A presentation on a different positioning vz. demand/lead generation

1. What is PipelineManagement?
• A short explanation of Pipeline Management
• Pipeline Management Companies (PMC) usually
engage larger technology companies, e.g., IBM, and
take over outsourced demand generation, mostly
doing the cold calling for product line campaigns
• A PMC will sometimes also perform other marketing
tasks for their clients such as email blasts and webpage
development
• Pipeline Management Companies are relatively new to
the market, <20 yrs.

2. What justifiesPipelineManagement?
• Third party cold calling could possibly breathe new life
into moribund sales campaigns
• PMC could assume the marketing efforts for a product
that is only being minimally marketed by the client
• A different “set of eyes” on a project, i.e. third party
perspective, etc.

3. Justification(Client side)
• What is the justification for third party pipeline
management from the client perspective?
• Client company has reduced and/or reorganized their
sales force
• Client company is experiencing problems in sales of
certain product lines and/or services
• Organization does not want their sales reps to spend
their time cold calling and to spend more time on
“higher level” sales activities
• Other miscellaneous reasons

4. What Doesn’tWorkand Why
• Typical product line campaigns being proposed:
• Client may be looking to offload the campaign
• Last alternative to retiring product?
• Historically problematical sales?
• IT services (End-to-End) campaigns:
• All encompassing lines of service to propose
• PMC always trying to catch prospect with a supposed need
and then sell niche or whole bundle, etc.
• Timing has to be right in terms of contract sale and/or
renewal

5. What Doesn’tWorkand Why (2)
• Personnel related issues:
• Many resources who work for PMC’s generally do not have
enough technical background (a certain amount is helpful)
• Above fact forces the business development reps to rely on a
‘script’ and follow on questions for the prospect
• Analogous to fishing for marlin with fresh water line and pole
• PMC operations management is often lacking necessary
experience as well
• If nothing else the caller should make a credible impression
upon the prospect, but if you just mouth canned words, how
will that appear to the prospect?
• A PMC should weigh the number and type of clients they have
(and want to take on) viz. the number of business
development on staff, etc.

6. A few suggestions…
• Here are some ideas on improving the nature of pipeline
management:
• Reduce the number of business development representatives on
staff to a concentrated core of people that have appropriate
backgrounds --- Fewer people, Higher skills.
• Reduced but higher skilled staff will be able to deliver a different
set of services in addition to lead generation
• Reduce management in relation to reduced staff and
management should reflect level of experience as well
• Management should be able to participate in the work also
• Apply effort to win a focused set of clients and deliver a better set
of services to them

7. Examples of New Services
• Why not deliver services that are better designed for sales support?
• Examples:
• Delivering presentations describing the client’s solution
• Running a demo of the solution (ideally with customer data)
• Specific tasks such as running a demo and speaking to some
(high to mid level) aspects of the solution and benefits and
added value for prospect
• Navigate the prospect organization to work with champions and
responsible management and others
• Help get buy-in from these individuals
• Organize necessary meetings during sales cycle
• If the client is going to outsource part of sales then why not
outsource parts of your processes that would contribute more to
closings, etc.?

8. Required Resources
• What is required?
• Qualified personnel for sales support roles in PMC’s
• The specialists need to have the appropriate skills and background
• Specialists need to be highly functioning and able to perform
independently
• Sales specialists need not be co-located, but working in a
distributed network
• Vendor needs to have information infrastructure in place to support
the sales specialist network
• Sales Support team needs to be a self-contained unit with links to rest
of LG organization

9. Potential Market
• Who would be potential candidates for revised PMC services?
• Large companies such as IBM, HP, would not be; these companies
perform their own sales support and that is not likely to change
• Companies that have complex products that are system-intensive
are also not good candidates.
• Mid-level to startup technology companies could have better
potential for services.
• Smaller sales staff, fewer resources for sales support
• Emphasis and focus on sales is still developing
• Solutions should be less complex to demonstrate, explain, etc.
• Smaller organizations can influence length of sales cycle

10. Reality Check
• Sales Support has an entirely different set of expectations and
metrics:
• Sales does not imply ‘quick hits’ , i.e. as in generating leads –
accumulating one after another, etc.
• Sales process activities take place over a prolonged period of time
• This period has it’s own limit, but longer then in generating leads
• Requires a planned strategy and patience
• “Building towards a crescendo”
• Everyone needs to realize that nothing will be immediate
• Aids: Experience and Knowledge
• Everybody involved has to know how to properly set customer
expectations, this is the *baseline* for success in customer facing
relationships

11. Conclusion
• Business development is part and parcel of the sales process, albeit
the first few steps in the sales process
• Business development and the rest of the sales process differ in
activities, skills required, process, metrics, and expectations
• Post lead generation (initial step for business development)
requires fewer, but higher skilled resources who can work
independently and in concert with their organization
• Ensure close cooperation between team members – and make
sure that everyone is on the same page.