Business System Consultation Center - Our Business System ColumnVol.33 2013.08.01 Takahashi Minoru

IT salespeople who skillfully offer escapism to business owners sell like hotcakes

Thank you for your interest and continued support.
This is Takahashi from the Marketing Plan Research Laboratory.


I often hear stories like,
I often hear stories like this.


I imagine that many of you CEOs reading this column can relate to this,
or perhaps you often hear such stories from those around you?


Salespeople at system companies are all exceptionally skilled.
They’re a group of professionals who sell things you don’t need.


Dressed in neatly trimmed short hair, crisp suits, and shiny shoes,
speaking with a clear, youthful voice—
leaves a very strong impression, even on me,
to the point where I find myself thinking, “Maybe I should buy that system.”


If the system implementation fails,
the company will suffer losses far exceeding the cost of the system.
That loss comes from “employees losing trust in the system itself.”


The logically obvious argument that “the previous (failed) system is different from the new one we’re considering now”
—this logically obvious argument doesn’t hold water with employees.


If a system implementation fails even once,
they will face baseless resistance, such as:
and other baseless resistance,
and you’ll end up having to issue orders to the front-line staff, requiring additional effort.
This loss ultimately casts a shadow over the company’s continued growth.


Therefore, we strongly recommend exercising the utmost caution when implementing a system.
It is appropriate to view salespeople who seem to be saying,
It is best to approach salespeople who make such claims with a healthy dose of skepticism.


That's all, Thank you for reading.

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