Accelerating Key Sales-Support Processes to Rapidly Close New Business Opportunities
Posted by Eileen Riordan on Mon, Dec 15, 2008
"After our real-world experiences and results, I'm convinced that no other product available in the marketplace performs as well as DesignXpert."
Talal Sabih
Technical Sales Manager & Networking Product Manager
Emirates Computers
OVERVIEW
DesignXpertTM by Netformx® enabled Emirates Computers to dramatically accelerate their pre-sales processes for developing quotes and producing bills of quantity/materials (BOQs/BOMs). Processes that previously required six hours, for example, now take about 30 minutes, and one-hour processes have been reduced to four to five minutes. After daily struggles to validate prices, configurations and quotes for networking equipment, Emirates Computers turned to Netformx to give it the competitive advantage it needed to quickly meet customer requirements and rapidly close new business opportunities. Two factors that have proven invaluable in raising the competitive posture of Emirates Computers are weekly updates to the Netformx KnowledgeBaseTM and the use of DesignXpert's automated Advisors, which are easy-to-use wizards that simplify the complex tasks associated with many aspects of network configuration and validation.
CHALLENGES
- Clients expect an overnight turnaround for price quotes on networking products and services
- Addressing 30 to 40 requests every day using inefficient sales-support processes
- Responding to continual changes from customers is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process
- Accurately identifying network components and specifications
- Quickly configuring complex unified communications solutions
BUSINESS RESULTS
- Technical sales team reduced sales processes by 90%
- A major business opportunity closed in only two days, including addressing ten customer requests for changes
- Automated DesignXpert Advisors enable faster and more accurate responses to complex customer requirements
- DesignXpert empowers sales-support personnel to accomplish more work in reduced timeframes
- Up-to-date Netformx KnowledgeBaseTM provides clear-cut advantages to quickly address client needs
Dramatically Reducing Response Times and Increasing Staff Productivity with DesignXpert
Emirates Computers serves the networking needs of large enterprises and government entities in a region marked by unprecedented economic development. Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are home to an impressive list of the world's largest attractions such as the largest indoor ski resort, largest mall, largest amusement park, and largest airport terminal building. The Burj Dubai will be the world's tallest building upon completion in 2009, and the UAE is developing the world's longest arch bridge. The Tiger Woods Dubai, a residential community and resort, will feature the world's first golf course designed by Tiger Woods.
In his role as Networking Product Manager at Emirates Computers, Talal Sabih is in charge of evaluating and enrolling new products into the portfolio of offerings provided by Emirates Computers. Additionally, Sabih manages the Networking Technical Sales Team and leads the organization in the networking pre-sales efforts. The team has about 40 people, ten of whom are networking related and involved in all aspects of technical sales support, including quoting and proposals, network design, documentation, and service implementation. Four members of Sabih's team are dedicated full-time to using DesignXpert from Netformx, and they have a heavy workload.
Speaking about the importance of being able to quickly meet the needs of customers and new-business prospects, Sabih noted, "One of my main issues is that I can't afford for my staff to spend a lot of time developing BOQs/BOMs (bills of quantity/materials) for customers, because we're getting 30 to 40 of these requests every day. With DesignXpert, we've been able to cut a six-hour process, for example, down to about 30 minutes. And for simpler requests that used to take one hour, the process now takes about four or five minutes."
Closing a Major Sale in Two Days - With Ten Rounds of Customer Changes
Like most customers in today's fast-paced business environment, clients do not want to wait a few days to get a price quote on networking products and services. In most cases, clients expect an overnight turnaround time. Prior to adopting DesignXpert as its solution to meet these demanding requirements, Sabih explained that his team was "struggling every day to validate prices, configurations and quotes."
Etisalat, a telecommunications service provider in the UAE and a Financial Times "Global 500" company, is a client of Emirates Computers. Discussing the role that DesignXpert played in closing a major sales opportunity with Etisalat, Sabih described how Etisalat "requested a quote and many changes to the quote - ten changes in two days - until we reached a satisfactory design. Most of the changes took place live over the telephone while using DesignXpert. The conclusion is that we would not have been able to get this key proposal done and win the deal without the ease-of-use and fast processes enabled by DesignXpert."
Automated Advisors Enable Staff to Accomplish More Work in Reduced Timeframes
Important DesignXpert capabilities discussed by Sabih include an extensive range of automated Advisors, which are easy-to-use wizards that simplify the complex tasks associated with many aspects of network configuration and validation. For example, the many Cisco Communication Advisors available with DesignXpert - such as Solution Bundle Selection & Configuration, VoIP Gateway, MobileConnect, Unity Connection, and IP Phones - quickly and easily guide sales-support personnel through all of the decisions needed to produce the right solution to meet customer needs.
"The unified communication advisors available within DesignXpert eliminated a lot of the headaches we previously had to endure," stated Sabih. "Now, our staff accomplishes a lot more work in greatly reduced timeframes. We now have more time to produce more effective results, which enables us to close more deals."
Another area where DesignXpert delivers major productivity improvements involves calculating uninterruptible power supply (UPS) requirements for numerous network elements. "It takes a lot of time to compile UPS requirements for every single product in a complete solution, but DesignXpert dramatically reduces the time we need to analyze and determine these requirements for our customers," remarked Sabih.
Netformx KnowledgeBaseTM Stays Ahead of the Competition
Discussing the important benefits that DesignXpert provides to Emirates Computers, Sabih spoke about increased staff productivity, accelerated and streamlined processes, shortened sales cycles, and reduced rework on the part of sales-support technical staff. Additionally, Sabih remarked, "It's clear to me that the people at Netformx are continually working hard to deliver the products and enhancements that its customers need to stay ahead of the competition. Weekly updates to the KnowledgeBaseTM and the addition of new Advisors, for example, is extremely valuable in keeping us current with new products and specifications."
Drawing upon the industry's most extensive and up-to-date information related to pricing, configuration, installation and support, DesignXpert instantly provides Emirates Computers with the knowledge it needs to quickly close sales and inspire confidence and loyalty in its clients. Updated weekly, the Netformx KnowledgeBase provides accurate data on 150,000 networking components and employs an expertly tuned, decision-support software engine that uses nearly 2,000,000 rules to automate the process of analyzing and designing networking solutions.
Speaking about how Emirates Computers came to the conclusion that DesignXpert was the right solution to meet its needs, Sabih explained, "My initial exposure to Netformx and DesignXpert was at an industry trade show in the United States, where I spoke with Ittai Bareket, the CEO of Netformx. I was very impressed by the capabilities of DesignXpert, and later on, I was provided with a trial copy of the DesignXpert software, which was very helpful in completing a full evaluation. After our real-world experiences and results, I'm convinced that no other product available in the marketplace performs as well as DesignXpert."
emiratescase_web.pdf