Author Archives: Jim Cundiff

Learning From a Dinosaur

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Posted by Jim Cundiff on October 24, 2009 – 4:42 pm
Filed under Archives

Reading this week’s Barron’s – part of my regular Saturday morning ritual – Sandra Ward’s story Sounds Like a Dinosaur, but It’s No Small Brainer about data mining and warehouse systems company Teradata caught my eye.  It reminded me of a conversation with a Teradata sales operations executive I had about two years ago during a business development project for a major sales training company.

The half-hour call was intended to initially qualify Teradata as a prospect for my client’s sales effectiveness improvement services.  At the end of the conversation, I remarked to my client’s Sales VP, “These guys have a sales training program that should be the model for every company selling big-ticket complex technologies.  There’s nothing we can teach them, but I think they could teach us a lot.”  He agreed.

Looking back; I wondered why the executive even scheduled the call.  Perhaps he thought he could learn something new from my client’s company.  After the call I’ll bet he felt pretty good about Teradata’s sales conditioning program.  If he didn’t, he should have.  My client was among the best in the business and these guys were ahead of us!

Thirty years ago Teradata launched as a collaboration between CalTech and Citibank.  It was one of many Silicon Valley garage ventures.  Their products quickly won industry accolades.  In 1989 the company partnered with NCR to develop a next generation database computer.  NCR acquired Teradata in 1991 and the division was NCR’s most consistently profitable until they spun it off in 2007.  Mark Hurd – currently the CEO of HP – headed NCR’s Teradata division before being named President of NCR.

I mention Mark because he is credited with promoting Teradata’s strong sales culture and commitment to sales execution excellence.  He has a reputation as an easy-going guy equally at ease with engineers and executives.  I regard Hurd as one of the smartest people in the room – especially when it comes to making sure his sales team is empowered, equipped and trained.

Process and Professionalism

Teradata’s sales conditioning program (my term) impresses me on multiple levels.  While many other companies are good at linking technology solutions with business value, Teradata excels.

The company has developed a sales process to ensure that sales teams understand their prospect’s business.  Teradata sales executives can walk into any executive’s office and discuss the bottom line business issues facing that executive.  Then, coupled with product knowledge, prove how some of these challenges are reduced or eliminated using a Teradata solution.  Teradata’s sales process doesn’t sell technology.  It sells lower costs, higher margins, new business opportunities and bigger bottom lines.

Teradata’s sales process is dynamic.  A feedback loop monitors changes in marketplace and competitive landscapes and incorporates them into the sales process.  It nearly guarantees that the company’s sales and marketing efforts are a step ahead of the competition and tightly aligned with the prospect’s pains and buying process.

But one aspect of Teradata’s model impressed me above all others – the Buyer’s Council.

Role Play Encounters of the Fourth Kind

All new salespeople are required to pass the Teradata Buyer’s Council sales training workshop.  I don’t know if recurrent training is required, but knowing the company, I’ll bet it is.

The Buyer’s Council simulates the real-life environment that the company’s sales teams encounter.  The company retains group of retired executives representative of senior management, sales, financial, marketing, operations, manufacturing, distribution and information technology functions of a typical prospect company.  The council members bring real world experience buying complex and costly information technology solutions that just can’t be reproduced any other way.  Sales team members must meet with the council members, discuss important business issues, determine their needs, design a value solution and then present a proposal to the council.  Sales people must navigate the council’s political landscape and overcome objections and competitive prejudices just like in the real world.  It is truly the sales conditioning equivalent of a military live fire exercise.

Meetings and presentations are recorded and analyzed.  Sales team members learn what and what not to do and say; what does and doesn’t work.  They also learn how to work as a team.

And, it seems to work.  Teradata wins all day long against formidable competitors like IBM and Oracle (both of which are Teradata customers).

Although role plays are nothing new to sales conditioning, the Buyer’s Council concept took role playing to an entirely different level.  It was such a good idea that we couldn’t resist using it, too.

Sales Performance Associates has assembled a similar group of executives to simulate the environment facing media technology companies.  We deploy this group for specialized training, but clients have also used the group to game specific sales opportunities.  It amounts to getting a second or even third chance at a critical sales opportunity – something most sales teams only dream about and usually only after loosing a major deal.

Interested in Learning More? Schedule a Sales Conditioning Check-up

Click here to schedule a no-obligation 20 to 30 minute telephone conversation to discuss your situation. Let’s see where we can help.

Sales Performance Associates Launches First Ever Survey of Media Technology Sales Effectiveness

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Posted by Jim Cundiff on April 23, 2009 – 12:47 am
Filed under Archives, News

nab_2009_06b_southWe released the following story at the NAB show in Las Vegas earlier today …

NAB, LAS VEGAS, April 22, 2009 – Sales Performance Associates announced today the launch of a comprehensive survey to benchmark the current state of sales, sales management and tactical marketing capabilities in media technology companies.  In addition to sales and marketing executives, the survey will also poll top level corporate executives in companies delivering solutions or services used for content creation, acquisition, production, distribution, delivery, management, measurement and monetization.

“Other research has examined sales capabilities and cultures across many industries but none have focused on the special situations facing media technology companies,” said Jim Cundiff, Executive Vice President at Sales Performance Associates.  “For example, research in 2008 found that technology companies lose as many as one quarter of opportunities forecast for closure to competitors or to a customer’s failure to reach a decision.  However, there’s no data on the scope of this sales frustration for media technology companies.”

The 2009 Media Technology Sales Conditioning Benchmark Study will examine the full sales cycle – from lead generation to close to post sale account management.

Invitations have been sent to executives in more than 500 companies in the global media technology space.

Participating executives receive a pre-publication edition of the survey findings.  They will also have the option to have their individual results compared with the overall survey sample.  The full survey results will be compiled and formally published in early June 2009.

“There will be no cost to participate in the study or to receive results,” Cundiff noted.  “We want to develop and distribute objective data so executives can make better decisions on sales organization improvements.”

Media technology executives who would like to participate in the survey but missed an invitation can request one on the Sales Performance Associates website – www.sales-perform.com.

About Sales Performance Associates

Sales Performance Associates helps media technology companies achieve sustainable, repeatable and predictable revenue growth by improving sales and marketing processes, methods and execution. The firm’s unique Sales Conditioning approach helps clients identify more and better sales opportunities; improve the size, qualification and velocity of their pipeline; enhance sales forecast accuracy; win more competitive opportunities; grow business within existing accounts and upgrade overall sales and marketing execution and efficiency.

Sales Performance Associates is a privately-held company based in Roswell, Georgia.

Insight Research “Streaming Content to Generate $70 Billion By 2013″

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Posted by Jim Cundiff on April 3, 2008 – 1:08 pm
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE – Information Week By K.C. Jones

Internet, IPTV networks, and mobile handsets are expected to contribute to the increase, according to an Insight Research report.

Streaming video and music will generate $70 billion in revenue overt the next six years, according to a research report released Monday.

The Insight Research reported that content streamed over the Internet, IPTV networks, and mobile handsets will increase revenue through content and networks.

Insight’s study, “Streaming Media, IPTV, and Broadband Transport: Telecommunications Carriers and Entertainment Services 2008-2013,” covers several issues affecting the streaming market.

On-demand audio and video, as well as the revenue they generate, are expected to boost the market, which will grow at a compound annual rate of almost 29% through 2013, according to Insight.

“The outlook for streaming media has never been brighter,” Robert Rosenberg, Insight Research president, said in a statement released with the study. “Questions surrounding consumers’ willingness to pay for content have been dispelled by satellite radio and iTunes. The forecasts that we present are conservative and in line with current performance.”

In fact, if per-stream costs decrease faster than expected, or consumers accept IPTV sooner than predicted, or 3G delivery takes off more quickly than forecast, “it could blow the doors off” Insight’s predictions and push the industry’s growth to “explosive” levels, Rosenberg said.

Insight examined several factors that face the market, including: licensing, broadband Internet access, mass-market demand, and enterprise use.

Insight said its forecasts include revenues for the U.S. market by network services and by content services. The predictions for network services include digital rights management (DRM), encoding, and performance measurement. Revenue figures for content services cover advertising, music on-demand, Internet radio and video on-demand. Hard copies of the entire 140-page report are available for $3,995.

Dan Rayburn says in Seeking Alpha that he is skeptical of some aspects of the report.

FROM SEEKING ALPHA – READ FULL STORY BY Dan Rayburn

Insight Research is forecasting that streaming content will generate almost $70 billion in the U.S. by 2013. I don’t know how they come up with that number as I have not seen the full report, but $70 billion?

They say the revenue prediction comes from audio and video files transmitted over the Internet, via an IPTV network or to mobile phones. They say that advertising revenue will fuel this growth and that “Questions surrounding consumers’ willingness to pay for content have been dispelled by the popularity of satellite radio and iTunes.”

I would disagree. Customers are willing to pay for music via iTunes, but so far, not videos on a mass-market scale. Over time, yes, more video specific content via iTunes will be purchased but you have to back up the $70 billion number with more than just iTunes as an example. And what does satellite radio have to do with streaming?

They also say that if pre-stream costs drop faster than expected, or IPTV or 3G takes off faster than expected “it could blow the doors off of our forecasts, propelling this industry into explosive growth.”

I am all up for reports that show growth and make predication based on accurate data, but $70 billion is just so far away from reality. If someone has a copy of the full report, I’d love to see how the $70 billion number is calculated.