I received an email recently from a gentleman in India who works as a consultant with a fast-growing systems integration firm. He had a few questions for me about how to approach customers and deliver a successful solution. I was impressed with his questions and wanted to share my responses with our entire readership.
Question: What is a good sales pitch to introduce RFID-based solutions in a simple manner to a prospect organization in the industrial, healthcare, transportation and supply chain industries?
My response: I would recommend that you read Geoffrey Moore’s book Crossing the Chasm, which explains the technology-adoption lifecycle and how companies adopt new technologies (keep in mind that RFID is still new to most companies). Moore suggests that sellers of new technologies focus on a single industry and offer a complete solution to a problem that companies in that sector face—a problem which no other technology can solve (or can solve cost-effectively). There are a few companies in the RFID industry, for example, that are focused almost exclusively on retail, and they are trying to solve the problem of maintaining high in-store inventory accuracy.
Moore suggests building a whole product or a complete solution. One big problem we’ve seen in the RFID industry is that some businesses sell tags, some sell readers, and others sell software, and then a systems integrator puts it all together. That means there are often four companies that can blame each other if things go wrong, creating greater risk for technology buyers. As a systems integrator, your company can take responsibility for selecting the tags, readers and software and create the whole solution to specific problem (lost or missing returnable transport items, for example).
If you’ve done several similar projects related to supply chain efficiency, you can focus your sales pitch on this solution. It’s important to use existing customers as references for new business. If you can get your customers to speak at RFID and supply chain events, that will help as well.
Question: What are the issues and considerations to keep in mind while preparing a quote for an RFID project?
My Response: The biggest issue is to understand that executives perceive RFID as a risk. If I am the supply chain manager of a large company, making a nice salary and getting some stock options, and I propose an RFID solution that ends up going wrong, I could be fired. You need to find an advocate within the company—someone who “gets” RFID—and help that person address the concerns of top management that this could all go wrong. The advocate will likely be someone who has researched RFID, and it may be the person who first contacts your company.
This person will understand the business problem the company is having and will know the concerns of management. Your job is to provide everything the advocate needs to get a project approved. It’s also important to start small and achieve a few successes before pushing for a bigger project. The advocate might have a significant business problem that requires an expensive installation. It’s important to convince the advocate to start with a small, manageable project to achieve success, and to convince upper management that RFID can deliver real value.
Question: What are the key areas and guidance for smooth execution and closing an RFID project successfully?
Keep the project focused. Don’t allow executives to add new elements to the original project scope. Make sure you are working with a leader within the company who can make decisions and has the support of top management. And don’t forget to train workers well on the new system, including how to perform simple maintenance, such as rebooting a reader.
It’s also critical to address any worker concerns about the system being used to track them like “Big Brother.” I delivered a full-day seminar on RFID strategies and best practices at RFID Journal LIVE! and covered many of the concepts essential for a successful project from end-users’ point of view. Premium members can watch a recording of those presentations in our video library.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal.