Sage 100

Does this email to my customer seem to be overstepping? I did not think Sage would be calling directly and also she did not copy me on this email or alert me to this call. Dear XXXXX, It was a pleasure speaking with you today, and thank you again for participating in our Sage road show in Dallas last Tuesday. I am your Customer Account Manager here at Sage, so I want to make sure you have my contact information and ensure the Sage 100 software is meeting your current and future needs. I want to open a line of communication with you in case you have any needs we can assist you with at Sage, now or in the future. In addition to your local partner, please know that I am available to you as a resource. I have also reached out to Johnny Pabian & Don Farber so we can schedule a demo for you on Sage KnowledgeSync. I will be out of the office Monday & Tuesday of next week, but I will be in touch with you once I return so we can assist you with your evaluation process. If I can be of additional assistance, please don't hesitate to call. Kindest Regards, XXXXX Customer Account Manager Sage Mid-Market and CRM Solutions 6561 Irvine Center Drive Irvine, CA 92618 877-541-1681 x

I think this is all part of what Sage is getting adopting in terms of direct contact to customers. Unfortunately there's probably nothing that can be done to stop it other than to plan for it and communicate with the customers on a very regular basis so that when Sage does call them to try to cross sell then they're either reaching a problem customer or the customer tells Sage that you've already made them aware of the promotion/product. This is also another reason that I've resisted providing updated email contact information for customers.

I believe that Sage's message to the channel is going to be (already is?) -- you sell connected services / add-ons --- or we will.

yep I agree - I think for anyone else out there it will be important to participate in any future Sage events as this information is being used against you. I think I need to get ahead of it and have everyone tell Sage they will talk to Johnny if they have any needs.

And if Sage sells them, the partner does not get any tier credit, correct?

I'm not sure that Sage has really come out with any definitive answer on that. It's probably also important to pick your key add-on products. For example: Sage CRM Endorsed Solutions SMI Sage Payments Are all probably good bets to receive a very heavy marketing push Perhaps a good end run around the anticipated Sage push is to setup webinars that compare the various solutions. Sage could potentially perceived as pushing one size fits all - while partners could position themselves in a consulting role.

Wow ... expectations met here. @JohnnyPabian helps Sage drive attendance to the roadshow and in thanks for delivering customer names, he gets them marketing directly without coordination. We all know this is the way they are headed but it's just ugly to see.

Call Farber up and ask if he had been contacted yet. The send a note to her calling it to her attention. Maybe even CC Tom Miller. Not sure what good it will do, but at least you put her on notice for lying. I've had some client contact me asking how to get on the 1-800-Sage-DONOT call list. In these instances, Sage is just an irritating telemarketer.

I found out because I was copied on an email to Don Farber for him to schedule a Demo with the client. Nice.

Well there you go. She reached out to you.................

Well - what if I wanted to demo the software? Why cloud it with Don? Though Don gives very good demos.

Make sure he demoes v8.1 that Dawn recently received. You should contact the account manager just to be in agreement on how the margin is to be treated. You don't want to get into a pissing match on who gets credit.

I think there will be more of a conversation than just margin.

Well, it is a starting point. Then once you get her to lower her shields, blast away with the photon torpedoes..............

well I thought this latest communication from sage was interesting - We really need to read carefully the wording they are using. Creating Cross Sell Opportunities for our Partners For years, Sage has invested in internal resources to complement our partners and generate leads from the installed base. The Customer Account Manager (CAM) team has supported our partners with business development, co-selling, and lead generation. The next step in this journey is a dedicated team who will be focused exclusively on cross sell opportunities. The first pilot for this team will focus on Sage CRM and is being kicked off early this month. The pilot will consist of communications and phone calls to customers of partners who are not authorized and certified for Sage CRM. I think the last sentence is bogus - they are going to call your client regardless and turnover any rock whether you are certified or NOT!

Yep. This is just the pilot. They are doing it on the low hanging fruit to start.

The most significant partner opportunity in the ERP marketplace is to create a consulting role as a trusted advisor to your customer. Your goal is to be looked upon by the customer to present multiple options and help the customer think long term about what solution is best. Not all customers want this. Become ok with cutting the ""C"" and ""D"" customer loose. VARS can safely assume that publisher direct ""selling"" will be outbound telemarketing to capture a name and pull in as many ""Kung Fu"" demos as possible however the key is that this selling will only be around one preferred solution. And it's not consulting it's selling. VARS can successfully compete by concentrating on a consulting role. What this means: The era of selling software licenses is coming to a close (or a steep decline) for most VARS Maintenance margin will soon slow and then stop for all but a few select partners If you don't have a recurring revenue relationship with your customer(s) (support, upgrades) where you are regularly adding value you best get one now Recurring revenue <> you send a bill out for someone else (ie. software publisher) Recurring revenue = you send a bill out for your recurring value added services If this is an uncomfortable concept for you and you're unwilling to change you should find a salaried position with a customer looking for a technician. If you think recurring revenue is not important and you want to stay pay-as-you-go or call-me-if-you-need-15-minutes-of-help good luck. If you think complaining to a software publisher is going to save you get in line and good luck. If you think another software publisher is going to roll back time and transport you to the ""easy"" days of the 1980's good luck.

Good analysis Wayne. Ron Baker (of Verasage fame) has coined a ""law"" that says the bad customers drive out the good customers. I have slowly started to cut my C and D customers loose and to be more discriminating about new client acquisitions and am starting to see some very positive results. Another option to consider for long-term survival is to go vertical. If you go vertical and market with a rifle, the thought is that over time, people will seek you out because of your specialized knowledge, references, experiences, methodologies, etc. Prospects in your chosen vertical will see the value of having a heart surgeon vs a general practiioner and you can build deeper relationships and charge a bit of a premium. In a way, this is a path that will make things ""easy"" for most groups because once you decide what you are doing, it makes it easier to evaluate and discard the activities and clients that don't fit that mold.

I agree strongly that deciding on a path is key to long term growth. If I had a dime for every partner who told me they went into a bad deal (in retrospect) because they were slow or had excess capacity --- not focusing and filtering these problems out early only perpetuates more problems.

I agree the consulting revenue is going to be survival of the VAR. Ultimately strong relationships with your client should prevail in many of these areas.

I've seen many (think $20k+/year) relationships destroyed between VAR and Customer --- with the primary reason (according to the customer) --- the VAR was always looking to sell me something whether I needed it or not..... For a relatively small margin that VAR gave up a recurring $20,000 customer. Don't be that VAR!!