RentalMetrics

Article by RentalMetrics Fouder Doug Mitchell in ARA's Rental Management Magazine

I wrote an article for Rental Management Magazine that has gone live online.  The article is called, "See You On the Web:  Uploading Video Can Build Your Rental Business"

The power and effectiveness of web video is undeniable.  Whether shopping for toasters or pick up trucks online, buyers are 50% more likely to buy and buy from you if you have video explaining a product and demonstrating value. 

It doesn't take a marketing budget increase of $50k to shoot one commercial either.  We've been using "guerrilla video" tactics for over a year now to increase visibility and Internet findability.   If you don't think this is important now, you will.

Give us a call if you need guidance.  Or, visit our sister company www.createWOWmedia.com to see how they're helping small and medium sized companies WOW new customers and leave the competition scratching their collective head.

Enterprise Confessions: Removing the Fluff from the Selling & Buying Process

When I wrote "Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said _________________" I didn't realize how universally the book could be applied across industries. 

Of course since RentalMetrics is focused on the Construction and Equipment Rental sectors, early feedback there was very positive.   Today Construction News has put out the news to the world that the book is still available at NO CHARGE. 

The book is a brief journey into what you might expect a salesperson to say when trying to separate your business from hard earned profits.  "Confessions" goes onto to provide the counter punch so you can ensure that expectations are clear and reality is the number one item on the agenda.

If you'd like the book you can find a download link to the right in the sidebar or simply enter your name and email in the boxes below and you'll receive it almost immediately.  If you have any questions or comments about the book, please let us know.

Chief Deliverer of Results Quoted in Utility Contractor Magazine

The cover story for the May 2008 issue of Utility Contractor Magazine is called, "The Transmission: Fleet Management Systems Employ GPS and Cellular Signals to Up Productivity

It's a great article.  Here's my quote:

“By injecting actionable data from fleet management systems into the business cycle, leaders can proactively make decisions on fleet composition, replace vs. repair and fleet staging,” says Doug Mitchell, CEO and founder of RentalMetrics, a subscription-based consulting service operating online — allowing professionals to research available GPS solutions for their equipment, trucks and trailers and identify and calculate ROI for solution deployments across the enterprise. “Also, data can become very powerful when used across the enterprise to streamline transportation, dispatching a driver directly to a machine vs. somewhere on a jobsite or in field service, dispatching a technician to a machine with a proper inventory of parts based on a fault code received at the home office.”

We try to take a holistic approach with GPS solutions.  I've been chatting with solution manufacturers the last few days and each describe that "most clients still buy for one or two key reasons." There's nothing wrong with that...but to really extract the value from the solution across the enterprise, we must engage the entire company and break down the walls between corporate silos. 

"Mr. Large Construction company President...tear down these walls!"

(first equipment rental/construction company reader to add a comment with the person who's words I'm making a play on...gets a free 14 day FULL ACCESS trial to the RentalMetrics Interactive Learning Environment.) 

Educating Employees on New Technology

I wrote a piece that is now live on the Construction Business Owner.com site called Educating Employees on New Technology.

Here's a quote:

Change is a Four-Letter Word: I.C.A.N.

New technologies in a construction business environment fail most often because employees are not educated on why the change is happening and how that "upgrade" will improve the business. 

Too often, companies mistake training for true education. The training session, which most often comes after decisions have been made, contracts have been signed and IT has invested a tremendous amount of time configuring the new system into the overall structure of the company, is too often an employee's first introduction to a technology upgrade.

The article highlights the I.C.A.N. change management process that we recently debuted in our Change Management Course inside the RentalMetrics ILE.

Confessions E-Book: Chapter 3

Each Monday, we're bringing you quotes and tidbits from my newly released E-Book called
Confessions of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said _____________ .

Below you'll find some material from Chapter 3 called, My solution is supported well.

The bottom line with custom software in the enterprise is that it breaks. How many times have you rebooted today?

Most enterprise software companies’ make as much from customization as they do selling their stuff. The custom development is paying salaries so the company has the R&D money to plow into their “perfect rocket ship” solution.

Previously released chapters:  Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2

If you'd like to receive this e-book immediately...fill out the boxes below and delivery is almost instant!

Confessions E-Book: Chapter 2

Each Monday, we're bringing you quotes and tidbits from my newly released E-Book called
Confessions of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said _____________ .

Below you'll find some material from Chapter 2 called, My solution does not require much of your company's IT resources.

This was one of my favorite chapters to write.  It may also tweak some technologists.

Here are some quotes

Unless you're in the 5% of companies with an IT Director/Manager that "gets it", we're going to run into rough spots as we sort through myriad personality issues and resource snafus.   "Get it" means that the IT Director and staff realize the company does not revolve around them and the gravitational field their large brains create. 

Chisel away at Microsoft Project Gantt charts with hours, dependencies, etc.  Most project timelines are inflated relics used to boost the complexity, billing hours, and professional appearance of the ES firm.

Previously released chapters:  Introduction, Chapter 1

If you'd like to receive this e-book immediately...fill out the boxes below and delivery is almost instant!

Reviews & Quotes Coming In On My "Confessions" E-Book

I'm humbled by the responses coming in for my e-book "Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said: ____________ ."

Here's are some examples:

Doug Mitchell’s Confessions exposes the realities of buying and selling enterprise software in a humorous, straightforward way.  He dispels any remaining notions that the process of selling enterprise solutions is done on the up-and-up and translates the vocabulary of the enterprise salesperson into something the buyer (“target” in sales-speak) can understand and, more importantly, act on.  The list of questions he suggests that the buyer use is the real goldmine here.  With them, Doug helps the enterprise solution buyer unmask the salesperson on the other side of the table and avoid many potentially expensive pitfalls in the acquisition and the implementation of large systems.

    --Will Herman, Former CEO of way too many companies to list,   Corporate Director, and über blogger.

“Confessions” was very insightful and full of topics to really make one think!  Great job of putting your ideas and thoughts in writing regarding the Enterprise Solution market!

     -- Malcolm Goodwin, CEO, PromiseIT Solutions, Inc.

Mitchell offers up insider insight into the well-guarded minds of Enterprise Solution salespeople, insight that just might end up saving your enterprise from a million dollar mistake. 

    -- Brett Trout, Attorney, Law Offices of Brett Trout, P.C., www.blawgIT.com

If you have about 15 minutes to download and take a peek at a virtual handbook for saving your company millions of dollars and months of wasted effort...please fill in your email address below.  Within seconds you'll receive your e-book packed with goodness.

 

Confessions e-book: Chapter 1

We continue to bring you snippets and quotes from Doug's e-book Confessions Of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said: ____________. 

This week we take a peek inside Chapter 1 titled, "My solution is the one that best meets your needs.

Quotes & Questions from Chapter 1:

 Enterprise software is SOLD not bought.  The key is having enough of what matters to you in my product to build a case for saying yes. 

Few organizations actually have consultative sales people that conduct a real sales qualification process.  Thus, most are happy to talk to any company that expresses even slight interest in their product (because that could mean a payday). 

Key Question To Ask the Enterprise Salesperson
The last time you lost a deal to your competition, what were the main reasons given? If the response is snotty or the rep attempts to discredit the prospect that ultimately said no, be wary.   She will probably speak of you in these terms if you don’t choose her solution.  If you’re presented with truthful accounts, kind words, and reverence for the “one that got away”, put a check box in the credibility column.   An ES cannot be perfect and certainly can’t be perfect for everyone.

Previously released chapters:  Introduction

Please feel free to fill in your name and email below to receive your own FULL COPY of the e-book, Confessions Of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said: ______________.

If you're reading this post via an RSS News reader...please visit RentalMetrics and submit your information.  Look for the Confessions book image in the right sidebar.

Confessions e-book: Introduction

Most construction/equipment rental companies go through the evaluation process for enterprise wide software deployment.  Many do it multiple times. Enterprise software deployments are no easy task.  With so many moving parts it's hard not to lose sight of the forest through the trees. Now...there's help!
I've authored a new and informative FREE e-book that I'm very excited about.  It's called,

Confessions Of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said:______________ .

I'll be sharing some quotes and passages from the book on our site here and encourage you to submit your name and email to receive the entire book in PDF format. 

The book will provide a light hearted stroll through my experience in the enterprise software world.  You may find the book an indispensable guidebook for your own decision making.   My only request is that you don't share the book with the software sales people courting you...until AFTER you've decided on a solution.  They're going be shocked at some of the probing questions you ask during the sales process.  Many of the questions will stump the sales rep and expose the company's true colors.

That is what you're after...the truth behind the suit.

Selected Quotes:

The title of this book came to me as I sat in my home office planning the strategic direction of my business RentalMetrics.  Each new idea quickly summoned the "Make sure this is not an enterprise solution" mental checklist.  That is, I was checking to make sure I'm not building a bloated, over-featured, and "dead before it starts" solution that would inevitably be my undoing. 

I'm not suggesting that I’ve lived a life of lies.  There are no perfect solutions for the enterprise and never will be.  It's up to the sales professional to convince the target that she's got the best possible solution, despite the facts.  Is lying requisite?  No.  Salespeople are not lying, they are simply framing the truth in a way that closes the deal and provides a big payday.

...like many Enterprise Software companies, we overestimated the market size for clients willing to pay big fees.  We had NO CONCEPT of how much it costs to acquire enterprise deals.  When a target in NYC says, "Can you be here at 3PM tomorrow?" you say yes.  That 1 hour in-person conversation often cost in excess of $5k not including lost life minutes from doing red eyes.   

Are you Ready For a Blog?: Article appearing in Rental Product News

Here's a piece I did for Rental Product News.  It's called Ready For A Blog?
and it covers the basics of what blogging is, what you need to know about getting started....and why the heck this industry should bother in the first place!

Blogging is currently the single most powerful and cost/time effective tool businesses have in their arsenal to reach out and communicate with customers and potentials alike.  If you think blogging is for kids, political junkies, and other malcontents...we need to talk.