Sales and Marketing Manual Synopsis

The Accounting Library - Reseller Edition is a comprehensive tool designed to assist resellers and end-users improve the way organizations run their business by combining their financial systems, people, organizational structure and business processes into an efficient and effective enterprise-wide business management system. The competitive advantage inherent in this approach to marketing accounting software is that prospects will be more likely to buy into this concept than they would if offered a software only option.

The Accounting Library - Reseller Edition actually consists of four separate books. Books II, III and IV are dedicated to your clients, while Book I is the Sales and Marketing manual.

• Book I is dedicated to assisting you understand the concept of consultative selling, provide you a practical guide to other marketing issues, and finally takes you by the hand and leads you through the whole sales and marketing process. In addition, Book I contains the analysis program whereby you and your prospects will define their needs in as much detail as is appropriate, and then determine the fit between your product(s) and their needs.
• Book II starts with the needs definition process itself. It takes your client/prospects by the hand and tells them exactly what's going to happen and why. We start with the needs definition using a demonstration version of the analysis program to facilitate the collection of this critical information. Then we move on to the actual analysis and confirmation of the fit with your product(s). Once you have confirmed the fit in detail, why should your prospect look any further?
• Book III discusses installation and implementation planning, installation and implementation, and finally an analysis of the accounting department and accounting processes that will surround your client's new financial management system.
• Book IV is the Business Excellence manual and the key to this concept of selling accounting software. The fact that you can offer business improvement as well as accounting applications is the bait as well as a legitimate value-added service.

Although the objective of this edition of The Accounting Library is to eliminate your competition by convincing prospects to buy into Business Excellence, the analysis program gives you access to 115+ accounting products. Not all prospects will be so enamored with the concept of Business Excellence that they will evaluate just your product. In such circumstances the analysis program can be used to compare your product(s) against any of those of your competition. As we will discuss later, you will be able to create what I call a pro forma needs definition based upon your initial discussions with a prospect, and then compare that needs definition against the known competition. If your product is ranked first, then all you have to do is show that information to your prospect, thus creating a distinct competitive advantage for yourself. If your product isn't ranked first, you could use the information presented to determine which of the prospect's critical or important needs have been met by your product and not by your competition. Again, this information could be used to create a competitive advantage. The database in the analysis program is there for you to utilize to strengthen your sales position, and you should take advantage of its power accordingly.

How Can The Accounting Library Help Me Market My Products and Services?

While resellers are technically knowledgeable, their sales and marketing skills tend to lag far behind with the result that sales are lost simply because the prospect was unaware of the vendor or its reseller network in the first place, or was not sufficiently swayed by the arguments put forth or by the approach adopted by the reseller. In many of these cases the sale is lost not because one product was better than another, but that one reseller was more adept at marketing than another. Although product features are important, many resellers never get the opportunity to sell features simply because the prospect was not sold on the reseller first.

The process of selecting accounting software can be just as frustrating for end-users. In most instances several resellers are contacted, preliminary meetings held, needs discussed, demonstration programs evaluated, more in-depth discussions held, questions answered, quotes solicited, and finally a product and reseller selected. Resellers and/or their products can be eliminated at any point in this process. However, if there is a compelling reason to work with a single reseller at least until it has been proven the product they represent cannot meet the end-user's needs, the selection process will become less frustrating for the user. At the same time all other competitors will be eliminated, temporarily in the short run, and perhaps permanently.

Truly effective resellers will create this compelling reason by virtue of the force of their personality and the persuasiveness of their arguments. Most resellers cannot achieve this level of effectiveness. The Accounting Library - Reseller Edition can become this compelling reason by offering prospects something that other resellers do not; a means to the end of efficient and effective financial management through Business Excellence.

Business Excellence is the primary hook you will utilize to get a prospect's attention by offering this path to success. If your competition is just selling software, and your prospect is interested in the concept of Business Excellence, you will be able to create an opportunity whereby your prospect will want to discuss your product as well as Business Excellence in more depth. That's the objective. You will have eliminated your competition until such time as your product is proven to be inappropriate (in which case you wouldn't have gotten the business anyway). This Reseller Manual will take you by the hand, and teach you how to sell Business Excellence, how to increase the effectiveness of your sales and marketing program in general, and therefore how to close more sales than you have in the past. Even if your prospect isn't interested in Business Excellence, this manual will become a comprehensive guide to help you in increasing your marketing expertise. Finally, we will take you beyond closing the sale, and discuss contract proposals, engagement contracts, installation, implementation, additional sales opportunities, and the self-analysis that is at the heart of Business Excellence.

Objective: Making the Transition from Reseller to Consultant

While there is no question end-users would prefer to work with an unbiased consultant if possible, we will help you take advantage of the fact that prospects are not willing to pay for these services in most instances. However, if you were to adopt a consulting-like approach to the engagement, it's very likely the prospect will see you in a different light, perhaps not in the same light as an unbiased consultant, but certainly more positively than other resellers. The utilization of The Accounting Library - Reseller Edition will assist in this critical transformation from reseller to consultant.

All of the critical elements will be present; the methodology, textbook, needs definition forms, analysis program, and finally the Business Excellence self-analysis and improvement textbook. The only difference is that the needs analysis is based only on those products supported by you. The key objective here is to convince the end-user to buy into the process, not necessarily the product. The end result is the same, but the approach is from an entirely different perspective, and that's why it's easier for an end-user to select this methodology at an earlier stage of the selection process, therefore shutting out all other competitors. That can become a powerful marketing advantage.

When you think about it, assisting you in becoming more consulting-like is the true emphasis in the first portion of this manual. Yes, we will talk in terms of marketing, but the underlying objective is to convince your prospects you are not just trying to push software, but you are truly concerned about their entire organization and whether that organization becomes more successful. That's what you want them to believe, and as we proceed you will understand believability is one of the most critical transformations you must make.

Objective: Provide Resellers Effective Marketing Tools

If resellers aren't as proficient in the field of marketing as we would wish, simply providing you a copy of the analysis program isn't sufficient. We need to provide you a hands-on guide to consulting just as we provide end-users with a comprehensive approach to Business Excellence. This manual will explain the theory behind a consulting approach to marketing accounting software, as well as suggest specific sales and marketing tactics that will assist you sell the concept as well as sell yourself.

You cannot just say you will provide your client's a path to success. There has to be a physical product you show prospects when you offer this service. You have to show them the two end-user books. Let them see they will profit from their relationship with you. If the prospect buys into the notion of Business Excellence, you will purchase an additional set of end-user manuals from Solutions for just $80. Whether you pass that cost on to the client is totally up to you. One of the first marketing lessons to be learned here is that people want something for nothing. They want to think you will be providing them their own set of books for free; not lent or borrowed or copied, but free.

In addition, each client should be given a copy of the needs analysis program to serve as an input channel to define their needs in detail. No, they won't be given access to the products in the database, even yours. The analysis program will be used to assist them and you define their needs only. Once the needs definition file has been completed, you, and you alone, will take that file and carry out the analysis. The key report here is the Features Absent report. This report will identify all features requested by the end-user and that are not present in the system you sell. You will respond to each of these items so your prospect knows in advance the degree of fit between their needs and the product(s) you support as well as how each missing feature will be provided.

Some clients may not buy into this consulting approach initially, or may be so far along the selection process that a decision to adopt a consulting approach isn't possible. In this case The Accounting Library - Reseller Edition becomes a sales and marketing tool, while keeping some of its power as a consulting tool. If you know what products are being considered, and have identified some of your prospect's more critical needs, you can create a pro-forma needs definition or utilize one that has been saved from a previous engagement. If the analysis proves one of your offerings is the superior product, or meets more of a prospect's critical needs than other products being considered, you can share this information with the prospect. The fact the analysis program has been created and is maintained by an industry expert lends much greater credibility to the analysis.

The analysis program utilized in The Accounting Library can serve competitive analysis functions as well. If you know what products are being considered, and have a fairly firm handle on your prospect's needs, the analysis program can become a valuable tool as you develop an approach to each prospect that takes into consideration these strengths and weaknesses. Finally, even though there might be competing products, the fact a consulting approach will be utilized even after the product has been selected, adds a powerful and perhaps critical benefit to selecting you and the product you represent. In some instances, this could be the critical deal maker.

Why Should Either Party be Interested?

If consultative selling and Business Excellence are to become an effective method by which accounting software is marketed, there have to be advantages for both parties. If prospects are not interested in Business Excellence or are not interested in the fact you will help them gain maximum advantage from their investment in a new financial management system, then there is no reason for you to offer such services. Although you have faced such attitudes, companies such as these are in the distinct minority. Most companies are interested in improving their accounting efficiency. Some will be interested in the more comprehensive analysis of their entire organization as contained in the notion of Business Excellence. If your prospects would be interested in such services, then you should be interested in offering such services.

Perhaps one of the most important advantages that may accrue from your adopting a consulting approach to marketing financial applications is the reduction in the potential for failure; not failure to secure the business, but failure of the system after it has been installed. In many instances the failure of the system cannot be laid at the feet of the hardware/software combination, but with the way this combination integrates, or doesn't integrate, with the business processes that surrounds the system and therefore affect its efficiency and effectiveness. Since you will be on-site after the system has been installed, you will have the opportunity to assess the business management system as it is being used on a daily basis, and be paid for it.

The consulting process itself is really quite straight forward. It's the management of the process that's critical to its success, and we will discuss this in considerable detail. The fact your client accepts a consulting-like approach to implementing their new system means they will be more receptive to suggestions from you as to means whereby they can improve the way the system is managed. You cannot make these changes directly because you are not a legal member of the organization, but you will be perceived to be a de- facto member of the organization, and therefore people will be more willing to listen to you and your suggestions.

If you do offer consulting services, you could say "I'm already doing this, so what's the difference?" While you might be offering such services, do you utilize this fact in your marketing campaign? Do you stress you are different, and can offer prospects a path to success? Maybe it's just your message that needs to be changed, or maybe you need something like a Business Excellence manual to reduce the perceived cost of such consulting services.

If you don't offer consulting services now, you might say "I'm afraid of the risks." Fear is an issue that must be addressed. Yes, this approach to marketing yourself does ask that you change. How much you change is entirely up to you. At a minimum you will need to realize Business Excellence doesn't require that you become a full fledged consultant. We have created a methodology that gives you the option of participating to whatever degree you feel comfortable. We ask only that you change your marketing message first. We will provide you, not just a description of what you should do, but a real hands-on guide. In the end, I think you will see that consultative selling isn't that difficult, and certainly financially rewarding.

Since this is just an introduction to the rest of this manual, I will list the advantages to both parties as I see them, but leave a more detailed explanation to a later chapter.

Advantages for End Users

• Significantly reduce the time and frustration of the more traditional approach to selecting accounting software.
• Define their needs in as much detail as is appropriate, and confirm the fit with the product being sold.
• Return to their original selection process easily should the product prove to be inappropriate, but with a much more detailed knowledge of their needs.
• Significantly improve the likelihood of tangible success by analyzing and improving information management and control procedures as well as the organizational structure that will surround the accounting applications.
• Utilize a structured methodology to analyze their accounting processes and organizational structure rather than having to create this methodology themselves, or pay an outside consultant to do so.
• Look like a hero!

Advantages for Resellers

• Improve your closing ratio dramatically.
• Provide prospects and clients a clear path to success.
• Shut out the competition until such time as your product has proven to be inappropriate.
• Offer prospects substantial advantages as a result of selecting you should it not be possible to shut out your competition.
• Work with and adjust business processes and organizational structures that have the potential to adversely affect successful implementation.
• Utilize sales strategies that will assist you in selling this concept.
• Utilize a structured analysis and implementation methodology to which both parties adhere, thus making the process more efficient and potentially more effective.
• Develop a new revenue source by assisting your clients analyze their organizational structure and business processes.
• Reduce the need to compete strictly on the basis of price.
• Generate additional revenue opportunities by returning after the system has been installed to participate in the implementation of Business Excellence.

Business Excellence Manuals

This is the first of the three key elements of the program into which end-users will buy. Users will be taken by the hand and guided through the whole needs analysis and implementation process. Book II and III of this series will serve as the consultant thus reducing your non-billable hours while providing end-users with services not normally offered by resellers. The key element here is the fact that you don't have to become an expert in business process reengineering. We don't go to that level of detail in the first place, and the manuals will carry the bulk of the load in the second place. Business Excellence has been designed to meet the needs of all companies, no matter how small or large. We have deliberately refrained from using complex concepts. I can't understand them myself sometimes!

The selection and implementation of a new accounting and management information system isn't a single event that can occur in isolation. It is a process that requires an end-user to look inward and examine itself critically. An end-user should look at this process as an opportunity to reinvent itself by identifying the factors that are critical to its success in the present as well as the near-term future. Only then can the end-user determine the role its financial system must play in support of these strategic and operating objectives.

This expanded analysis will require that end-users examine, not just their accounting needs, but the needs of the entire business, as well as the way the business operates from a functional and philosophical point of view. By adopting this more comprehensive approach, all of the factors that contribute to sound financial management will be evaluated, and adjusted according to the needs of the organization. This process should occur as an integral part of selecting any accounting system, but does so rarely simply because end-users don't see the value in such a process, or believe it will cost too much to bring in outside consultants. Resellers are rarely seen as the source of management consulting services, at least until now.

The Business Excellence manuals will serve as the consultant during this entire process. We are not trying to adopt the familiar and complex approach to business process reengineering costing tens of thousands of dollars, but rather to suggest a structure and a methodology that will allow end-users to examine themselves and their financial system. By adding substantial consulting value to your existing products and services, you will place yourself in a distinctly advantageous competitive position.

The Business Excellence Manual will build a framework for this self-analysis by taking the end-user by the hand and guiding them through the entire process as outlined below.

• Define an initial set of needs and confirm suitability of the product you support.
• Collect information from and begin to analyze the needs of each person who will be linked to the accounting system by utilizing the Preliminary Needs Definition forms supplied.
• Build a more comprehensive needs definition utilizing information collected from individuals in the previous step and description of process found in the manual.
• Use the analysis program to confirm the suitability of your product against this second needs definition, and identify those features, functions and reports that have not been met by the core accounting applications.
• Meet with you to determine how these missing features, functions and reports will be provided.
• Confirm final fit with your product and sign engagement contract.
• Install product by following installation and implementation work plans outlined in the manual.
• Continue process of examining and improving information processing system as outlined in the manual.

The tasks outlined above represent but a very small portion of what will become a comprehensive textbook and implementation guide. The key to the success of this whole concept is the notion that everything users require (within reason) is contained within a single publication. Most of these tasks can and should be carried out by the user, not you, but it is you who provides this unique approach, and therefore it is you who is chosen because this is the only way the user can gain access to the process. The user wins and therefore you win.

Reseller Manual

Book I of this series is dedicated to you, the reseller. Starting with an introduction to the consultative approach to marketing accounting software, you will be taken by the hand and led through the entire process starting with the first contact with a prospect. At least half the manual will be dedicated to marketing, while the remainder will discuss installation, implementation and Business Excellence. As in the case of the Business Excellence manual, the key element is the fact that all of the information you require to understand and execute this powerful approach to marketing accounting software will be provided.

Although this manual discusses sales and marketing as its primary focus, please don't ignore the needs definition process. Whether you are working with a client who has already chosen you and your product, or are following the route of Business Excellence with a prospect, you must invest a significant amount of time working with your prospects to create a detailed needs definition. This is the only way you and your prospect can assure yourselves their real needs will be met by the system you will install. In fact, I think many companies can become more profitable if they and their reseller were to sit down and answer the question "What does this company need to do in order to become more profitable?" To gloss over the needs definition process is to guarantee the system will not be able to achieve its full potential. You should want your clients to become more profitable, and to get something from their system they did not even realize was possible. Now that's a satisfied client; one that will be more than eager to refer you to their friends. That's marketing at its finest.

The Sales Process

If you go into a meeting with a prospect thinking all you have to do is sell software, then your success rate, as measured by your closing ratio, will never meet your expectations. In order to become successful in this business, you need to become an expert, not just in accounting software, but in sales and marketing. Whether you like it or not, your are a sales person until the prospect signs a contract. At that point you become the software and technology expert. The choice is yours. Either learn how to market yourself effectively, or rely upon pure luck. Which path seems to offer the greatest profit potential? I know these statements seem rather harsh, but that's just the way it is. People who understand their prospects, understand what motivates their prospects, and then take that information and formulate an approach that meets their prospect's real and perceived needs, are people who will close more sales than you could if you try to sell accounting software like you have in the past.

I like to think of the sales process as a war. War is a series of battles. The objective of each battle is different depending upon the situation at hand. It could be defensive or offensive. Each battle has a single paramount objective. In order to win this battle, commanders develop strategies that can be defined as how they want the enemy to react. In order to accomplish these strategies, specific tactics or actions are undertaken. The tactics or actions are designed to cause the enemy to react in a certain way. By doing so the strategy is accomplished. If all, or nearly all, of the strategies can be accomplished, then the battle will be won. Behind all of this is intelligence gathering to understand the enemy, their objectives, and how they might react in certain circumstances. The resulting document is the total battle plan.

Selling accounting software effectively can be thought of in the same light. You can't make anyone do anything, including purchasing accounting software, unless they motivate themselves to make that decision. You can't expect a prospect to sign a purchase agreement the first time you talk to them on the phone, or at the end of the first meeting, or even at the end of the second meeting or demonstration. However, you can move them toward that purchase decision little by little, each time making yourself look more favorable than your competition. Each meeting is like a battle. You have an objective, strategies that contribute to this objective, and tactics that help accomplish the strategies. You have intelligence gathering, and most important of all you have the application of deep thought to combine all of the pieces into the most effective battle plan.

Objectives

What is the single most important goal you want to accomplish? This question should be answered before you meet with or talk to any prospect (or client for that matter). The objective is motivating your prospect to do something, or to think in a certain way. If you don't know exactly what you want your prospect to do, how can you construct an effective presentation?

There should be a single primary objective for each meeting. While the objectives may vary slightly depending upon the prospect, and what has transpired before this meeting, you should set a series of general objectives for each meeting before you sit down with any prospect for the first time. The objective of any first telephone conversation might be to get the prospect excited about meeting you. The objective of any first face-to-face meeting might be to motivate the prospect to want to work with you more than any competitor. As each meeting is concluded, you are moving the prospect closer to a commitment, and that's the final objective. At no time though should your objective have anything to do with selling accounting software.

Strategies

What are the broad or general techniques you will utilize to achieve your objectives for each meeting or telephone conversation or even letter for that matter? What needs to happen in order to help you achieve the objective? If you want your prospect to do something, or think in a certain way, what small steps do you want them to take in order to achieve this objective. Again we are talking about getting the prospect to think in a certain way about you, working with you, and what you can do for them. You are not thinking about software. It's the mind of the prospect you want to influence.

In the first telephone conversation you have with a prospect, how do you want them to think about you? You might want them to think you know a great deal about their industry (and therefore indirectly about their business). You might want them to believe you are truly concerned about helping them become more profitable, or that perhaps you are not trying to impose a solution on them even though that solution may be appropriate. You certainly want them to think that through Business Excellence you have the potential to offer them something that other resellers don't offer.

The first face to face meeting has the potential to set you apart from your competition in several ways, and is therefore critical to the balance of the sales process. You want your prospect to see you as a true professional. You want them to believe here is someone with whom they can form a relationship. You want them to see you as someone who respects their years in this business, listens to what is being said, grasps the core problems and opportunities, and who can construct a solution that is in their best interests. Again, you are not selling software, but yourself. You are selling the potential of the relationship. You are generating excitement in the mind of your prospect so at the end of the meeting they will say to themselves "This is someone I could work with!"

Tactics

What are the specific steps you will take to carry out the strategies you have established? Now you have finally reached the point where action is discussed. You need to be doing something specific in order to motivate prospects to think in a certain way or look on you in a certain way. Objectives and strategies pertain to what you want the client to think, feel and do. Tactics are the actions you perform. Tactics in a first telephone conversation might be asking questions that pertain to the prospect's industry, or as simple as listening to the prospect and replying in a manner that shows the prospect respect. Tactics in the first meeting might be as simple as dressing in a business like manner, listening with intensity, talking about specific solutions that meet the prospect's specific needs, educating your prospect about the possibilities technology might provide, approaching the problem from a business perspective, showing the prospect you want to learn more, or simply indicating you see the potential for a match and are excited about the possibility of working with this person.

Battle Plan

In order to develop effective strategies and tactics, you will need to understand the prospect's organization, the problems they are trying to solve, determine the decision makers and their personal needs, and identify the real competition. Only then can you develop real solutions. While you might not want to do this for small contracts, the use of a written analysis of the prospect as well as the objectives, strategies and tactics you will utilize to win this sales war will improve your presentations dramatically. Why? Because the use of a written instrument makes you think before you act, and therefore improves your execution of these tactics. Even after you have secured the business, documents such as these can allow you to sit down with your client and map out a strategy for the next 12 months or so, thus increasing your consulting revenue. Just as any company may establish business strategies for each planning period, you and your client will establish organizational and information system strategies.

The process of prospect analysis doesn't have to be that complicated as you will see in a later chapter. You will use a Prospect Evaluation Form to record information about a prospect, and then construct an approach that takes into consideration the needs, attitudes, industry and knowledge level of the prospect. The key here isn't the form itself, but the fact you are taking the time to construct an appropriate battle plan that is geared to the prospect.

The Consulting Process

It's not necessary to discuss Business Excellence in this manual other than in somewhat general terms. The entire methodology is discussed in depth in the end-user's manuals. Obviously you will need to study this information so you will be able to give your prospects a concise description of the process. One of the most critical elements in selling this concept is that Business Excellence isn't just a theory. It's an easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand process you provide your clients: FREE! Not the service, but the manuals. You can bury the cost of these manuals in the cost of the software. The prospect must see this as a gift of sorts, and they must see this as a physical product as well as a process.

Show them your copies of the manuals as soon as possible. Show them the whole process is structured with but a single objective in mind; increasing each client's profitability. Show them the process itself isn't difficult, and the two of you will follow specific guidelines that will insure the success of this process. Make sure they understand they can do all of this with little or no assistance (cost) from you, but you will participate to whatever degree they feel is appropriate. Make sure they understand the very first step they will take is a detailed analysis of their needs and a confirmation of a fit with your product. Make sure they understand this detailed analysis is the only way they can assure themselves any product is an appropriate fit, and just as important they have the option to back out should your product fail to meet their needs. Finally, make sure they understand no other reseller offers this path to success.

Reengineering - PC Style

I'm not quite sure which term has been more overused recently: client/server or reengineering. My definition of reengineering is quite simple. It's the creation of a logical organizational structure that should have been in place at least three years ago. Reengineering isn't a project, but a process. Companies evolve over time, and as they do so their organizational structure should evolve along a parallel course. We have created in the reengineering process an entirely new industry. Now we pay outside consultants huge sums of money to help us manage our businesses more effectively. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that why we pay our senior managers those huge salaries? Aren't they supposed to make sure the business is organized efficiently and effectively?

Anyway, let's cut this editorial short, and concentrate on the reengineering of smaller companies such as most of our clients. The decision to automate or switch systems or downsize is driven by a need. If this need is expressed in terms of corporate efficiency, be very careful. Your client or prospect may be imparting to the accounting system greater powers than actually exist. Accounting systems serve but one purpose; the processing of information. While it's true some systems might be thought of as more efficient than others, that efficiency is limited, and certainly will not make an entire company more efficient.

I have seen very few truly efficient companies. As companies grow, change their product and/or customer mix, or change management and staff personnel, modifications to the corporate structure will be required. This is true for any organization. When you are discussing automation with a prospect or existing client, try to play the role of management consultant as well as automation consultant. Try to identify those specific areas where your accounting software will have some beneficial effect. Try to segregate needs that can be met by the software and needs that can be met only through some form of reorganization. Look at the organization and the manual accounting process that will surround the automated system. Adopt a critical approach. Look for the weaknesses in the organization that might adversely affect the efficiency of the accounting system. Never turn your back on obvious problems by saying to yourself you cannot do anything about them anyway, or weren't asked or paid to express your opinion.

While I certainly have some degree of expertise in the field of accounting software, I combine this with my business expertise to provide my clients a complete solution. In fact I insist we sit down and discuss the organizational needs of the company as an integral part of each contract. By combining accounting and business disciplines, you can offer your clients a more complete service package; one that will have a tendency to set you apart from your competition. Your business consulting services will open doors for software sales, and your software contacts will enable you to suggest that your clients look at their organization more critically. In fact, some businesses might be interested in the software side of your business only because you can offer reorganizational services. In this case software becomes secondary to reengineering.

All businesses should examine their internal organization critically no matter how small they might be. The opportunities are there if you are willing to expand your business in a slightly different direction. Acquiring such expertise isn't as difficult as you might think. You might possess it yourself, but have not really promoted it actively. You might know some business consultants already, either personally or by reputation. If you don't, look in the Yellow Pages. Talk to as many as possible. You don't have to enter into a legal contract or form a new business unit. All you want to do is to be able to work together to attract business opportunities that were not previously available to either party. Be prepared to form alliances with several people or companies with different strengths. The other alternative is to stick with Business Excellence. I don't think it will be necessary to offer more complex forms of business improvement other than Business Excellence, but that is an option you should at least consider.

My consulting services are geared to the needs and the size of the client with whom I am working. Smaller companies seem to need basic bookkeeping assistance. Here I would offer my small business consulting package. My partner for this project is an accomplished bookkeeper with excellent organizational skills. Her objective is to teach the client how to organize their files efficiently. In addition she teaches clients how the accounting system should be used on a day-to-day basis including what reports should be printed when, and how these reports should be saved. Her rate is considerably less than mine, but that's exactly what the client needs.

My services run from a one day quick examination of a client's business to projects lasting several months. Specific tasks may be organizing the manual side of the accounting system, evaluating and modifying the Chart of Accounts, creating new reports, strengthening internal control systems, reorganizing office layouts, or helping the client prepare for a new contract. The fact I can offer such services at reasonable rates makes my services attractive, and opens up opportunities for software sales. As long as the accounting product meets their needs, they don't really care which product it is. That's a secondary issue. I get the contract because I can offer both services, and there is little or no competition on the software side. That's the beauty of it.

Reengineering isn't a mystery. All companies need to examine and adjust their structure as they evolve. The process doesn't have to be as complex or expensive as most publications seem to indicate. The fact you can offer software and organizational services will generate significant opportunities for you while reducing competition. You don't even have to hire additional staff. All you have to do is offer Business Excellence or form alliances with people who have this added expertise. Actually you may have many of these skills, but have never advertised this strength.

Limited Engagements

Depending upon your prospect's needs, and how far they want to take this reorganizational process, you and/or your prospect could deal only with the direct accounting process and accounting personnel. While this is limited in its scope, this might be the extent of your expertise, or the wishes of your prospect. As we will discuss later, this limited engagement will encompass the following steps:

• Preliminary Product Fit Confirmation
• Preliminary Needs Definition
• Itemized Needs Definition
• Functional Needs Deficiency Analysis and Recommendations
• Report Analysis and Recommendations
• Software Selection Confirmation
• Installation and Implementation
• Accounting Department Evaluation
• Preliminary Product Fit Confirmation

This is the first and crucial step. It makes no sense for you to pursue a prospect whose need's cannot be met by your product easily, but can be met by another reseller's product with whom the prospect is meeting. Why waste your valuable time? You should gather sufficient information during your first contact with a prospect to determine if you stand a legitimate chance of meeting this company's needs. If you believe you can, then say this quite clearly to the prospect. If you cannot, say that just as clearly. Certainly there are exceptions to this rule. If the prospect's needs are complex to the point no product will be a good fit out of the box, and you have some degree of expertise in this prospect's industry, then you can look on this as an opportunity to become involved in a contract that might be very profitable.

Preliminary Needs Definition

Before you or the prime contact in your prospect's organization can begin to determine needs, every person who has anything to do with the system must be given the opportunity to say what it is they require, what they like and dislike about the current system and what they need in order to do their jobs well. The Preliminary Needs Definition form is a text oriented piece found in Book II, and gives people the ability to say in plain English what they require. There is little you would have to do here, other than to monitor the process. Someone within your prospect's organization would be responsible for setting deadlines and managing the process. A secondary benefit of this process is people will be more likely to accept the new system because they have been given the opportunity to participate.

Itemized Needs Definition

Having gathered a set of preliminary needs, you and the prospect would then sit down and associate each of the individual user's needs with one of the features, functions or reports found in the Itemized Needs Definition form found in Book II. Here again the time required on your part would be fairly minimal as this is really the responsibility of the prospect, not the reseller. This list of features mirrors the questions in the analysis program itself. The process isn't that difficult even for the user, but you do need to motivate them to take this step very seriously. As I mentioned earlier, the user should look on this step as an opportunity to describe not just what their current needs are, but to explore with you methods by which they can maximize their return from the investment in new financial applications.

Once the Itemized Needs Definition form has been completed, the prospect should input that information into the analysis program itself. All you have to do here is install the program on one of their computers; just not any of the product files. Without the product files, the analysis program becomes no more than an input device. All you want is that single needs definition file that you will import into your copy of the analysis program on your computer.

Functional Needs Deficiency Analysis and Recommendations

Having imported the needs definition file into your computer, you can then compare your prospect's needs against your product, and determine the degree of fit as expressed in the program by a percentage calculation. I have found over the past several years no product will meet a company's needs 100% so you don't have to worry should the fit not being perfect. The real question is "What can be done to meet the needs that have not been satisfied?" The program will allow you to print a list of these missing features, and it is this report that must be analyzed. This is actually a two step analysis; features and functions first and then reports second.

If a prospect needs a certain feature or function, but the analysis program indicates your product cannot meet this need, what is your response? You have six possible responses.

• The information was input incorrectly into the product file.
• The feature or function is supported in a recent release or release in the next several months.
• There is a third party enhancement that supports this need.
• The requirement can be met by adding a field to the application.
• You can modify the product to meet this need or
• This need cannot be met.

Report Analysis and Recommendations

If a prospect needs a certain report, but the analysis program indicates your product cannot meet this need, you have five possible responses.

• The information was input incorrectly into the product file.
• The report is supported in a recent release or release in the next several months.
• You can utilize a report writer to generate the information.
• You can add fields to the program, and then utilize a report writer to collect and generate the information required, or
• This need cannot be met.

Software Selection Confirmation

Having identified the missing features, functions and reports, and determined if and how these needs can be satisfied, you would then write a brief report explaining all of the options open to your prospect. It's far better to deal with deficiencies now rather than after the product has been installed. If your product isn't appropriate, you and the prospect need to know that now. If your product is appropriate, including any modifications that may be required, and your prospect is satisfied with your responses to the deficiency analysis, and the prospect is interested in Business Excellence, what is the sense in their looking further? That's the reward you and they get from utilizing this approach to marketing financial applications. You eliminated your competition before it became a real threat, and the prospect reduced the time it took to select a system, while increasing the return on their investment by getting something they didn't expect; Business Excellence.

Installation and Implementation

Having confirmed the fit, the prospect becomes a client, and you and they proceed into the contract, but with a much more detailed notion of what is required and a much closer working relationship with their reseller (who will be referred to as consultant in the needs definition manual, for that is what you are in reality). This portion of the contract is fairly standard with one major exception. We will propose later on a considerably more detailed approach to installation and implementation. While you know what needs to be done and in what order, your client doesn't. If this contract is to proceed with maximum efficiency, the client must be taken by the hand and guided through each step. You could do this in person, but that would require that you spend far more time with the client than is practical, particularly since this portion of the contract is usually for a fixed fee. If you were to create a series of written installation and implementation guides, these could serve as your surrogate. Yes, it will take time to create the documents in the first place, but your long term interests will be served by taking the time to invest in tools designed to educate your client about what is about to happen, as well as define their responsibilities throughout this critical process.

Accounting Department Evaluation

With a limited consulting engagement, you and your client will restrict yourselves to an analysis of the accounting department only as well as the accounting procedures that relate to the financial applications. The objective here is to make the manual accounting functions as efficient as the automated applications. As I am sure you are aware, this should be done under any form of sale. The people and the manual processes that surround financial applications have the potential to reduce the perceived effectiveness of the system to the point where the client becomes dissatisfied. While the fault isn't really yours, you will become the convenient scapegoat.

Business Excellence Implementation Procedures

If the prospect buys into Business Excellence, the scope of the analysis would be expanded to include the entire organization. Depending upon how far the client wants to proceed, this could involve just an expanded analysis of business information throughout the organization, or it could involve an analysis of the entire business starting with what the company needs to do well in order to succeed. Book II and III are designed to give your clients the opportunity to carry out this analysis themselves with little or no outside assistance, or to include you and others in the analysis to whatever degree is appropriate. All of the steps we discussed in the last section would apply and in the order described. To these would be added the following tasks:

1. Preliminary Process Investigation
2. Define Optimized Organization
3. Staff Interviews and Assessment
4. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses
5. Implement Quick Strike Improvements
6. Establish Training Programs
7. Define Process Modifications and Implementation Plans
8. Define Structural Modifications
9. Implement Structural Modifications
10. Implement Process Modifications
11. Review and Adjust Process Modifications
12. Preliminary Process Investigation

This is the organizational phase of Business Excellence. People need to get together and define exactly what they want to do, what areas are going to be examined, who should be involved in the process, whether the analysis should be limited to the accounting department or expanded to cover the entire organization, etc. Perhaps the two most important hurdles that must be overcome is the buy-in of management and the buy-in of the employees. Management cannot just say "We are going to become more profitable!" and leave it at that. Management has to commit to the whole process until it has been completed. Stopping this halfway can be disastrous. The buy-in of employees is just as important. People have to want this and see that change is not a threat to their employment, but an opportunity for them to participate in a process that will make their personal business lives more rewarding.

Define Optimized Organization

Perhaps the most important step in this entire process is defining where the company wants to be. What does the company as well as each department need to do well in order to maximize performance? Business Excellence isn't just sitting down and critiquing the present system. Certainly that's part of the process, but the company has to define how it wants to operate (i.e. establish the goal) before it can know how it must change.

Staff Interviews and Assessment

Having defined where the company wants to be, the next step is defining where it is right now. This process may be thought of as data collection as well as analysis. The business rules and processes, organizational structure and the people that fit into the organization need to be examined in detail. This is where the employee buy-in becomes so critical. If employees don't see that change is in their best interest, they will not be willing to be open and honest about what they require, or where they believe improvements need to be made. Employees are the single most powerful source of information concerning improvement.

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Once the ideal organization and the actual organization have been defined, each component can be assessed. Obviously this is where the real work begins, for if this self-analysis isn't carried out in its entirety, or if certain areas or people are omitted from the analysis because of politics, the new structure of the organization will be flawed, perhaps fatally.

Implement Quick Strike Improvements

Since some reorganization processes may take quite some time to complete, it's important people see progress is being made. In most instances certain improvements are known to be required before the analysis is really begun, or are identified as being easily implemented. These improvements should be made as quickly as possible to show people the investment of their time will pay dividends. People need to see that change does in fact result in something positive. If they see nothing happening, their support will diminish rapidly. That's why it so critical that some positive happen as early as possible in this process. It doesn't even have to be significant; just some form of progress forward.

Establish Training Programs

If people and the organization around them are going to change, they must be given some form of education to help them adjust to the new way of doing business. Technology demands people adopt new processes, and organizational change demands the same form of training, otherwise the changes one makes results in very little actual improvement.

Define Process Modifications and Implementation Plans

Having identified where the organization is strong and where it needs to be strengthened, management can begin to create the detailed plans necessary to implement these changes in a rational and effective manner. The first step is the definition of how processes, structures and people need to change. The most critical step though is the creation of a logical plan that describes how these changes will be implemented. This plan should be as detailed as is required, and should take into consideration the time it will take to carry out these modifications without creating chaos within the organization.

Define Structural Modifications

It's very likely the organizational structure itself may need to be changed. The more drastic these changes to the structure itself become, the more important it becomes people know in advance what is going to happen and where they will fit into the new organization.

Implement Structural Modifications

Since structural modifications may require people shift positions within the company, the structure should be changed before the business processes are changed.

Implement Process Modifications

Once the required modifications have been identified, and the plan drawn that controls the process of change, then and only then can the changes be implemented. These changes will be known to people, and they will accept change for they have been prepared for change.

Review and Adjust Process Modifications

No reorganization is perfect the first time through. Planning will help to identify the most likely outcome, but only experience will prove the plan. Change isn't a static event that happens, and then goes away. Change is a fluid series of events that evolve over time. First you determine the most effective way certain tasks should be carried out. Then you make the changes necessary to meet this ideal scenario. Then you look at the results, and determine whether the changes you have made really work. Finally you adjust everything according to the real world. Business Excellence is a cycle of continuing change and adjustment.

Reseller Manual Outline

There is no static series of events that can describe any process, including selling and implementing accounting software. However, since we have to begin somewhere and discuss certain topics, I have organized this manual according to a what might be a relatively common sequence of events that you might see. The timing of the events and the order in which each topic is discussed doesn't mean this is the way it will happen for you, nor should you try to force a sequence of events on a prospect just because I have utilized a certain scenario. The one thing you have to accept is that each prospect will be unique, and as such you have to apply what you learn here only after you listened to each prospect and decided in your own mind which approach seems to be most effective.

1. Business Excellence: A Powerful Marketing Tool
2. Meeting Client Expectations
3. Introductory Sales Concepts
4. First Contact
5. Know Your Prospects
6. First Meeting
7. Needs Definition and Analysis
8. Second Meeting / Demonstration
9. Closing the Sale / The Proposal / Engagement Contract
10. Installation, Implementation and Support
11. Business Excellence
12. Summary

Business Excellence: A Powerful Marketing Tool

Although we will discuss the marketing of Business Excellence throughout this manual, this first chapter is designed to provide you an introduction to how you might employ Business Excellence as a marketing tool as well as transform yourself from a reseller to a consultant. In addition, we will introduce you to the whole process from first contact right the way through to the analysis of your client's entire organization.

Meeting Client Expectations

While Business Excellence will be used as a hook to get a prospect's attention, you will have to sell yourself as well as your services before any prospect will be willing to talk to you about software or anything else. This chapter looks at the sale of accounting software from the prospect's point of view. That person or committee with whom you are discussing financial applications expects something from you. Accounting software is just the tip of the iceberg. You need to learn how to get beneath what the prospect is saying (or not saying) to discover exactly what they expect from you in terms of service. Once you discover these needs, you can construct an effective sales pitch that hits all of the right buttons.

Introductory Sales Concepts

Before we can begin to discuss specific objectives, strategies and tactics to help you sell yourself, your services, Business Excellence and the product(s) you represent, we will need to discuss some general sales concepts that will apply to the whole process. Although we started this manual under the assumption you are talking to a prospect, there are any number of marketing issues that have a significant influence on how you get them to call you in the first place. While it won't be possible to discuss the sales and marketing process in any great depth, we will take a few pages to discuss telemarketing, direct mail, seminars, and other subjects that may be of interest. After all, you can't sell something to someone who doesn't know you exist, or if they do know you exist are not persuaded by your message to call you.

First Contact

In most instances the first time you talk to a prospect will be on the telephone. We will discuss how this conversation should proceed, how you can utilize your telephone system to assist your sales program (or not hurt it), how you can introduce the concept of Business Excellence, and how you can stimulate a prospect to start thinking of you as a potential business partner rather than as a salesperson trying to sell accounting software. This first contact will set the tone for your first meeting and perhaps for the entire sales cycle. Your objectives are quite simple; collect sufficient information to confirm a preliminary fit, and get the prospect excited about meeting with you. Business Excellence can become an important sales tool here, but it must not be seen as such. In fact it should be mentioned almost as an after thought. The prospect must hear you sound like a consultant, and must hear you asking questions that demonstrate you will serve their needs first and your needs second.

Know Your Prospects

Before discussing your first face-to-face meeting, we will take a temporary diversion, and discuss methods by which you can analyze not just the needs of your prospect, but the prospect itself and the people with whom you will meeting. Selling accounting software successfully isn't just a matter of meeting a given set of functional needs. Yes, the accounting needs will have to be satisfied, but your real task is selling the person with whom you are meeting. We will discuss methods by which you can begin to build a picture of the prospect, their needs, and most important of all what motivates them so what you say and how you say it will make a real difference.

First Meeting

It's obvious the first meeting is crucial to your success. What should your objective be in this first meeting? What are you selling? How can you transform yourself in the mind of that person sitting across the table from you such they will look on you as a potential business partner? How should you utilize the concept of Business Excellence to motivate the prospect to want to talk to you more before they talk to your competition? How should you manage the conversation? What should you do to establish for yourself a competitive advantage? We will discuss all of these strategies, as well as suggest specific tactics that will assist you transform yourself from reseller to valued business partner in the mind of your prospect.

Even if you happen to make a favorable impression the first time you meet a prospect, this advantage may be lost by the time the second meeting takes place. What happened? Maybe you didn't follow up effectively. Selling isn't just face-to-face meetings, but a whole process of prospect management, including following up after each encounter, and planning for the next meeting. While you may not be able to exert significant positive pressure on a prospect after a meeting, you need to do certain things in order to minimize any negative pressures from your competition.

Needs Definition and Analysis

Prospects may buy into Business Excellence at any point in the sales cycle. Some will commit to the process the first time it's mentioned. Others may be interested, but withhold their buy-in until later. Some prospects will not be interested in Business Excellence at all. Whether they buy into Business Excellence or not, one of the first steps you should take is to sit down with your prospect and analyze their needs in detail. This is a critical and potentially time consuming step unless it's managed properly. Selling Business Excellence gives you only a temporary advantage by motivating a prospect to want to talk to you in more depth while postponing any further conversations with your competition. You still have to prove your software is an appropriate fit. We will discuss the needs definition process as well as how you can utilize the analysis program in The Accounting Library to prove the fit most effectively. Since no accounting product will be able to meet 100% of a prospect's needs, we will discuss how you address these deficiencies so the prospect understands what they will be getting, and how you will provide the features, functions and reports they require.

Once your analysis has been completed, you should be in a position to sit down with your prospect and take advantage of your first real closing opportunity. If you can demonstrate your software will meet most of their needs out of the box, and with minor changes meet all of their other important requirements, and the prospect is still interested in the concept of Business Excellence, you should be able to get a purchase commitment. At that point your competition should be eliminated permanently. As I said at the beginning of this section, this commitment doesn't necessarily have to come right after your have met with the prospect the first time, but you should strive to reach this point as quickly as possible without making the prospect feel as though they are being unduly pressured. The longer you let prospects talk to your competition, the less likely they will be to stop the search before it has run its full course.

Second Meeting / Demonstration

A demonstration can be a traumatic time for many resellers. Although your product may be superior in terms of functionality, you may lose the prospect's interest because you don't know how to present the product or yourself in the best light. We will discuss demonstration etiquette, as well as how you should manage both the people attending the demonstration as well as your time so your audience becomes excited about the possibility of using your product.

Closing the Sale / The Proposal / Engagement Contract

Although we will discuss closing strategies in the opening section of the chapter, we will return to it after we have discussed demonstrations. This is an ideal time to start to put gentle pressure on your prospect to give you a commitment, even if they haven't expressed significant interest in Business Excellence. We will discuss preparing for the close, how to deal with objections and delaying tactics, and how to help your client overcome internal conflicts that might be acting as a hindrance to the final decision.

The formal proposal is no more than a non-binding document that sets boundaries for the contract to which you and your prospect have already agreed. In some cases you may have to make a formal proposal because the prospect isn't ready to make that final decision. We will discuss both formal and informal proposals, strategies and tactics for presenting a proposal and the form of the proposal itself.

The engagement contract is the legal document that follows-on to the formal proposal. You may not like the idea of formal contracts, but they give you the opportunity to set forth the terms under which you and your client will operate. We will discuss the form of the contract, the delegation of responsibilities, listing the services you will perform, the preliminary timeline that will be followed, review schedules, and finally payment schedules.

Installation, Implementation and Support

Once your have a contract in hand, you must be prepared to deliver the products and services you have promised. We will discuss factors that contribute to a successful contract, the role of planning and resource scheduling, management of the whole process including the client's expectations, training, specific installation and implementation procedures, control procedures, the development of the reporting system, the analysis of business procedures that surround the accounting applications (this is actually part of Business Excellence and at the same time a critical part of the implementation of any accounting system), and finally post implementation review and management. Although we will raise the subject of an analysis of business procedures, we will barely touch the subject, choosing to delay our discussions until the chapter following.

Once you have successfully installed any set of accounting applications, you will have numerous opportunities to sell other products and services to your clients. In fact this on-going sales cycle will prove to be the most profitable part of your business. We will start with a discussion of client satisfaction that must be present before any additional sales can be generated. Then we will move on to identify and discuss other products and services you can provide your clients at very healthy margins.

Business Excellence

Since our discussions concerning installation and implementation procedures did involve an analysis of the accounting department, I have chosen to segregate them into a single section. Here we are more interested in those processes, procedures, organizational structures and people that surround the accounting applications directly; namely the accounting department itself. In addition, we will discuss an analysis of several functions within the accounting applications that might bear closer scrutiny to make sure they are being utilized to their maximum levels of effectiveness. The client could choose to follow the course of Business Excellence that is discussed in their manuals and with no assistance from you, but it's very likely they will ask you to participate to some degree in the analysis of the accounting department and the accounting functions.

Summary

Information, effective tools and sales and marketing skills are three of the key elements to success in this industry. While resellers of accounting software are among the technical elite, their sales and marketing skills tend to lag far behind. We have taken a more proactive involvement in your practice by providing you with the tools you require to sell yourself and your services more effectively. The Accounting Library - Reseller Edition is a true consulting tool. By following its suggestions (and hopefully expanding on them as you develop a marketing program that suits your personal requirements and philosophy), you should be able to increase your closing ratio dramatically. All other factors being equal, prospects will find it far easier to buy into a consulting program rather than a product. The fact the program will assist them define their needs and confirm the fit with the product(s) your represent will increase your efficiency and effectiveness. The Accounting Library can become a very powerful marketing tool, and you can become a highly effective sales and marketing professional. Once you understand how to sell yourself more effectively, and manage your prospects, selling will become almost second nature. You will feel more comfortable, and your prospects will react to this positively. Selling isn't that difficult. It's basic foundation rests upon the same principle found in Business Excellence; people wanting to work with other people toward a common goal with each person knowing that the people with whom they are working share the exact same level of commitment to excellence as they feel.