Thursday, February 23, 2012

Case Analysis:
Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale(A) Group 5
ROHIT NATH | GAURAV PATANGE | MANGESH PATIL MAHTAAB KAJLA | SACHIN KUMAR

Introduction
Company Introduction
Founded by Tom Siebel in 1993 World leader in CRM software with 50% market share in sales management, marketing automation, customer service & support (2001) Core values of company emphasize on customer satisfaction, professionalism, professional courtesy & bias for action

Product Line & Distribution

Portfolio of more than 200 products Customized product according to customer requirements Go-to-market strategy with direct sales force Followed a multichannel approach

Alliances
Integration Alliance Partners include Accenture, Cap Gemini, Deloitte Consulting, IBM, PWC etc Key hardware & software partners include Alcatel, AT&T Wireless, Avaya, Cisco, Compaq, Microsoft etc

Competitors
Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, Clarify, E*piphany
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Assignment Question

Question:
How should Carman respond to the invitation to tell the Quick and Reilly executives what he thought of Oracle? What features of this particular interaction influence your opinion? Would your opinion of the right response change if the circumstances were different?

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Possible response to Cathys query

Corresponding to Siebels Core Values, Carman should treat customers with deference and professional fashion as representatives from Quick and Reilly could be our prospects He should avoid providing incomplete information; also whatever information is demanded from customer should be provided without any reluctance Its a perfect opportunity to flaunt the strengths and fleet of partners Share some of Siebels success stories In order to provide details of competitive landscape in CRM market Carman can share Gartner Research Report which shows Siebel systems as a complete solution provider and market leader Since Cathy belongs to Client service and marketing Department; Carman shouldnt explain too much of technical details of product instead he must focus on how a Siebel product can cater to their organizational requirements.

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Features responsible for influencing opinions

Since meeting was not prior scheduled, lack of understanding about clients needs, budget and requirements could restrain the prospective deal

Carman is not sure if Cathy Ridley is Influencer or Decider and degree of power that she holds in organization

Carman himself is not comfortable in comparing Siebel to its competitors until he knew the clients requirements

Conversation is more of casual one which might not lead to conversion of deal

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Possible responses if circumstances were different

If the meeting was prior arranged the agenda could have been framed beforehand Sales Department would be able to collect information about clients needs, budget and requirements thus increasing the prospects for conversion of deal Technical details would be shared with CIO or respective person thus explaining even minute details about product and how it can benefit Quick and Reilly Classification of Influencers, deciders, purchasers etc can be arranged prior to meeting hence targeting specific personnel Knowing your product customizing it according to needs of customer and giving demonstration could provide an edge

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Assignment Question

Question:
How should Carman qualify the prospect? Should he ask, Whats your budget? Should he suppress his curiosity and leave it to the prospect to bring up the information about the size and timing of the opportunity? If he asks for information, how will he use it?

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Steps to qualify the prospect

Identifying the need of product by client

Priority assigned by strategic level of organization for need of that product

Making top level managers aware about the benefits of product

Providing information that how the product can satisfy needs of organization

Asking specific questions to Cathy would help Carman in assessing their requirements and needs in specific fashion. Therefore, he should definitely ask questions regarding the money that the company can pump in for this project, number of end-users involved which would provide a rough estimate regarding the pressure that the system should be able to sustain, delivery time, scope of project in organization.

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Carmen should not suppress his curiosity and should ask directly about their requirements, as knowing the needs and requirements of customers in better way would help him in explaining the product accordingly, thus increasing the chances of cracking the deal

The information could be used to explain:

Siebels superiority over Competitors products

Right product specification for customer and suggestions about customization

Justification of expenses done on product

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Assignment Question

Question:
Evaluate Carmans interactions with the customer upto this point? Is he doing a good job? How effective is the Siebel Systems approach?

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Evaluation of Carmans interactions with Cathy

Carman initially focused on building a rapport with Cathy & tried to gain her confidence to share more information Throughout the conversation, Carman was friendly & showed complete interest in knowing Q&Rs requirements He did a good job by giving a demo of the product to Cathy. Only if he had better knowledge about the clients requirement he could have been better in explaining a specific product that suits her needs. He also tried to gauge the clients budget by asking the possible number of users in the organization So overall Carman did a fair job

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TAS Process

Assess the Opportunity

Define the competitive Strategy Develop the Relationship Strategy Turn Ideas into Action Test and Improve the Plan

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Assess the Opportunity

Is there an opportunity?
Yes. An opportunity worth 2 Million to sell to Q&R

Can we compete?
Yes. We are the only company that offers end to end CRM solutions

Can we win?
Yes. We have more than 200 products to offer & we can also customize them as per clients needs. We also have superior customer service

Is it worth winning?
Yes. Considering the potential of the deal it is worth winning

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Define the Competitive Strategy

Sales pitch also depends on competitors products & sales strategy

Developing a sales pitch by understanding customer requirements

It is one of the major steps since it acts as a foundation for developing an action plan for sales team

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Develop the Relationship Strategy

Cathy Ridley & Other senior executives can act as influencers in this deal

Other stakeholders & their corresponding roles & power are not yet identified. So for now Cathy remains the important point of contact

Relationship strategy must focus on building long term relationship with Q&R

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Turn Ideas into Action

Siebel is already a market leader in CRM industry Gathers pre-approach information of the prospective client It is the only provider of complete CRM solution Minimizes weakness by understanding customer needs & thereby modifying its sales pitch Siebel projects its core value of customer satisfaction by providing customized solution

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Test and Improve the Plan

Understand the Plan

Test the Plan

Improve the Plan

Siebel follows the above steps to ensure customer expectations are met & thus reinforces customer confidence.

It also helps in building good account relationships

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Evaluation of TAS Process

The TAS process is effective because:
Delivers end to end solutions which is not provided by any competitor Detailed information collection about client to ensure persuasive sales pitch Competitor strategy analysis to frame counter strategy

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Assignment Question

Question:
Put yourself in Zitners position as he picks up the phone. How should he handle the conversation? What is his objective in this call?

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Objectives of Conversation
Zitner must keep in mind that this is an introductory conversation with a potential client. So focus must be on building rapport & gaining confidence before making a pitch After achieving the initial rapport, he must try to gauge the requirements of Q&R After understanding the clients needs, he must talk about what Bradley systems can offer to solve their problem He must then try to convince Cathy to send a detailed RFP for further discussion The following are the objectives that Zitner must focus on Primary
Understanding customer needs Explaining the suitable solutions to the buyer Assure the client that they can provide excellent product & service that can solve his/her problem

Optimistic
Convince her to meet in person for further discussion Try to get a detailed RFP from Q&R
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Questions?

Thank You

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