A prescribed and simple sales process is key to the timely and accurate positioning of Professional Services. The attached presentation describes a simple process and techniques that have worked well for Enterprise Software companies of medium to large sizes.

1. Ambareesh Kulkarni

2. Customer Engagement Life Cycle
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Identify
2.0
Qualify
3.0
Propose
4.0
Negotiate
5.0
Deliver
6.0
Support

3. Customer Engagement Life Cycle
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Identify
2.0
Qualify
3.0
Propose
4.0
Negotiate
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Deliver
6.0
Support
Lead Opportunity Project
Sales Process Delivery process
Funnel Backlog

4. Responsibilities of Sales/Services team
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Identify
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Qualify
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Propose
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Negotiate
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Deliver
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Support
Lead Opportunity Project
Sales Process Delivery process
Pipeline Backlog
Sales
Services
Delivery team

5. Services Sales Charter
• Identify new service opportunities in existing
install base
• Identify new service opportunities with new
customers
• Manage pricing and positioning of Statements of
Work made to the customer
• Close business (signed and approved paperwork)
• Forecast & Maintain accurate pipeline

6. Identify Service Opportunities
1.0
Identify
2.0
Qualify
3.0
Propose
4.0
Negotiate
5.0
Deliver
6.0
Support
• Identify new service opportunities
• Greatest revenue will come from existing install
base
• 80% of revenue will come form 20% of current
customer accounts
• Leads come from: Marketing activities, Strategic
account managers, Personal contacts &
Consultants

7. Qualify Service Opportunities
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Identify
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Qualify
3.0
Propose
4.0
Negotiate
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Deliver
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Support
• Funding: Does the customer have the budget
available for the proposed project?
• Timing: When does the customer need to start?
• Competition: How are we well positioned? How
many competitors are we bidding against?
• Services Expertise: Have we delivered this type of
project before? Does the services group have the
required resources to deliver the project?

8. Qualify Service Opportunities
1.0
Identify
2.0
Qualify
3.0
Propose
4.0
Negotiate
5.0
Deliver
6.0
Support
Sirens’ Song: The more bids that we submit, the
more business will be won and the more profit
there will be
Boulder ahead: Bidding on services
opportunities that have a low probability of
being won can be the most expensive mistake
we can make

9. Qualify Service Opportunities
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Identify
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Qualify
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Propose
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Negotiate
5.0
Deliver
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Support
• If there is less that 50% chance of winning, best
thing to do is walk away
• Apply rigorous Bid/No Bid evaluations:
– # of competitive bidders
– Estimated effort to complete the proposal
– Estimated total revenue & gross margin
– Estimated probability of winning the project
– Estimated start date

10. Propose Service Solution
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Identify
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Qualify
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Propose
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Negotiate
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Deliver
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Support
• This is the step where a Statement of Work is
created
• Know the different types of services offerings that
are available (see next slide)
• Ensure that the opportunity is qualified and the
customer is familiar with the products being
proposed

11. Propose Service Solution
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Propose
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Support
Offering Description
Time & Materials Pay by the drink. High Value and aligns priorities.
Fixed Price Highest risk. Customer’s perceived value is high. Shows
confidence on our part.
Packaged offering Easy to sell, High value and creates potential upsell
opportunities.
Bundled with
software
Easy to sell & easy to buy. Gets our foot in through the door.
High risk of expectation mismatch.

12. Negotiate
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Identify
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Qualify
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Propose
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Negotiate
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Deliver
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Support
• This is the step where the customer is seeking
clarifications on the SOW
• The customer may also want to negotiate on
price, timelines etc.
– Typical tactic: Request a T&M proposal and then ask
that we fix price it! Can be done, with appropriate
markups (about 20-20%).
– Get agreement on ‘walk away’ price.

13. Negotiate – New Rate Card
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Identify
2.0
Qualify
3.0
Propose
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Negotiate
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Deliver
6.0
Support

14. Delivery - Preparation
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Identify
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Qualify
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Propose
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Negotiate
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Deliver
6.0
Support
• Once signed SOW and PO is received,
resourcing process begins
• Typical lead time 4-6 weeks
• Consultants are assigned based on skills set
and availability
• Consultants can be sourced Globally

15. Delivery – Project Start
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Identify
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Qualify
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Propose
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Negotiate
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Deliver
6.0
Support
• Consultants follow delivery methodology outlined in
the SOW
• Kick off call to be scheduled with customer
– AD or SE to help schedule
– Consultant will query customer on readiness (pre-reqs.)
– Start-date and time to be agreed upon
• Project admin. makes travel arrangements
• Implementation begins

16. Opportunity forecasting
• Critical for us to manage treacherous supply-demand
curves
• Inaccurate forecasting can lead to a deep and
expensive hole or, at the minimum, a lost
revenue opportunity

17. Payment Schedule
Most
favorable
• Time & Materials
• Gives us the most flexibility and contractual protection.
Less
Favorable
• Fixed Price or Milestone based
• Commercially viable only if appropriate markup is added.
Even Less
Favorable
• Not to Exceed
• Risk Exposure is very high with no upside.
Least
Favorable
• Carve out from Software
• Equivalent to giving services away for free and includes
all of the risks mentioned above.