Streamlining Sales Cycle Management With Internet Messaging

Streamlining Sales Cycle Management with Internet Messaging Table Transparent Knowledgebase.............................................................................................................................1 Transparent Knowledgebases to support Business, Sales and Marketing Processes in Business Development. 1 Engaging the Potential of Contacts.............................................................................................................................2 Table Use Team Competence to resolve Issues..........................................................................................................3 Strategic Business Development places Team Competence to resolve Issues........................................................3 Improving timely Access to needed Information........................................................................................................3 A Database supported System:....................................................................................................................................3 Traditional Database Entry...........................................................................................................................................4 Internet Messaging as a Common Point of Entry for Sales Cycle Management...........................................................4 Team employs Aggregates to fuel Business Development.........................................................................................4 Demonstration of a Message Cycle in Project Management........................................................................................5 Demonstration of Internet Messaging in the Message Cycle........................................................................................5 Migration to Internet Messaging..................................................................................................................................6 Sales Consulting and Engineering..............................................................................................................................6 Table Customer Value through Support........................................................................................................................6 Key Account Management ensures Customer Value through Support......................................................................6 Participation of Data Objects in Contact, Lead, and Project Management..............................................................7 Objects in the Message Cycle.......................................................................................................................................7 Contact, Lead and Project Management Objects..........................................................................................................7 Streamlining the Business Infrastructure to evolve Processes..................................................................................9 Project and Contact Potential Evaluation......................................................................................................................9 Contact Qualification, Lead and Project Status. Coherence- What is a Lead or Project?.............................................9 Lead and Project Processing.....................................................................................................................................10 Lead and Project Distribution.....................................................................................................................................10 Limits and Disadvantages of Reliance on Internet Messaging..................................................................................10 Appendix of Tables........................................................................................................................................................12 Table Transparent Knowledgebase to support Business, Sales and Marketing Processes................................12 Table Strategic Business Development places Team Competence to resolve Issues..........................................13 Table Team employs Aggregates to fuel Business Development...........................................................................14 Table Key Account Management ensures Customer Value through Support.......................................................15 Table Streamlining the Business. Infrastructure to evolve Processes...................................................................16 References and Resources...........................................................................................................................................16 Strategic Business Development engages the market with potential for innovative solutions providing the user with capacity to adapt it to improve his ability to resolve issues. Contacts fuel the interaction and exchange leading to the successful implementation by the Sales Cycle Management team. Innovation requires a flow of knowledge, experience, and engineering for successful transfer. How can Information Systems support the interchange providing efficient and timely analysis of the customer problem, innovation of individual solutions and interaction for the customer benefit? The article text summarizes the table content and the tables are placed in the rear Appendix of Tables for reading flow and reference. Table Transparent Knowledgebase

Transparent Knowledgebases to support Business, Sales and Marketing Processes in Business Development o

This table illustrates setting up the PN: Act.-IR aids corporate information retrival providing indexing and information accessibility. o It enables insertion of project and knowledgebase information to enrich corporate processes. o Building a knowledgebase and storing project management information raises the productivity of interacting processes. o Corporate Processes profit from the integration of Web Research, Project Management, Strategy-Planning and Controlling Information Resources. o Using the table shows obstacles in the free flow of information. o By using Internet Messaging as a basis for the knowlegebase, it reduces the necessary information system resources. Attribute text, clarifies and tablesthe to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc o Content, This table relationships of Objects14.10.09 to Processes -1-

Direct link to table >>> Engaging the Potential of Contacts Leads record contacts. Projects target a problem (analysis) where a potential solution may be achieved. If a project or account has already been opened, then a contact (lead) records new potential. So a dual process establishes itself where new contacts generate leads and if a potential is recognizable, then a project will be opened. Completed projects may generate new interest or problems as leads. Engagement of the market generates a flow of contacts for qualification by the supporting team. How can Information Systems feed aggregates to process the contacts in a timely manner to qualify the available potential? Three aggregates should easily kick in to qualify and provide customer value pinpointing and addressing the customer problem by resolving issues. Internet Messaging pools contacts at a Common Point of Entry where the aggregates pick them up for team use. Aggregate 1: Knowledgebase documenting expertise, know-how, experience and system or product capabilities or performance. The knowledgebase takes information from messaging, project management and research. It stores it and retrieval of this information co-operates in developing project solutions. It provides an individual consulting capability to analyze the customer problem and apply product and services to generate a solution. Aggregate 2: Education Systems. This aggregate filters and assembles information from the knowledgebase to develop material to assist in providing competent information enabling the customer to make an informed decision. Then it provides information to ensure meeting implementation goals. It educates the user to the technology and to system use. It shows him how to solve his problem. Aggregate 3: Support Systems. The knowledgebase feeds support with information on specific problems, and improves timely support information. Just in time access to information improves the customer response and decreases costs. This aggregate takes the production of the first two to build and implement support systems including documentation for the customer, channels and the internal support structure.

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Table Use Team Competence to resolve Issues

Strategic Business Development places Team Competence to resolve Issues o o o o

o o o

This table demonstrates that asking questions and the resulting preparation fulfill the support need, and the corporate requirement of meeting costs of market growth. It sumarizes the important views for each of the phases that ensure availability of the necessary information. This overview allows adaptation of the Information System to adequately fuel the agregates. Most importantly the Information System stores technical and application in the knowledgebase as Information Resources (IR) related to topics and search terms. Application and technical information stores in the project management and moves to the knowledgebase to store under the corresponding topics and problems. Research identifies innovational information to store according to the search terms. Search expressions link research documents, knowledgebase documents and project documents. The PN provides project and activity metrics as well as business, sales, marketing and technical planning information. Streamlining and automation profit from this table as well. It shows the required contents and interfaces. When project resistence occurs, then identifying these resistences in this table also identifies the necessary information and interface as well as the origin. Optimization includes evaluation of the marketing results to adapt the Lead Identification and Qualification as well as Issue Resolution. Process Automation. Change the Agregates to evolve new processes based on resulting sales, Project Management and Technical Support.

Direct link to table >>> Improving timely Access to needed Information Knowledgebase information collects in databases, documents and knowledgebase products such as Wikis. Web Search, Internet Research and product research culls information from these sources and the sales, marketing or support user and combines it for use. A relational database supported Strategic Business Development and Sales Cycle Management over 2- 3 phases of market development (approx. 20 years). Adaptations to the database kept it current and productive. But the paradigm from Unified Messaging to Internet Messaging required changing the support use from database oriented to document oriented. Internet Messaging stores information primarily in documents and not in databases. It requires the information to be re-entered and then stores parallel to the messaging documents. The user collects documents, sorts them and stores them. The database still supported the market development but not efficiently enough for team use because of the dual entry and resources needed for interchange and formatting between the database and the net or e-mail. Graphical nature of web documents offers a potential to improve presentation of conceptualization that databases lack. Business Development addresses potential that does not leave footprints of data, but exists in the answers to questions asked. This changes the nature of the information from masks containing data to documents. It also opens a potential to significantly decrease the data entry time. A conventional database requires significant time and resources to enter and maintain the information. Internet Messaging contains the needed information collecting during research or resulting from team communication. Hence the data has already been stored and must not be re-entered if the information system provides it in a useable manner. Storing and indexing documents for timely retrieval presents the needed information and reduces data entry. Internet Messaging centers the browser and e-mail as the focus of communication to the customer and identification of his problems. It carries the solution. It differs from Unified Messaging by the focus on the Internet without the diversity of fax. It assumes that the Internet carries over 80% of the communication traffic and encloses the project knowledge and experience contained in team correspondence. It changes the database structure from relational masks to indexing documents for search. Further it assumes that the primary data storage enters in the browser and the e-mail contains the remainder. Storage in these mediums and replaces the earlier replication in databases used to support sales and market development. The document-centric storage of Internet Messaging suits well for supporting Strategic Business Development. Preliminary implementations show that Internet Messaging generates a knowledge base of Web Research and Project Management information useful for the Sales Cycle Management team. Further adapting and refining this knowledgebase supports Strategic Business Development. Use of it saves time and streamlines team resources giving the integrated knowledge base and messaging system a name of Sales Cycle Management (SCM). A Database supported System: Traditional database systems include data entry and data storage and processing for Contact Management, Lead Management, and Project Management including Issue Resolution. They store the Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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data for Channel Management and process the information for management activities including controlling information. Stored information contains marketing information and processing for standard marketing activities. It provides the means to analyze customer responses that provide information and processing for PR activities. Automation required integrating basic Document Management and Document Generation. It readily adapted to the flexible needs of the changing markets and target groups for specialization in Strategic Business Development and Sales Cycle Management. Use over the market development showed that the relational database system had obstacles to timely and efficient use including: - Replication of data entry and storage. Unified Messaging did not successfully unify the address book and the Contact Management requiring duplicate maintenance in address books and contact data. - It centered on fax and post communication. - An analysis of the database showed that indexes replicated. - Data entry. Data entry was cumbersome and time-consuming for the user. It required training. - Developing (de facto) standards like XML, XSLT were not supported. - Web Research was not adequately supported for example the identification of suitable search expressions and use for searching. Optimization of search terms was not supported reducing the capability of improving search yield. Traditional Database Entry SCM adapts the Internet browser and e-mail client to improve functionality 1) Data entry in the traditional database was time consuming and typically consisted of: a. Contact entry b. Lead entry c. Project entry d. Documentation of Sales Engineering, Sales Consulting or proposals e. Project Management. Follow-up of To-dos or Issue Resolutions. f. Introduction of Milestones and deadlines and control of the completion g. Follow-up of marketing response h. Follow-up PR response i. Web Research results were not integrated 2) Experience with the database system showed how indexes proliferated. Typical databases employed different indexes for the information and objects noted above. Changes in the databases often resulted in use of new indexes. Replication of indexes slowed adaptation and created errors. Internet Messaging as a Common Point of Entry for Sales Cycle Management Table Employ Aggregates to fuel Team Business Development

Team employs Aggregates to fuel Business Development This table gives a detailed view of the on-going activities fueling the agregates. It matches the activities to the information required from the Information System to support the activities. Enabling a comparison between the requirements and the implementation it indicates weaknesses. Sales Cycle Management provides system support for analysis and planning and empowers Contact Management and follow-up, Project Management, Support Center care. Web Research generates new innovation potential. The Account Management produces application and engineering information to adapt to the customer needs. Technical Support takes the information collected from research and application and applies it to direct the support center. Direct link to table >>> Internet Messaging provides a Common Point of Entry to simplify data storage and retrieval and then apply the stored knowledge from the knowledge base. The principle bases on spiral or circular growth. Spirals include two components and combine them moving around in a circle. At the same time the combination inclines upwards or downwards. Building a spiral mathematically defines a co-ordinate system of two coordinates (x,y). Movement around the circle proceeds by changing the x-y coordinates at a constant length from the center. It interchanges the two coordinates. In a spiral as the central movement proceeds the position increases in height from the starting position, and the radius from the center changes. Growth potential proceeds vertically or horizontally. Spiral growth combines two independent components. A message cycle replicates growth by exchanging or combining of two components of project management and information resources. A following demonstration and model shows how the Message Cycle functions to exchange the two components. Engaging the Internet sends a request for information that the search engines answer. The returning answer stores in a knowledge base with an index of the topic. Call it Information Resource (IR). At this time it may not have a purpose. A project calls for the information to apply it. This qualifies the information. The index broadens to Act-IR where Activity is the project designator. After collecting enough information to satisfy the problem, the Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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solution documents and the system forwards it to the customer. The first half of the cycle completes when the customer receives the information. The second cycle half repeats but inverses. If interested, the customer replies with a question. Again a knowledge base query provides information. The query documents and returns to the customer. The cycle completes with acceptance of the solution and satisfaction. Observe how one index Act-IR indexes the complete cycle eliminating the need of other indexes. This cycle applies to Internet Messaging, Web Research, Project Management and Sales Cycle Management. It begins with a question carried by the message cycle in a market dialogue that identifies information (needed) sources. Then continues by combining and embedding the information in a customer solution. Experience shows that typical database entry and retrieval contains a proliferation of indexes or components. This occurs while defining and building the database or filing the documents. Multiple indexes cause errors in data entry and confuse the identification of suitable search terms. It results in extensive time used to find necessary documentation or data. Simplification to two components and using these to define all indexes and search terms within a cycle eases storage and retrieval of knowledgebase information. Demonstration of a Message Cycle in Project Management Consider the messaging that occurs in a typical support case. Observe the index, the Call Symmetry and the Path Symmetry and how the two components of Information Resource (IR) and the Activity or Project (Act) combine and provide a unique index. Engaging. Make a call and present the Internet with a question. Make an inquiry. Index- IR. Identification- Incoming. The Internet responds revealing useful information for storage. Incoming: IndexIR. Receiving a doc. Qualification of the stored information as useful for a project. IR applied to an issue, problem for a project. Index-Act-IR. Project, Consulting, To-Do Outgoing: Document the solution and forward it. Index- Act-IR- Media of choice. Sending a document. Project-IR-Media. The index Inverses Incoming: Team. Reply from the customer asking a question or stating a problem. Identification of an Issue, which calls for a solution. Index- Act-IR. Identification: revision, change. Media-Doc-Item/Line--IR-Act. Calling for a doc. Query the Knowledgebase for knowledge or project experience. Index- Act-IR Resolution of the problem. IR-Act- Media-Doc-Item/Line. Acceptance of the solution. Turn-over. Observe the similarity to the XML language that suggests the usefulness of it as a storage language. Two components exchange within the cycle: IR being Information Resources, and Activity that defines a specific project to apply the information. An exchange of these two components moves through the cycle meeting target goals. Implementation demonstrates that using the independent components of Information Resources and Project Activities (PN) satisfies the index needs of Business Development and Sales Cycle Management. Most importantly this provides a unique index suitable for use in Contact Management, Lead Management, Project Management, and Channel Management. Test results show that it efficiently processes Marketing and PR activities. It provides the inputs for Internet Messaging and enables a paradigm from a relational database structure to text and document oriented. It aids in identifying and using search terms to find information. Demonstration of Internet Messaging in the Message Cycle Now observe the data used in the cycle. Engaging. Make a call and present the Internet with a question. Make an inquiry. Index- IR Storing the response makes use of the Project Stored Searches, Browser History, Stored Web Pages, Team Message Share and shared To-Dos. Identification- Incoming. The Internet responds revealing useful information for storage, receiving a doc. The information stores in the Team Message Share and shared To-Dos und uses Tags. Qualification of the stored information as useful for a project. IR applied to an issue, problem for a project. Sales consulting and engineering. Searches and Stored Searches collect information from the Information and documents stored in the message share. Project Stored Searches, Browser History, Stored Web Pages provide information resources, Team Message Share and shared ToDos ensure resolution. Outgoing: Document the solution and forward it. Sending a document. Project-Media. Document generation and management integrate into Internet Messaging. The index Inverses and the system components again provide service to complete the demands. Incoming: Team. Reply asking a question or stating a problem. To-do. Identification of an Issue which calls for a solution. Knowledgebase queried for knowledge or project experience. Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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Resolution of the problem- send a report. Acceptance. Turn-over. Migration to Internet Messaging In Internet Messaging the browser and e-mail centric system simplifies much of the former database entry. The e-mail client expands to a knowledge base and searching the storage accesses team information assets from web research, project management and development. The user profits because the “native” document information does not require re-entry. The implementation profits from these principles: o Shared profiles ease system administration. Individual profiles for user, team, developer and administrator use tailor the information collection, storage and access. o Shared messaging files. Shared files conform to the security needs of the individual, team and administration or development. o The knowledge-based e-mail client provides searching, indexing, annotation, editing and integrates contacts with the Internet contacts. o Knowledge base material feeds the 3 aggregates to satisfy sales consulting, engineering and project management demands. o The e-mail client completes and stores the Contact Management and shares needed information. o Lead Management takes place in the e-mail client with the use of tags and folders. Use of Virtual Folders facilitates and eases the management. o Shared Team To-Dos support Issue Resolution. o E-mail functionality complements the processing of marketing activities and response follow-up o Similarly the PR management uploads to the e-mail client. o Migration paths from e-mail standards such as the Mbox format to XML and XSLT as well as java are already available. o Some of the programming in the e-mail client is already available in XML. o Preliminary tests provide satisfactory results. To build and implement Internet Messaging in Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird consult the following documents: o Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird share To-Dos and simplify the Follow-up. >>> Scribd document. o Basics of sharing To-Dos and Follow-up with Mozilla Thunderbird and Firefox. Improve Web Research and Project Management. >>> Scribd document. o Configure Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird for To-Dos and Follow-up. >>> Sales Consulting and Engineering Table Customer Value through Support

Key Account Management ensures Customer Value through Support o o o o o o

Employs experience to analyze and plan approaches to target fulfillment Identifies target channels and accounts Defines issues restricting growth Builds the necessary support resources Efficiently identifies and qualifies available leads and projects Puts a competence center into place fed by information assets from the knowledge base and implements controlling Key Accounting takes application knowledge and stores it in the knowledgebase and combines Direct link to table >>> The original database experimented with building entry masks for sales consulting data and using other masks to develop customer-consulting documents such as proposals. But use showed that these masks were inappropriate for timely production of customer problem solving documentation. They did not conform to user thinking models and support thinking or creative activities. The next system advanced to a text or document database and linked data and documents with hypertext links and searches. It combined data tables and linked them to documents. Development of individual solutions faces the sales engineer with the challenge of innovating a customer-tailored solution. Improving conceptualization of the problem through visualization decreases the effort and time in meeting customer needs. Combining data tables with documents improved the visualization of the complex relationships within the problem and how the product solved it. It was more efficient, provided more creative solutions and supported visualization used in developing customer solutions. Documentation production time and effort reduced. Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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It integrated e-mail by importing project correspondence. It produced satisfactory results and indicated a future development strategy. Participation of Data Objects in Contact, Lead, and Project Management Internet Messaging stores incoming contacts and information, and ensures adequate indexing, searching and information flow for the team to use in solving customer problems, as well as education in the system use and technical support. 3 aggregates feed the sales cycle to satisfy the project needs successfully. From a database point of view, there are 3 objects to treat. A contact is the customer and records his contact data, where he may be found. It provides a means of communication and identifies him with a company or account. The point of contact generates a lead. This lead must be qualified and relates to a status. It identifies the means used to generate the contact and connects the contact to other marketing activities. Qualification determines if the contact is a lead, which does not have determinate need creating interest to buy or close within a foreseeable time. Or if the contact has identified a need then he uses the contact to collect information to solve the problem confronting him. If there is a potential that he will invest in a determinate time in a solution to his problem, then the contact qualifies as a project. The project records the information necessary to conceptualize the product solution, and the means to present it convincingly to the customer. This information includes a corporate profile, a needs analysis, and a problem analysis. It records the information to analyze and show how the proposed solution will benefit. Objects in the Message Cycle Observe how the objects interact in the Message Cycle. IR- a contact engages because of his belief that engaging produces contacts benefiting from a solution Act-IR. Engaging identifies a lead or project. Act-IR. Knowledgebase facilities support in the analysis and solution of the project problem Act-IR- Doc Knowledge base and educational systems support the solution/ project presentation in manner optimal for the individual customer understanding. Now the contact considers the solution and the best adaptation to his need. Act-IR. The customer replies with questions and the next support need. Act-IR. Activating the knowledge base again provides a suitable answer for the resolution. Act-IR. Project Implementation. Decision to implement based on the project support and information assets provided. Act-IR is called a Promotion Number or index and uniquely identifies each phase of the messaging cycle, which promotes the customer relationship. It details the promotion in the customer relationship. Using the PN eliminates the typical duplication and replication of indexes accompanying the filing of data in databases and documents. Internet Messaging augments the e-mail and Internet documents with specific customer information. This places the project information directly in the browser and e-mail files and reduces the storage in a complementary database. Reducing dual entry in parallel messaging systems and databases make the salesman more productive so he spends more time with the personal side of sales, working with the customer to build a beneficial solution with the available products and services. Using a uniform PN saves time in regular and routine tasks accessing databases and knowledge bases. They provide the necessary information in a timely manner. With the information; the customer has a better understanding of the solution and the benefits that it brings him. Applying the information contained within the messaging and knowledge base to the objects completes the processing. Visualization of implementation concepts and benefits promotes understanding of the project. Sales consulting, project management and customer implementation often employ different perspectives. Web and e-mail based aggregates profit from the graphical orientation of Internet documentation in the knowledge base and assist in assembling understandable documentation to address the issues apparent in the differing perspectives. Supporting Sales Cycle Management with Internet Messaging streamlines processes to benefit the customer, save the salesman time and provide needed information for corporate marketing and other departments. The PN remains a unique identifier providing marketing information including current mailing information, or sales metrics. Refer to >>> for a complete definition of the objects, transactions, attributes and views participating in Sales Cycle Management and Business Development. Contact, Lead and Project Management Objects Leads process to determine the productivity of the marketing communications, and the channels as well as the markets responding to the activities. Processing the object project provides direct benefits for the Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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salesman in improving his solution, and allowing him to better use his experience to improve the quality of his customer solution. Contact and Lead Qualification Often a dual entry accompanies contact and lead processing and storage. Team members enter the incoming contacts brought by messaging into an accompanying database for further processing. Using the Common Point of Entry to feed the 3 aggregates instead of database entry saves resources. Arriving contacts separate into unqualified and qualified contacts or projects with obvious immediate need. The Table Sales Cycle Management View for the Common Point of Entry for Activities and Processes >>> shows that at the Common Point of Entry the contacts store in a common folder indexed by the messaging index including the PN Act-IR. A tag designates them as qualified or unqualified. The information and sales contacts remain in storage until a trigger changes the status to move for qualification as a project. This contact pool precludes additional database processing or entry. Application of a trigger signifying qualification moves the contact to a project object and starts the project qualification. Successful projects mature with time; and the object project changes with the collected information. The salesman is assisted in determining when the customer can be contacted to assist in the maturing process. At that time the project information linked within the multi-media messaging storage helps him to understand the customer problem with less effort in less time. His concept improves. Processing the objects project and leads gives the salesman information on the interest levels of new and existing contacts and he proactively contacts the customer to work with him to meet the new challenges. First the objects contact, lead, and project configure with the information collected on site during the contact. They define the objects, and provide information to feed into the processes serving the customer. The processes can be conceptualized in an engineering manner as a system with a feedback loop. Access to a team knowledge base combining data and graphical representation assists in documenting the solution for sales, engineering and customer understanding. The input is the contact. The gain is the work invested by the salesman to solve and support the customer problem. The output is the current status of the project or lead. The feedback is the information gained from the database processing that assists the salesman in improving his customer support level. The project or lead status compares to the contact input. This comparison is a difference, which is measurable objectively in the value of the project or lead status and subjectively as well through the analysis. This difference controls the system Customer Support. The sum of the controlling results for the Customers is controlling. The database objects and the processing provide the basis for controlling. Controlling determines the productivity of the processing. It provides information to innovate changes thereby improving the quality level. Resulting in better support for the customer, with less effort from the salesman and reduces the corporate costs. Controlling is a comparison of the input contact potential with the actual output, and the output potential. Table Streamlining evolves Processes

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Streamlining the Business Infrastructure to evolve Processes o

o

o o o o Direct

Streamlining the Agregates requires evolving Information Systems to adapt to the results of sales, marketing, Issue Resolution and Project Management and includes the Technical Support. It requires flexibility. This table shows controlling, storage, and linking possibilities to minimize the adaptation effort. It also demonstrates the individual benefits for the team effort and how they add to the complete effort. It shows that the PN adequately indexes the complete cycle linking masked data and document data. Information flows from the Promotion, Issue Resolution to store in a knowledgebase. In the table it becomes apparent that the information from Web Research complements the knowledgebase and this synthesis enriches the Project Management and Technical Support. Promotion, Issue Resolution and Channel distribution process primarily 5 objects of Contact, Lead, Key Account, Project and Activity. Processing generates Business impulses, controls the sales activities, manages the marketing activities and fuels the technical support follow-up. When using an e-mail client tagging the messages with the project tag files them to the project folder. Integrating Business Communication and Document Management documents the Promotion Activities, Issue Resolution and Channel Distribution. Similarly it produces the business, sales, marketing and technical documentation. Data import and export ensure availability of information and data for inclusion in other link to table >>>

The table shows how the objects relate to the processes. Internet Messaging supports user interaction. The results of the cycle support that can be measured by quality are supported by the database, and are reliant on them. Business development is a global undertaking and much broader than supporting customer accounts. But the sum of the objects, the information collected, and the processes innovated and improved will facilitate business development. Project and Contact Potential Evaluation A numerical evaluation system records the developing project potential that is built and develops. Contact and Lead Evaluation Contact Contact Project Project Project

Lead and Project Status 1 Identification/ Entry 2 Qualification 3 Support, consulting and education 4 Decision 5 Closing

Project Qualification

Project Evaluation Project Decision Project Implementation

#1 and #2 are the steps of identifying and entering a contact and the essential information necessary to support the solution process. If need is qualified #2, then the decision phase must be supported #3. At the point of offering support the lead transforms into a project by #3. This phase generates important questions concerning the need, and the solution and these questions must have timely answers. Normally if there is qualified need then a project or account is opened and contains the data necessary to develop a solution to the problem. The support provides the decision information used in #4. #5 documents the decision and monitors the ensuing follow-up. Object quantities for the contact objects provide metrics for the Sales Cycle contacts. Quantities of projects progressing from support to closure indicate the quality of the knowledge base, educational and technical support aggregates. Contact Qualification, Lead and Project Status. Coherence- What is a Lead or Project? Where do I go from here? Contact evaluation begins with status #1 as identification, generation and entry of the essential contact information. If interest will lead to a buying decision within a workable period then #2 is recorded as a qualified contact. If need is determinable then it is awarded 3, but there the customer defined no definite implementation plans or targets. For a project where implementation is targeted, and the decision information is being collected, then a project with value 4 is opened. This is a customer project. Companies encountered with multiple projects generate an account or key account. 5 closes the sales cycle, hopefully with success. Definition: Coherence. Coherence distinguishes between leads and projects. Both objects separate into two different processes with differing priority. Evaluations should be homogeneous in separating the Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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contacts so that the priority remains the same. A lead does not have issues; the follow-up status involved in issues triggers a lead. When there is an issue it becomes a project. Consequently only projects have issues. Projects generate new contacts and are evaluated by lead contacts. Promotion activities produce contacts and are named sales promotion activities. The results of a mailing, or show are evaluated by the PN, which the Message Cycle shows contains Activities-Information Resources. These ID numbers enter into the Lead Tracking or Project records. Evaluation of the PN measures the leads or projects it generates. This means that after the show, the number of generated leads or projects and the status measures the success. The status records the interest level of the contact. It is used to follow-up on the contact and to evaluate the success of the activity. Lead and Project Processing Using a PN the generated leads or projects must be processed: entered, qualified, delegated or distributed to the distribution channels. It may be delegated to process the leads generally by the reaction data, and the projects separately. Perhaps the sales engineers are in a better position to judge the relevancy of the inquiry of the projects. Or both leads and projects can be processed together. In the interest of productivity, the process for the leads and projects is designed to be as identical as possible. The PN controls the follow-up of leads and to-dos. Each lead or project must be evaluated. They are then separated and delegated or distributed where they will be followed-up. After the follow-up the results are entered, and then the sales support begins which is monitored through issue resolution. The issues are monitored, actioned and when completed the customer needs have been met. Similarly the projects must be qualified and then by issue resolution supported. Lead and Project Distribution In developing distribution channels, the leads or projects are not followed-up in house, but are processed and passed on or distributed to the indirect channels. Internet Messaging offers a Common Point of Entry to process the leads in-house and qualify them based on the entry information. The distribution followsup by contacting the potential lead or project to determine interest level and need. Analyzing this information evaluates the success of the promotion activities. Active projects are supported by the distribution and support issues may be passed back and entered. Major Accounts are large customer whose project needs usually require a support team with broader experience and specialized know-how. They differ in the technical complexity, which surpasses the in-house capability or experience of indirect channels. It is more profitable when a business co-operation places direct support in experienced hands to win the business. Leads and projects are logged by the distribution and key account responsibility remains in the indirect channels, but issue resolution is done directly.

Limits and Disadvantages of Reliance on Internet Messaging Using the example of Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird shows that synchronizing the filing system and extending the indexing, searching and editing capability of the browser and e-mail client is the key to expeditiously improving team resources. Internet Messaging files e-mails in e-mail files and the Bookmarks and web pages in another file. Documents file in yet another file. Synchronization of these media-filing archives facilitates use for the user. Experience shows that each archive uses similar topic folders meaning that each folder occurs at least 3 times. Using what Mozilla calls “Virtual Folders” simplifies the collection. A “Virtual Folder” is a search for a tag or search expression. Incoming and outgoing messages, e-mails and documents tag with standardized tags. A tag simulates a folder. Sharing the tags and the storage enables the user to effectively collect the answer to his questions and queries. Implementing the Team Share is explained in detail in the referenced implementation documents. User confidence is an important issue and a critical part of the system success. Users file documents in separate folders to find them easily and reliably. To ensure confidence in the filing reliability the media stores in Information Resource folders organized according to topic, and in project folders. Assuming that tags are efficiently organized “Virtual Folders” would simplify filing to one folder where each item is tagged with the appropriate tags. Another disadvantage of Internet Messaging derives from the system administration and maintenance of the Tags, Message Filters and Stored Searches. Experience shows that extensive planning provides a range of tags and filter or search definitions that meet user needs. The planning avoids problems later with missing documents. Text searches backup accountability for the documents. Data import and export represents another critical item. Each user accesses a corporate database that defines indexes. These indexes should be seamlessly integrated into the tags and the messages for reference. For this reason Table Team employs Aggregates to fuel Business Development considers what the shared variables should be and how to integrate them. Strategic Business Development assumes an introductory market. A mature market requires Information Systems Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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specialized to meet the requirements of the channels and support. Integration of Internet Messaging does not fulfill this profile. More information on the Aggregates to drive Strategic Business Development

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Scribd document

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Appendix of Tables Table Transparent Knowledgebase to support Business, Sales and Marketing Processes Return to table summary and text >>> Objects Relationship of Objects to Processes

Contact/ Project Qualification

Issue Resolution To Do, Actions

Channel Management

Corporate Processes

Business Web Research. IR Contact Management. Act Key Account, Project Management Act-IR Act-IR Strategy Planning Controlling Data Xchange Business Communication (Document) Formatting

Info

Sales

Marketing

Technical

Mailings Telemarketing Internet

Tech Support Implementation Support Contracts Maintenance Contracts Upgrade Contracts

Info

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Table Strategic Business Development places Team Competence to resolve Issues Return to table summary and text >>> Sales Cycle Management

Evaluate the Potential

Corporate Business Development

Sales Potential to realize Promotion Activities - What? - Contact Identification - Where? and Qualification - Contact Lead and Account Management

Realize Market Potential - Channel - Product - Land

The Potential

Channel Development Major Account Distribution OEM Branding

Optimization

Realizing the Potential

Service Potential

Sales Consulting Key Account Management - Pre-Sales Support - Issue Resolution - Metrics - Contract Admin Project Management Sales Promotion Activities Contact Management - Channel Project and Contact Follow-up - Lead Generation and Qualification Marketing Activities Website - Web Contacts - Marketing Contacts

Competence Center Project Management - Cost - Deadlines - Target Fulfillment

Project Controlling and Review Issue Resolution

Tech Support - Project Issues - Decision Issues Update-, Service and Maintenance Contracts

PR/ Advertising Automation - Sales and Marketing Administration - Contact Management, Follow-up

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Contact Management Key Account Management Project Management

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Administration Update- and Maintenance Contracts

Table Team employs Aggregates to fuel Business Development Return to table summary and text >>> Sales Cycle Management

Corporate Business Development - Web Research - Planning - Optimizing

Metrics

Channel Sales and Marketing Plan

Streamlining sales and marketing processes

Controlling

Targeting Potential Targeting Sales Potential - What - Where?

Available Sales Potential Key Account Management Promotion Activities Contact Management and Lead Qualification Project and Lead Follow-up

Targeting Market Potential - Contacts/ Leads - Projects - Channel - Product - Land Account Management Issue Resolution Contact Management Channel Communication and Distribution Management Tech Support

Channel Development - Channel Management - Major Account Development - OEM Branding

Web Research Knowledgebase

Streamlining Promotion Activities Contact generation, qualification and Followup Account Management Sales Support and Issue Resolution Promotion Lead Generation and Qualifications Results Issue Resolution Sales Bookings, Forecast

Streamlining and Process Automation

Sales, Market und Channel Potential

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Available Potential

Potential Turnover Key Account Management - Sales Consulting and Engineering - Sales Support - Issue Resolution - Contract Admin Project Management Sales Promotion Contact Follow-up Account Management Open Issues Channel Management Bookings, Forecast

Service Center Revenue Competence Center Project Management - Costs - Deadlines - Performance

Marketing Activities Web contacts Marketing contacts Search Engine Optimization Keyword Search Order Processing

Tech Support - Project Issues - Decision Issues Hotline Support

Project Controlling and Review

Web Statistics

PR/ Ads Mailings Business Communication Document Management

Performance Center - Admin - Update und Maintenance contracts

Sales Turnover

Service Potential

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Table Key Account Management ensures Customer Value through Support Return to table summary and text >>>

Sales Cycle Management

Sales, Market und Channel Potential Identify the Sales potential - What? - Where?

Available Accounts

Account Sales

Competence Projects

Sales and Marketing Plan Project Management Contact Management Lead and Project Qualification

Key Account Management Consulting Sales Support Issue Resolution

Competence Center Project Management - Cost - Deadlines - Performance

Identify the Market Potential - Channel - Product - Land

Channel Development - Channel Management - Major Account Development - OEM Branding

Sales Promotion Support Project Controlling and Project and Contact Review Qualification/ Follow-up

Analysis Account Potential

Account potential to be realized

Sales

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Project Revenue

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Table Streamlining the Business. Infrastructure to evolve Processes Return to table summary and text >>>

Planning Diagnostic Documentation Analysis

Objects

Promotion Activities

Customer Contact Management Lead Key Account Project Management Activity- PN Knowledgebase

Use of PN

Issue Resolution ToDo Integrate ToDos in E-mail

Channel Distribution

Business

Redistribute Applied to in E-mail develop areas and optimize Sales Cycle Product Cycle Stored Search- PN

Sales

Marketing

Technical

Consulting Shows Sending Literature

Mailings Telemarketing Internet

Tech Support Implementation Maintenance Contracts Upgrade Contracts

Tag- Project Tag- Project. Tag- PN.

Web Research Contents: Summary Object Description Logical connections Qualities, Evaluation

Data Import/ Export Data/ Document Linking Business communication Document Management

References and Resources Configuration Guide to share Team and Project To-Dos and Follow-up for Mozilla Thunderbird and Firefox >>> Quick Reference to Sales Cycle Management Objects to drive Strategic Business Development Aggregates >>> Streamlining Sales Cycle Management with Internet Messaging >>> Table View: Sales Cycle Management View for the Common Point of Entry for Activities and Processes >>> A collection of articles: Store and Process Team Knowledge and Experience to qualify Support >>> Attribute Content, text, and tables to Gary_Gabriel 23379314.doc 14.10.09

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Tag- Project.

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