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Last week we started to talk about the Order to Cash process by considering
NetSuite's E-commerce system. Today we will bring it 'in house' so to speak and
talk about sales through the direct sales team and partners.
Normally, selling through a sales team and/or partners means that it's a
business to business sale. And the most important aspect of a business to
business sale is time. Three, six or nine month sales cycles are the norm, even
a year is not unheard of. So how to manage the client during this period?
Many companies now have a sales process that they follow. For example, you
may catch a new lead through your website by offering a whitepaper for download.
Subsequently you include the new lead in an industry specific e-newletter or
direct mailing. Then, you invite the lead to participate in a mini-course that
explains your offering for their market in some detail. Finally, you invite the
lead to an online webinar that you host. At this point the lead has shown
escalating interest and shared enough information that you hand them over to
your sales team for a one to one contact.
How to manage all of that activity for one lead, much less hundreds or even
thousands? Let start with the form the lead fills in on the website,
automatically creates a record in NetSuite. You are notified and then the
marketing effort begins. Each email you send is saved on the leads record. Each
task you perform if ticked off. Leads falling through the cracks is a thing of
the past. Management can quickly check and make sure that each lead is being
handled according to the process your company has outlined. You can group the
leads based on any information on the record and add them to an email or direct
mail campaign, again enabled by NetSuite. Once the marketing effort has been
completed you will have whittled down the lead list from several hundred of
unknown interest to a hundred of known, high interest.
In the next step we route the lead to the salesperson based on pre-existing
rules. Now sales picks up the hot lead and starts to make direct contact.
NetSuite enables both direct sales and partners to work on lead records. The
main difference is that partners are never able to see leads, prospects and
customers if they are not identified on the record as the partner.
Sales manages all of their calls and notes on the leads record. When they
eventually identify potential business they open up an opportunity for the,
now, prospect. The opportunity is the first sign that the prospect is a serious
candidate. From the opportunity record the salesperson can create quotes, or
proposals if you wish, that detail the entire sales transaction. Proposals, like
sales orders, can be emailed, printed, or faxed directly from the system.
As the prospect moves through the sales process we change their status to
reflect their potential as a client. This also changes the weighted proposal
amount as we review the pipeline. Eventually some prospects become clients and
we generate a Sales Order from the Proposal with a single click. Finally, as
partners and direct sales close business we calculate commissions for
individuals or teams of sales people. We can them pay them via a 1099 or a
payroll check.
Having said all of the above, which is really only a small sample of the
functionality available in NetSuite, let me make a very important point. Before
you start to assess NetSuite take a close look at your current sales and
marketing effort. Do you have a process in place to handle new leads? Where do
you find leads and do you know the likelihood of new business from each lead
source? How do you currently route leads? What are your sales territories? What
are your commission plans?
These might sound like strange questions but I am always surprised to find
out that companies purchase NetSuite with the thought that they will invent the
process as they move through the implementation. I have never seen this
succeed.
If you want a process to succeed in NetSuite map it out today. Even if
you have to manage it on a spreadsheet, like everyone else does, you still can
start to work through the process and refine it. You will be delighted as well
by how people will start to catch on and have good ideas on how to take a
lukewarm lead and heat them up. | 
