Convergence: in search of the killer app

Convergence solutions - integrating voice, data and video over a single network - have been commercially available for a while and business is starting to take note.

Installations, pilots and reference sites are increasing every month, and industry analyst IDC is predicting a major upturn in sales of IP telephony solutions this year. The arguments and the hype sound familiar.

The likes of Cisco are promoting a 'do it now' strategy based on beating competitors to lower cost of ownership and gains in competitive edge from improved connectivity and flexibility within an open standards architecture.

Others, meanwhile, advise caution by highlighting the risk associated with moving from a tried-and-tested centralised processing system in the form of PBXs. Naturally, there are plenty of vested interests at stake.

But if convergence is starting to cause ripples in the IT status quo, this is nothing to the tidal wave of confusion it is creating within the end-user and reseller communities. What's the cause of this chaos?

A growing problem
In a data world that has become increasingly commoditised, many foresighted resellers quickly saw convergence as an opportunity to increase sales and profitability in a depressed market. And therein lies the problem.

For when times are good, how much attention do we pay to sales skills and strategies?

The excellent sales practitioners within the industry are apparently outnumbered by those who lack the skills to win sales based on truly meeting business needs rather than winning the price war. Reasons for this include:

• Too few salespeople given real, quality sales training.
• Sales managers under pressure to meet personal targets as well as manage a team.
• As customers have become better informed and technology has become increasingly commoditised - with many resellers competing to sell the same products - emphasis has shifted from adding true business value to winning on price.

Peter Howells, managing director of 5i Ltd, which partners with resellers to help them sell convergence solutions, said: "Forward-thinking resellers have seen the potential of convergence and invested heavily in manufacturer accreditations.

"But many find that, contrary to expectations, the pipeline doesn't start filling up with opportunities.

"Their salesforce may be excellent at responding to customer requests but have little experience in either creating a market or in identifying business needs and developing technology propositions to match. They simply don't know what questions to ask."

Mark Godfrey, of Cisco's Voice Technology Group, agreed. "Companies that sell new technologies have to [continually] reconsider how they sell," he explained.

"Updating an old sales message simply will not do. The sales team must define how [the technology] delivers value into [the customer's] business."

So what needs to change?
Salespeople need to develop the skills and confidence to ask - and answer - questions about what their customers actually do, how they do it and what's happening within their marketplace.

They need to see and understand themes and trends, and to be able to spot if and how convergence solutions can help their customers meet the challenges of their business.

But it's also about being able to qualify. "Customers are interested in convergence but are frustrated that few of their suppliers can identify and articulate any business benefits," observed Howells.

"Here the 'killer app' is not a feature or function; it's the benefit to each individual company derived from a single unified network.

"Salespeople need to be able to manage this complex sales proposition and to justify cost and business returns. Too few people in the reseller community can identify the components of return on investment."

Because the sale is more complex and time-consuming, the salesperson needs to map his or her activities according to a close understanding of where the customer is in their buying process.

Customers go through a process of identifying opportunities and challenges, exploring technology solutions that will address their needs, short-listing solutions and suppliers and then undertaking a more rigorous and detailed assessment of these preferred options before placing an order.

Salespeople who try to bypass these crucial middle stages often find the door closing on them, and naively convince themselves and their managers that the opportunity didn't really exist since the customer 'still hasn't done anything'.

But individual salespeople can't be expected to do it all alone. They need support from their company: business-aware pre-sales support, reference sites, good working relationships with manufacturers and partners, market intelligence, systems and sales cultures that support long sales cycles and, importantly, ongoing sales training.

Selling business benefits at senior and strategic level is nothing new but it is a declining art among network resellers.

Those that embrace the challenge will find sales success and stronger customer relationships among the early adopters, leading to a bigger slice of the mass adoption pie.

As Howells warned: "The alternative is declining margins from the product crumbs and a rapidly dwindling customer base."

SELLING CONVERGENCE:

• Are you talking at a strategic level?
• Are you creating opportunities or fine-tuning the customer's specification?
• Do you really understand the opportunities and pressures your customer's business is facing?
• Do you know how data, voice and video capabilities support their business, and can help them meet these challenges?
• What do you do to help your customer calculate and measure return on investment?
• How do you build trust between your customer and your organisation?

Anna Britnor Guest, FInstSMM, specialises in tailored training and one-to-one coaching for sales and sales management within the IT sector. Contact her at Leading Edge Coaching on 01488 638119 or email annabg@leadingedgecoaching.co.uk.

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