Avitage for the Visual Age of Selling by Jim Burns

AberdeenGroup

Profile Avitage, Inc. 1432 Main Street Waltham, MA 02451 781.522.8000 www.avitage.com

Avitage for the Visual Age of Selling Executive Summary Why is it so difficult to close sales these days? The easy answer may be, “It’s the economy, stupid!” Some who point to the continuing economic sluggishness as the primary driver of long sales cycles believe that when “the good times return,” sales cycles will stabilize. They believe that today’s sometimes-painful selling environment is merely a symptom of an ill economy recovering from the excesses of the late ’90s. Seasoned sales veterans will point out first that, in former economic cycles, bad times (i.e., difficult sales settings) typically follow good times (or when the sales challenge is keeping up with demand) — and, secondly, that those who came of age in the mid to late 1990s simply experienced an upward cycle that bubbled over with irrational exuberance. Others will suggest that, although the economy is a contributing factor, the roots of the resource-draining sales cycles of the past two years stem primarily from the “incredibly shrinking product life cycle.” Product development and distribution cycles are accelerating faster than the marcom processes that create marketing content and product messaging materials. As a result, corporate libraries are struggling to optimize, but still control, access to the marketing content that sales teams rely upon to fuel customer education processes. Add the growing modularity of today’s universe of products and services to the mix, and one quickly realizes that the problem(s) with traditional selling processes result from factors other than just a sluggish economy. In the foundation upon which rests the working relationship between marketing and sales © 2002 Aberdeen Group, Inc.

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departments, cracks that have existed for years are now deepening. This Aberdeen Profile will examine how the growing “need for speed” is refocusing attention on the inherent disconnect between traditional marketing and sales practices — and the lack of effectual software that improves related processes. Of course, the dysfunctional aspect of this relationship is by no means a secret. Cast against a backdrop of shorter product life cycles, increasing product complexity, information overload, and other derivatives of the Information Age, leading selling organizations must look for new solutions designed for a new era of selling — one in which traditional processes that focus on what is being sold are fading. Solutions that are now gaining traction create a more visual selling environment that also addresses the who and how. Enterprise-wide information overload now demands more agile, interconnected marketing and sales processes. As products and solutions become more complex, sales managers and sales teams need new tactical tools to help them articulate the value of multiple product/solution options simply to keep up with market dynamics (both a customer’s own product offerings as well as the competitive environment). Customers need better ways to receive these messages, and the field needs better assistance in delivering them. Simply put, selling effectively in today’s market —one that is ever more overloaded with information — requires engaging, relevant materials that convey all the messages that a seasoned salesperson must offer. Senior executives must note that content that fails to grab prospects’ attention will fail to keep their attention. This profile introduces Avitage (“ah-vitazh”), a software supplier whose rich media technology gives organizations new ways to sell by delivering messages that are compelling and relevant to customers. The Reality of Selling In an ideal selling situation, the sales team pulls together all the necessary knowledge centers — product managers, sales engineers (SEs), and subject matter and product experts — to meet with a prospective client. Everyone has done his or her homework, so the conversation articulates not only what is being sold, but also what the company stands for, how that organization differs from the competition (the who), and how other (often similar) customers have benefited (the how). Questions have been anticipated, and educational materials flow naturally — both when the sales team guides the conversation, and when the buyer takes control of the dialogue. The buyer and seller mutually discover — and agree upon — the value to be created and exchanged. Custom-designed “leave behinds” capture the essence of the dialogue (regardless of the variations that emerge) and are rich enough to easily convey the value proposition to any non-participants on the buyer’s side that will play a contributing role in the ensuing sales processes. Next, steps are taken, and the deal is negotiated and signed. In reality, not everyone can make the meeting. The demand for the SEs’ time prevents their attendance, and questions tied to recent dynamics in the marketplace may be left unanswered, or may be only partially addressed (although prompt follow up is promised). Even though the © 2002 Aberdeen Group, Inc.

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Avitage, Inc.

participants have done their collective homework, the canned sales presentation was not designed to support a vigorous dialogue. In a move to address new market dynamics, the sales team may have some last-minute changes to the presentation, often without the knowledge of, or input from, marketing. The resulting message may fall out of alignment with overall market positioning because of a failure to work with or notify marketing. Moving from Order Takers to Problem Solvers Consider how the recent technology boom affected the sector. Although unsteady by early 2001, the prolonged technology-spending surge still had legs. And finding talented salespeople who could craft an engaging sales dialogue with customers, and then properly set expectations, continued to be a challenge. In the second half of the 1990s, many companies were fortunate. Fulfilling the vast majority of the demand for products and services simply required “order takers.” The ability to create a sales dialogue based on discovery — by asking probing questions, dealing with doubt and competitors’ counterpoints, and establishing a mutual rapport — was, in many cases, not required. The recent business slowdown has magnified the serious problems that were already prolonging the selling process: •

Heightened scrutiny of the probability of generating near-term returns on investment (ROI). Sellers must now surround the increasingly hesitant, less trusting buyer with a more diverse collection of members from their organization. In addition, they must demonstrate ROI, present cost-benefit analysis, and, in certain cases (as with technology investments), highlight the potential of hidden costs (integration costs, for example).

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When it comes to the wary buyer, closing the sale must increasingly involve a larger pool of talent, including product managers and sales engineers. This is especially true for enterprises that have acquired and/or merged with companies, or rapidly develop new products. Merger and acquisition activity requires marketing and sales staffs to articulate the collective value that is delivered by a much broader range of products and services — often without additional tools or methodologies, and with fewer domain experts and support staff.

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To support the sales process, marketing departments generally continue to design content and collateral that articulate what a company sells, but may not work with sales to articulate — with the sought-after impact— how their goods, services, or solutions could solve a prospect’s problem.

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Although the Internet acts, in theory, as an accessible delivery mechanism of rich content, organizing the most relevant information so a sales staff can easily and quickly acquire supporting content — often on the fly — is a challenge for which solutions are just emerging.

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Avitage, Inc.

Other constraints on effective selling certainly exist that, even before September 11th, were accelerating the calls to transform the traditional selling process. The events of September 11th added another layer of complexity. Remote selling became a necessity, and together with correlated advances in telecommunications technologies, focused more attention on developing an appropriate medium for remote customer interaction and education. Today, companies of all sizes have increasingly turned to videoconferencing and Web conferencing. Yet as companies experiment with narrow casting, the immaturity of the technologies — and at times the hesitancy of some to use them — add to the aforementioned sales process constraints. The Short Attention Span Economy Some would argue that at the same time, a generational shift, which began before the Web emerged as a global communication platform in the mid ’90s, is contributing a new dynamic to sales endeavors. A digitally aware generation is moving into the global (or at least Western) sales force. Weaned on stimulating, multimedia environments — having simply grown up doing homework with television and stereos blaring, or coming of age alongside the personal computer — the increasingly multicultural late Baby Boomer/early Generation X population segment has not only brought a new belief structure to the marketplace, but also seeks a more stimulating means through which to engage prospects. As all these trends converge, sales professionals must acknowledge several realities. Although perhaps an oversimplification, one can argue that the earlier generation of salespeople resisted the use of new technologies that were designed to offset some of the constraints of traditional sales effectiveness. This group tends to favor letting “the creatives” in marketing develop basic PowerPoint slide decks and other media-rich content formats that support the selling process. On the other hand, many of those seasoned in technology — those who “live in PowerPoint” — feel constrained by centralized content development efforts designed by marketers, so as not to overwhelm salespeople less acclimated to technology. The template-based approach to creating static sales presentations does not consistently deliver the base-line visual connection they desire. Rather, they need to cater to the short attention span of the buyer whom they need to engage in order to start a dynamic selling process. Innovative products and services deserve an equally groundbreaking approach to selling. Obviously, as far as technology comfort levels go, middle-of-the-roaders exist, and even the less technologically inclined can easily flip through a pre-produced slide deck. Yet, it is a very different story to depend on this segment to customize a graphically rich PowerPoint presentation in order to continually support a dynamic sales dialogue — and spending time “trying” consumes a salesperson’s precious time. In remote selling environments, such as Webinars and teleconferences aimed at a telecommuter, the need for visually oriented content becomes even more acute. Failing to meet this need © 2002 Aberdeen Group, Inc.

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results in a loss of the subject’s attention and the very real danger that the subject will tune out the seller’s value proposition. So Let’s Get on with the Show Although well-structured, professionally produced engaging content can convey a more convincing message, the incentives of commissioned salespeople are not designed to encourage them to spend time creating these materials. They want to grab the right message and go. And it must be emphasized again that marketing’s challenge lies in the creation of materials that transcend a primary focus on the what (i.e., a product’s “speeds and feeds”) component of a value proposition. Content must incorporate a stronger focus on the who (i.e., how a company’s products compare with those of its competitors) and the how (i.e., how to position the product). The processes that create this content cannot be any more static than the market. Successful organizations must constantly recreate themselves. To accomplish this, daily input from the field sales force must be actively solicited from marketing, and constantly integrated into, an organization’s evolving selling message. Often, therein lies the rub. Marketing strives for brand-centric message consistency, and in doing so, favors more holistic content-development approaches. For instance, marketing is responsible for ensuring that templates remain constant, and that presentations do not contain different versions of slides. However, the salesperson’s priority is to customize presentations to specific customer needs, and inject timeliness into that content (perhaps they grab an internal case study that has yet to be approved by a customer for external consumption). As a result, the marketing department’s A-to-Z messaging can quickly become undone. To streamline distribution of marketing and sales collateral, Aberdeen has witnessed the evolution of technologies from groupware to the early “brochure ware” phase of e-commerce, as well as the introduction of Web-based content repositories and the more recent embrace of more process-centric portals. The move from static Web sites and extranets to collaborative portals, which support existing marketing and sales processes, has facilitated improvements in the working relationship between marketing and sales organizations. Whereas some of the initial barriers have been hurdled, many constraints loom around the bend. Enriching Sales and Marketing Effectiveness Aberdeen’s CRM team has documented an emerging new class of technologies that we call Sales and Marketing Effectiveness (SME). These technologies are related, but somewhat distinct from content management, traditional sales effectiveness, and partner relationship management technologies. These applications allow an enterprise’s marketing and sales forces to more effectively share and update existing collateral that fuels the sales cycle. The next evolutionary step is the creation of solutions combining a turnkey sales methodology with rich media software, in order to create pre-produced, modular content — designed and distributed faster than the velocity of product life cycles. These solutions keep a company’s © 2002 Aberdeen Group, Inc.

One Boston Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Telephone: 617 723 7890 Fax: 617 723 7897 www.aberdeen.com

Avitage, Inc.

positioning ahead of the competition and better tie the movements of the sales and marketing organization. Perhaps more importantly, though, they offer a framework that helps engineers, marketers and sale teams (and their third-party consultants) work together to create better content that enables salespeople to articulate not just the what, but also the who and how. In doing so, these solutions create a bridge that connects marketing and sales teams with the short attention span characteristic of a new generation of buyers. Multimedia programs help gain attention and deliver persuasive messages if they are professionally developed and pre-produced for on demand access; accessible via a library of modules ready to re-assemble; or relevant and tailored to each audience. New Web-based delivery methods like Web meetings now require more professionally produced visual content. One provider leading the way is Avitage, Inc. Bringing Sales Content to Life Waltham, MA-based Avitage has been creating electronic and rich media business communications tools since 1994. The company has carved a niche working with the marketing and sales forces of high-technology companies like Hewlett-Packard and Unisys, creating software that yields richer customer communication processes, especially in support of complex products. These enterprises typically need to manage an immense library of content and often struggle to deliver tailored messages. The company’s solution lets selling organizations not only plan and design communication component of sales strategies, but more importantly, to implement selling programs that do the following: •

Gain the attention of target markets with multimedia 'vignettes.'

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Deliver relevant messages to prospects and customers by allowing frontline staff to assemble final programs.

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Leverage company-wide expertise through prerecorded programs and live Web meetings.

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Build performance support by using media so learning occurs when and where it is needed.

The solution includes four components: Avitage Select allows for the central management of PowerPoint slides and other multimedia elements in a Web-based library. To create new programs, users access individual slides or groups of slides. Programs can be previewed, items can be resequenced, and finished programs can be compiled into PowerPoint for downloading or streaming-media programs. © 2002 Aberdeen Group, Inc.

One Boston Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Telephone: 617 723 7890 Fax: 617 723 7897 www.aberdeen.com

Avitage, Inc.

Avitage Presenter lets users manage PowerPoint content that they upload into a personal library. Based on that content, they can build highly tailored programs delivered as a Web conference or on-demand, downloaded PowerPoint presentation. With Avitage Producer, professional services produce multimedia programs that are formatted in Windows Media and Macromedia Flash. Once produced, content is also accessible from the Avitage Select central library, extending its shelf life and making it more useful for performance support, as well as in new custom productions that are generated by any users of the library. Avitage WebEvent delivers live, Web-based audio-visual communications for presentations and training, simultaneously to large groups of geographically disbursed audiences via a hosted facility that provides technology and related services. Avitage has partnered with Sales Research Institute, Inc., developers of The Science of Selling®, a sales methodology upon which Avitage has in part architected its solution. The Science of Selling® is a turnkey solution that helps organizations integrate product development, marketing, sales, and business partners into a powerful marketing plan and sales strategy implementation chain-management system. Aberdeen Conclusions - This Is the New Normal Companies are moving away from just selling products in favor of crafting customized solutions. Today’s sales environment is quickly evolving from a “sales-pitch” operation to one that combines every possible audio-visual aid to close the sale. Products are props that support an enterprise-wide programming effort that stresses the importance of a new message — namely, “it’s not what we do, but how we do it.” Marketing and sales teams must be the frontline producers of the experience — collectively pre-producing just-in-time content that not only “shows well,” but also delivers a unique value proposition. Times have changed. While discussing global events of the past year, and the effect that these perplexing developments have had on the collective global psyche, NBC’s Tom Brokaw made a blanket statement to those who anxiously await the day when “things will get back to normal.” He said, “This is the new normal.” Marketing and sales professionals should heed this advice. The world has changed significantly since Web browsers first illustrated the power of the Internet as a shared communication platform. To stay ahead, these professionals must learn to synthesize data daily and respond collaboratively, with tailored messages that resonate with easily distracted buyers. And this response must be engaging. We have already moved through the first phase of remote selling. Haphazardly produced “live Webcasts” are already fading, as buyers come to expect pre-produced, content-on-demand programming that offers highly interactive “bells and whistles.” The content development bar has been raised — and most marketing and sales organizations that are unwilling to invest in resources to cross this hurdle will get shafted. When looking for reasons why sales cycles are © 2002 Aberdeen Group, Inc.

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Avitage, Inc.

being weighed down, these selling enterprises should consider the latest twist on an old saying — “It’s not the economy, stupid; it’s your content!” Currently, hundreds of IT suppliers and consultants will sell a broad range of tools and services that help manage enterprise content. Solutions that enable organizations to both aggregate and open access to content are helpful; however, those that communicate effectively will facilitate the development of better content, designed to improve the close rate of their sales team. Avitage is a small company that possesses a missing piece of the marketing and sales effectiveness puzzle — one that is very attractively priced. Suppliers of sales-effectiveness and SME technologies should take a good look at partnering with the company. So should interactive agencies, media production shops, and other thirdparty providers of marketing communication services, which are all increasingly involved in the production of high-quality, visually oriented content fueling sales initiatives. For sellside/demand chain management and CRM suppliers without marketing and/or sales effectiveness components to their solutions, the Avitage products may offer them a way to inexpensively add some of the rich media functionality that they are missing. Avitage is not a full-blown SME solution, but for many companies, it may be the place to start.

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Telephone: 617 723 7890 Fax: 617 723 7897 www.aberdeen.com

Avitage, Inc.

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Aberdeen Group performs specific projects for a select group of domestic and international clients requiring strategic and tactical advice and hard answers on how to manage computer and communications technology. This document is the result of a commissioned research effort between Aberdeen Group and Avitage, Inc.

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