All the large and well-developed companies in the market have adopted the best technologies (such as ERP, for example) for their business environment so far. Sellers today have to target small and medium-sized businesses in order to sell their product. Taking into account that all these small or medium-sized companies are in continuous development of the strategy of this provider it is perfectly logical. Considering that these SMEs (small and medium business customers) are growing, they need software like ERP capable of automating their business processes and improving the productivity of their employees.
When it comes to selling ERP solutions, we can say that this is one of the most challenging tasks for vendors. The ERP sales cycle is very long compared to the sales cycle of other products. Selling ERP applications involves many processes and details, especially when it comes to small and medium-sized customers. The ERP sales process is not an easy one. Many times, a sales person must spend a lot of time in the customer’s shoes to get started in the customer’s business environment.
Most of the time, the decision is made by the business owner in medium and small businesses. The sale of ERP relies heavily on the seller’s ability to persuade the business owner that their company really needs an ERP application. Vendors usually meet and discuss the problem with the IT manager, but the IT manager does not have the power to decide whether or not to purchase the new product. Considering that ERP software is an expensive product for SMBs, the only person who can make the decision is the business owner. Therefore, the seller must meet face-to-face with the business owner for a chance to sell the ERP software for their business process.
Most of the time, the small or medium business owner enlists the help of an external consultant when it comes to the ERP software evaluation process. So, we can say that external consultants have the most influence on the selection of an ERP vendor. Business owners often leave the entire ERP software selection and evaluation to the outside consultant. Consequently, meeting with the business owner and the external consultant at the same time is a vital step in the ERP software sales process.
ERP sales are not an overnight process. A minimum ERP sales cycle lasts at least three to four months. Even if the salesperson is very clever and manages to persuade the customer to buy the product right away, customer reviews are a very constant and time-consuming process. All a salesperson can do is try to push their customer one step further and set up another face-to-face meeting with them. During this meeting, the customer should be offered other detailed information about the product so that he is convinced that the purchase of an ERP application is a great opportunity for his business process.
Once the customer has purchased the product, it will follow a constant and extremely slow process.