Eigencluster: Sales tactics
Info from Syllabus
- Described the method (direct, distributors, sales representatives, etc.) that will be used to make sales and distribute the product or service and both the initial plans and longer range plans for the sales force. Include any special requirements (e.g. refrigeration).
- Discuss the value chain and resulting margins to be given to retailers, distributors, wholesalers, and sales people. Describe special policies, e.g. discounts, regional exclusivity, etc.
- Describe how your sales force and sales efforts will grow and scale over time and how you will shape its growth.
Include a sales schedule with a budget including sales, advertising, and service expenses. Include what you expect the volume of each sales person/distributor to be and how that will grow.
Still working on it, but I found interesting stuff about the Golden Helix approach to sales which I think we can mirror.I will review what we said about the sales strategy in the previous documents and answer the Howard/Ken questions by looking how other companies did it and through the lenses of my previous sales experience.
Start with a defined problem. The problem facing the pharmaceutical industry today is that it takes too long and costs too much money to bring a drug to market. Here we need to show how our product helps the pharmaceutical industry to solve this problem. Howard also mentioned this in his feedback to our presentation.
Know your target market. In the Golden helix case the major inventor, established an early relationship with the specialists from Glaxo and later on Glaxo become a major investor in the Golden Helix. This is an approach we could also do in the initial phase where we could look at a major pharmaceutical where we can have access may be through the board members? (not Glaxo - already taken, not Pfizer because they don't use SNP).
Keep the lines of communication open. This principle means that besides the special link opened with one of the key pharmaceutical, we should look into developing communication channels with the other relevant pharceutical players, potential clients of EigenCluster. In the Golden Helix example the sales force works closely with their customers throughout the sales process, starting with a pilot project of sorts in which the sales force helps the users integrate the program with their systems. Occasionally, adjustments that could benefit all users are identified during this process, resulting in a software upgrade.
The sales forces handles customer service as well and schedules regular follow-up visits with customers. In the Golden helix case these meetings revealed areas in which customers need additional training on the software or perhaps a slight customization of the software to meet the user’s specific need; they can also result in software upgrades. Customers provides additional feedback on the product.
Be flexible to other needs. In addition to the Helix Tree, Golden Helix offered ChemTree for use in chemical analysis. Both products are based on FIRM (formal inferential regressive modeling) technology. We need to see what other applications EigenCluster can develop where the EigenCluster algorythm can be of very good use to a particular sector or group of clients. Golden Helix has had so many requests for other uses that it is now launching FIRMplus, which is a version of the software stripped of the customization features.
Always be attentive. Ou sales force and specialists will need to constantly scan the literature, to attend conferences and to do whatever is needed to learn what potential customers want and what they are doing. Any new application has to solve a problem, and the best way to know what those problems are is by interacting closely with the industry.
