A client told me a few months about what they had observed about their software sales rep. Nice person, responsive, but was involved in every single meeting over the course of the sales process. The client's comment: I am sure we "paid" lots for the rep's time and travel expenses- wish it could have been broken out and we could have had a choice of when we needed the rep involved.
Another told me wryly- here is a vendor trying to sell us sales force automation, and their own sales process is so people intense and hardly automated.
Software vendors complain about the software procurement process - the detailed RFPs, the sales cycle time, number of demos etc. Buyers on the other think it is the sales person who stone walls, tries to corrupt the process. Clearly, the software sales process could use reengineering. In particular, the product discovery process could be considerably more automated.
I would break the product discovery process into 3 steps each with varying levels of customer self-service and vendor sales involvement:
a) From the thousands of RFPs vendors have already responded to, they should have an A,B,C analysis of most requested/somewhat requested etc. features. Expose that on-line to users (in a password protected area to keep from prying competitor eyes) using a requirements traceability tool. Let prospects navigate and fill their own feature/function checklists, if need be. Then it would be ok for vendors to refuse to fill out requests for 400 page feature lists in RFPs – encourage users to do so on a self-serve basis. And I mean refuse. JetBlue decided it was only going to have instant ticketing business model - no reservations on hold for 24-48 hours. I am sure they lost a few customers but they stuck to the model and it is becoming industry standard.
b) For horizontal functionality – common across verticals, geographies - expose major process flows in on-line demos, architecture in well structured documentation etc. so customers can self-navigate through the look and feel, flow etc. Make reps available by on-line chat, telephone – remotely - to answer questions. Organize product marketing collateral on those lines. This functionality should not usually require demos at the client site.
c) For more unique vertical or client specific functionality, invest in on-premise, scenario based demos. Vendors should encourage buyers to define likely real-life business scenarios and then diligently walk them through how their solution delivers it. And tell the truth – what is available as a standard feature, what comes from partner functionality, work arounds etc. Too many vendors fight scripted scenarios. Or they will only do them grudgingly if a competitor is likely to invest in them. This is where the sales person should be focused, because this is likely where the differentiation will be most acute.
So, more automation to handle basic feature demos, FAQs etc. More people involvement in more unique areas. Good, solid A-B-C application.
Finally, I would also recommend smaller, more intense sales teams. As I wrote here the industry has a mind-boggling set of roles in sales, marketing and business development. Try billing your customers for their time and expense. You will get a clear answer about what customers think of their value add...
