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Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale

Q1. How should Carman respond to the invitation to tell the Quick and Reilly executives what he
thought of Oracle? What features of this particular interaction influence your opinion? Would your
opinion of the right response change if the circumstances were different?
Response to Cathys query:
Corresponding to Siebels Core Values, Carman should treat customers with deference and professional
fashion as representatives from Quick and Reilly could be our prospects
He should avoid providing incomplete information; also whatever information is demanded from customer
should be provided without any reluctance
Its a perfect opportunity to flaunt the strengths and fleet of partners
Share some of Siebels success stories
In order to provide details of competitive landscape in CRM market, Carman can share Gartner Research
Report which shows Siebel systems as a complete solution provider and market leader
Since Cathy belongs to Client service and marketing Department; Carman shouldnt explain too much of
technical details of product instead he must focus on how a Siebel product can cater to their organizational
requirements.

Features influencing opinions:
Since meeting was not prior scheduled, lack of understanding about clients needs, budget and requirements
could strain the prospective deal
Carman is not sure if Cathy Ridley is Influencer or Decider and degree of power that she holds in organization
Carman himself is not comfortable in comparing Siebel to its competitors until he knew the clients
requirements
Conversation is more of casual one which might not lead to conversion of deal

Responses if circumstances were different:
If the meeting was prior arranged the agenda could have been framed beforehand, Sales
Department would be able to collect information about clients needs, budget
and requirements thus increasing the prospects for conversion of deal
Technical details would be shared with CIO or respective person thus explaining even minute
details about product and how it can benefit Quick and Reilly
Classification of Influencers, deciders, purchasers etc can be arranged prior to meeting
hence targeting specific personnel
Knowing your product, customizing it according to needs of customer and giving
demonstration could provide an edge
Q2. How should Carman qualify the prospect? Should he ask, Whats your budget? Should he
suppress his curiosity and leave it to the prospect to bring up the information about the size and
timing of the opportunity? If he asks for information, how will he use it?
Steps to qualify the prospect:
Identifying the need of product by client.
Priority assigned by strategic level of organization for need of that product
Making top level managers aware about the benefits of product
Providing information that how the product can satisfy needs of organization
Asking specific questions to Cathy would help Carman in assessing their requirements and needs in
specific fashion. Therefore, he should definitely ask questions regarding the money that the
company can pump in for this project, number of end-users involved which would provide a rough
estimate regarding the pressure that the system should be able to sustain, delivery time, scope
of project in organization.
Carmen should not suppress his curiosity and should ask directly about their requirements, as
knowing the needs and requirements of customers in better way would help him in explaining
the product accordingly, thus increasing the chances of cracking the deal.
The information could be used to explain:
Siebels superiority over Competitors products
Right product specification for customer and suggestions about customization
Justification of expenses done on product

Q3. Evaluate Carmans interactions with the customer up to this point? Is he doing a good job? How
effective is the Siebel Systems approach?
Carman initially focused on building a rapport with Cathy & tried to gain her confidence
to share more information
Throughout the conversation, Carman was friendly & showed complete interest in knowing
Q&Rs requirements
He did a good job by giving a demo of the product to Cathy. Only if he had better knowledge
about the clients requirement he could have been better in explaining a specific product
that suits her needs.
He also tried to gauge the clients budget by asking the possible number of users in the
organization.
So overall, in my opinion, Carman did a decent job.
The TAS process is effective because:
They keep customer satisfaction at the top
They provide complete solutions to the customers by following a market driven approach.
They gather information about customers problems and deliver a customized product
according to their needs.
They not only concentrate on the sale of the software, however they work with customer in
implementation and productive use of the solution and ensure that customer derives the
benefit out of the system.
They create strategies keeping in mind counter strategies which competition might adopt
Q4. Put yourself in Zitners position as he picks up the phone. How should he handle the
conversation? What is his objective in this call?
Zitner must keep in mind that this is an introductory conversation with a potential client. So
the focus must be on building rapport & gaining confidence before making a pitch.
After achieving the initial rapport, he must try to gauge the requirements of Q&R.
After understanding the clients needs, he must talk about what Bradley systems can offer to
solve their problem.
He must then try to convince Cathy to send a detailed RFP for further discussion.
Zitner should focus on the following objectives:
Understanding customer needs
Explaining the suitable solutions to the buyer
Assure the client that they can provide excellent product & service that can solve his/her
problem
Convince her to meet in person for further discussion
Try to get a detailed RFP from Q&R.

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