Mo CasasModesto Casas, has 28 years of worldwide market successes. He is multi-lingual and multi-cultural having lived in six countries. Mo has taken several start-ups to international regions and developed them into compelling local enterprises. His company, In Region, takes high technology companies into global markets. « Less
Mo CasasModesto Casas, has 28 years of worldwide market successes. He is multi-lingual and multi-cultural having lived in six countries. Mo has taken several start-ups to international regions and developed them into compelling local enterprises. His company, In Region, takes high technology companies … More »
March 6th, 2011 by Mo Casas
Expanding business overseas is important. If you are a small EDA vendor, going global before you are ready can be suicidal. Here are some signals that can help you decide you if you are ready to go global.
Have you been successful at home?
Local success is a prerequisite to going global. Foreign buyers may not know your company and will look at your previous success and local references. It is difficult enough to adapt success to new geographies, languages and cultures.
Knowing what works at home and adapting it to new markets is the best approach. Going to a new market without strong success in your own backyard is usually a bad idea.
Are you being approached by local representatives who want to sell your product in their markets?
This could be a sign that there is demand for your product in new foreign markets. You will notice local firms asking questions about your product, visiting your website or requesting information. The local experts may have uncovered trends or market changes that will open up new opportunities for you.
Follow up each request. What is causing them to contact you now? How are they currently dealing with the need that your product solves? Is there competition in the market? Are they willing to make an investment with you in the form of a minimum order, dedicated resources, marketing funds or equity in your company?
Do you know the market that you’re trying to get into?
The EDA Consortium www.edac.org publishes regional figures by product category. In EDA, the most important decision is when to go, rather than where. Decide where your potential key customers are going to be and make your list by region.
I like to take baby-steps with my own clients who are going into new markets. Meeting a few potential customers, visiting the competitor’s customers and meeting with potential partners before making any commitments or decisions to enter a new market have all worked well for me.
Can you support your products in far-away regions?
Going global requires a plan, careful timing, focus and capital. Phasing in each target market based on opportunity and accessibility is a good way to implement your global plan. Clear objectives, proper budgeting for trips, marketing programs and representative support are good initial steps.
Easily forgotten are sales materials and messaging, which need to be adapted for new markets. Staff to support your resellers is imperative. It always seems less work than it actually is when you get engaged, especially when you consider time zone differences and high-touch business practices in Southern Europe and Japan.
Depending on the complexity of your product, you may need to allocate engineering support at home or abroad, one or several people to manage your global expansion. I advocate local representatives on the ground, because initial costs are low and local knowledge is high. Connecting them to your corporate objectives, training them and supporting them as you do your home region sales team is a must.
Are you ready?
Tags: EDA, global business, international, international sales, overseas, ready, signals, small business
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December 20th, 2010 by Mo Casas
An EDA buyer may need a product to be modified in order to fit a particular need. The EDA vendor is concerned with spending resources towards customization without a commitment. Impasse?
No! This is the perfect place to put the Contingent Purchase Order in play. The Contingent PO guarantees that if certain items are delivered, an invoice will be paid. It lays out a clear set of objectives to be met and focuses the buyer and the seller on solutions and deliverables.
Why would you want one?
The buyer’s uncertainty is often a reason for decision delays, which are detrimental to both parties. The vendor does not receive the revenue and the user waits for the tool’s benefits. The Contingent PO can break this cycle. The vendor commits to deliver to a well defined set of objectives in order to be paid. This reduces the buyer’s anxiety when purchasing a customized product or dealing with a new vendor.
A buyer who requires modifications to a product is an excellent candidate for the Contingent PO, which can be used to reaffirm the buyer’s commitment and budget availability. It gives the seller good visibility of the purchasing process and access to the people who control the budget. It commits the buyer to pay only if the seller delivers to their needs.
A well written Contingent PO forces both sides to write down a clear set of objectives and delivering against them. It encourages both parties to define and work together to solve a common problem.
Writing a good Contingent Purchase Order is important
A Contingent PO is not a hand-shake agreement. It is an actual purchase order. Like any other order, it is a buying document stating product, price, payment terms and delivery dates. It is different in that it includes a list of conditions to be met before payment can take place.
Contingencies must be clearly written to enable both sides to check-off completion without question. Anyone familiar with SMART goals can write a good set of contingencies for a purchase order. Each contingency must by specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. A very good refresher on writing SMART objectives can be found in George Ambler’s blog on the subject http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2006/10/15/10-steps-to-setting-smart-objectives/
The Contingent PO gets a bad rap with some who see it as business not properly closed, or an incomplete evaluation. In fact, when it is the only way to verify that a set of custom needs can be met, the Contingent PO is an excellent way to reduce the risk to both sides.
Tags: contingencies, contingent, contingent po, EDA buyer, lower risk, negotiating techniques, negotiation, purchase order, reduced risk, reducing risk
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October 24th, 2010 by Mo Casas
Today, globalizing is as important as having the right products and going after the right markets. Making the local sales operations productive is imperative whether the goal is to grow or merge a small company.
Globalizing is as important as having the right products and going after the right markets. In EDA all strategic customers have global operations. Most of them will look at products from different global perspectives, will do evaluations in different locations and will consider purchasing new products only if they serve their multiple groups. Wide Area Network software is the norm, not the exception. An evaluation in India, for a customer in Europe who will place an order in the United States is not uncommon, but it can wreak havoc on a non globalized sales force.
There are several ways to globalize the sales force. The one most commonly used in the past entailed setting up branch offices in the key markets, installing a sales manager and perhaps customer support in each region. In today’s market environment, the cost of this type of operation is prohibitive to the small and even mid-sized EDA companies. Each country has their own labor issues, requires local management, needs longer commitments and carries burdened costs that can read like a Stephen King horror novel.
A better way to approach global expansion is by using independent representatives in the local markets and in similar application domains. For the small entrepreneurial EDA vendor, this option offers the advantage of low overhead and a larger percentage of the costs related to commissions.
Starting a new geographical region
It makes most sense to begin a new region by employing an independent representative firm with an excellent track record and defer the decision to open the branch office after local sales surpass two million dollars. Consider that an experienced EDA sales person or applications engineer will cost roughly $200,000 per year. Add cell phones, car allowances, pensions, health insurance, taxes, facilities, furniture and computers and one could be making a commitment of as much as $300,000. Now budget your travel to visit them or fly them back to headquarters once a quarter to keep them focused and motivated during the start-up stages and most unproductive time in a new region. You are looking at a $350,000 to $400,000 first year investment. To complete my horror story, be reminded that since commissions are usually not abundant in the first year, most vendors have to pay a draw or guaranty, even though the revenue has not started to flow.
By contrast, a good local independent representative would charge a retainer of between $60,000 and $100,000 total or up to 25% commission on sales. Independent representatives take care of their taxes, infrastructure, computers, cell phones, cars and insurances. They take care of all the local regulations, most of them have excellent customer connections and many bring an administrative and engineering team. It’s easy to see that from zero to about two million dollars in sales, the independent representative is the way to go.
So, why doesn’t everybody go for an independent representative in every case?
The problem is usually productivity and a sense of losing control. I am often called by a new client to “fix” a distribution channel. The common complaint is that they have difficulty getting sales productivity from their independent representatives, but when I interview the representatives, they readily tell me that basic sales support is missing. They feel disconnected and very often are not even aware of the corporate messaging. I often find that the vendor expects the representatives to behave as their salaried employees and the representative wants to be informed, just like the salaried employee. They both want the same thing. They both want to sell more and support customers better. Both are looking at each other for something that the other side is not giving them, something they need to be more successful.
Optimizing an independent sales team
When I am hired to optimize the performance of a region, I first look at the management methods, communication and support processes in place and begin to make changes in these three areas immediately. Each region in the world has a different business culture, makes decisions in different ways and carries historical ties that can frustrate a foreign organization. One-size-fits-all hinders a corporate manager’s ability to get results. I find that each geography requires some adaptation of the sales and support plans, methods and expectations, but without compromising the company’s objectives, messaging, positioning and branding. While the goals connect everyone worldwide, the tactical implementations must remain local.
Second, I focus my efforts on the local market situations in each of the regions. I begin by understanding why each of the independent representatives are not selling more. I ask the questions directly followed by a request to focus on immediate actionable items that can help us to begin selling more. This reduces empty complaints and excuses, which we can discuss over Sake, Red Wine, Beer, Plum Wine or chewing some Betel Nut later.
Third, I implement a disciplined forecasting methodology. I’m not talking about the complex statistical forecast, but a simple method to get weekly updates on the business activity. My method is focused on the support required in each stage of a business deal. I want information that helps everyone take action in order to help the field sales person succeed. This enables the vendor to plan and focus resources on the activities that will move the engagement to the next step.
Fourth, I take a support approach to managing these independent organizations. I find that most representatives will focus on the products that make them money. Helping them to be successful gives the vendor the additional attention that they need in order to get the products out to foreign markets. The support approach opens a positive channel of communications to get valuable feedback on a timely basis from the customers. This is only possible if management is religiously asking the question “how can I help you sell more?”
When a product has succeeded close to home and the company is ready to expand to foreign markets, it pays to consider engaging a local representative who has the market knowledge, the customer relationships and the minimum requirements needed to open up the new market. Once engaged they need to be managed methodically, supported closely, included in the company’s plans and encouraged to tell the company about new ways to help them sell more product.
Tags: branch offices, distributors, forecasting, global sales, globalization, independent sales representatives, sales management, sales performance, sales productivity, sales support, starting new sales regions, worldwide sales
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July 18th, 2010 by Mo Casas
I had been working with a client on a new product positioning. It was a very valuable product offering and not very complicated to explain to potential customers. We were on the way back from a busy one week trip to Japan. We had been presenting the product for five days of double two hour meetings followed by wonderful working dinners, where each night the great sake threatened to open the locks to our as of yet unannounced product features. We were taking a few notes and talking about what we had learned. Then the client put his pen down on his note pad and asked “How do you think Europe will react to this. With all sensitivity extracted by the previous nights and days, I responded: “Europe? Which Europe?”
If you watched the World Cup of Soccer, you probably noticed the difference in styles, speeds and organization in the different teams. You may have noticed the French team exercising their individualism even against their own coach, the German team fast and well organized with few outbursts of anger, while the Spanish and Italian teams were full of fire and showing their frustration with pouts, grimaces and much hand flailing. You may also notice the nationalism and rivalry amongst their supporters. This should convince you that Europe is not a country, but rather a continent with different cultures, rules of conduct and ways of doing business. Europe isn’t any more uniform in its ways than the soccer fans are in the color of their face paint (see reference reading below).
These differences are important when developing the European Region. It is common for US companies to begin their European adventure with a single office in one of the countries. Often selected based on previous ties by one of the company executives. This is not a regional strategy and while it could temporarily work, it could also damage the company’s image in the Continent. European countries (and people) approach business and relationships in such different ways that, unless your plan takes that into account, you are almost sure to be wrong.
I prefer for my American clients to begin their European development in the United Kingdom with one or two people who can sell and support their customers from a location that is close enough to Europe (The UK is not Europe as you will be reminded there if you mistake Britain for a European Country). The local people don’t have to be employees, who are expensive to have in the Continent. They could be representatives, resellers or distributors on a mostly variable compensation plan.
The rest of Europe expects American companies to do this and no one will be too surprised to get a call from a representative of a US company with an English accent. Doing business in the UK is very similar to the US, the culture and values have many commonalities and language problems are minimal with a few spelling exceptions. In general, UK salespeople are entrepreneurial, direct in their feedback and very responsible. The regulations and paperwork required to register and run a business are not as complex as other countries and the ability to visit or transfer employees is not difficult.
When a product or service is targeted to a specific market or already enjoys business traction in one of the other European regions. There is no better way to do business than locally and if placing a native local representative is not possible while building a region, a good guideline is to keep the language capabilities of your representative as close as possible to the linguistic characteristics of the customer. A representative in Southern Europe (Latin languages) can more easily cover customers in other countries in the region. The same is true for German representatives, who can easily serve Switzerland, Austria and Eastern European countries. English enjoys a prominent position in global business all over Europe, but language, cultures and ways of doing business tend to track each other a lot more closely than the apparent uniformity of the English-for-Business guidelines.
Very few salespeople can be truly Pan-European and succeed in all markets. I know a few and they are a unique breed. It is not the representative’s fault, it is frustrating for a Finn to do business in Italy when everyone apparently talks endlessly and circumvents the important issue; however the Italian customer is trying to get to know the salesperson, thinking out-loud and encouraging a discussion that will lead to a decision. Given the same situation, the Finn may ask three leading questions, look at his shoes and talk among a small group in a more orderly fashion. I am not going to discuss the after hour celebrations when a deal is consummated, because in that department, your quiet Finns outdo almost everyone else.
Finding a Pan European agent in any country is always a challenge. I find it best to target experts who know a specific market or product. I look for multi-lingual people and if they have multi-country residences, they have proven that they can function in multiple cultural environments. I have had success with people who attained higher level positions in larger and successful companies and have experience managing customer relationships in many European regions. These people are expensive, but the most entrepreneurial will work on contract basis or as mainly commissioned representatives. Remember the Peter Principle (See Note 1 below) applies, so check that their approach to customers is adjusted to fit the customer’s way of doing business, rather than imposing their own.
There is no substitute to going local as soon as you have enough business to sustain an employee or representative in each linguistic area. Build regionally and grow locally if you can.
Note 1 “Peter Principle” is an idea first formulated by Canadian author Laurence J. Peter (1919–1990) in his best-selling book The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong (1969). The central thesis of Peter’s satirical commentary on business bureaucracies is that “in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” According to Peter, work is accomplished only by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence. In this way, organizations and businesses can still function. The result is that stagnant companies are more likely to have incompetent employees at many levels of their organization, whereas growing companies who add new positions and employees can forestall the Peter Principle as long as growth continues.
US History Encyclopedia
Peter, Laurence J., and Raymond Hull. The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong. New York: Buccaneer Books, 1996.
Reference Reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Europe
Tags: europe, european development, european sales channels, regional differences, ways of doing business
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May 31st, 2010 by Mo Casas
As an insider on the vendor side of the table for the past 25 years, I have heard some of the best techniques from experienced DAC visitors. I am going to share a few of these with you and may the vendors forgive me.
I attended my first DAC in 1985 as a salesman for one of the big vendors. We used to call them the D.M.V. (Daisy, Mentor, Valid). There was no Synopsys, no Cadence. Synthesis was something that plants did with light, but the frantic road to DAC has not changed. Besides the demonstrations, the vendors are creating value statements, positioning and gathering competitive information. The result will be dozens to hundreds of slides and just as many hours of internal meetings. They are all focused on bringing their latest to YOU at DAC.
The most experienced conference goers are also busy preparing their DAC visits, not only who they want to see and what they need to find out, but how to get it. After they figure out which of the big vendors is serving the best lunch and secure their tickets to what could be the last Denali party, they will put some of these techniques to work. You can too.
See the people
DAC is a good opportunity to hear why the smaller vendors think they are indispensable to your design flow. It is also an opportunity to talk to the large vendor’s management one on one.
The most experienced DAC goers leave time to roam the floor and talk to the companies that they targeted and the new ones that they know nothing about. In their briefcase, hidden among their booty of small give-aways, you will find a USB memory stick and a few Non Disclosure Agreements (NDA). They pull out the USB memory when they want to share a presentation with their peers. The NDA comes out if someone says, “I can’t give you the presentation unless we have an NDA”. Besides getting the information that they need immediately, these experts save follow up time after the show.
Take the lead on the approach
The best technical people on the vendor side may not be the most forward. The guy in the middle of the isle with the big smile may not be their best technical guru. Find the guy with his back towards you, tapping on the computer and scratching his head. Slip into the vendor’s booth and ask him what he is doing. “What are you working on?” is a very powerful way to open the discussion.
This type of unexpected and direct question engages people in a normal conversation and helps bypass the prepared slides and positioning statements. While working on behalf of a vendor, I have been approached with questions like: Why are you at DAC? What is the most important problem that you solve? How do you help someone who is doing [your application here]? This last one is an excellent bridge to the next step in your vendor visit, the qualification.
Don’t share competitive information, or ask a vendor’s representative to tell you how they respond to their competitor’s statement. These questions are fun, but they focus the vendor on attacking the competition and not telling what they can really do for you. It also raises the concern that you are going to the competitor with similar information. There is no quicker way to shut down communications.
Qualify the vendor
Every vendor is trying to qualify you. They have trained everyone in the booth to ask what you do and when you will need tools. They want to know if you would be able to buy and when. Your goal is to quickly understand IF they should work with you at all.
If you find that there is not a chance to work together, say it and tell the vendor why. If you hear something that absolutely makes no sense, bring it up. If you don’t understand something, ask for clarification. Remember that the person who is telling you about the latest new product may have heard about it just before the show. Asking for clarification may bring you to one of the developers or product experts.
If you are interested in the company, ask to meet the executives, the CTO, a VP of Engineering. If they are not around, most Product Marketing Managers in our industry are just as technical as the developers. Make a few allowances for positioning and you can get a lot of good information.
The most experienced DAC visitors always want to know what is in production now and ask for the road map. The road map offers a view of what’s missing in the offering today.
Keep the vendor focused on what YOU want
Make appointments to see your target vendors at DAC. When properly focused, suite meetings can be very effective. When you call, tell the vendors what you are interested to see and what you want to get out of the meeting. They’ll start working for you right away.
When you arrive at the meeting, remind the vendor what you want to see and tell the vendor that you have limited time. One CAD Department expert told me once that if a vendor cannot tell him how they can help in ½ hour, they probably can’t help at all. Firm time limits help both sides to compact the messages and bring out the important issues. If you need more time, come back.
When you have told a vendor in advance what you wanted to see, you have the right to focus the meeting. Within your time limitation, leave time for questions and dialog. This gives both parties a chance to understand what they need or can provide. Don’t be too polite, it benefits both of you to get to the point fast.
Effective Follow up
The most efficient way to complete your DAC follow up is to let the vendors do it for you. The expert DAC visitor asks the vendor to keep the minutes at the start of the meeting. This encourages the vendor to take good notes and frees your time.
Be honest and tell the vendor when they should follow up. Remember all the calls and emails that you can get that first week after DAC? Instead, tell the vendor what to send you and when. Put everyone on your time-line. Sure you will still get a few thank you notes, but the important items should be coming when you need them most.
If no follow up is required, you are helping yourself and the vendor by telling them so. Saying “yes, please call” when there is no chance that the solution can help you is a waste of time for you and for the vendor.
Armed with these inside tips used by the DAC experts, you are ready to have a productive show, but I still can’t guarantee the Denali Party tickets.
Tags: dac visits, insider tips, productive show, qualify vendors, vendor visits
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May 12th, 2010 by Mo Casas
DAC veterans will remember the year 1995 when View Logic gave away baseball bats at DAC. Imagine the scandal when an airline captain refused to let one of our salespeople take his bat on the plane! Today the scandal is luggage charges and those of us traveling to DAC this year are going to be prime targets of this not-so-gentle nickel and dime maneuver. Unless you fit everything you need in a carry-on bag.
A properly packed carry-on can fit all that I needed for a life time! No reversing inner garment jokes please. If I can carry enough clothes to make it to the weekend, there is time for laundry, so I dare say I can live from a carry-on forever. I have made a 4 week world tour from a carry on and had room to bring back a few gifts, but no baseball bats.
Let’s start with our friends at the airlines and their faithful assistant the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). When you carry on you have to know the rules. Most airlines define a carry on as a bag with total dimensions (height + width + depth) of 45 to 51 inches. Each airline has slightly different rules, so it pays to check. A good list of acceptable dimensions, by airline, can be found at http://www.luggageonline.com/about_airlines.cfm. A computer bag or a briefcase is allowed on as long as it can go under the seat in front of you. TSA sets specific rules for what you CANNOT carry on at http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm. Also check the 3-1-1 rule on the size of liquids that can be carried on http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm. Even if you think you know, check the rules for two reasons: 1. The rules do change and 2. You can always get a laugh thinking that someone needs to be reminded that dynamite is forbidden in your carry-on. Tourists!
I carry a 45 inch total dimension bag in case the gate agent is in a bad mood that day. I keep it neat with no external straps, souvenir stickers, not even a visible name tag. My bag screams “I belong in the overhead compartment”. I carry a large brief case without a shoulder strap, same neatness rules as the carry-on. No magazines coming out of its external pocket and even when it bulges a bit everything is inside. This one says “under the seat for me”.
Getting the bag on the airplane may be a great personal victory, but it is even more important to pack what you need. For DAC, I start with undergarments and socks one per day, two suit pants and one extra pair of pants, seven dress shirts and three ties. No room for running shoes, athletic socks, or exercise gear on a seven day trip and forget your pillow, electric shaver, hair dryer or Hawaiian shirts. A small one quart (1 liter) plastic freezer bag borrowed from the kitchen is the best way to pack your toiletries. For my toiletries, if it doesn’t fit in the freezer bag, it doesn’t go.
If you are following these directions like a recipe, you now have all the ingredients on top of a bed or other flat surface and a nut-shell of a bag on the other side. So here is the ultimate secret that ties it all together: Roll Packing. The best roll packer’s user manual that I have found is at http://www.onebag.com/pack.html. Click on the diagram and follow the step by step directions. You will be amazed!
I wear a pair of jeans or comfortable pants and one of my suit jackets on the airplane. I unpack immediately after arrival and sometimes have to do a little ironing while watching the evening news, but no worse than I had to do with my large garment bag.
In my briefcase, I carry a computer, its cable and a phone charger. I still carry a paper notebook, although I hardly ever use it and I feel more comfortable with my travel schedule on paper (a sign of age, I’m sure). I travel to many countries, so I also pack destination specific freezer bags where I keep money, maps, train schedules and electrical adapters for each destination. Each freezer bag has enough local money to pay for my trip from the Airport to the usual hotels, a few local metro tickets or travel cards.
For DAC, a freezer bag with a few Green-Backs (USD) and an international adaptor will do the trick. Unfortunately, there is little need for public transportation maps in Southern California, so bring extra money for taxis http://www.cayellow.com/rates-and-reservations/, or ride the Supershuttle http://www.supershuttle.com/ to the hotel. Both of these sites explain the rates and enable on-line reservations out of Los Angeles or Orange County Airports.
So this year, Roll-pack a carry-on to DAC 2010, say goodbye to airline bag fees, waiting for your bags to arrive (if…), or storing bags at the valet on the last day of the show. I’ll see you there, maybe a little wrinkled, but happy to have protected myself against airway robbery.
Tags: DAC, DAC 2010, DAC transportation, packing, taxis, travel
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May 1st, 2010 by Mo Casas
One common complaint from many of my clients is how frustrating they find selling through distributors or resellers. This commission-only channel is motivated very differently than salaried and commissioned sales people. Making the right changes to the managing processes and the field support can turn an indirect channel into a very effective face of the company.
These field people collect commissions only when they sell something. The most successful resellers will always focus on the lines that bring in the money. Help them to bring in the money and you will be on top of their line card. The game is all about maximizing their limited selling time, providing good information and avoiding surprises that defocus them from selling.
I often see excellent products that are very successfully sold by a vendor’s direct channel, but struggling with an indirect distribution channel. This is a sign that the channel may not have enough information and they cannot credibly represent the product or answer objections. There are a few simple things that the sales manager can do to make his/her product easier to sell.
Solve the selling time problem
One good way for a sales manager to increase the channel’s selling time is by eliminating meetings and reports. I keep sales reports to a forecast only. I use a simple spread sheet with customer name, products, sales stage, expected volume, closing dates and comments. I call my channel people regularly with the forecast spread sheet open. In about 15 minutes, I can discuss the important deals and enter any updates. I focus on what they need in order to close the business. After the call, I am fully updated on their important business, so when they need something, they contact me or my sales manager and we can act quickly. I get a forecast spread sheet once per week and send all the sales people my updated version once per month. This keeps everyone informed and focused with a minimum paperwork.
There are software programs available that provide on line forecasting (www.salesforce.com, www.aplicor.com, www.kyliptix.com). If you go this route, keep it simple and make sure you can output spread sheets that a sales person can print and carry when they travel. If you want to really simplify and don’t have many deals to track, you might be able to use a spread-sheet while making sure that there is enough information to track, manage and support the sales effort.
Share good information with the indirect channel
I provide distributors and resellers the same information as the salaried sales force and sales management. Preparing them to sell in the same way as the salaried people, including them in sales training, product training and roll out events. I strive to give them access to the same training and marketing support as if they were located at headquarters. Today’s technology facilitates this type of inclusion. Skype www.skype.com is a platform that can create a virtual office between the sales manager’s laptop computer and anyone in the channel. Chat, free calls and video conferencing with screen sharing are included. GoToMeeting www.gotomeeting.com and Webex www.webex.com offer excellent platforms for remote communications at a reasonable cost. Remember to include a Non Disclosure Agreement with every reseller and distribution agreement to protect sensitive information.
I keep the indirect channel up to date. Many of my clients fly them to meetings, include them in corporate conference calls and company events. Resellers meet the corporate super stars and form relationships with support people that will help them sell in the future and enhance the communication with headquarters. Active participation by the channel provides up to date competitive information and regional trends long before this information becomes a lost business report. I ask the channel players attending sales meetings present at least a general trend for the past 12 months, one win, one loss and what they learned from the experience. Then I ask them how they are going to change their business in the next 12 months. This information illuminates the plans of each reseller and helps set the priorities for changes in structure, positioning or support.
A password protected intranet offers another excellent way to share information globally. Price changes, promotions, new policies, customer wins, competitive tactics or strategic changes are easily transmitted to all. A few words or newsletter from the President of the manufacturer to the channel from time to time is another powerful way to tell them that they are a significant part of the company.
Reduce the problems created by bad surprises
I like to give the earliest possible warning on changes that affect the channel’s business. This is challenging, because in many cases, it is not possible to share the most critical information in product discontinuations or mergers. The key is to share the difficult information at the earliest possible moment and to be prepared with all the pertinent information affecting the channel, details, FAQs and how to move forward. The more difficult the news, the more important it is to share them honestly. Once my client determines that it is time to release sensitive information, I present the bad news, the reasons behind the situation, the expected consequences and how the manufacturer and the channel will move forward together. Then leave enough time for Q&A from the channel and give them time to digest the information before implementing the change.
When I first engage with existing international sales channels, I find most are suffering from lack of information. I have had repeated success by installing these initiatives immediately. Some of them may work for you. Maximizing selling time, providing good information and avoiding surprises, makes it easier for the global channel to represent your company properly, sell more of your products and serve your customers well.
Tags: channel management, communications, forecasting, global sales, growing sales, sales management, selling time
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April 19th, 2010 by Mo Casas
One evening in 1993 when I had just started working in international business, I contacted a very important customer from a well known Japanese semiconductor company. This was a big accomplishment, because many of our people had tried for weeks to find a time when he would be in the office. I was ecstatic and the conversation was going very well. Just as I began to get information on his company’s needs, my other line rang. I could see it was my boss, so I asked the customer to “please hang on”. He immediately obliged me and hung up! Three weeks later, when I reached him again, he explained that he hung up because I asked him to do so.
International communications is a delicate art. In verbal and written communications it is imperative to be sensitive to the audience’s cultural differences, be clear, concise and request feedback to make sure that the correct points are understood. Verbal communication is the easiest, because the feedback can be immediate as in my example. On the other hand, initial verbal contact usually happens on the telephone where listening carefully to the other party’s reaction is most important. A speaker should be cautious and sensitive to hesitation or pauses and out of context commentary by the other party.
I recently spoke with an Electrical Engineer in Europe and I told him that my client was sponsoring a seminar regarding gotchas in semiconductor design verification. Silence… I quickly rephrased the statement and told him that there were many unknown factors that cause problems during circuit verification and that we have a seminar to teach engineers how to avoid them. He immediately engaged by asking some questions.
I always place engaging questions immediately after each main point in a telephone conversation. Carefully phrased, I am able to tell if the other party understood the meaning of what I am communicating. This helps me to keep the conversation focused and make sure that we don’t diverge from the main points. Half jokingly, let me say that asking a non native speaker “are you still with me?” doesn’t work. This idiom is not necessarily understood everywhere in the world, even by highly educated people.
More difficulty can be encountered in written communications, where there is no immediate feedback. I stopped a mailer the other day that said “we are the top of the heap”. A non-native speaker looking for a definition on line (www.freedictionary.com) will find: Heap – a pile or mass; a collection of things thrown together. Not necessarily the technical excellence that the communicator intended. In written communications, forget colloquialisms and trendy speech. This is more important on web sites, because prospective customers and investors are unable to give you feedback and can decide to go somewhere else with the click of a button. The web can be treacherous!
Does your web site tell the world what you do? Does it do it in the first paragraph? Does it provide the ability to get further information? Does it tell the visitor how to talk with a human being? Not just how to contact sales, but also someone who can explain the product in technical depth? Does it give an idea of the cost? This last point leaves a lot of room for creativity. I certainly don’t recommend an on-line price list in a competitive market, but there are ways to express cost by comparison to other products or solutions to the same problem.
It is best to have a native speaker either create or proof every website in a foreign language. I find our staff is more and more involved in editing websites. It is amazing that they always find something that escaped the non-native speaker. There is also a difference between correct grammar and the words or phrases required to communicate messages about products and services.
Excellent written and verbal communications are imperative for success in the Global marketplace. Remember to ask engaging questions after each point in verbal communication and keep things simple, focused and use short sentences without trendy speech when writing. More about geo-cultural differences in future postings, but for now, look out for those gotchas in your global communications.
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