Archive for the ‘Business Matters’ Category
Why I’ll Never Call Other Sage VARS To Warn Them Their Client Is Leaving
There’s an odd conventional wisdom in the world of consulting that say’s whenever you receive a phone call from an end user of accounting software who is using a competitor that you immediately pick up the phone and warn the competitor that “their customer is looking”.
I think this is called “playing nice”.
I’ve even had a partner in my state call a meeting of every other Sage partner within 30 miles to discuss the “rules of engagement” and how everyone should play nicely.
The problem, in my experience, is the favor is seldom returned.
VARS go through the motions of “playing nice”. It probably helps them sleep a little better. But but that “faux call” usually comes days or week(s) after they’ve begun to interact and service the customer.
When I do receive a call from a competitor – the tone is usually “hey we just filed the paperwork – aka Reseller of Record” — just wanted to let you know about it now that we know it’s too late for you to do anything about it.
Another Sage Partner Selects SugarCRM
This morning brings an announcement that Kentucky based Oasis Solutions have taken on the open sourced SugarCRM customer relationship management software.
According to Oasis:
SugarCRM eliminates some of the hurdles previously associated with implementing CRM software, says Annette Manias, President of Oasis Solutions Group. “Because it’s cloud-based, our customers will be up and running quickly — no new hardware, network configuration, or technology upgrades required. Not only does that eliminate the up-front capital costs of implementation, but the price point of SugarCRM itself is a perfect match for the customers we serve.”
Adoption of CRM software is all part of a growing trend, Manias observes. “The acceptance of and demand for CRM today is a lot like what we saw with ERP systems almost two decades ago. And like ERP, CRM software has become a more accessible and strategic tool for businesses that are proactive and looking to become more efficient and effective.”
The concern here is that Oasis Solutions is a prominent Sage partner (although they are not totally dedicated to Sage – also reselling Microsoft Dynamics and QuickBooks) following on with earlier defections to SugarCRM announced by other prominent Sage partners Faye Business Solutions and Blytheco.
How Many Software Reps Does It Take To Renew a Maintenance Plan?
Question: How many software representatives does it take to renew expired maintenance?
Answer:
I know that sometimes it is difficult to know when to call whom here , so let me give you details on that:
-If a client’s renewal date is coming up or passed fewer than 90 days ago, you will work with your Client Care rep.
-If a client’s last version shipped was 4.2 or older, you will deal with your Partner Advocate.
-If a client is off plan 90+ days and is on last version shipped 4.3 or newer, please call me.
If they are unable to simplify the sales process for renewals – what hope do they have in being able to simplify their software?
Atlas Arrives 2/24/12 For Sage MME Partners
Sage’s new partner portal, code named “Atlas”, arrives for the remaining Sage North America partners this Friday February 24, 2012. For the weekend and until Monday February 27, 2012 certain portions of the current online partner site will be unavailable or in read only mode.
According to previous statements Sage have indicated that after upgrading to Atlas the older partner portal (known as BOSS or SageSoftwareOnline) may remain available but in read-only mode.
It’s not yet fully understood exactly what types of interruptions will occur though Sage seems to be warning that order processing will have some modified access during this time.
Here’s the alert they have been sending to the partner channel:
Due to the rollout of Atlas, the last day to place February orders is Thursday, February 23, 2012. Any orders placed after that date will count toward March revenue. Please note that no orders will be placed on February 24 th as we will have a “dark day” as we transition to Atlas. In addition, please be aware that there may be delays in order processing for the remainder of the month due to this new system rollout.
The new Atlas portal has received nearly universal scorn via public LinkedIn comments from Sage partners who’ve already adopted it. Frequent complaints are customer unlock codes disappearing or becoming difficult to find. The updated knowledgebases have also reported become much more difficult to search and nobody appears to know if online order processing will be allowed in the same way it used to be in the old portal.
Multi-office partners are also reportedly forced to consolidate all of their local office accounts into one master database. Nobody knows what the end result of this upgrade will be until it occurs – however early feedback from those who’ve already adopted Atlas have me expecting the worst and hoping for the best.
Our Customers
I just received this update that was sent to the reseller channel about a marketing survey.
Notice how they repeatedly refer to customers.
It’s not — as it has been in the past — ”our mutual customer”.
Instead it is “our customer”. Important distinction.
I wonder how many VARS are working extra hard to align a publisher’s direct sales force marketing department with their customer’s buying process.
Good luck on that one.
The Possible Sage Problem Behind SugarCRM (and other) Integrations
Bob Scott confirmed with Blytheco that they’ve picked up SugarCRM.
This is not really a story about Blytheco (several other VARS have also picked up SugarCRM).
Rather this is about the future of the Sage Connected Service revenues and how Sage may in their short term thinking about channel policies (drastically increasing costs for many partners) be creating long term revenue problems.
Think about this scenario.
Is SugarCRM An Early Warning Sign of Sage Channel Challenge?
SugarCRM is an open sourced open-source, web-based CRM solution, which is advertised as being able to run in the Cloud or on-site.
Recently I’m noticing more top tier Sage VARS advertising SugarCRM – most recently Blytheco (Sage’s North America Partner Of The Year) , then Faye Business Solutions Group and Brainsell.
Faye and Brainsell are listed on SugarCRM’s partner site. Blytheco is not so it’s possible they’re just running a series of educational sessions though it’s difficult to believe they’re adverting a competitor for what’s supposed to be one of Sage’s bread and butter markets (CRM).
Are You My Mother? Nimble Social CRM Goes 0 for 4 Identifying Social Networks
The idea of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that can keep itself updated with common information as well as automatically provide you with data about a contact’s Social Media activity is intriguing. The new breed of CRM which is supposed to be able to do this type of thing has been labeled as Social CRM.
I’ve been testing Nimble Social CRM – http://www.nimble.com .
According to Wikipedia Social CRM is “
use of social media services, techniques and technology to enable organisations to engage with their customers. As an emerging discipline, interpretations of Social CRM vary, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Paul Greenberg[1]:
Social CRM is a philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, workflow, processes and social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted and transparent business environment. It’s the company’s response to the customer’s ownership of the conversation.
Social CRM is often used as a synonym for Social Media Monitoring, where organisations watch services like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for relevant mentions of their product and brand and react accordingly. However, this is too narrow an interpretation, as Social CRM also includes customer communities managed by the organisation themselves.
I spotted Nimble in an online post about their new service. The ability to have an online system automatically seek out social media profiles for your contacts is intriguing. So I set an account up for testing.
Software Publishers As Channel Cannibals: 4 Ways To Avoid Being Eaten
Yesterday I spotted this post on Accounting Today announcing Freshbooks’ new CPA certification program which aptly is titled “Bean Counters” and aimed at the CPA market.
According to the website – benefits offered include great rewards such as: CPE Credits, Client Discount and Referral Program, Badge, Listing in “Find a Certified Bean Counter”.
I use Freshbooks for my billing. I love it and recommend it to anyone who is seeking a simple online invoicing program which allows for online estimating/quoting (with customer approval) and invoicing. Using electronic delivery of Freshbooks invoices I estimate we save anywhere from $50 to $100 per month in postage. That’s not bad considering the entire fee we pay to use Freshbooks is about $ 300 per year.
How Consultants Can Win With The New Sage Business Care Changes
Thought for the day.
As a Sage partner do you feel as if you’re taking a spanking with the new Business Care changes – which boost the lowest priced Sage ERP 100, 300, 500 maintenance plan by 3% and add 5 customer calls direct to Sage?
Are you thinking your days of selling support to customers are done and over – just because Sage is going to duplicate your offering and deliver a limited help desk experience?
One thing to remember. With these changes to the Sage 100, 300, 500 Business Care plans — customers will no longer have an pay-as-go support option with Sage.
