New Product: Better Answer To Future Sales

The earnings reports are beginning to roll in for the third quarter, and we are seeing CEOs and CFOs back off on giving future guidance. Can you blame them? The future is always hard to predict, and now it's downright suicidal to try.

Interestingly, Everything Channel is bringing a new product to market that goes deep into the channel to extract closed solution sales and pipeline proposals by technology and vendor. In other words, we just may have a better answer to future sales.

	ROBERT FALETRA
Can be reached via e-mail at rfaletra@everythingchannel.com.

Our new Affinity Index service is free to solution providers that are participating in this project and will be an important tool for vendors that purchase it. The end result for both solution providers and vendors is data that not only gives insight into closed business but also visibility into proposals that are in the field but have yet to close. So solution providers can see where the money is being made and shift their sales strategy to get it. Vendors can be forewarned of problems in their channel pipeline before they get large.

Delivered via our IPED research arm, the Affinity Index can give solution providers and vendors visibility into the number and value of strategic vs. nonstrategic deals closed and proposed in the market by technology, product set and vendor.

A strategic deal is either a major upgrade to infrastructure or an implementation that is done for reasons of vital importance to the customer and is expected to have a significant impact on the customer's revenue. Nonstrategic deals are merely refreshing product.

So for the first time, the market will be able to see which vendors are being quoted more often in strategic deals vs. nonstrategic deals. We can do this by customer segment and technology.

We now know the value of the deals that are proposed but not yet closed. I've obviously seen the output of this, and one of the most eye-opening things is looking at this by vendor in a specific technology. There are a number of vendors where I was surprised by the low value of the deals proposed in which they are quoted vs. their competition. When you look at it from a strategic deal standpoint it's even more fascinating, and I believe we can now predict future problems for certain vendors. Those not being quoted as heavily in the higher-value strategic proposals are being de-emphasized by solution providers. So they are in the early stages of losing share. This is something that happens slowly at first but accelerates the longer it takes place.

There certainly are actions a vendor can take to correct this, but those moves are generally more effective if taken early. Until now, the inability to see the pipeline has prevented redirection. So this tool just may be the answer to proactive changes in the early stages of market-share shift.

Want to know what's in your pipeline?
Make something happen. E-mail Everything Channel CEO Robert Faletra at rfaletra@everythingchannel.com.