Conference 7.286::digital

    I hope Palmer remembers what a mess this action got us in last year.
    After the blood bath of June '93, those in SS left standing, and many
    in DC, began looking for other jobs figuring it was  a matter of time
    any way.  About September, a massive attrition program began in the
    field where I would say in New England we lost 10-15% of SS and DC.
    These are good, highly motivated people (both the layoff and voluntary
    resignations).  We simply can not afford this to happen again.
    
    Brad.

    
     Some of our best people are in sales support. Some of our best people
    in sales support, DELIVER, CONSULT and console. Have we not seen
    managements intentions in sales support before? How many times have
    they been told "Your delivery, your consulting... your sales support"
    How many reorgs have these people been through. NOTHING has changed.
    Nothing will change regarding COS by eliminating sales support. We HAVE
    seen elimination/downsizing before. Remove the layers above sales
    support and you will see COS go D.O.W.N. Everyone knows what those
    layers are.
     Hell if sales support people are not doing sales support they are
    doing something else, like delivery. WE ALL ARE SALES SUPPORT.
    
    -Tired of IT.
    Mike Z.

    I'm afraid the handwriting is on the wall for Sales Support. While
    there are many arguments for our current SS staffing level, there is
    one big argument against: Our competition. HP and Sun don't have the
    same numbers of Sales Support people we do, so it costs them less to
    sell their products.
    
    Theoretically, the remedy should work like this:
    
    1)	Digital fixes Sales admininistrative processes, freeing up the
    	sales reps' time for more technical things.
    
    2)	Digital lays off or reassigns Sales Support to direct revenue-
    	producing activities.
    
    3)	Selling expenses go down, revenue goes up.
    
    The only problem is that someone forgot to do Step 1.
    
    Geoff

    Have you heard about the foolish carpenter.  He measured a 2X4 and
    found it was too short.  He proceeded to cut a few inches off and
    measure it again.  Guess what!?  It was still to short.  He proceeded
    to cut off a few more inches.  Lo and behold!  It was still to short.
    
    How much more of sales and sales support need to be cut before
    sales and revenue improve?
    

    Maybe HP, Sun et al have sales people who don't always need a support
    person with them on every call.  Maybe they don't have to spend half
    their life guiding orders through the "system".  Maybe they have better
    training.  We think we can take a sales person, give them 3 days of
    training a year and that makes them UNIX or client/server experts....
    NOT!  The Sales Specialists are a step in the right direction.  In
    today's market you need focus and depth.  Relationship building is not
    the only skill required to survive.

    With each staff reduction there has been a corresponding reduction in
    our Revenue.   Any guesses on how long it will take for us to "...
    Downsize to Excellence..."?  Tell me that it is not true, that the most
    ineffective Sales or Sales Support employee is still selling something,
    even 10% of goal helps, but if you made them more effective, say 70% of
    goal, wouldn't that have a better effect than laying them off?
    
    I just left Sales Support for a Product Sales Specialist Position. 
    Seeing the changes we are making, I know I would be a better manager
    than 95% of the existing Digital "leadership".  Can't anyone see that
    reducing COS by reducing Revenue producers may have an adverse affect?

    Better idea... lay off the sales persons and turn the sales support
    persons into sales persons... THUS ending up with better trained sales
    persons.....
    
    My personal opinion!
    
    

    Most, (guess on my part), sales support people enjoy the "selling" 
    they do without the "pressure" and compensation change we have in
    sales.
    
    Being in the MEDIA business, non of our distributors have the expertise
    or knowledge with On Demand Video, MPC's, Ad-Insertion, Etc. We NEED
    sales support!
    
    

I think I finally have understood what management wants to achieve. Reduce sales
and marketing costs/expenses to 0$. Put in an automated voice system, that can
take orders for PC's. Even if we sell just ONE a year, the profitability of the
sales force will be 1000$/0 = infinite!!!! :):)

Timo

    
    
    
       All valid points! But talking about it here in this notesfile will
    accomplish 0. What needs to be done is the same thing that was done
    last year with remote sales support. The screaming has to be loud
    enough and from enough people so the "bean counters" realize what
    they are doing is "shooting them selves in the foot". Only this time
    there foot is in their mouth.

WOW!! Out of 11 notes entered, only 2 out of the 11 were entered during non-working hours..
What does THAT say for the work ethic of our employee base??  I, personally, am note a big 
user of notes.  But when I do, it's usually not during working hours unless it directly 
relates to the work I'm doing.  Between the database use, the long lunchs spent jogging or
walking, and the "flex time" that goes on in DEC, it's no wonder why we are not competative.
Sometimes you have to look within.
					JRC

    
    
    
    	What? Are you telling people WHEN to take there breaks now?!
    
    

    Thoughts on where we are heading.(From a sales rep. perspective)
    
    1.  We will pursue the HP sales model for account coverage.  ONLY
        customers who do 2 million dollars and over receive DIRECT
        HP sales support.  The rest will be handled by resellers.  HP
        struggled in implementing this model.  Most of the resellers
        lacked the requisite expertise.  Since HP would no longer 
        provide direct sales support so a reseller could make a sale,
        eventually the reseller HIRED the expertise themselves.  Where
        did they get it?  When HP made this transition they cut a lot
        of sales support.  A great many of these folks ended up at HP
        resellers!  I believe Digital is hoping for the same thing.
    
    2.  The SME Model that Digital is trying to implement will have
        sales reps. acting more as MARKETING reps..  They will work at
        creating demand and employing the proper reseller to close
        business.  The idea is to have reps. contacting as many
        customers as possible.  The idea is to, at low cost, generate
        as many opportunities as possible.  It is far better for Digital
        to have resellers win 4 out of 10 sales opportunities than for
        a DIRECT Digital rep. to close 3 out of 4.  We need to increase
        market share to increase revenue.
    
    
    
    

    Cessna Aircraft never really had much of a direct sales force, but
    sold its aircraft thru a network of dealers (essentially the CompUSA's
    of the PC market).  Cessna put out a 6 page brochure with a one page
    price list insert for its most popular aircraft, the Skyhawk/172.
    The brochure and price list gave enough information so you could order
    an IFR-equipped 172, with all the the appropriate options and radios
    necessary to satisfy even the most complex FAA airspace requirements,
    without any babysitting from a sales force.  Litigation has since
    put general aviation in this country out of business, but my point is:
    
    If you can sell 20,000+ aircraft with a rather complex choice of
    options to a rather broad audience of varying aircraft knowledge
    WITHOUT USING A DIRECT SALES FORCE, then why does Digital need one
    to sell computers?
    
    P.S. Compaq (which looks like Cessna as far the lack of a direct
    sales force) today announced earnings of $230m (up from $140m a year
    ago) on revenue of $2.3b.  CPQ stock was up 10% to over 100 on the
    news.  kb

On one hand the company is telling us Sales Support no longer fits the new selling model
...On the other hand ...
Lets put a US corporate and Regional management and associated staffs in place to
give the significantly downsized Sales Support organization the high visibility
they deserve. 

Even though I've been in SS over 5yrs I don't see much future in it at Digital or the
industry - at least the way it is currently positioned and used. But I believe the
infrastructure is not yet in place for this "products will sell themselves" attitude.
By infrastructure I mean -name recognition, commodity products/prices at CompUSA,
"unqualified" distribution channels, the streamling or simplication of our products and
ordering processes. Not to mention the zillions of customer satifaction/post sales
issues which we handle. We need to brace customers for this-Hey support is no longer
bundled into the price.  We cannot afford to change the model without changing the
infrastructure. We need to say this is how the sales force is going to be directed and
organized then articulate that internally and externally then do it.
The direction has only been inferred to me and with conflicting inferences.

I'm not hearing the direction consistently, customer's aren't hearing it, Wall St. is
not hearing it. 

My only optimism lies in our products. What was the line from the $6M man? "We HAVE the
technology we can rebuild him better than before." But the $14B company is throwing away
some valuable parts BEFORE they do the rebuild.

    First, let's teach 'em how to set their editor to wrap at 80 characters
    so those of us that don't have DECWindows Terminals can read their
    notes... :-) :-) :-)
    
    Harry
    

    ext/noheader tmp.tmp
    $ <rtn>
    e tmp.tmp
    
    Then use whichever skills you have with the available Terminal
    Emulator.
    

    It seems pretty clear that Digital has adopted a sales organizational
    strategy that:
    
    - reserves direct sales for very large accounts
    
    - sales reps, what ever you choose to call them or label you
      want to use, will have to know products, technologies, and
      have some experience at applying them to solving real world
      problems
    
    - sales support will be all but eliminated, scarce few will be
      kept to support those very large accounts
    
    - channels (authorized resellers, etc.) will sell to the SME
    
    - Telemarketing will continue to grow in importance for small
      businesses, and to fill the gaps left by channels and direct
      sales
    
    Makes sense if you're looking for an efficient, low overhead selling
    strategy.  One big problem: the SLT still hasn't figured out where the
    overhead is!!!  If Palmer and company think it is the field, they
    are in for a disasterous awakening.  They can eliminate ALL sales
    support tomorrow and this company is still going to have an overhead
    problem.
    
    The SLT has had plenty of time by now to diagnose the company's ills. 
    After all this time, all they can do is come up with an
    across-the-board layoff.  Maybe the SLT should be TFSO'd!

          <<< Note 3007.17 by GUCCI::HERB "New Personal Name coming soon!"
    >>>
                                 -< ..and I use a Mac >-
    
    >>>    ext/noheader tmp.tmp
    >>>    $ <rtn>
    >>>    e tmp.tmp
    
    >>>    Then use whichever skills you have with the available Terminal
    >>>    Emulator.
    
    
    	I just don't bother with them if they don't make sense as a result
    of going off the edge of my screen.
    
    	I've lost interest by that stage and certainly wouldn't bother the
    start extract/noheader etc!
    
    				Malcolm.
    

    RE: .19
    
    My sentiments entirely. 
    
    Laurie.

        re: .18

    The issue that concerns me is that the SLT has never said what the plan
    is.  The rumor (I work in the field, I don't have time to confirm the
    news) that sales support is going to be slashed disturbs me, but more
    disturbing is that the SLT hasn't come out and said, "We've decided to
    do away Sales Support, because..."  At least that way we would see some
    direction.

    chg

    - of course, the plan may have been published, but I haven't seen it.

    Of course sales support is needed. So is training, so is personnel, so
    is electric lights, water, phones. A whole lot of support is required
    to keep Digital's (DEC's) doors open. No one organization or planning
    guru group is going to come up with the magic bullet.
    
    What's needed is a WAY to motivate (shall i say reward) all employees 
    at all levels to participate in identifying the waste (wherever it is) 
    and cut it out. 
    
    <spoiler>
    
    
    
    
    Whoops! Pretty unamerican concept, cutting waste. Never mind. 
            Ain't gonna happen.

    re .21
    
    I work in the field too.  Oh, and by the way any reader will be able to
    determine that I am writing this during "business hours." It's just too
    bad if someone doesn't like it.  The next time I work on "non-business"
    hours, which is almost all the time, I'll simply tell my customers,
    "sorry, I'm off the clock."
    
    Hey, the writing is one the wall!

    Hi Mike!
    
    Those Sales Training days back in the spring of 1990 seem a long, long
    time ago.  Different time...Different company.
    
    Hang in there...
    
    Martha Pinto
    Michigan Sales
    

    Isn't it just like you, Herb, to do things the hard way...
    
    Next time, try
    
    	tpu set(width,all,132)
    
    Hmm, may be my last act as Sales Support...
    
    Aaron