As Technology Budgets Bounce Back, Increased Focus on the Customer Presents Plenty of Selling Opportunities

It’s becoming apparent that technology budgets have finally increased after years of cost cutting and downsizing within the Fortune 1000 and Global 500. With spending finally on the rise, many companies are planning enterprise-wide initiatives to turn their focus back on the customer with hopes of generating more revenue and gaining a competitive advantage. Fortunately, for reps selling technology to the enterprise, countless different technological solutions can be easily aligned to these business needs and help win more business.

H&R Block is a great example of a company that has entirely turned around its strategy and is ready to fully engage with and focus on their customers. Improving issue resolution when clients call their contact centers will be a priority for them in 2010, as they plan to invest around $10 million in the project. The company’s call centers field approximately 90 million contacts annually with nine million of these contacts being fielded by live agents. They plan to:

• Improve functionality, access and connectivity, which will allow appointment setting and other important services at the call center.
• Invest in training and processing system improvements so that they can better solve client issues during the first call.
• Implement 32 initiatives to reduce the need for client calls in the first place.

If you are selling enterprise technology, chances are one of your offerings can help solve customer contact issues, whether it is routing technology, a CRM system or add on, or even something as broad as a customizable business process management solution. These customer-facing initiatives are huge business drivers for companies looking to make a turnaround after the economic downturn, which also makes it the perfect time to solve their business problems; they’re ready to spend money on your solution.

For more ways to solve business problems with technology, check out the free Technology Business Drivers document, complete with 20 free technology sales leads uncovered by Fortune 1000 market analysts.

- Carolyn Sebasky
carolyn . sebasky@salesquest.com
978.749.9999 ext. 107