manager.

"There was an extremely positive response. Most people did not want to let their buddy down by not calling them for an update or to show support."

ACTION POINT: Start by pairing off people from different departments. If possible, try and put different levels together too. Ask each pair to come up with three goals that they promise to complete in the next month.

The goals themselves must be beneficial to the organisation as a whole, e.g. sprucing up a communal area or producing a new company newsletter. Each person is responsible for seeing that their buddy completes the three goals on time.

Revamp your website

Potential customers form an impression of your company from your online presence that can have far-reaching effects.

One American corporate is said to have cancelled a new business meeting with an IT vendor recently because it was so put off by what it found on the vendor's site.

According to recent research by BBC Training & Development, almost 90 per cent of UK sites randomly tested have fundamental flaws that seriously jeopardise traffic levels from return visitors.

And just as crucially, a poor website can also have a negative influence on how your own staff view their company.

"When I look at our site, I can't believe I work for such a dreary outfit," admitted one marketing professional with an IT consultancy.

"Updating your website copy can help revitalise your staff's own perception of the company," added Jerry Lloyd-Williams, director of website content specialists, Sticky Content Ltd.

"Asking your team to think about how the company should be represented online can act as a real stimulant and improve their perception.

"Focusing on the project, and really having to think about the company's image, can help to raise your team's flagging enthusiasm."

ACTION POINT: Offer a prize to whoever comes up with the best (most cost-effective!) idea for a rapid improvement in the company website.

Tell us a story ...

When heads have dropped in an organisation, it's all too easy for successes to be played down or even overlooked entirely. As football managers say, teams forget how to win.

The frequency of bad news can make even the brightest company bulletins sound gloomy.

"Encouraging your team to come up with case studies can help to give them fresh enthusiasm," explained David Angwin, marketing director of internet security company, Vistorm.

"They are reminded of their own recent achievements. Pulling the case studies together allows them to revisit the details of successful deals and understand what made them winners.

"They are a compelling marketing tool too, showing potential customers how successful your organisation can be in a really relevant way."

Putting these case studies together gives salespeople a credible reason for re-contacting clients. And once written, of course, they can be used as part of the effort to revamp your website, or as part of a general PR push.

ACTION POINT: Encourage individuals to compete to come up with case study suggestions. Circulate case studies published by your rivals too, so that teams can see what they're up against.

Tidy the office

Spring cleaning the office can lift the spirits of the whole company by refreshing dull, drab surroundings and giving them a more positive feel.

The spring clean will not only give the office a fresh look to team members, but will have a subliminal effect on potential and existing customers visiting your premises.

A tidy, ordered office gives the impression of a professional, ordered outfit, while a ramshackle workplace can suggest a shoddy work ethic.

ACTION POINT: Encourage each member of your team to tidy the immediate surroundings in which they work. The task of tidying communal areas, such as staff or meeting rooms, should be shared out evenly.

Training

When athletes are low on energy, they invariably take on some light training to jump-start their metabolism and reinvigorate themselves. Businesses can benefit in the same way.

Training can act as a stimulus, not only to increase knowledge but to boost enthusiasm.

Independent courses run off-site can give jaded staff a chance to get away from the (recently tidied!) office and gain a fresh perspective on their role, and the company as a whole.

But be careful to choose your trainer carefully. When morale is low and energy levels are dropping, training courses can sometimes devolve into group moaning sessions.

ACTION POINT: Make sure that course topics and structure will be designed to promote and enhance positive aspects of your business.

Show how the training is part of your overall game plan. Use them to illustrate your vision of the future and outline how you hope they will contribute to the fulfilment of team goals.

Remember that internal training, run by members of the team, can be just as useful. Try and pick individuals to train on topics in which they have unique strengths.

This will give the trainers confidence talking about their specialist topics and at the same time increase the spread of core skills through the organisation.

Re-present presentation material

Ask team members to come up with improvements to an existing company or sales presentation.

The exercise refocuses staff on identifying the positive aspects of your company. They will naturally rediscover strengths they can exploit in a revitalised market, and weaknesses on which they need to work.

And the project gives them scope to be creative and apply their own individuality to something useful for the whole company.

ACTION POINT: Ask team members to present to each other and mark each other's performance. For a fresh perspective, get them to present each other's material too.

Put the kettle on

If an army marches on its stomach, then an office runs on tea and coffee. Having a well-stocked kitchen, or modern vending machines, as well as somewhere clean and comfortable to sit and relax, is key to keeping staff happy.

"Office morale can be a fragile thing at the best of times," said Penny Herriman, head of account management at advertising agency, BBH.

"I manage a large team and even when things are going well it's all too easy for something trivial to upset the equilibrium.

"Keeping your team happy by feeding them well and giving them a comfortable environment in which to relax is a good start to getting the best out of them, especially if you expect them to work long hours."

ACTION POINT: Circulate a brief refreshment survey to see if there any obvious catering gripes you could easily fix.

Give them an incentive

Offering bonus schemes or commission is often an unrealistic proposition when the market is at a real low. There may simply be not enough deals around to generate the cash to trigger the payments.

But with some creative thinking you can shift the emphasis away from sales bonuses and use incentives to promote pre-sales - not necessarily cash bonuses either.

"I have found that incentives that show understanding of the people involved can be more effective than cash," explained Jason Hill, chief executive of IT management consultants, Programme Control.

"Think about what is important to individual members of your team and then try and match the incentive to their desires.

"Some people like more time off, some love playing golf, others would love dinner for themselves and their partner at a nice restaurant.

"By showing you understand them as individuals, you are more likely to motivate them to work harder for you."

ACTION POINT: Resolve to find out something new about the out-of-work interests and activities of each of your team members.

Call in the experts

If you have a budget to motivate your staff, why not enlist the help of a specialist company? Firms like Active Communications concentrate on helping to unlock the enthusiasm and potential of your employees in imaginative ways.

Some of these might sound far-fetched but they're certainly refreshingly different:

Having an actor steal food and drink from meeting participants to demonstrate how a business is losing money.
Training 14 year-olds to present to potential customers to demonstrate the openness and simplicity of a particular proposition.
Using actors to impersonate board members of your company in order to get ideas over in a particularly animated fashion.

"Now more than ever, the last thing sales teams need is to be told to do more," said Lud Romano, managing director at Alive Communications.

"The first thing they need to be shown is that they are capable of doing more. First grab their attention; surprise them.

"Anybody can do this. Just think about the approach you'd take if you wanted to give your best friend the surprise of his or her life.

"Once you have their attention, prove three things. That the leadership team is very clear about where the business is going. That it's equally as clear about how it's going to get there. And that the sales team are the people who are going to be instrumental in making it happen."

Broadcast news

Using satellite television technology, Xerox has staged a number of pan-European telethon-like sales events - Xerothons - that have generated huge amounts of sales revenue for the company.

In a competitive but fun environment, sales teams battle it out to generate the highest number of sales leads and close the biggest number of deals in a day-long, live event. The first four Xerothons have generated close to $40m in actual sales.

On a smaller scale, companies like Kingston inmedia (which stages the events for Xerox) can help inject some fun and competitive spirit into your sales operation.

"For companies with a large national network of resellers, for example, we can set up a similar, affordable event using satellite or internet technologies," explained Mark Harrison, head of enterprise marketing at Kingston inmedia.

"With real-time broadcasts throughout the day, a company can co-ordinate a nationwide sales event that really enthuses those taking part and gets great results.

"Other clients use our technology in different ways. BMW has an Interactive Business TV network that it uses to broadcast regular sales messages and training information to its staff in 153 dealerships."

That's show business!

Infomatics staff — 2003-02-25T24:00:00.000Z

Infomatics staff, Infomatics, Tuesday 25 February 2003 at 00:00:00

Whether you're jetting off to Hanover or handing out cheese cubes at MouseMat Expo 2003, you'll be glad of our show survival guide.

CeBIT

, the IT world's biggest trade show, is upon us once more, ushering in a new season of marketing conferences and sales events.

Our survival guide, compiled by battle-hardened conference veterans, tells you all you need to know for the forthcoming show season.

GETTING THE PLANNING RIGHT

Understand your objectives

"A stand at a show can be very expensive and so objectives for being there need to be very clear," says Stella Christodoulou, associate director, marketing, Comunica.

"Whether it's to collect names and addresses of prospects, to launch a new product or service, to increase brand awareness, or even to reposition the business, once aims have been set, all planning should be geared towards meeting them.

"Part of the planning process involves asking the organiser how they will attract new visitors. They should supply a detailed media plan covering the promotional campaign they are implementing.

"Only then can businesses set about looking at shows which have the right profile of attendee."

Be consistently creative

"Your stand must be designed, built and themed for maximum effect to encourage your prospects and suspects to engage with you," says Lorraine Emmett, managing director of strategic PR and Marketing consultancy, Emmett & Smith.

"Small does not mean you cannot make a significant and lasting impression, it simply means you have to be a little more creative.

"Themes consistently carried through do not need to be expensive but can create a dramatic impression and can provide obvious incentives. For example, say your concept is 'balloons'.

"Think balloon-shaped invitations, popping balloons to get the one with a £100 voucher in side, a balloon-ride competition, branded balloons to take away. Go for one simple idea and make it very engaging and memorable."

Position is good, concept is better

"Position can make a huge difference. However, the concept or hook designed to draw people to the stand is more important," says Stella Christodoulou of Comunica.

"Keep the messages you want to get across simple, and position will be less critical."

Stop press!

"To maximise your media exposure, it is important to produce an at-show news release before the exhibition, describing what you are exhibiting and including details of any important company announcements," says Lorraine Emmett.

"Distribute this release to journalists and publications attending the show at least four to six weeks before the event. This will mean you hit the monthly publications before or during the show, as well as any Show Daily.

"All of which serves to increase your profile and maximise pre-event coverage."

STAND AND DELIVER

Sort the wheat from the chaff

"You have a limited amount of time to find the maximum number of visitors with real budgets and a real need for your products or services," says Allan Shriver, head of marketing, Techland Group.

"Sort the tyre-kickers from the genuinely interested by asking visitors if they have a project coming that needs your solution. Ask if they have a budget for this type of project."

"If a visitor is interested, quickly suggest a follow-up visit from a salesperson, but don't spend more time than you have to get that appointment. It's unlikely you'll close a deal on the stand from a cold contact, so don't try."

Look to your leads

"At the end of each day, review the best visitor contacts of the day and how you hooked them - what worked, what didn't," says Shriver.

"Keep your sales leads secure while on the stand; take them off site every evening."

Prep your people

"Make sure your stand staff understand that they are there for ONE purpose only - to get as many follow-up sales appointments as they can," says Shriver, "and that they are ALL walking advertisements for your company, so must act and dress accordingly.

"Have (at least) one person designated as a 'pointer' to sort visitors - asking what technology they are looking for, or if they have an interest in the business benefit - and then to 'point' them to the correct salesperson on the stand."

Always pop next door

"It's vital to meet your neighbours before the show starts to coordinate activity and presentations so that you don't steal each other's thunder," says Mike Fletcher, new media manager at Parity.

Clarity is everything

"Don't let potential sales walk on by your stand because they can't tell that you're selling what they want," says Allan Shriver.

"Make sure that sales staff talk in terms of business benefits, not marketing speak or techno-babble."

Get the giveaways right

"Novel giveaways are not essential, but something with your website url on it may help in future when you least expect it," says Shriver.

"Choose something that is likely to stay in your visitor's office, that won't get given to their kids like a novelty pen or cute stressball or toy."

NETWORKING NOUS

Don't overlook anyone

"Don't dismiss anyone, even if you think they might not be a relevant contact," warns Mike Fletcher.

"If you present articulate ideas to someone, they'll often pass information on to a colleague who may be interested in your offering."

I'll never forget whatshisname ...

"In the embarrassing event that you should forget someone's name, try to take a look at their name badge or simply ask for their business card," says Heather White, founder of The Magic of Networking.

"Should someone else join the group and look to you for introductions you could suggest that, as the room is very noisy, it would be better for everyone to introduce themselves."

After the event ...

Time to evaluate, says Lorraine Emmett. "Ask yourself: did you get the right sales leads? Did you present your company as a dynamic and worthwhile business supplier/partner/employer? Did you secure media coverage?

"If not, work out why, or ask for help from an expert, and do it differently and more effectively next time. If you did, let everyone in your team know what a great job you are doing and brainstorm how you can do it even better next year."

NEVER BEEN TO CeBIT BEFORE?

"From a PR point of view, CeBIT is both a nightmare and an exhilarating experience," says seasoned CeBIT attendee Chaz Brooks, of Chazbrooks Communications Ltd.

Top tips include:

Book accommodation as soon as you can. Some stay as far away as Bremen and Berlin, both nearly two hours from the showground. One popular option is to stay in B&B accommodation in the town with a local family, but although this is convenient, it can be unpredictable. Aim south-east of the show; the traffic is a lot lighter from this direction. Or stay somewhere you can get a train direct to the Messe (showground).
Try to do something different to stand out from the others - gimmicks, free gifts for the media etc.
Don't expect to line up too many meetings, the show is too big for this. You can always take your client to the press bar (armed with euros of course).
Drop in a press pack to the CeBIT News (the show's English-language newspaper) in person as soon as you get to the show.
Allow plenty of time to get from one meeting to the next: it is a mile from one end of the showground to the other.

Who goes around, comes around

Martin Wake — 2003-02-25T24:00:00.000Z

Martin Wake, Infomatics, Tuesday 25 February 2003 at 00:00:00

Martin Wake explains why winning back lapsed customers could be the secret of your success.

"It is always easier to repeat sell to an existing customer than to anyone else," according to John Frazer-Robinson, co-author of High-Performance Sales Management (David Grant Publishing). "Typical figures suggest that it is at least five times easier."

Lapsed customers may not quite count as 'existing customers', of course, but they are not undiscovered prospects either.

Of the many benefits of exploring the sleepy backwaters of your customer list, the best is that here, on a plate, is a ready source of pre-qualified leads. They know who you are and what you do. So how do you get them back?

"For whatever reason your customer lapsed, always apologise for past failings and be able to demonstrate that your business has changed and moved forward," explained Carl Boraman, sales and marketing director at Axxent Voice and Data Communications.

"If your customer left because of price, you can always go back to them with a special deal that improves upon the current deal."

If you have actively dissatisfied former customers on your list, there's your angle. Apostles (satisfied customers) will on average tell three or four others about you; terrorists (unhappy customers) will moan about you to 10 others.

But taking positive action to address an earlier grievance can turn a potential 'terrorist' into an 'apostle', and converted terrorists make the best apostles of all.

"If the relationship has severely deteriorated, do something that shows you are making an effort to put this right," said Chris Hooton, business development executive at KCentrix Software.

"If the client felt they were receiving poor service, then take the service director to meet them to show your company cares."

Boraman added: "If service was an issue, you can prove that you have restructured and now focus heavily on service through testimonials."

Getting in touch with old customers has strong networking and data-quality benefits.

If your original contact has moved on, you can find out where they've gone and acquaint yourself with the new decision maker, giving you two leads for the price of one.

Your old contact may have moved somewhere where they have a bigger budget for your services or your old contact may have been the problem. You now have a clean slate, no preconceptions and the chance of a fresh start.

Newer customers can help you go back to older ones too. "If you've made a new customer that's related to the lapsed customer, like a supplier or strategic partner, they may reconsider taking your services on with a direct reference," suggested Marcos Richardson, European director at Webtraffiq.

Making your approach

Do your research. Keep track of moves in your industry sector and think about how they apply to your client.

"It's no good just picking up the phone as though your lapsed customers were long-lost friends," warned James Donaldson, global sales director at Business Agility.

"In the course of a few months, the whole market can shift, leaving your customer vulnerable to a host of new challenges. So do your homework and tailor your proposition."

Always have something to say

"Never call a prospect of any kind under the guise of 'updating the database'," advised Simon Bull, reseller sales manager for Oki Systems UK.

"You will always have new products or services to talk to them about; use this as your way in. You need to be seen as a service provider, not someone wasting their time."

Push your profile

"Leads can be reawakened by the offer of a joint marketing activity," according to Lorraine Emmett, managing director of Emmett & Smith.

"Invite them to take part in a jointly penned opinion piece with your own MD, or a round-table discussion on an industry hot topic with some other contacts, prospects and clients.

"Offer an exclusive service or product preview; undertake some research then invite the participants to an exclusive preview of the findings. These give you an excuse to make that follow-up call."

Be creative

One executive encouraged a marketing student on placement to carry out a project looking at the company's marketplace.

"As part of her research, she polled ex-customers about how many of our newly extended range of services they were aware of. We got some software training business as a result, from a company which did not know we had added this service."

Ignoring customers is a cardinal sales sin, of course, so whatever approach you take: just do it. "Above all, don't spend hours thinking up an elaborate excuse for the call," said Hooton. "Just pick up the phone and talk."

CHECKLIST:

Find out why the relationship has lapsed
Right any perceived wrongs
Go back with something concrete to offer
Make sure you're up to date on customer developments
Try a new entry point, say a different contact or a recommendation from another customer
Be as keen and confident about winning them back as you would about any new prospects
Just do it!

Channel links urgently required

Mark Simmonds — 2003-02-25T24:00:00.000Z

Mark Simmonds, Infomatics, Tuesday 25 February 2003 at 00:00:00

Vendors and their channel business partners need to unite to support IT directors in their boardroom battles over technology spend, argues Mark Simmonds, general manager of Anix Group.

Confidence in technology's ability to deliver real value to business is at an all-time low.

What we need are vendors who appreciate the need to sell business solutions, not just boxes, together with genuine value-added services from resellers to encourage IT directors to partner with the channel.

Vendors need to concentrate on selling direct to enterprise customers. They should leave the resellers to interpret their technologies for medium-sized firms that, with less purchasing clout and IT skills, have too often been sold expensive systems that cannot support their evolving business goals.

Instead of multiple brand managers pushing individually branded products at customers, vendors should brand themselves according to their core strengths: R&D, manufacturing or delivery, for example.

Customers would not then be besieged by salespeople, and vendors could concentrate on winning long-term loyalty by perfecting existing technologies, rather than rushing the latest buggy product to market for a one-off sale.

Externally, vendors need to trust the channel to interpret technologies to suit business needs, and empower business partners to have a direct relationship with end-customers.

The channel itself needs to learn more about end-customers' businesses, so that technologies can be more closely mapped onto business needs.

In turn, IT directors need to trust resellers and co-sourcing companies enough to partner with them to solve business problems, a potential lifeline when IT headcount freezes are starting to bite.

The channel can not only find the right technology to meet business needs, it can also manage individual pockets, in areas such as operating systems and data storage.

Users should create partnerships based on mutual gain, and see the channel as an invisible extension of their businesses rather than a systems shop. Meanwhile, the channel must stop paying lip service to business needs while secretly targeting IT directors as juicy prey.

If we fail in this, vendors will continue to under-perform, the channel will shrink, the IT director's job will vanish.

And we will never win back the credibility of the investment community on which the future growth of the UK IT industry depends.

Mark Simmonds is general manager of Anix Group.

Trust us, we're flexible!

Infomatics staff — 2003-02-25T24:00:00.000Z

Infomatics staff, Infomatics, Tuesday 25 February 2003 at 00:00:00

New research has found that managers are less than trusting of their employees working on the move.

As the Government's introduction of additional family-friendly policies in April of this year would suggest, flexible working is here to stay.

But such a radical change in our ways of working also requires a corresponding change in the culture of our organisations and managements. And in some companies that may yet be a long time coming, according to a new survey.

Research by LogicaCMG says that managers are less than trusting when it comes to employees working on the move.

Organisations are wary of mobile working, it seems, because they have no way of monitoring what work has been done. As a result, many companies are still refusing to allow employees to work on the move.

Carried out among senior managers and HR directors in British, Dutch, French and German companies, the research reveals that 45 per cent of HR directors are concerned about their employees' self-discipline to work effectively whilst out of the office.

In addition, most companies' mobile communications policies and strategies were found to be lagging behind the technology they are intended to cover.

Even among those companies that encourage mobile working, it was found that most rely on rudimentary ways of monitoring staff performance such as logging mobile phone or Internet use and written reports to line managers.

"There is an irrational suspicion that if employees are out of the office they're dodging work," says Paul Barker, international solutions director at LogicaCMG.

"However, people do need to travel to meetings and the irony is that by depriving employees of the tools they need to work on the move, employers are failing to get the best out of their executives."

Companies need to get to grips with mobile technology or they will lose out on the opportunity to improve business efficiency and reduce infrastructure costs, argues Barker.

"Mobile technology like Personal Digital Assistants, multimedia-enabled phones and always-on network connectivity is dramatically improving the quality and sophistication of the mobile workforce solutions that can be delivered today."

Home working: your flexible friend

Jo Cooper — 2003-02-11T11:06:05.000Z

Jo Cooper, Infomatics, Tuesday 11 February 2003 at 11:06:05

Working from home, and having greater say in the hours you work, sound like great ideas to most of us. But are such policies really feasible in the high-octane, always-on world of IT sales and marketing?

The government's new family-friendly policies, to be introduced in April of this year, once again put the spotlight on the much-debated issue of flexible working.

In a recent survey of 4,000 job hunters' favourite incentives, flexible working and a better work/life balance won hands down over a company car or even an extra £1,000 a year, according to research carried out by reed.co.uk and the Department of Trade and Industry.

The idea of being able to work more flexibly was a benefit chosen by 46 per cent of respondents. Not surprisingly, it was particularly popular among parents with young children.

The finding comes at an opportune time for the government. It is committed to helping working parents and, from 6 April, parents of children under six or of disabled children under 18 will have the right to apply to work flexibly.

In addition, the government will be increasing and extending maternity leave and pay, and introducing new rights to two weeks' paid paternity leave.

The new family-friendly policy will mean that some four million parents with a child under six - and 200,000 mothers and fathers with disabled children up to the age of 18 - will be able to request more flexible working.

But the big question is whether flexible working practices work in your all-consuming, highly-charged world. And whether IT sales and marketing managers actually want this sort of flexibility.

Homing in on the new flexibility

The last time vnunet.com's sister title Infomatics looked at the issue of flexible working, two years ago, many people did not see the idea ever becoming adopted in the sales or marketing fields.

"Absolutely not," was one response. "Sales is very much new business-oriented. It's quite a stressful, volatile environment. I've never seen a position which is part-time."

Another said: "I'm not saying it's a no-no, but there are other IT roles that are much easier to work on a flexible basis.

"In sales, the expectation is that you are there and available all the time. Most of your client base is going to be working core hours, so you'll be expected to do so too."

But while some aspects of flexible working - such as job-sharing or part-time working - remain trickier to incorporate within the sales function, teleworking or home working has taken off.

Appropriately enough, it is the improvements in remote access and mobile technology which are making this transition possible and helping to engineer a more enlightened management view of staff working away from the office when they are in the company of clients or prospects.

Ben Johnson, managing director of Satsuma Solutions, is convinced that flexibility is the new way to work.

"Employees equipped with the right gear, and trusted to use it properly, are more productive, more creative, more enthusiastic and - if that's not enough - more loyal than any other type of employee," he stated.

Whistle while you work

Johnson believes that embracing mobile technology, and switching to a goals-based company culture at the same time, are the ways to ensure that productivity rises and people are happier in their jobs.

"Want to take the kids to school? Then work from 10am and have your laptop pick up your email via your mobile phone," he explained.

"Want to ensure a steady supply of coffee and an inspirational urban landscape? Then take your work over to the cafe across the street and log into the network via GPRS."

It's a view echoed by Peter Linas, European development director at IT services provider Parity. He believes that companies should be aiming for a good balance of office and home working.

"The average employee takes around eight days a year off sick, mainly brought on by overworking and stress," he said.

"This kind of problem can be remedied, however, by implementing a flexible working strategy among the workforce with a balance of office and home working.

"The end result will be that both employer and employee benefit from a more productive working day, making working life more flexible and an enjoyable experience for all."

Commuting costs cut

Even small businesses, always on the look out to cut costs, can gain from adopting more flexible working practices.

The government's Business Link network argues that flexibility works not only because it allows families to spend more time together but because working from home cuts out hours of travelling, together with the associated stress and costs.

In addition, with house prices continuing to escalate, the policy allows people to live that bit further away from work and perhaps afford a larger home.

However, it is worth remembering that the new working rights do not provide an automatic right to work flexibly, merely to request to do so.

The idea is that the new rules will facilitate discussion and encourage both employees and their employers to consider mutually suitable working patterns and solutions (see Are you eligible? below).

A woman's work is never done

For hard-pressed mums in particular, a more flexible attitude to working can make a huge difference.

Debra Wilkins, a strategic alliance manager for a software vendor, and mother of two small children, points out that it is not just the families that gain.

"If a company is prepared to be flexible, it will receive the same level of flexibility back," she suggested.

"I have on numerous occasions worked very late into the evening, gone abroad for my company and generally put in the extra mile.

"Why? Because when I have needed to leave early, arrive late or go home for a sick child, my employers have been understanding, compassionate and provided me with the means to work from home."

Juggling the demands of a job with those of family is something very familiar to Gill Hunt, who has worked on the vendor side of the IT industry for 15 years.

"I think flexible working can be very good value for employers but requires a bit of imagination and trust on their part and real commitment from the employee," she explained.

"For me, when it worked, it was brilliant and I could really enjoy home life and work. When it didn't, I felt constantly pulled between the two environments.

"One particular incident sticks in my mind when I had to break off a phone call to deal with an emergency: a four year-old running up the garden brandishing an axe!"

New technology, new culture

Managed properly, flexible working is clearly a potential solution to the growing problem of stress and the work/life balance.

But as Philip Ward, of BT Wholesale, a provider of flexible working solutions, pointed out: "Despite these benefits, unless properly managed, changing over to flexible working can be a difficult process.

"There needs to be an holistic approach, looking at the cultural changes that can affect employees.

"In particular, without the correct use of technology, companies' communications costs can increase through factors like mobile messaging and roaming."

In the sales arena, the timely flow of information is critical. "The most powerful tool for any salesperson is knowledge," said Nigel Dunn, UK manager for Genesys Conferencing.

"Adopting a virtual team approach to customers enables the team dynamic to exist constantly for every customer every day.

"When calling customers, look to conference in virtual team members to deal with issues as they arise, and ensure that everyone gets all the information as fast and as regularly as possible. In other words, encourage idea flow."

FLEXIBILITY IN PRACTICE

Alan Hamilton, director of sales & marketing, Astute Software:

"We have a virtual marketing team that is project-oriented and we do most of our communication and co-ordination remotely.

"This project focus enables responsible team members to meet deadlines while juggling home commitments.

"Most tasks can be accomplished in flexible hours and we focus on core hours in the day and week for the specific tasks requiring the team to meet at HQ.

"Additionally, regular off-site meetings ensure that the group develops and keeps up the team spirit and co-operation required to be highly effective and motivated."

Tracey Farrant, marketing manager, IBM Computer Users' Association:

"As a marketing manager for a small IT company, I work flexible hours. In order to beat the traffic I start at 8am and leave at 4pm.

"My commute is 60 miles and flexible working combined with home working makes this job viable. If I had to work 9-5pm, I would be stuck in traffic jams for hours that would leave me a nervous wreck.

"As I have very little traffic to face I often start earlier and that period in the morning before the phones start going is a very productive time of day for me."

British Psychological Society:

"70 per cent of flexible workers surveyed have a higher level of output compared to traditional full-timers."

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR FLEXIBLE WORKING?

In order to request a change to your working hours, working times or to work from home, you need to:

Be an employee.
Have a child under six, or under 18 in the case of a disabled child.
Have worked with your employer continuously for 26 weeks.
Have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing.
Be making the application to enable you to care for your child.
Not be an agency worker or in the Armed Forces.
Not have made another application to work flexibly under the right during the past 12 months.

More information can be obtained on a special Acas helpline 08457 474747.

IMPLEMENTING A FLEXIBLE WORKING POLICY

Be clear about targets, quotas and objectives.
Establish reliable lines of communication between office and home bases.
Organise regular reviews of the arrangement.
Recognise that flexible ways of working may lead to changes in the organisation's culture.
Understand that trust is central to flexible working.
Organise communal face-to-face events to keep people connected.