sdm case analysis: siebel systems: anatomy of a sale (a)

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

Sales & Distribution Management Term V

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


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?


Possible response to Cathy’s query

Corresponding to Siebel’s 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

It’s a perfect opportunity to flaunt the strengths and fleet of partners

Share some of Siebel’s 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 shouldn’t explain too much of technical details of product instead he must focus on how a Siebel product can cater to their organizational requirements.


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


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


Assignment Question

Question: How should Carman qualify the prospect? Should he ask, “What’s 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?


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.


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:

Siebel’s superiority over Competitors’ products

Right product specification for customer and suggestions about customization

Justification of expenses done on product


Assignment Question

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


Evaluation of Carman’s 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&R’s requirements

He did a good job by giving a demo of the product to Cathy. Only if he had better knowledge about the client’s 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


TAS Process

Test and Improve the Plan

Turn Ideas into Action

Develop the Relationship Strategy

Define the competitive Strategy

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

Assess the Opportunity


Define the Competitive Strategy

Sales pitch also depends on competitors products & sales strategy

It is one of the major steps since it acts as a

foundation for developing an action

plan for sales team

Developing a sales pitch by understanding customer requirements


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


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


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


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


Assignment Question

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


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 client’s 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

Sales & Distribution Management

Questions?

Thank You

Term V

sdm case analysis: siebel systems: anatomy of a sale (a)

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