Net@Work 2003

October 20, 2003 -- "What do the smartest IT Product and Service Sales People use to present a complex proposal benefits stream to their customers?" Delta Max , President of DELTA MAX asked today at the annual sales conference of MOCA, Net@Work 2003.

"Financial Models and Modeling of proposed initiatives is the key to top level selling", replied. "When a complex proposal is presented in business terms, ala financial models with "What if...?" Scenarios, top executives respond quickly, as this is the means by which they make all executive decisions.

America's top computer resellers heard describe a new methodology which incorporates their own financial data as a Pro Forma projection of revenues and expenses, as affected by the positive changes that the new reseller proposal seeks to provide. "To move new products and services into the marketplace today, technology companies cannot be simply box movers transacting business with IT Directors based on the customer's latest business initiative. They must instead, to be effective, increasingly become business partners, advisors, and confidants of the top level customer executives. REAL partners, not just another vendor selling bandwidth and architecture schemes."

"Technology companies, in order to be more visible partners to Presidents and CEO's, must help those execs find and define company problems and issues, and assist in the selection of the solutions available. When they employ even very basic financial models in their proposals and presentations, they open the communications door at last to the CEO's office. An effective Financial Model, with its What If? Scenarios options allows an extremely meaningful and productive discussion to take place between the Account Manager and their customer's top executives. Result: more and bigger sales."

Resellers have long struggled with a basic sales problem: their sales people love and love to talk technology, their technology, and their customer decision makers want to talk business, their business, and solving their business challenges.

Thus, the reseller sales people spend all their time and sales efforts, most of it ultimately wasted, on IT Executives who are relatively disconnected from the actual issues and challenges of the customer's business, and are mostly interested in cutting cost. Result? Every RFP is a pricing exercise. The Account Manager is simply focusing on the wrong part of the Food Chain, and using the wrong message to sell.

But, with the generation of simple financial models, using REAL customer data, the professional Account Manager can address such issues as:

What are the real BENEFITS of your proposal?
How much VALUE do they represent?
Is your VALUE simply a lowering of our costs?
Or, does your proposal actually IMPROVE our Business Revenue and Operations? How?
What are the detailed effects of this new technology on our Business Units?
What are the actual financial effects of Lease versus Purchase versus Outsourcing Strategies?
Which business, financial and technological scenarios are the most productive to the customer?
...and much more.

Reseller Account Managers can be easily trained into decent Financial Modelers, using a basic Excel Spreadsheet knowledge and some common sense, combined with data right from the customer. This capability is of primary importance in meaningfully addressing and communicating with Presidents and CEO's. And, none of your competitors are doing this.

DELTA MAX and MOCA are considering offering a One Day, Financial Modeling course which will train reseller Account Managers in How To Sell to Top Executives through the Use of Financial Models. This exclusive MOCA program could be Sun-fundable and available yet this year. If you are a MOCA Reseller and have an interest in this program, please call Jenny Kim, Marketing Programs Manager, (503) 233-0974 or email her at jkim@arrow.com for more information.

MOCA is one of America's top distributors of computer systems and software technologies, and is the newest division of Arrow Electronics. Net@Work is MOCA's annual Partner Forum.

Delta Max is President of DELTA MAX, and the originator of the term "E-Channel", which describes the functions of computer marketing and supply channel process automation over the Web.

Delta Max addresses top MOCA Resellers ... "Using Financial Models to Sell at the Top"

Delta Max President @ MOCA Net@Work 2003