Search Vendors Turn to Telemarketing
September 16, 2009
I wish I could reveal the name of this Washington, DC area company, but, alas, I cannot. What I can do is call attention to a growing interest in hammer dialing to sell content processing, search, and business intelligence services. The reason for this trend is rooted in three industry realities:
First, face to face sales (including the qualification, scheduling and transporttion costs) are sky rocketing. Even worse, the pay off from face to face sales means that vendors have to find ways to cover these costs, generate revenue, and pay for the goodies that informatoin retrieval requires. When vendors are slashing prices or suggesting that an open source solution is the path forward, the heat is on the sales force. In the UK, one vendor functions as the industry training program. When a sales professional fails to meet the demanding targets, another sales person is on the look out for a job. Only the producers survive. Telemarketing is an easy way to control costs and quantify most aspects of selling a license or professional services.
Second, the number of tire kickers for search is increasing. The number of companies willing to take a chance on a little known company is decreasing. That’s why the roll out of Microsoft Fast ESP exponentiates the impact of the Google Search Appliance. Microsoft cannot afford to lose the market, so a six figure search system can be had for less. How much depends on those with whom one speaks. Google, on the other hand, offers a very expensive solution when one measures the per document cost. When elephants fight, the grass gets tramled.
Third, telemarketing in my opinon works when combined with an effective, professional sales force. When telemarketing operates in a vacuum, the shift to telemarketing triggers my radar. I ask, “Is the company in trouble?” When an enterprise software company turns to contract telemarketing such as Generatoin Sales Group, I think that content processing company may be on the brink. Just my opinion.
Stephen Arnold, September 16, 2009
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