GROUP 3

Siebel Systems T V R A G H AVA K A U S H I K - 1 9 P G D M 2 6 6

AY U S H I G U P TA - 1 9 P G D M 2 2 0
V I N E E T A G A RWA L - 1 9 P G D M 2 7 5
P R A N AV J A I N - 1 9 P G D M 2 3 3
MUSKAN BANSAL-19PGDM228
TA N M AY S H R I VA S TAVA - 1 9 P G D M 2 6 8
 Q 1.a) How should Carman respond to the invitation to tell the Quick and Reilly
executives what he thought of Oracle

• The Ultimate goal of carman’s conversation at the expo is to take the process of a sale to the next level
• He has to create an impression that Siebel is a highly customer centric company that thrives on providing value to
customers than any competitor.
• Now, Keeping the objective in mind, Carman here, needs to keep a balance of creating an impression that he is
technically sound to judge oracle products but not to keep the conversation going about Oracle. Therefore, He needs to
shift the conversation skillfully away from Oracle and talk about Siebel software and their capabilities
• In the beginning, He can respond in a neutral way about Oracle so as to not look dismissive, which will create a positive
impression that carman is present to resolve customer issues not just increase their sales
• Next, He can ask why Quick and Reilly chose to go with Oracle and then demonstrate that Siebel is better than them
and give them assurance that Sibel provides a better customer centric approach too.
• The approach that Carman was skillful considering he didn’t know what was the context of the question but the
transition from oracle to Sibel products could have been smoothened.
Q 1.b) What feature of this particular interaction influence your opinion? Would your
opinion of the right response change if the circumstances were different?

•The way Carmann handled the conversation by saying that they are worth looking at shows that he just does not want to
push his product to the customer.
•He is not disrespecting his competitor, rather he is selling the product by trying to make her sell where Siebel system
performs better than its competitors.
•He personally dealing with them and showing them the demo and properly explaining it shows how much he cares about
his customers
•However, he should have tried to first understand the requirements of his customers in the sense what will the system be
specifically used for. He could have remembered Siebel Core Values and tried to sell those.
•Rather than asking for a budget, he can ask for specific requirements they wish to have since they can modify the system
according to their requirement.
•Cathy was a knowledgeable person who had the understanding about its company’s operation and working with Bradley
could have opened her perspective in terms of the requirements.
•So, in summary he should have followed ‘Siebel Core Values’ and could have modified his sales pitch while selling its
company’s core values and advantages
 Q 2.a) How should Carman qualify this prospect? Should he ask,” What’s your
budget?”

Background: “At the trade show, Carman met the 2 executives from Quick & Riley. He had only a little information about the
company. The conversation with them started with not the product or Sibel Systems, but was about Fleet Stone, it’s working
culture and systems. Cathy Ridly, VP Client Services provided some information about the CRM system and the deal with Bradley
Partners.”
• To qualify Quick & Riley as a high-value prospective customer, Carmen would require information about their exact needs, order
size and budget
• With the mention of Bradley Partners, Carman opined that they may be unaware of the CRM products available in the market.
Therefore, he led them to the product demo
• During the demo, they seemed interested and impressed. The question of comparison with Oracle assured Carmen that the
prospects were knowledgeable about the CRM systems
• At this point, Carmen got some sense about the purpose of the customer, but couldn’t get the entire picture. Hence, developing
a rapport while asking more questions to understand their objective was essential
• Though, shooting direct and too many questions at the customers could deter them and widen the gap between cold leads and
qualified prospects. Rather than asking direct questions concerning budget or range, Carmen should focus on understanding
their business requirements and final objective. Thus, later on he could justify how Sibel CRM solutions fit best in all their
intended criteria
Q 2.b) Should he suppress his curiosity and leave it to the prospect to bring up information
about the size and timing of the opportunity? If he asks for information, how will he use it?

• Putting up several questions to your prospect sometimes act as a barrier in sales. But it is also important to
know customer’s wants and needs.
• Rather than asking information about the size and timing of the opportunity, he can rephrase the question
as what are the needs and requirements Cathy is looking for.
• As each of Sibel products can be customized according to the needs, asking for needs and showing them
the relevant options catering to her needs might be a better idea.
• After showing the prospect several options and a demo of one of the product, is the time to ask for more
information like information about the size and timing of the opportunity
• This information will help Carmen and Cathy to together come up with the best product for Quick & Reilly

Ask for the Show and Demo Ask for the size Find the relevant
needs and the product and timing of product and Close the Sale
which fulfil the demonstrate its
requirements needs
the opportunity features
Q3. Evaluate Carman’s interaction with the customer up to this point. Is he doing a
good job? How effective is Siebel Systems’ approach?

•Carman started out good when the conversation was made with the executives of Quick & Reilly but
when Cathy asked about Oracle, he could have handled the position in a better manner. Instead of
just saying “They’re worth looking at” , he should have stated the facts about Oracle and then given
the points that give their product the advantage over Oracle.
• Also he did not back his points by the research of Gartner which he could have done easily and
strongarm his point. Cathy didn’t know Siebel systems and the easiest way to make her believe was
to give data provided by a world-renowned firm.
• The approach being used by Siebel systems is a very effective one because their first priority is
customer satisfaction and for that they go to great lengths. Being customer centric gives them an
advantage over the other competitors in the market and customer prefers them over the others
which exactly has been happening in the current scenario.
• Also their approach to involve the customer into the product design is a good way to make the
customer feel that they really care for them and that they are the best qualified to do it.
 Q4) Put yourself in Zitzner’s position as he picks up the phone. How should he
handle the conversation? What is his objective in this call?

• Assess the opportunity of business from Quick & Reilly and understand their need for system
• Having pre knowledge of the company access the opportunity into financial opportunity and turn it into
business
• Convince Ridley that their system will help them in solving their technical issue
• Give her demo regarding how their system works and what customization they can provide and how
important they are to them