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Putting Your Data in the Cloud Has Many Advantages

Cloud, Kent, Productivity, Proposals, Quotes 1 Response »

Jul 282010

Our Quosal quote and proposal automation application delivers many advantages to our users. One of them is extremely flexible deployment, including the ability to host your data “in the cloud,” securely and reliably, for as many users as you need. This capability has been in the application since its release in 2008 – initially with our own servers, and later with the added option of hosting through Microsoft’s SQL-Azure cloud infrastructure.

Quosal is a Windows application and is always installed on a PC or virtual PC environment (Citrix, Terminal Server, etc.), so the ability to seamlessly host the data for the application in the Cloud is unusual – but it offers many advantages and benefits. We have always hosted our own use of Quosal in the cloud, at first as a way of “eating our own dog food,” but I wouldn’t change how we use our own product in this respect – it really offers significant benefits.

First, it’s great to be able to access my central quote and proposal database no matter where I am, without reliance on a corporate VPN or other infrastructure. Several times, I’ve simply downloaded the client application on a new PC, activated with our internal key, and been up and running with my central database in a matter of minutes, without the need to install VPN and other infrastructure that would be needed even for an RDP session. It’s great to not be “tethered.” Whether at home, at the cabin or on the road, I’m always able to access my cloud-based data.

Second, my remote employees around the country have instant and excellent access to the shared quoting database with excellent performance – which is unfortunately not true when they’re on the corporate VPN. With the way our PSA works, a remote employee has full-speed, full-function access to our two most important applications just with an Internet connection.

Third, the “zero administration” of our cloud database is a great benefit even for our own product. While Quosal’s administrative requirements are low even for an internal database, you can’t get away from the fact that any database server has an administrative load that almost disappears when your data is in the Cloud.

For our customers, a Cloud-based deployment provides an excellent and elegant solution in many situations:

Multiple offices that all need access to shared central data for quotes and proposals.
Many remote users and road warriors that require the same, especially from high-latency connections.
Companies that are virtualizing and don’t want to set up a physical database server.
Companies without a dba or internal database resources that want the hassle-free setup and management of a shared database.

We’ve found that the deployment model that a customer wishes to choose should be separate from the billing model (Licensed or SaaS) that a customer might wish to choose – so we have many customers that have licensed the product, but still run their data in the Cloud as a deployment option. Far from being just a “pay as you go” alternative, Cloud-based data deployment is a highly advantageous way to go for customers large and small.

Both as a Cloud developer and as a user of an advanced desktop application that can store its data in the Cloud, I’m a big fan.

Quotes and Proposals Are Information about Information

Competitive Advantage, Proposals, Quotes No Responses »

Jul 192010

Seth Godin gives us another jumping off point to discuss quoting and proposal management.

It wasn’t the bags of chips that led Frito Lay to domination of the snack business, he says. It wasn’t the Slurpees that made 7-Eleven a success. And it wasn’t the clothes that Zara one of the best known brands in Europe (coming to an American mega-mall near you).

No, the competitive edge for those companies was their management of information about information.

At the time of its 1965 merger with PepsiCo, Frito Lay had 46 manufacturing plants and 150 distribution centers.
7-Eleven has more locations in Japan than anywhere else. Mastery of their supply chain is key.
Zara needs just two weeks to develop a new product and get it to stores, compared with a six-month industry average. It launches around 10,000 new designs each year.

These are plain-jane businesses. They make stuff to eat, to wear, and own stores where stuff is sold. But they’re backed with tight, tight management of their information.

For example, instead of adopting a strategy of branding and advertisement, like Abercrombie & Fitch, Zara focuses on radical product iteration. If a design doesn’t show sales traction within a week, it’s canceled, and no design lives longer than four weeks in stores, encouraging repeat business. Up until recently, Zara didn’t even advertise.

They pull down about $10 billion a year.

Why is an information management strategy so valuable? Seth Godin:

Because it compounds. A tiny head start in access to this information gives you a huge advantage … Think about how much needs to be sorted, compared, updated and presented to people who want to choose or learn or trade on it. The race to deliver this essential scalable asset isn’t over, it’s just beginning.

Quotes and proposals are information about information — what was the content, how was it presented, what options were available to the customer, how was it received, how was it tracked, how did it connect to everything else in your CRM and inventory systems?

How are you managing this flow of information about information?

Quoting and the Sugar Cane Machine

Proposals, Quotes No Responses »

Jul 062010

Seth Godin is a best-selling author about business and marketing and prolific blogger. He’s one of the best kinds of deep thinkers — someone that shows you something you probably already know, but you’re still left scratching your head, remarking, “I knew that, but why didn’t I think of it, but why didn’t I understand it, why am I not doing it, how can I make that a habit?” Kind of like hearing John Wooden talk about the importance of practice. Sometimes, the fundamentals are so fundamental, you forget about doing them right.

One of Seth’s recent posts struck a nerve with me. In a world full of competition, the guy that wins is the guy that offers something different and useful. On an imaginary island of identical sugar cane growers and sugar cane processors, one stand out:

… In short, he becomes a master of the art of processing and marketing cane. He earns permission, he treats different customers differently and he refuses to act like a faceless factory…

So, what does this have to do with quoting and proposals? Everything! Your quote document is part of the public face of your business. In many cases, it’s the public face. Handled correctly, it’s a competitive edge over the other guy, the one that doesn’t package his goods and services for maximum effect, the one that doesn’t show customers that he will treat them differently and with respect. One of our products, Order Porter, includes a feature to add personalized videos to your quotes and proposals. That would certainly work for our imaginary sugar cane processor … or the financial professional, the IT provider, the real estate agent, etc, — looking to make personal connections with customers.

But … you knew this already, right? Then why do we see the same-old, same-old so often from so many businesses?

Quoting the Way Your CUSTOMERS Like It

Kent, Proposals, Quotes No Responses »

Jun 302010

In the world of online shopping, we’ve all become very used to seeing product images while we add things to the shopping cart. In fact, we wouldn’t be very likely to spend a lot of time on a Web site that didn’t present attractive product images.

Yet, in the world of quotes and proposals, we’ve been conditioned by preparing quotes with spreadsheets, browser-based apps and old-school quoting tools to presenting quote and proposal documents that are text-heavy and don’t present images at all.

In 2008, Quosal introduced the capability to quickly and easily add product images to quotes and proposals, leveraging the availability of online content through such partners as Etilize.

Yet, many prospective users of Quosal express doubt about whether they need product images on their quotes, because they themselves don’t like them.

It’s not about what you like, I tell them. It’s about what your CUSTOMERS will like – and your customers like product images, nice product descriptions and, in some cases, as much information as you can give them.

They also like the fact that you spent the extra time and effort to put that beautiful quote together for them. We all know that a picture is worth 1000 words about a product you’re quoting, but it’s also worth 1000 words about the person that put the quote together, and those 1000 words say nothing but good things about you.

You’re spending your time, expertise and energy to put together just what the customer wants and needs in the selection of products and services you are quoting. It’s important to take that extra step and also present it to them the way anyone would want it to be presented – professionally, graphically, richly. It makes a world of difference to the customer’s perception about you and your company.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Getting product images on your quotes will soon follow.

Small adjustments in our thinking can make a huge change in business profitability

IT, Kent No Responses »

Jun 242010

I had a great conversation with a business owner this week that reminded me how quickly a small shift in thinking can positively change your business.

Both this fine gentleman and his industry shall remain unnamed. He related that he’s been in his industry for over 30 years, and has seen many changes, in good times and bad. One thing that has always been a difficulty, he said, was the lack of good software to automate the business processes for product- and service-providers like himself — including quoting, which is how he found us.

“I realized something,” he said. “We’re not an information technology company, but for all practical purposes, we are. We provide the same kinds of products, the same kinds of installation and maintenance services, and have the same kind of service dispatch.

“I’ve been focused on trying to find software specific to my industry,” he said, “But I’ve just realized the software for the IT industry is a perfect fit for us.”

In coming to this realization, his outlook on a previously stressful topic — automating his business process — has completely turned around. What’s more, he’s eager and excited at the possibility that the paradigms of another industry are so like his own, that the systems created over the years for that industry will be a great fit, too. His enthusiasm was infectious.

There are many business problems large and small that can be resolved with that shift in thinking, that triangulation and a fresh approach. There’s no guarantee that there won’t be a “gotcha” in this gentleman’s plan and his business, but I hope it works out perfectly for him.

A Warm and Fuzzy Hire

Hiring, Kent, Sales No Responses »

Jun 172010

I had a great hiring experience this week, deciding on a sales representative for the Eastern US region. Naturally, Christian is a well-qualified individual, whom I’m very confident will be very successful with us.

Finding a good candidate is always a positive experience, but what made this particularly gratifying was the interesting approach that Christian took to get our attention and convince us he was the right person for the job.

Our company is a software developer, and we develop quote and proposal applications. Our intrepid candidate’s unique approach to submitting his resume was to download the demonstration of our software and create a proposal for his services. Imagine my surprise when I opened that proposal, created in our own software application, with a section-by-section, line-by-line description of exactly what he would bring to the table for us, and what that would be worth.

It was very difficult to not be had at “hello.”

Differentiating yourself is so important when you’re one of many competing for something scarce, whether it is a job or a new customer. Standing out from the crowd is one of the key things that Quosal helps our customers do, so a salesperson with an innate understanding of that principle fits in perfectly.

By the way, Christian’s second interview was to demonstrate our software for us, with no help or assistance. He knocked it out of the park.

Partner Integrations Are Not a Part-Time Job

Kent, Proposals, Quotes No Responses »

Jun 142010

From our Quosal quote and proposal automation system, we’ve created many integrations with other software applications and platforms. Our integrations are typically very deep and rich, and include accounting systems, CRM systems, PSA systems, office automation products and XML feeds to online distributors.

Before we create such an integration, we carefully evaluate the partner to whom we are interfacing. We need to know:

Can we create a high-quality interface to this partner?
Will we be able to support that interface?
Are the APIs solid?
Does this partner have a good track record with such interfaces to other companies?

The reason we’re picky and careful about such things is simple: Once we create such an interface and our customers — or even just one customer — begin to use it, it becomes mission-critical to their business, and it must be maintained and it can’t be broken. This is not a part-time commitment.

An extra twist on this theme: This commitment remains even if only a few customers are using that particular integration — so each integration is a “market decision”.

For a software developer, each partner integration represents a certain current and future allocation of development capacity. If your partner changes its application or its API, you may have to make adjustments to your own application or interface just to remain operational – much less take advantage of new features. If your partner breaks its own API or application code, your own customers can’t always tell (and won’t care) where the problem occurs – they will be on your doorstep looking for answers.

At Quosal, we make a real commitment to our integrations, and this commitment can be summed up easily with our overriding goal: No downtime for our customers due to our partner integrations. This is a goal we have met and will continue to meet. We don’t consider this optional, especially when we know our partners are relying on us. We work with partners that we believe feel the same way about the fact that we have created such an integration, and for their part are equally committed to that quality.

As more and more time goes on, your quoting platform will be a mission-critical hub of business process. The level of reliability must reflect this completely.

The Power of Users Sharing Content with Users

Content Exchange, Kent, Proposals, Quotes No Responses »

Jun 092010

One part of my personal and professional background is a passion for games of all kinds, from chess to video games. I’ve participated in games and game communities both as a participant and, from the development side, a game company executive and producer.

In gaming of all types, users create content and share it with other users – it’s very commonplace. This ranges from records of games already played to actual content used in live games, such as maps, images, 3d objects and much more. This sharing is often highly automated or even automatic.

The power of this idea for business software has huge potential and nearly incalculable value, and is beginning to be explored by many companies, such as our partners at ConnectWise, whose users can now share several types of user-defined content.

Quosal has incorporated our idea very strongly into our application with our Content Library and Exchange, which allows our users to easily share content they’ve created with each other. This system has many great features and a graphical user interface that’s very easy to use.

That’s the easy part. Now we must convince users that it’s a good thing — in fact, it’s a GREAT thing — to take the time to share their content, such as quote forms, web designs, scripts and more.

In business, we’re not conditioned to do this. What we create in our business — report formats, forms, processes and so on — are Pentagon secrets, to be hoarded, guarded and never to appear outside of our four walls. I once believed this myself.

Phooey.

Our users create for themselves, or work with us to create, some terrific content. If a small fraction of our users shared that content with other users, we’d soon find that new users of Quosal would be able to find exactly what they need in that library. That continuing process would ensure that all users would be able to do the same, regardless of their industry or the type of content they’re interested in.

We feel this is an idea that is going to catch on very strongly, if not quickly. The value lies not just in the first and obvious application in our application space — the sharing of quote forms — but also in those new areas of business that our customers may not yet be participating in as yet. An example is a traditional VAR I spoke with, who is just now getting into managed services, that wanted to know how to put a good proposal process together. How great it will be when I can point him to the Content Exchange and say, “A lot of companies have been here before you — take a look at the plans in the Library.”

Contribute that great content you’ve created!

Redundant Data Entry is a Sign You Can Use Better Quote and Proposal Processes

Kent, Productivity, Proposals, Quotes No Responses »

Jun 072010

As I’m talking to new customers or demonstrating our product for prospective customers, the subject of redundant data entry — entering the same information multiple times into multiple systems — almost always comes up.

It’s very common to find companies entering the same data they put on their quotes at least two or three times into different systems. I joke with them that three or four re-entries is common, but that the world record is six re-entries into different systems. But this is not joke — in fact, I’ve encountered at least three companies that are tied for this dubious distinction.

Here’s a typical but not specific breakdown of these re-entries:

1) On the quote itself (spreadsheet or quoting system)

2) Into their opportunity management/sales tracking/CRM system

Then after the “win” is posted:

3) Into their Sales Order System

4) Into their Purchase Order System

5) Into their vendor’s on-line purchase order system

6) Into a separate commission tracking system

True, six different times into six different systems is extreme, but customers often get silent for a moment as I enumerate the above list, because they realize just how many times they really are re-entering the same data into different systems, and what a black hole of productivity and accuracy this really is.

If you’re double or triple-entering your quote and proposal data, improvements to your process can have a very positive impact on your profitability and your processes. If you’re re-entering that data four or more times, then you have a serious leak that needs attention.

A new approach to quote and proposal automation can certainly be a big part of the solution. Another important part of solving the problem can be the expertise of a business process consultant, a service that we provide at Quosal in the areas related to your quote and proposal processes, and the quote-to-order processes.

Eliminate the redundancy, and you’ll be very pleasantly surprised at the bottom line results.

Sales as a Service

Managed Service Providers, Proposals, Quotes, Sales No Responses »

Jun 032010

I’ve had somewhat of an epiphany over the last few months as I’ve thought about working with MSPs and IT providers on their sales processes.

Sales processes can be a bit of a black box to such companies, and truly improving the process with a platform like Quosal is an area that seems somehow less comfortable than improving, say, improving a ticketing process.

I think it’s easier for many of our partners if they think of sales as a service — which it really is.

Sales is, in fact, the first service that you provide a new customer — in some ways, the most important service as it relates to your relationship. As a service, your sales effort and those delivering it should endeavor to provide excellent service to the customer in the same way you would judge any other service you provide.

So, what do your customers look for from any other service that they should also get from sales?

Timeliness — The sales team should deliver on time and as committed, whether that deliverable is an appointment, a quote or a proposal. This is especially true with a new customer that’s looking at the performance of your sales team as a harbinger of the performance of your company.
Quality — We all look for quality work when we receive services — thoroughness, professionalism, accuracy. Sales has many deliverables — particularly the quote and proposal — on which the quality of your services will shine through.
Follow Through — We all feel great when a service provider follows up and follows through on the services they have provided to us. That is certainly true of sales as well.

If you make a mental shift to thinking of sales as a service, then certain processes that you apply to your service delivery efforts become easy to apply to your sales efforts as well.

SLA for Sales? Do you have an SLA for responding to new customer inquiries? What about existing customer needs for a quote — what’s your SLA for them? When customers refer to an organization as “hard to do business with,” they are often referring to the difficulty of getting a quote or proposal for new business.

Surveys for Sales? Many of our customers follow up service tickets with a survey. Have you ever thought of doing that for your sales efforts as well? Wouldn’t you like to know how you’re doing on this all-important effort?

Sales as a Service because sales IS a service. It is, in fact, one of the most important services you can offer your customers. Great sales service leads to great sales, which is a big win/win.

Stay tuned, we have much to share on this topic.

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