Overcoming ObjectionsAli JaniVP Product Management and Services

BetterFasterStronger

Version 5.0

Key Topics

Part 1 Today

• Objections – Always Prepared

• Product Objections

• Technology Objections

• Saas Related Objections

Part 2 – Included for later reference

• Services and Support Objections

• Pricing and Negotiation

• Acumatica Brand

• License Agreement/Contract Objections

ObjectionsAlways Prepared

Objections – Always Prepared

“Anticipate”

• to think of something that will or might happen in the future

• to expect or look ahead to something with pleasure : to look forward to something

• to do something before someone else

Always Prepared

• Except the unexpected - With sales, what can go wrong, usually will.

• Competition does not rest

• The decision maker isn't really the decision maker

• Important stake holder on Vacation

• People don’t live forever

• Avoid installing last minute updates prior to your demo / Have a replicated backup demo environments / Etc..

• All questions are fair game – compartmentalize and completeness - put issues to bed the first time

• Choices without rational or guidance = more objections

• What are your top 3 “winners” for your specific prospect in each then objection categories?

• What does your client think you top expertise are?

• Sometimes the same words are heard differently when the perception is they are hearing from the experts mouth

• Introduce subject matter experts early in the sales cycle

• Always know Why Me?

Product Features Objections

Product Features Objections

• Do you really understand the client pains and needs

• Should know possible short comings before they do

• “Must Haves” vs “Like to Have”

• Is it ok to say “No” ?

• What are your top 3 “winners” – Repeat often– Examples: Customizability/Personalization, document management, integrated CRM,

real-time data, audit trails, attributes, generic inquiries, navigation and usability, role based controls, exchange integration, mobile ready, built in carrier integration, tight ecommerce integration, multi warehouse replenishment, manufacturing integration, etc..

• Domain knowledge and Lingo

• Past customer experiences with similar needs

• Know the competition in relation with your prospects needs

• Spend time on website for learning product details and videos

• Search the web for challenges faced by users

Common Product Objections

• Marketing Automation• Sales force integration• Gmail and Outlook integration• Sub-item restrictions • Dimensional Accounting / Tags for GL accounts• Use of existing Report Writers / DB Schema• Analytics• PCI and Credit Card Processing Choices• Ease of customization (add a field and validation)• Barcode Scanning / optimized fulfillment• Multi level Commissions / profit base commissions• Customer Loyalty Management (Rewards/gift cards)• Social Integration

Technology Objections

Common Technology Objections• What resource level do I need?

• How will I know when I need to upgrade my resource level?

• External Report Writer / DB Schema & Dictionary?

• REST based APIs ?

• ODBC access?

• How will my customization migrate?

• Can I integrate it to my PHP site?

• Is source code available?

• Why doesn't Acumatica use MVC?

• Is it HTML5?

• How quickly can my staff learn the Technology?

• Languages available?

• Localization?

Winners:

• Acumatica is a platform company and ERP company

• Install Whole environment on Dev Computers

• Extensible with minimal risks in version management

• Choice of DB

• Rapid Application Development

• As simple as you need, as complex as you can handle

Saas Related Objections

Common Saas Objections

• Compliance (SOC , SAE, PCI, etc..)

• True Multi-tenancy? (NetSuite engaged prospects – sometimes Intacct)

• Upgrade predictability – Is everyone on same release? How many versions of the software is supported?

• Version lock - How will I know I will not be stuck on an older version?

• Vendor managed updates - Is there a fee for services to upgrade?

• Stronger communities - How many users on same version as me?

• Trusted - Who is hosting and managing?

Saas Winners

• Top 3 winners to repeat often (Saas Bill of Rights)

• Data ownership and access

• Free SaaS Sandbox with every major upgrade (Permanent local)

• No cost Web Services / APIs (including server side scripts)

• Worthy followers

• Killer cloud performance + Geo optimized

• No “Named Users” - Add or change employees anytime at no cost

• Easy contract changes (downgrades or upgrades)

• Free non-production version for internal use

• Automatic Disaster Recovery (multi-zone)

• With some caution:

– Deployment changes if needs arise

– More options over upgrade timing

• Personalized Domain

NetSuite Saas Killers

Lead your prospect to ask NetSuite:

• What options am I not buying?Examples: Advanced Inventory, Contract Renewals Module, Demand planning, Recurring Billing, Revenue Recognition, Incentive Planning, Financial Planning, One World

• Can you lock the discounts for when my contract is renewed?

• Can you give a quote that is fixed for 20 additional users?

• Can I get a price for upgrade from LE to MME quoted now and agreed on incase we grow or need the functionality.

• I’ve heard from time to time you ask clients who need better performance or with extensive web services integrations to subscribe to different tier of services. How will I be sure you will be able to handle my volume with good performance without asking me later I need upgrade?

• What is Suite Cloud plus? • 10 threads, single user, and 5 scheduled scripts limit on shared servers

• To have multiple users, more threads, or reliability, premiums apply

– lev 1 – 40K a year (same limits but simply more reliable performance)

– Lev 2 – 75K - 20 threads / 2 accounts / 10 scripts

– Lev 3 – 100K – 30 threads / 3 accounts / 15 scripts

Overcoming Objections

Part 2

Ali JaniVP Product Management and Services

BetterFasterStronger

Version 5.0

Services and Support Objections

Common Services and Support Objections

• Implementation Cost Justification

• Fixed Priced Implementation

• Cost of Services associated with future upgrades

• Cost of Customizations

• Maintenance on Customization

• Visibility into implementation progress

• Billing process for time spent

• Acumatica Implementation Experience

• Support Plans (Post implementation)

• 24/7 Access to help

• Issue tracking and visibility

• Time spent on learning what to do or on bugs

• Developer Support and Training

• Customer Community

• Access to Acumatica

Pricing and Negotiation

Common Pricing Objections

• Price-lock into future years

• Future Start Date of Maintenance / Saas Service• Why cant I tie payment terms to my go live date?

• Can I just use the Eval version till I go live?

• Monthly Payments / Split Payments

• Services Payment Terms - Why is some upfront?

• Why do I need to pay for support separately?

• Satisfaction guarantee

• References – People in my industry

• Competition is more aggressive. I need a better discount.

Acumatica Brand Objections

Positioning Acumatica

• Use of Company presentation

• Management team accessibility

• 3rd party validation – awards

• 1000+ Customers

• Long term viability

• OEM business and long term contracts

• Sister companies

Acumatica Brand Objections

• Russian based company?

• Relatively New company – Never heard of Acumatica

• Financial Strength

• Buyout target

• Research Analyst Radars (Gartner Magic Quadrant)

• Number of customer installations

• Product Maturity

• Company Scalability

License Agreement and Contracts

Common EULA Objections

• Limitation of liability

• Venue

• SLA and related credits

• Excessive downtime

• Deletion of data upon termination

• Sales and Services Agreements

• What they get with Saas services

• Add-on Saas Services

• Direct Support and related SOW/MSA