Study Group D

SEIBEL SYSTEMS: ANATOMY OF A SALE, PART 1 General Introduction to the Case: In the pacey world of enterprise software, Siebel Systems stands out as a very strong company. Founded in 1993, Siebel has quickly grown to become the worlds largest provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software. From 1995 through 2000, Siebel was the fastest-growing company in the history of the software industry, increasing revenue at a compound annual rate through their core values of customer relationship and sustainability. Customer Relationship Management

Analytics
Web and Email

Customers

Customer

Call Centre

Information

Back Office

Field Partners

Marketing

In the first part of a series of three parts, the case outlines the efforts traced out by Gregg Carman, a lead marketing manager of Seibel systems in order to sell their 2 million dollar management software to a stock broker firm Quick and Reilly. Problem Statement: Gregg Carmans Dilemma: Gregg Carmans dilemma revolved around making a $2.1 million sale to a stock broker firm Quick & Reilly which had recently been acquired by FleetBoston the ninth largest bank in the US who wanted to veto the sale. Now Carman had to take the tough decision whether to go ahead and make the sale or curb down to FleetBostons whims. In the end Carman finally decides to go ahead and make the sale to Quick & Reilly on the basis of Seibels core values which was aimed at customer satisfaction irrespective of who the customers are and how strong the opposing forces are. Question & Answers: 1) How should Carman respond to the invitation to tell the Quick & Reilly executives what he thought of Oracle? His response to Cathys question was apt in the situation i) He did not undermine his competitor i.e. Oracle ii) He directly launched into a demonstration of Seibels solutions dropping off the topic about Oracle Suggested addition to his actions

Study Group D
i) He could have emphasized more on the products he was selling by providing Cathy with a brochure containing Seibels solutions ii) He also could have walked her through the various stages of product implementation and showcased Siebels end-to-end solution provision What features of this particular interaction influenced your opinion? i) Carman has little or almost no knowledge about the client, their requirements and budget ii) Oracle being one of Siebels leading competitors it would not have been very wise to bring Oracle in to focus by talking at great length of what he felt of Oracle this fact was tactfully handled by Carman iii) Cathy Ridley is a knowledgeable customer iv) Carman did not feel comfortable directly comparing Siebel to Oracle without prior information on Q&Rs requirements Would your opinion about the right response change if the circumstances were different? If Carman had full information about Q&Rs requirements and budget i) In this situation Carmans appropriate response would be push to sell Seibel over Oracle since he was fully privy to Q&Rs needs If Cathy was not as knowledgeable as she actually was i) In this case it would be wise for Carman to stick to his original response and he should not go for a detailed description or implementation issues since Cathy would not benefit much from such a meticulous discussion 2) How should Carman qualify the prospect? Carman should qualify the prospect as HOT and give it high priority. Q&R is in the open market dynamically shopping for sales force automation systems. If Carman can address Q&Rs stipulations and issues he will rapidly and successfully be able to convert the sale. Should he ask, Whats your budget? Carman should ask openly what Q&Rs budget was. This information gathered in the Preapproach stage will allow Carman to draw out and determine his strategy during the selling process as well as when he finally makes the sale to Q&R executives. Should he suppress his curiosity and leave it to the prospect to bring up information about the size and timing of the opportunity? No, Carman should not leave it to the prospect since the prospect may not ultimately bring up the information at all in which case the opportunity will be lost. If he asks for information how will he use it? If Carman has the adequate information he will be able to plan out his personal selling strategy and would be in a better position to sell the product to the powerful buyer i.e. Q&R top management.

3) Evaluate Carmans interaction with the customer up to this point. Is he doing a good job?

Study Group D

Yes, Carman is doing a good job up to this point. Presentation and demonstration FABV: features, advantages, benefits and value AIDA: Awareness, interest, desire and action Presentation styles: Canned - memorised Formulated Need satisfaction customer does most of everything, interactive presentation Objection handling: logical, psychological Closing: how to ask for the order When is the right psychological moment Ask straight Recap Ask a/b Ask them to take small decisions Stocks may run out, order now Give sp. discount

How effective is Seibel Systems approach? Seibel Systems Targeted Account Selling or TAS approach is a highly effective style of personal selling because it addresses all the various steps of personal selling. The high effectiveness of the TAS approach can be attributed to the following factors: i) It follows a market driven approach and delivers superior customer value through complete solutions which is hard to replicate by competitors ii) Gathers accurate information and is in a better position to understand customers than competitors requirements to deliver a customised product iii) Creates strategies keeping in mind counter strategies which competition might adopt