How to qualify more leads in the next heat
Garry Olah, Senior Director, Corporate Development for Citrix speaks with Software Business Journal
In this particular heat, you did the best you could. Seasoned racers flew by in their heavily sponsored vehicles, but you hung in there. You crossed your fingers and hoped for the best: a good enough time to stay in the running.
Luckily, you can rely on more than hope to get into the qualifying round. Just the news you want to hear. Now there’s a new way to make it to the final round: to better qualify leads and close more sales. With the new supercharged lead system in place, you’ll know exactly what to do to get a better time and score when the race is on.
Garry Olah, senior director of corporate development for Citrix, says, "In the last 15 to 20 years, software sales teams have operated in a world where customers buy based on promises and sales marketing data. Customers have the mindset if ‘I have a problem, show me a solution.’ This impacts the entire sales process."
"For example, a customer says, ‘Why should I buy 5.0 instead of 4.0? Show me the differences.
Plus, more people are involved in every single sale. To get more sales in this environment, you need to change your process to match the marketplace needs."
Olah recently gave Software Business Journal his impression on how to cope with a sales process in a shifting marketplace and offers sound advice on how ISVs can improve the sales cycle.
SBJ: How are software purchases different now than 10 years ago?
People want to see the inherent differences in a new version of software. A survey of 110 enterprise software buyers found that more people are involved in every software purchase. On average, about 30 people are involved in each sale. Usually, a minimum of seven to eight people are involved. With that many people, in a global marketplace, you need a way to interact with each of these decision-makers in a positive manner.
One way to do that is with the new breed of software demos. What it’s really about is a live show and tell. Instead of sending off a CD or asking someone to download the software, now people can access the software application from their own server in locations around the world, simultaneously.
SBJ: How is the sales process different?
Olah: In traditional marketing, typically a person would become a qualified lead when they asked for more information about a product, or engaged in two-way communication about the software product. Sales called on the leads and tried to close sales. Mistakes happened, like getting the prospect engaged too early and forcing a buy, or spending too much time on unqualified prospects.
All this is changing and for the better. In the new sales model, it’s clear when one or two-way communication begins with a prospect. You can see right away how interested they are. There’s no hemming, and hawing and guessing about the prospect’s interest. Today, most buyers prefer "self-serve" purchasing decisions about software. If a company needs software, they’ll test it out, see if it solves the current problems and buy the product. It’s that simple.
For demonstration purposes, software companies rely on champions in other companies who may show up at an organization with a demo of the software to let a decision-maker test it. While the software company’s livelihood depends on these champions, these champions are having a harder time reaching the many decision-makers involved in the purchasing process.
Plus, IT shops don’t want to see you. Stricter travel security, diminished travel budgets and a tighter economy are impacting this preference for "self-serve" software. It’s like ice cream, people can serve themselves, but you’ll provide the sprinkles and caramel swirl, and still enjoy the sweetness of the sale.
Another complication in this new world of sales is competition. It’s always been there, but now things are fierce. People are afraid if they don’t sell a software product to a company, they’ll be quickly displaced by another who will.
By inviting people to an online demonstration, it makes the software decision easier, eliminates unnecessary travel costs, and accelerates the sales process.
SBJ: How does hands-on access to software help redefine the sales process?
Olah: The sales and marketing cycle is different. In the past, you handed out ad slicks about the product, sent out teasers to customers about an upcoming product, placed ads or sent news releases to trade publications.
Now, people come to you when they need a solution. This is what the new sales cycle looks like:
Suspects become prospects — someone in your target audience says, "I want to know more about your product." You set up a self-guided demonstration of your product online; this demonstration can be for a large number of decision-makers all over the globe.
Prospects become pre-qualified leads — The person/team experiences the software through a demo, this drives the lead, and the prospect becomes pre-qualified.
Prospects become qualified leads — the software company’s sales team receives real-time feedback about the prospect’s demo experience, and uses this information to qualify the lead and to drive sales.
Qualified leads become new customers — thanks to the relationship built, the ability to see the software in the prospect’s own business setting, and immediate feedback and question capabilities, more prospects than ever before make the decision to purchase the product and become new customers.
SBJ: How can sales people benefit from this new way of working?
Olah: In the past, ISVs had to decide who is doing the presentation; is it sales or engineering? Whoever gave the demonstration was responsible for getting the prospect’s feedback on the product.
Now you know instantly, what the prospect is thinking. Twenty customers are logged in to a demo simultaneously and can send feedback immediately to the entire sales team.
In the old way of doing things, people feigned interest in a deal. The sales team had no way of knowing whether or not their pipeline existed. With the real-time demo, you can require a certain amount of information up front, before the demo happens. This helps pre-qualify the sales leads and saves time.
SBJ: How does this improve access to a larger captive audience?
Olah: The best leads usually come from partners and vendors. This new approach gives partners the same ability to encourage real-time application testing. They can provide a link on their Web site to your online testing facilities. This removes one step in the sales process, and lets you leverage the Web.
Ways to leverage these relationships include:
Links on Systems Integrators’ or other partners’ Web sites
Links on your resellers’ Web sites
eBlasts to everyone’s mailing lists with the link
Links in trade magazine articles (having the actual application in the magazine is way more effective than showing a screen shot of the application)
Now, in the first five seconds someone is on the Web, you can get their attention, instead of hearing from them three months after they saw your marketing material. The real-time demo helps prospects overcome their objections more quickly. Even though IT people may find five things they hate immediately, at least they’ve found the solution on their own. Also, when visiting the application, people can give feedback as soon as an obstacle occurs; then the sales team can work to make the tool more effective for the prospect’s organization.
The new sales process puts the sales force in the driving seat. It’s more interactive, builds trust with the ISV and accelerates sales decisions. This new way of working keeps you in the running longer, and qualifies you for the next round. Mastering this process will put your sales in overdrive.
Garry Olah, Senior Director of Corporate Development for Citrix, [insert bio info here.]