Vyacheslav Nefedov: "Consulting services are sold via the Internet"

In the growing role of the Internet in the field of B2B trade, the provision of consulting services continues to be specific. Vyacheslav Nefedov, Development Director of the consulting company AMAND , was invited to the blogogue for conversations on Internet-oriented marketing consulting services.

What is the nature of sales consulting services and what is the role of the Internet?
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We are engaged in a specific type of consulting services - ERP-consulting. This is the rationale for the introduction of automated enterprise management systems, implementation, auditing, training.

Business management automation services are expensive (in the case of Microsoft Axapta, each automated space costs 2-5 thousand dollars) and non-urgent, i.e. the client has time to choose options, to think a few times whether the implementation will really contribute to the development of the company. That is why the usual sales cycle is six months or a year.

The task of the Internet in our business is to get closer to potential customers and partners. ERP-system - the product is not "boxed". In some cases, the implementation can bring the client to a fundamentally new level, significantly reduce costs, improve management, attract both new customers by increasing the level of service, and new investors. In other cases, the introduction can cause significant damage. There is a known case when the American company FoxMeyer Drug set a goal by introducing an ERP system to beat the competition and take a leading position in the market, but went bankrupt and filed a lawsuit against the implementers. The piquancy of the situation is that the project used unconditionally excellent software - SAP R / 3, was implemented by one of the world's largest consulting companies at that time - Andersen Consulting (for fairness, it should be noted that this company also went bankrupt after a while sold in parts).

All this speaks of one thing - in our business information is not enough. We need to communicate with potential customers (optimally - know the market, problems, major players), give the client a lot of information about their services and help them navigate it. The better the implementer is familiar with the customer, the cheaper the sale and the more efficient the result.

How do you choose the directions in which the main sales are conducted today?

One criterion - the sales channel should lead us to the target audience in the most direct way possible. Normal exhibitions are ineffective, most visitors are our colleagues or IT specialists who simply collect information.

Probably the most effective seminars. There is also the effect of its own Internet site, of magazines (especially industry), of thematic Internet portals.

The partners are very helpful. A good partner can make our offer unique, some partners (training centers, for example) have a much wider circle of contacts than we do. Joint actions are able to give us potential customers, and such a partner - to increase conversion, more to sell the same customer base.

Do you use the model of "net" online sales - how much is it profitable?

A couple of years ago, I would be very surprised at this issue and would say that there can be no “clean” Internet sales in our business. Now I do not think so. In consulting there is a clear linkage of the cost of services for the client to the cost of a man-hour consultant. The usual rate for low-cost consulting is 50-100 euros per hour. This is due to low production. Standard consultant output is 8 days per month. The ability to create “bundled” solution services and their sales via the Internet could significantly improve business efficiency. This is one of our goals for the next two years.

How acute is the competition in the field of online sales consulting services?

In our services, I see only two “small streams” of Internet sales - the sale of market introduction surveys and the sale of private box solutions. We are only planning to go to these areas, but at the moment we do not see any noticeable competition on them.

In which segments, in your opinion, are effective B2B sales through the Network possible?

Reviews, courses, small programs, supplements to ERP-systems. I think this could be bought by both small companies and large financial-industrial groups.

What are the costs of internet activities your company incurs?

The quarterly budget is about $ 100, except for my salary :) We profess the principle that there is no need for strength in chess, and in our business, before investing money, we need to think about what we can do without money. Maybe, for example, two approaches to how to be on the first places in search engines on the Internet:

• Buy links on strong portals, pay advertising;
• Make good content on the site and publish articles in Internet versions of magazines for free (of course, it should be good and interesting articles).

There is nothing wrong with the first version. But if you focus on advertising, not on interesting texts and convenient search for answers for a client, the result will be short-lived (only while advertising is going on), and not every client will “touch the hype”, many will be turned away by bad texts and incomprehensible descriptions. If you make decisions that are interesting for the client (and for partners) and describe them correctly, they will “make a noise” themselves.

Our new site cost us about $ 50. A free engine and a custom design ordered in the United States.

Do you plan to use a corporate blog to increase the growth rate of B2B sales?

Of course. It is difficult to notice the difference on the Internet between strong specialists and weak ones if they use copied advertising texts. We hope that live communication will allow us to spend less time (and our own and customers) on the initial acquaintance.

What, in your estimation, is the sales dynamics on the Web and what will it depend on?

Will grow. Online store - a brilliant idea. I hope that in our business with the improvement of the skills of marketers, technical writers, copywriters, it will be possible to provide consulting services as a finished product. It also depends on software vendors and consultants. It is difficult to sell through the Internet a product that has been introduced for two years and gives an unpredictable result. The industry solution, honed for a specific business, is implemented faster and more reliably, there are several ways to improve the quality of the solution. This is the main priority for us and in the next six months we are going to launch several interesting products with a short sales cycle, including via the Internet.