Support: General Questions
Why do I need The Accounting Library? My objective is to sell the product(s) I represent?
Every reseller thinks they represent the best-suited product. You wouldn't resell the product if you didn't. The problem is getting prospects to listen to you and the story you have to tell. There are so many excellent products available that users assume (and probably quite rightly) that there is little to choose between products. You have to give prospects something other resellers do not, and this gift needs to address their core requirement which is increased profitability, and the gift needs to be given as early in the sales cycle as possible, preferably in the very first conversation you have with a prospect.
The manuals which accompany the Reseller Edition of The Accounting Library have been designed to give you this competitive edge. Rather than prospects seeing your objective as selling the product(s) you represent, they allow you to set an entirely new set of user-oriented objectives based on helping them increase their long-term profitability through what we have called Business Excellence. This offer alone will be sufficient to induce some (not all) prospects to want to talk to you first, if not to the exclusion of your competition. Business Excellence is a very powerful weapon and should be part of your sales presentation.
Reseller Edition - Program Objectives
- Client Education and Needs Analysis: While most resellers have developed over time a fairly detailed knowledge of the accounting software market and the process of selecting accounting software, the same cannot be said of users. In most instances users are not aware of the detailed steps they should follow in a typical software selection process. In virtually all instances users' knowledge of available features, functions and reports is severely lacking. That's why the Reseller Edition of The Accounting Library is such a valuable tool. You could educate your clients but that takes time and many users are unwilling to pay for this level of education. The Accounting Library's greatest strength is that it helps users understand what's possible and by doing so helps them build a better future. The questions found in the needs analysis program play the role of devil's advocate, exposing users to features that may be of interest to them and of which they had no prior knowledge. Users may not want to spend the time creating a detailed needs definition, but if they do not create such a document, their risk of failure has been increased dramatically.
- Business Process Improvement: In many instances the "symptoms" that cause a prospect to launch a software project are not entirely software related. Some form of process analysis and improvement should be included in this project. Unfortunately most users and certainly most resellers are not experts in this field. We have addressed this issue but with the objective of making the process less confusing and therefore easier to implement. The fact that you can offer a "compete" consulting package may enable you to establish a powerful competitive advantage.
- Self-Help Approach to Business Improvement: Rather than teaching you a concept and letting you figure out how to deliver the service, we have created a methodology whereby the prospect or client becomes our target audience. The two user manuals literally take an organization by the hand and lead them through the entire software selection and business improvement process. We help people understand what they need to do while at the same time remaining true to our second objective which is helping you prove that your product is best suited. Both parties benefit and that's the way it should be.
- Competitive Research: By virtue of the fact that we keep track of detailed functional information covering a wide array or software products, you can utilize The Accounting Library to compare the product(s) you represent against your competition. As we will discuss below, you can create a side-by-side comparison of any number of products listing all features in the program. Alternately you can create a report that compares your product's strengths against your competition's functional weaknesses. Basically this report allows you to pick those features in your product that are present out-of-the-box while they must be provided in some other manner (third party product, modification, etc.) for your competition.
- Pro-forma Needs Analysis: Finally even though a prospect may not want to do a full-blown needs analysis initially, you can create a pro-forma needs definition based on your knowledge of their requirements. If your product is ranked first, this can become a powerful competitive advantage which you would be only to glad to share with your prospect.
How does Business Excellence compare to Solutions Selling?
Most resellers understand the concept of Solutions Selling and many of you have attended appropriate training in this critical discipline. We have taken the concept of Solutions Selling one step further by actually giving it a unique name: Business Excellence. By doing so you can actually sell the concept and therefore establish Business Excellence as a powerful competitive advantage. While you may already be selling the individual steps advocated by Solutions Selling, it may be difficult to sell the entire package as a single concept or service. Business Excellence is a concept you can sell.
Business Excellence is actually comprised of three distinct elements all of which increase your chances of attracting and holding a prospect's attention.
- Sales and Marketing Manual: We have created the only sales and marketing manual written specifically for accounting software resellers. This 250+ page manual literally takes you by the hand and explains how to sell yourself first; how to sell the concept of Business Excellence; how to become a professional salesperson, and finally how to address all of a prospect's needs, including improving their business operations.
- User Manual I: While Business Excellence can become a powerful sales tool, it is difficult for prospects to buy into a concept rather than a physical product. We have created two user manuals that are concrete proof that Business Excellence is an actual business improvement process, not just some sales jargon. This first manual covers the needs definition process, confirmation of the fit with the product you are recommending, installation and implementation and finally business process improvement. They have been written from the user's perspective so that the user can take a more active role in this project and accomplish many of the tasks that are critical to the success of this process.
- User Manual II: The second manual has nothing to do with software but everything to do with business success. If a company is not organized for success, the most powerful business management system will have little or no long-term effect on profitability. While the first manual addresses business software success, this manual addresses organizational success factors such as the notion of change, revenue and gross margin improvement, efficiency and effectiveness, personnel excellence, the organizational structure and finally comes back to a discussion of process improvement.
Most business management systems are powerful application suites. Unfortunately competing products are making the exact same claims. You need an edge and that edge may be improving your sales skills and offering prospects a path to greater profitability through Business Excellence. If you provide this unique methodology and your competition does not, this may be sufficient to convince your prospects to work with you to the exclusion of your competition. You have nothing to lose by adopting this sales and consulting methodology and you may have everything to gain.
Why should I have to "sell" anything? All I want to do is concentrate on the technical aspects of accounting software.
Whether you like it or not, your success is going to be dependent upon your ability to sell yourself and the products and services you offer your clients. Having said that though, we have structured the manuals of the Reseller Edition such that you don't have to become the typical salesperson. All you have to do is understand the principles of Business Excellence, and offer it to your prospects the way we have suggested in the Sales and Marketing manual. If you feel uncomfortable playing the role of a salesperson, you can use our approach and avoid it altogether.
Assuming the concept of Business Excellence might be of interest to our clients, what other benefits can be earned by investing in The Accounting Library?
Once you have convinced a prospect that the best path to greater profitability lies through you and your organization, the two other user manuals in the Reseller Edition lets you work with your prospect to define their requirements and prove the fit with your product and then prepare for the installation and implementation process. Now you are really working with them as a consultant, and in many cases can charge them for these added-value services.
All users no matter whether they are working with a reseller or consultant or doing it themselves, should define their requirements in as much detail as possible. This is the only way they have of telling you exactly what they require. The last thing you need is a client saying several months down the road that they thought your product did so-and-so when it does not. They expect you to have asked them the right questions, and the only way this can happen is if you complete the needs definition and analysis using the analysis program in The Accounting Library.
All users should participate in the installation and implementation process as fully as possible. That's what the second user workbook is all about. The Installation and Implementation Guide has been designed to help your clients understand what's going to happen and when. In addition it helps them understand that they must be responsible for certain aspects of this process, particularly making sure that their own organization and people are ready for the challenge. You cannot overcome internal or personnel deficiencies by installing new software. Those same problems will continue. The Installation and Implementation Guide will help your clients analyze and improve their internal business processes so that everything works better than it did before.
How can I obtain printed copies of the various manuals?
Each of the Business Excellence manuals have been enclosed on the CD you have received and each is ready to print at Kinkos or any other printer. If you would like to for Solutions to provide these manuals for you the following charges will apply.
- Sales and Marketing Manual $ 75.00
- Business Excellence Manuals (set of two) $95.00
- Shipping (per item) $10.00
You can order these manuals by sending an e-mail to Solutions or by filling out the order form on our web site.
I don't want to let my prospects know anything about other products. Isn't the analysis program with its 115+ products going to let them see how my product stacks up against my competition?
The analysis program is available only to you. The needs definition and analysis process utilizes a demonstration version of the analysis program to help users define their requirements. The analysis you carry out, does not include your competition. It only reviews the prospects needs and says how your product will meet those needs. That's all it is designed to do, and that's exactly what the accompanying manuals say.
Having said that though, your having access to other product information can help you during the sales process. If a prospect is too far into their selection process where Business Excellence will not work, you can plug their requirements into the analysis program yourself, run the analysis against the known competition, and if your product finishes first show the report to your prospect. Here letting them see the data for your competition will prove to be beneficial. If your product does not finish first in the analysis, you can use the information to identify your strengths and your competition's
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