Sales and IT Service Providers Dissertation

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Sales

Cooperation and the market for IT service provider

In case of different service providers, headings remain the same, whilst the only change is the factors. Based on the service being provided and kind of services, for instance IT service providers, a broad range of macro environmental factors are pertinent. Hence, service providers generally fine tune the factors based on their personal service profile. In case of micro environment, different service providers target their own target markets (Halme, 2012). In the IT sector, strategic alliances between IT service providers is a well-known form of relationship marketing usually undertaken to gain a competitive edge. With the help of these long-term contracts, partners own operating flexibility increases as well as it boosts supply chain associations in the present competent marketplace. Location and size doesn't matter in case of strategic partners. Strategic alliances encompass business of every size, all types and all nature. What matters is the product which each partner offers to the other. The terms and conditions for alliance can always be adjusted / rewritten as the market changes along with its factors. In contract, the partners reach an agreement upon the resources and skills both can provide in order to fulfill each other's business aims and attain the competitive edge. The resources may consist of:

Patents

Product lines

Brand equity

Product and market knowledge

Brand image

Company image

Innovation

Eminence of product's quality

Customer service

Maintenance of relationship with consumers as well as suppliers is all the more necessary for facilitating easy manufacturing, IT, economies of scale and a huge sales force (Boone, 2013).

Corporation and IT service provider product portfolio

The need for alliance in the IT sector is mainly due to the fact that organizations compete in a global marketplace where marketing pressure and technology is advancing constantly. Hence, enterprises respond to this kind of pressure by improvising, networking, attention and globalization. The alliance is necessary for facilitating design and maintenance of products on a global scale and keeping in mind the global demands. Qualitative products, consumer oriented products as well as market updated products must be present in market keeping cost low at the same time. Another factor which has been apparently instigating alliances between IT enterprises is the intricacy of the product in question and rising usage of newer technologies. Products are embedded with numerous components, programs as well as relevant-to-client customizations.

Hence all the factors compel the IT service providers to maintain alliances for facilitating high quality products. The product processes consist of:

Product development

Product's launch

Design of product

Development and maintenance

Order-delivery process

The supply chain process consists of:

Sales

Procurement

Production

Delivery process

The IT service provider focuses on collaboration between enterprises (Product Collaboration) as the product process furthers along. The product process within a networked settings indicate an alliance between different departments, companies and various portions of the company sites along with alliance between different enterprises. The basic aim of product's owner (brand owner) and the entire process of collaboration network is that to address and fulfill the consumer demands to attain better product quality and speedily. In order to attain these aims, the entire process of the alliance must be even and smooth (Saaksvuori and Immonen, 2002).

Distribution of IT service provider offering

The distribution channel for the service is a brief one. Service provider for instance the electrician or the IT services has no third party as it deals itself with its customer. Services are done when needed and at the moment. Hence, distribution planning makes sure that service is facilitated when demanded. In any case otherwise, customer will opt for another service (Kaser, 2013).

Normal Sales Cycle

The sales cycle consist of sequence of phases, which any consumer goes through when he makes up his mind to purchase a commodity. As a rule of thumb, the cycle has been explained from customer's viewpoint. The initial phase of sales cycle is the notion of customer with respect to a product and notion of the need which the product will fulfill. As James (2008), a normal sales process looks sort of like below:

Step 1: Engage customer.

Step 2: Investigate needs.

Step 3: Present the product.

Step 4: Demonstrate the product.

Step 5: Propose the purchase.

Step 6: Negotiate terms.

Step 7: Remove doubts.

Step 8: Closing a deal.

Generating leads

Generating sales leads entails the process of initiating contact as well as amassing information from forthcoming clients. In case of bigger enterprises, the marketing department will deal with the issue of generating sales as they work out through the advertising and material accumulation.

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In case of small enterprises, the common salesmen are one man show performing all of these tasks. Some tried and tested techniques are as follows:

Networking

Advertising (TV/print/Web)

Telemarketing

Email, fax, postal mail marketing campaigns

Web sites and SEO

Buying a sales lead list

Generation of sales initiates with networking. This entails family, friends, former colleagues and present clientele as well as asking people for potential customers for your product / service (Generating Sales Leads, n.d).

Correctly addressing target customers

Targeting and locating the target consumer base is the process all businesses should do correctly. Some basic steps will help the firm on its way (Beesley, 2013). The steps consist of:

Industry Description and Outlook - Identify the industry, its present size as well as rate of growth and other trends prevailing alongside. Apart from that, focus on the customer groups in the industry. Information About Your Target Market - Narrow down the market sought to a size worth catering. Distinguishing characteristics - it consist of fulfilling the needs of the promising clients, identifying their needs, their location and demographics and locate if buying trends exists periodically which can affect a business (Market Analysis | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov, n.d).

Size of the primary target market

Besides the market's size in question, data pertaining annual purchases also matters which the market makes. How much market share a company can gain? This consists of confirming a market share percentage as well as amount of clientele the firm plans to attain in a particular locality. Pricing and gross margin targets - the firm needs to set a price structure, gross margin rate and discounts to be used in the future. Competitive Analysis - the competitive analysis must comprise of services offered by the competition to a particular market segment. Evaluate the following factors of the competitive marketplace:

Market share

Strengths and weaknesses (Market Analysis | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov, n.d).

Success in Sales and its measure

All in all, the sales performance is quite easy to calculate. It's all about revenue and profit basically. The sales professionals look at their success from certain angles. They aim is to detect and locate the element of success. In business marketplace, there are many goals apart from corporate such as personal goals. Sales is the core element that drives growth of a firm, hence its necessary to comprehend that sales success is also a targeted goal, surpassing the quota set by the management. It will keep the employee busy as well as fulfill the goal of the firm. Employees who surpass their set goals or quotas are called top performers of the firm (Lambert, Lambert and Kerkhoff, 2006).

Success has multiple dimensions to it such as:

Productivity

Growth

Profitability

Growth can be calculated by the share in the market value. When market share is estimated, then it can be estimated, if a company is really growing or contracting in comparison to its competitors. But it's a pillar of success not a sole factor. An enterprise won't be termed as successful any longer when it stops to give of profits. Hence profitability as well as productivity is also encompassed whilst gauging success. Productivity is calculated like sales / dollar of assets or sales / an employee. Profitability is calculated in terms of a ratio of assets to profits, ratio of sales to profits and ratio of equity to profits. The rate of growth of the enterprise's profitability and productivity are contrasted against the average of the industry where the enterprise competes. Sometimes for reaching the industry specific standards it may have step up its standards. The usage of market-share, relative profitability and productivity allows examination of the common denominators which favor the enterprises to move ahead of its competitors in the field (Baldwin and Gellatly, 2003).

Applying sales process to the target market

Choosing the performance measures for a sales process entails three steps. First and foremost, decide the business aim to attain: profitability, growth, productivity, reducing cost, retention, customer loyalty and some mixture of the mentioned. Then, choose the indicators or pointers for highlighting the successful attainment of the aims and have processes / systems for calculating them. Last, but not the least, one can keep attainable sales goal in mind for the employee by investing considerable effort (Colletti and Fiss, 2001).

In order to close more and more sales, one must have a methodical….....

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