{"id":35192,"date":"2019-07-03T14:44:29","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T21:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=35192"},"modified":"2019-07-03T14:44:32","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T21:44:32","slug":"communications-challenges-exist-for-sales-reps-in-offering-workflow-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2019\/07\/communications-challenges-exist-for-sales-reps-in-offering-workflow-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Communications Challenges Exist for Sales Reps in Offering Workflow Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As you prep the steaks and marinate the chicken for the\ngrill this weekend, we offer you a breezy look at some of the challenges sales\nreps experience in peddling workflow solutions, as part of our July state of\nthe industry focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be honest, an account executive (by nature) is\nattracted to the easy sale that can be wrapped up in short order. John Sutton,\nthe national director of sales for Novatech, notes that when a complex solution\nis involved, it can stretch out the sales cycle quite a bit. Still, the payoff\nis greater in the end, from both the client and rep perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
John Sutton, Novatech<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found that when we introduce a solution, the sales\u2019 side will lengthen a little bit, but the deal size gets larger and the profitability increases,\u201d he said. \u201cBy virtue of going that route, you don\u2019t have as much competition. There\u2019s a tradeoff. It\u2019s a little bit of time on the rep\u2019s part to be involved, but much larger upside on the back end of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Educating Clients<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Yocum, market director for Function4, points out that educating\ncustomers on the capabilities of solutions is a more urgent need for the small-\nto medium-sized business than it is the large\/enterprise customer. That\u2019s where\na well-versed account manager can score points in a pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brad Yocum, Function4<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese SMB customers know they have information in different\nsilos and would like to have one central place to be able to pull from,\u201d Yocum\nsaid. \u201cBut for this market, there\u2019s not a lot of information that appears to be\nreadily available to those customers. So I think the challenge for reps is\neducating them on what the capabilities are and then getting them to realize\nthey can accomplish those things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the initial pitch begins to generate momentum, some reps\nwill then hand the ball off to a source matter expert who can perform a deeper\ndive in explaining the capabilities of a particular software or program. But\nthe discovery phase is the rep\u2019s time to shine, notes Steve Behm, the vice\npresident of professional services for Flex Technology Group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Steve Behm, FTG<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecoming educated on what the capabilities are and some of\nthe logical questions to ask both customers and prospects is the first step\ntoward bringing in that workflow automation process,\u201d Behm added. \u201cMany of our\nreps are very adept at the sales process, but it\u2019s taking those first couple of\nsteps that requires thought and effort in having that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Schooled<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not to say that an account executive needs to be a\ntechnical virtuoso. Mark Lasinis, director of technology for Imagine Technology\nGroup (ITG), points out that some of the best lead generators are reps who\ndon\u2019t have any idea about what\u2019s \u201cunder the hood\u201d of a particular solution.\nHowever, they are quick to identify a manual workflow and can understand what\nan automated process might look like for the client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mark Lasinis, ITG<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An easy way to help reps understand the basic functionality\nis to use the products within your own dealership, which ITG does. Lasinis can\nwalk a client through how the dealer does its accounts payable, for example,\nand they learn how a solution can improve efficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey see how this works and a light bulb goes off,\u201d Lasinis\nsaid. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to know sequel databases or image files \u2013 they don\u2019t\nhave to understand any of that technology. What they understand is they just\nwatched how someone can process x-amount of invoices and checks in an hour and\na half, when it usually takes them eight hours. That person, who is stretched\nto the limit on what she\u2019s doing, can now continue the rest of her job and even\ntake on more responsibility. Now, the company doesn\u2019t have to hire more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe idea isn\u2019t to lower head count, it\u2019s to give them more\ntime to do their job and do more with what they have. That gets them excited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Liaison<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stephanie Keating Phillips, AIS<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the number of vendors who are participating in\na given project installation, a sales rep can be called upon to act as a\ngo-between with the different parties. It\u2019s important that the voice your\nclient hears on the phone is that of the sales rep and not a software company\nrep, notes Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions for Advanced\nImaging Solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be honest, we\u2019ve had challenges with software companies\nbecause you have different reps that aren\u2019t speaking the same language you\nspeak, so you have to be that liaison between them and the client,\u201d she said.\n\u201cYou don\u2019t want them to go directly to the client, let them go through you.\nBetween us, the manufacturer and the software company, it took about a year and\na half to get on the same page of how we were going to take care of our\nclients. Now, we\u2019re all marching at the same pace.\n\n\u201cIf that communication style doesn\u2019t continue,\nthe sales rep will have a tough time making sure he\u2019s maintaining control over\nkeeping that client happy.\u201d\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As you prep the steaks and marinate the chicken for the grill this weekend, we offer you a breezy look at some of the challenges sales reps experience in peddling workflow solutions, as part of our July state of the industry focus. Let\u2019s be honest, an account executive (by nature) is attracted to the easy sale that can be wrapped up in short order. John Sutton, the national director of sales for Novatech, notes that when a complex solution is involved, it can stretch out the sales cycle quite a bit. Still, the payoff is greater in the end, from both the client and rep perspective. \u201cWe found that when we introduce a solution, the sales\u2019 side will lengthen a little bit, but the deal size gets larger and the profitability increases,\u201d he said. \u201cBy virtue of going that route, you don\u2019t have as much competition. There\u2019s a tradeoff. It\u2019s a little bit of time on the rep\u2019s part to be involved, but much larger upside on the back end of that.\u201d Educating Clients Brad Yocum, market director for Function4, points out that educating customers on the capabilities of solutions is a more urgent need for the small- to medium-sized business than it is the large\/enterprise customer. That\u2019s where a well-versed account manager can score points in a pitch. \u201cThese SMB customers know they have information in different silos and would like to have one central place to be able to pull from,\u201d Yocum said. \u201cBut for this market, there\u2019s not a lot of information that appears to be readily available to those customers. So I think the challenge for reps is educating them on what the capabilities are and then getting them to realize they can accomplish those things.\u201d As the initial pitch begins to generate momentum, some reps will then hand the ball off to a source matter expert who can perform a deeper dive in explaining the capabilities of a particular software or program. But the discovery phase is the rep\u2019s time to shine, notes Steve Behm, the vice president of professional services for Flex Technology Group. \u201cBecoming educated on what the capabilities are and some of the logical questions to ask both customers and prospects is the first step toward bringing in that workflow automation process,\u201d Behm added. \u201cMany of our reps are very adept at the sales process, but it\u2019s taking those first couple of steps that requires thought and effort in having that conversation.\u201d Home Schooled It\u2019s not to say that an account executive needs to be a technical virtuoso. Mark Lasinis, director of technology for Imagine Technology Group (ITG), points out that some of the best lead generators are reps who don\u2019t have any idea about what\u2019s \u201cunder the hood\u201d of a particular solution. However, they are quick to identify a manual workflow and can understand what an automated process might look like for the client. An easy way to help reps understand the basic functionality is to use the products within your own dealership, which ITG does. Lasinis can walk a client through how the dealer does its accounts payable, for example, and they learn how a solution can improve efficiencies. \u201cThey see how this works and a light bulb goes off,\u201d Lasinis said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to know sequel databases or image files \u2013 they don\u2019t have to understand any of that technology. What they understand is they just watched how someone can process x-amount of invoices and checks in an hour and a half, when it usually takes them eight hours. That person, who is stretched to the limit on what she\u2019s doing, can now continue the rest of her job and even take on more responsibility. Now, the company doesn\u2019t have to hire more people. \u201cThe idea isn\u2019t to lower head count, it\u2019s to give them more time to do their job and do more with what they have. That gets them excited.\u201d Project Liaison Depending on the number of vendors who are participating in a given project installation, a sales rep can be called upon to act as a go-between with the different parties. It\u2019s important that the voice your client hears on the phone is that of the sales rep and not a software company rep, notes Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions for Advanced Imaging Solutions. \u201cTo be honest, we\u2019ve had challenges with software companies because you have different reps that aren\u2019t speaking the same language you speak, so you have to be that liaison between them and the client,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want them to go directly to the client, let them go through you. Between us, the manufacturer and the software company, it took about a year and a half to get on the same page of how we were going to take care of our clients. Now, we\u2019re all marching at the same pace. \u201cIf that communication style doesn\u2019t continue, the sales rep will have a tough time making sure he\u2019s maintaining control over keeping that client happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":34978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[98,3487,3588,3673,3410],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35193,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35192\/revisions\/35193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}