How To Survive In The Midmarket

Let's say you're a Chicago-based provider of integrated wireless solutions and would like to develop a presence in Colorado. You work with a Denver-based sales agent who has good contacts but no technical expertise. The typical deal size doesn't justify intensive presales service involvement. You're worried about the usual holdups: time-consuming conference calls, internal wrangling, travel, unexpected costs and inconsistent expectations. How do you handle this situation without getting eaten alive?

Do what the Scouts would do. Bring your Swiss Army knife, in the form of a turnkey solution strategy. Instead of doing an on-the-fly solution for each customer, define and document your solutions from the start. This approach will shorten your sales cycles, reduce presales service involvement, target your solutions toward particular verticals and help create a national presence. Two prerequisites: First, you must commit to going to market with a proactive offering. Like any vendor that advertises a piece of software with associated features and benefits, you'll need to do the same with your own prepared solution. In addition, you'll need a set of documents detailing every step of the sales and delivery cycle. Included in the scope are:

Solution-specific marketing documents: Define what your solution does, what the business benefits are and how to buy your solution;
Customer-assessment tools: Using focused customer questionnaires, your sales agent or nonspecialized technical person can gather critical site and customer-preference information that will prevent difficulties and expensive delays later on;
Pricing documents: A clear pricing model will save time and effort, and protect you against undue risk;
Legal documents: When there's no extensive contact with the customer, a well-defined statement of work is essential;
Internal process documents: Sales and delivery plans can establish internal responsibilities before, during and after the sale;
Implementation documents: A step-by-step manual for your field-service personnel can ensure project completion on time and on budget.

Prepare To Survive
The midmarket can be a real jungle for solution providers, but a well-documented solution strategy can help you establish a customer dialogue to shorten the sales cycle, support nonspecialized sales and service personnel, and reduce presales service costs through standardized procedures. In addition, it can help set clear and consistent expectations that can protect your company against the risk of unprofitable business and win "foot-in-the-door" business in new accounts.

Large consulting firms and professional-services divisions have been producing documents like these for years; all kinds of templates exist to make your job easier. The best place to get your hands on this material is from your vendors. Many will make solution documents developed by their professional-services organizations available to the channel. In some cases, these documents come in kit form, designed for customization. Ask your channel manager for detailed software implementation plans, statements of work and contract materials, customer assessment tools and solution-marketing material.

unit-1659132512259

type