| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 20.1 | | RIPPLE::KOTTERRI | Welcome back Kotter | Fri Jun 07 1991 10:24 | 41 |
| Re: Note 20.0 by USEM::CHERNACK
It is definitely the right thing to implement field applications on
state of the art technology. Why?
o We should use what we sell
o We should understand better what we sell and how it can benefit
business for us and for our customers
o We should improve our productivity by using technology
o We should invest in our most valuable asset - our people, by
providing them with the tools to do their jobs better
However, there are some PREREQUISITES, which must not be overlooked.
o The field does not have the EQUIPMENT to do this, and there is nobody
willing or able to pay for it.
o The equipment needs must NOT be provided as ROTATION/CONSIGNMENT
equipment, which must be sold in a few months. With this approach,
just about the time person learns to use the equipment, it is gone
for several months, or altogether. They must have a tool that is
always there, and that they can count on.
o The equipment must be provided on a broad scale basis to all the
field. Having a few machines around that everybody shares is a big
mistake. The tool needs to always be there.
o Training must be provided, as most in the field are not trained to
use this technology.
BOTTOM LINE:
Sadly, you are right that the field is not ready to use the current
technology, until these issues are properly addressed.
Rich Kotter
Sales Executive
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| 20.2 | | MADWT::WATSON | | Fri Jun 07 1991 12:42 | 23 |
| I agree with Rich. The equipment must not be ROT/CON. Not only does it
require some level of retraining every few months, but the migration of
data files, mailing lists, ect takes weeks. You loose too much time while
the software guys fiddle with the system to get it going.
We are looking closely at the notebook PCs (that we are now selling)
to see if these might make sense. How about a sales workbench on the PC that
we could use in or out of the office?
We gotta work smarter, not harder if we are going to beat the
competition. I think that most of us in the field are ready to work
smarter; we just need a little help.
Bob Watson
MidAmerica District, St. Louis, Mo
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| 20.3 | Vote for Digital-standard products | LURE::CERLING | God doesn't believe in atheists | Fri Jun 07 1991 18:38 | 22 |
|
I can only speak for our office, but I think we are ready, willing,
and able. We in software sales support took our name seriously. We
are providing SALES personnel SUPPORT. We took it upon ourselves to
provide a system that will stay in the office. We put accounts on it
for any sales person that wants one. Most, if not all, of the
administrative assts and several sales people have accounts. Several
of the administrative assts have DECwindow terminals on their desks.
We have set up workstations in public areas to allow anyone to have
access to DECwindows-based software. We as software people have made
ourselves available to the sales and administrative assts to help them
learn (and to bail them out when they get in trouble).
Granted, there are always going to be holdouts. But if good tools were
available, I know that many of the sales people in our office would be
willing to give them a try. I like the idea of PC-based tools for the
laptops, but I hesitate to vote for it. Within the sales support
organization, there is more support for Digital standard products than
for custom and third party products. Build it as much as possible
around Digital standard products and I think everyone will be happier.
tgc
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| 20.4 | Previous references to technology being used in the Field | USEM::CHERNACK | Fiche or cut byte | Sat Jun 08 1991 09:21 | 55 |
| I meant to include the following extracts as reference to my topic 20.
\\ken
Note 14.4 Account Planning Model deadlines? 4 of 9
CSOA1::BREZLER 5 lines 27-MAY-1991 21:23
Not only are the software tools available but the hardware tools, such
as workstations are also available from the same company. Wouldn't it
be great if we could use the tools we sell like our competitors do?
We'd probably find new ways to use them which we could then pass on to
our clients and, who knows, maybe create new markets for our products.
Note 14.6 Account Planning Model deadlines? 6 of 9
ODIXIE::SILVERS "Sales Support Ninja..." 7 lines 31-MAY-1991 08:36
While alot of us techies in sales support have workstations (at least
in my state), NONE of the salesreps or sales managers have one, and I
would suspect that they would be 'scared' of it. If we are REALLY
going to start using tools like DECwrite, DECdecision, etc as more
than 'presentation organizers' we'll have to get workstations on EVERY
desk in the field - any plans for such 'good sense' (use what we sell
to do our business, as we recommend that customers do????).
Note 14.7 Account Planning Model deadlines? 7 of 9
RIPPLE::KOTTERRI "Welcome back Kotter" 16 lines 31-MAY-1991 09:43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: Note 14.6 by ODIXIE::SILVERS
> While alot of us techies in sales support have workstations (at least
> in my state), NONE of the salesreps or sales managers have one
I am a sales rep and many times I have asked for a workstation, so that
I can be a user of this technology. Management first looks at me like I
have a hole in my head for even thinking such a thing, and then they
say it is not in the budget.
Even if some sales reps are afraid of it at first, I think it is
becoming increasingly important to have sales reps that understand the
product from the point of view of the user...
...AND IT SHOULD EVENTUALLY HELP TO BOOST OUR PRODUCTIVITY, which is
what we tell our customers it will do for them.
Note 14.8 Account Planning Model deadlines? 8 of 9
LURE::CERLING "Does it matter for eternity?" 15 lines 31-MAY-1991 17:34
I will echo .7. Yes, nearly all the software support people have
workstations. In our office, we have made an effort to make `public'
workstations available to anyone that desires to use one. We have
some sales people that use them so much we have placed them on their
desks. Most reps are willing to give it a try after they see what we
can do with them.
Granted, there are some reps that will never use them. I still support
some reps that write things up long-hand and hand them to a secretary
to type. They do not even like to use WPS/Plus. However, more and
more are coming over all the time. When they learn to use DECwrite,
they love it.
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| 20.5 | YES.... | ODIXIE::SILVERS | Sales Support Ninja... | Sat Jun 08 1991 13:10 | 25 |
| Actually I was being somewhat facetious in 14.x - in the Mobile office
(where I am...) there are three workstations, a LANserver, a DECstation
PC, terminals, a VAXmate (being used, literally, by the Sales UM) - every Salesrep is
learning to use SIGHT (on an old VSII/GPX) or better yet
DECpresent/DECwrite - We're doing most of our presentations in
DECpresent, and printing them out on an LJ250 (via PSPRINT). However,
we're doing this because the sales support folks are HW/SW 'packrats'
and the salesreps on the whole WANT TO LEARN - in many offices I visit,
I see equipment gathering dust for lack of use (thats one way we get
'new' equipment, convince management that we'll USE it - BTW, the sales
DM has visited our office and knows that we will....) What we're
working on now is trying to get some sort of RISC based UNIX device so
we can pick up UNIX 'OJT' - training would be nice and some of us will
probably attend, but that's the first step. (would you believe that
we've got a couple of Salesreps that want to learn how to use UNIX and
VMS? - not to a deep level, just user level stuff...)
In summary, YES develop the 'next generation' of sales tools on
DECwindows/POSTscript, and get someone like Jack Smith to authorize
X-devices for everyones desks - also, an INFOserver and CDROM dist/doc
for each office (the X devices can be 'served' off of existing sales
support workstations where they exist and new ones where they don't).
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| 20.6 | What THEY Said | SANFAN::WRIGHT_KE | Vacillate...or don't | Thu Jun 20 1991 22:09 | 21 |
| The previous notes said it all, so I won't go over very well-covered
ground. I'm a software toad, laboring with the ROT/CON arrangement,
but I've shown my customers the many advantages of X-Windows and the
DECmumble environment. The way I did that was to learn that stuff and
simply use it in my daily work with my ROT/CON unit. No magic, no
great level of expertise. Just showing them that my productivity is
greater with our set of products.
So, I surmise that it's better for me to SHOW the advantages than to
expound on the advantages. I think that everyone in my position
(software services delivery) should be provided the resources I'm using
(temporarily) under ROT/CON. I extrapolate that and surmise that if
Sales and Sales Support folks had the same "Digital Advantage," then
they would experience the same uplift of credibility that I have.
What I'm trying to say is that talking from experience rather than the
glossy literature would make us so much more credible and powerful in
the marketplace. So, we should consider equipping and training our
people an absoulte minimum of business investment and get on with it.
Ken
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