InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
June 14, 1999
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Configurators and other sales-effectiveness tools can help businesses share product knowledge previously carried around only in people's heads. Snap-on Inc., a Kenosha, Wis., hardware and tools company, lost much of that knowledge when it shut down its local distribution warehouses, which housed salespeople who knew exactly what kind of tool could be used in a particular situation, from changing a spark plug on a Buick to working on a Boeing jet engine. The remaining, centralized sales staff often knew what products cost, but not their functions or the tools with which they were meant to be used. "We had a big, big gap in knowledge of Snap-on products that had to be fixed right away," says Jim McClanahan, director of Snap-on's front-office initiatives.
The fix is coming in the form of Rainmaker Sales from On-Link Technologies Inc., a product that combines a configurator with an electronic product catalog. The software, which Snap-on is in the process of adopting, will let salespeople tailor products to order, as well as tell them exactly how products should be used and what their companion products are. Thus, salespeople can "supersize" products--upselling or cross-selling, for example--by telling customers which products can be bought in a set or happen to be on sale.
Knowledge management plays a critical role in effective sales. Not only do salespeople need to know details about products, they also need to know how to approach a specific customer. That's why Pyxis likes WisdomWare Inc.'s Sales Call Advisor.
"Each person in the buying environment has different business and personal issues," says Horrex, who notes that Pyxis sells to large companies and small family businesses. "The CEO's issues would be different than those of the director of a pharmacy." WisdomWare stores best practices about how to deal with customers in different industries and organization levels, then filters the information it gives to salespeople based on those factors.
The idea is to present the product in terms that resonate with the customer, not simply in terms of technical details or cost. The software lets a salesperson enter business issues that are important to the customer--for example, a retirement home may be concerned with dealing with Medicare accounts--then coaches the salesperson with questions to ask and things to say.
"It gives you a road map and tells you what to do. It helps us position our product to solve business issues," Horrex says. "We try to go deeper than `How would you like to save money?' " She says WisdomWare answers the "so-what" questions--such as "That's a great feature, but how does it apply to me?"
Another product that tries to address specific customer needs is Market-Touch Inc.'s Market-Touch SC, which helps create customized proposals and marketing documents for individual customers. The software gathers information about customers, products, and competitors, then generates a tailored report. Informatica's Downing says that without the software, such a process requires collaboration among several segments of the business and takes a couple of weeks--if it happens at all. But, he says, once the necessary data is entered into Informatica's system, Market-Touch puts those proposals together in hours or minutes, giving the vendor an edge in its attempt to win business.
"There's a requirement in a sales competition to provide lots of information. The timeliness and completeness of the response determines your success," Downing says. Although the organization recently bought Clarify Inc.'s sales-force automation package to track potential sales opportunities, he says, it's Market-Touch that has intrigued his sales force: "I've never seen salespeople so excited," he says.
All In One
Most sales-effectiveness tools address only one type of functionality. But some vendors are trying to bring multiple sales-effectiveness tools together and tie them into other sales-force automation applications. For example, Oracle's SellingPoint software is an integrated part of its customer-relationship management suite. SellingPoint can handle configuration from simple needs--such as color and size--all the way to complex engineering products, and it stores the best practices of top representatives so that each salesperson has the opportunity to become a high-caliber representative.
FirePond Inc., meanwhile, has developed a complex interactive selling suite, Signature Plus, that includes product configuration, price quotes, competitive comparisons, proposal generation, product suggestions, and links to financing options. But the company plans to expand the range of the suite, adding customer-relationship management features to track a customer's interactions. That data then feeds into the interactive selling process, improving the quality of product suggestions.
For Renault Trucks, a Lyons, France, truck manufacturer that uses Signature Plus, it's important to get as much customer data as possible into the equation. "For each customer, you have to have a unique approach. You have no typical situation," says Bruno Chazalette, Renault's marketing manager. For instance, the company could be selling to a solo trucker one day and a company with a fleet of trucks the next--and it needs to find the correct products and financing for each. The software frees salespeople from having to understand and memorize myriad minute details to close the deal, making them more effective.
"We've never obliged our salespeople to use it," says Chazalette. "It seduced them because it gives added value to the customer." For example, he says, the software could help a customer pick a truck based on the kind of driving--long-distance or short runs--that the driver does, then come up with a financing plan based on the customer's financial situation.
Analysts say that for these sales-effectiveness tools to succeed, companies must be mindful that they are meant to augment a sales force, not replace it. "The day that you have something that actually helps you close deals, you'll have a lot of salespeople scared," says Steve Bonadio, an analyst with the Hurwitz Group.
Maybe. Or maybe they'll realize how many more deals the software can help them close.
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