As Marketing steps-up Sales in the traditional sense has to re-boot its operating system. Cloud business cannot afford to have highly paid sales people selling low value monthly user subscriptions face to face. The economics of the Cloud business model do not allow for high operating costs associated with traditional sales. As marketing steps-up and takes responsibility for drawing prospects to the website sales transforms itself into a low cost highly efficient engine running large numbers of slick web demo’s and ensuring prospects subscribe to managed trials. By leveraging social networking and WebEx platforms sales shares knowledge and builds trust, ensuring trials are converted into subscriptions and then with coordinated follow-on selling motions, expands the footprint of the customer.
Below are the new responsibilities for a re-booted sales team in the Cloud:
Qualification of Prospects: Ensures the follow-up and qualification of prospects drawn to the web site by marketing. Ensures prospects are well qualified and prioritized based on a ranking system designed based on variables such as:
- The number of times the prospect has been drawn to the website
- Actions taken on the site
- Level of importance associated with sites they were drawn from
Managed trial Sign-up: Ensures prospects sign-up for evaluation and trial programs as a result of slick WebEx based demonstrations. Ensures prospects are managed through trial by systematic follow-up via WebEx to make the trial a success. Ensures prospects are moving through the sales process quickly and efficiently. Cloud business is a fast and furious volume game so sales cannot afford to over invest.
Build Knowledge & Trust : Social networking platforms are used extensively to share knowledge and build trust through the period of the trial ensuring trials are converted into subscriptions.
Adoption: Ensure prospects who buy have access to rapid start adoption programs (service offering run by remote services technicians) that link them to adoption resources and join them onto the on-line communities to encourage users to share experiences and provide mutual support.
Expand the Footprint : Ensure subscribers are included in coordinated sales motion follow-up focused on increasing the customer’s footprint through cross sell and upsell programs.
