Dont line item. Dont mention Asterisk or the like. Wording like "VoIP
PBX" and list features. Compare to 3com V3000 for features and
pricing. They will be similar for a four line system. Then compare the
pricing for upgrades such as a T1 card and extra chassis, now you are
talking about a $5000 jump.
Make sure to make it perfectly clear that while all of the features
listed can be done, they are by no means included in the proposal, or
fall under "Advanced Configuration Per Hour" beyond the "basic" PBX
functionality.
Try to arrange an 50% upfront and 50% on customer acceptance, if that
does not work go 20%/80%.
Very true that large companies do not operate like that. They also want
to see that you are big enough to "float" that kind of expense (speaking
as a one time purchaser of a 3com system for a large pharmaceutical
company with three chassis, two T1 cards, six FXS cards 150 phones,
total was about $150,000 if I remember correctly). If they could not
float that for 30 days then I would have a good feeling of them being
around in a year due to cash flow issues.
We were looking at Cisco but went with 3Com because 3Com actually one of
their techs with the re-seller/installer and we liked to know that 3Com
was that involved and supportive to it's re-sellers.
Thanks,
Steve
Michael Welter wrote:
When I review all the proposals I have submitted, I realize that I
hardly ever sell to a prospect that has an IT staff, especially a
staff of one guy who knows absolutely everything. Now my proposals to
such prospects are nothing more than a brief description of
functionality and the pricing--no more DIY manuals. I no longer
mention brand names or my supplier names.
I've also begun requiring an up-front payment for additional
equipment, especially telephone sets. Some customers ask for terms,
to which I say "Does Home Depot give you terms?". I've been able to
significantly reduce my receivables with this policy.
When consulting with a company with an established presence in the
community, you really have to give then Net30, especially if they have
a formal accounts payable policy. For telephone consulting, you first
need the client to demonstrate his willingness to pay, even if its
just $100.
Technical Support wrote:
That's the nature of consulting - you have to balance demonstrating
competency with solving the problem before being paid. We've had
many similar experiences, and we now require prepayment for 2 hrs
service before we do any work (or even talk to the client for more
than a few minutes). (Despite attempts by potential clients to make
the sales call into a problem solving call). We have undoubtedly
lost potential opportunities, but our "walk away with free advice"
effort has been almost eliminated.
The same goes for proposals. I can't count the number of times our
proposals have become a do-it-yourselfer's guide to setting things up
by themselves. I think it's great if customers want to do it
themselves, but don't waste our time!
I understand of course that it's tough for users too. There are lots
of self proclaimed experts on the list who after hours of billed time
have done nothing for their money (we've cleaned up after lots of
those folks too). These are usually the same people sending out
flame emails about how smart they are and how stupid everyone else is.
MD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Voce
Lavoce
*Sent:* Friday, April 14, 2006 5:14 PM
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* [Asterisk-Users] My consulting story
Hi everybody,
I would like to be awareabout what happened to me.
Two weeks ago, on a Sunday morning a French guy called me. Ask me to
fix some problems with his asterisk. After fixing his problem, he
asked more and more, after 10 hours of work I ask him to pay me for
the first milestone. However, lucky me that I did not finish, since
he never paid me.
Be afraid and take your action if some french guy wants to hire you
to do some trunking with the Philippines.
Hope, that this can help someone.
See you
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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