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Play terminology by ear when selling to the mid-market

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Those who sell BI software to mid-size companies get to be good at nailing down what shoppers want. These shoppers are smart and hard working. But when they shop for technology, the shopping list may be just a problem, a wish, or a fantasy—known only by a description.

I just spent Monday and Tuesday helping a client sell his BI software at Sage Summit in Denver. I also wandered around to other booths.

Don Farber, VP of sales and marketing at KnowledgeSync, which among its products is automatic alerts, describes a common conversation: “I tell him he may need alerts, and the guy says, ‘No, I don’t need alerts.… Read the rest “Play terminology by ear when selling to the mid-market”

The trouble with IT marketing

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The reason most IT marketing puts features out in front, instead of benefits, is that marketers got in the habit of pitching to geeks. That audience craves obscurity. Imagine what would happen if the business people knew what all those BI tools did!

That’s not my observation. I heard it from a VP of business development in the exhibition hall at TDWI conference in Las Vegas earlier this year. (I just came across the conversation in my notes.) You may not be surprised that his company is absolutely post-geek.

He thinks that era is passing. A younger audience is upon us that grew up on data.… Read the rest “The trouble with IT marketing”

A word from the marketing-crimes division

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This public service announcement opens on a CSI-like scene. Let’s call it “CSI: Marketing Crimes Division.” The lieutenant asks the lab guy, “What have you got?”

“It’s a tough one,” says the lab guy.

Lying before them under bright lights on a stainless steel examination table is the weapon: an email printed on plain white paper. The lieutenant turns it gently with tongs, then reads it. “‘Brillo-BI is designed for the vast majority of businesspeople who do not have access to big BI solutions.'” A list of features follows in bullet points.

He snorts, “I don’t get it. The product can’t be for everybody.… Read the rest “A word from the marketing-crimes division”