Falling Out of Love with Your Pricing and Sales Vendor?

As we bask in the afterglow of Valentine's Day 2021, romance is in the air; perhaps new love has blossomed? All those wonderful feelings of meeting someone new. The potential of a long-term successful relationship...c’est l’amour! However, and at the risk of being pegged a cynic, passion fades and as the statistics certainly support, unfortunately, not all relationships work out...c’est la vie.  

Like personal relationships, business arrangements are also not always destined to last. What started out as an exciting partnership may have devolved into something akin to an acrimonious marriage. I have spent time on both sides of this dynamic. I worked for many years in B2B distribution and have had the experience of using tools and technology that no longer seemed to fit our business. Now I work in the software industry where I often speak with potential clients who are dissatisfied with their current partner and are asking,“What else is out there?” 

I have seen some common themes that usually point to a union that is not destined to last, and they tend to follow patterns not that dissimilar from those that break up personal relationships. Here are a few.  

"You don't even know me!"

Staying connected is important. Of course, a technology provider will work hard to earn your business, but are they committed to staying connected with you throughout the duration of the relationship? Zilliant has a best-in-class customer success organization, who is involved from the minute a contract is signed and sticks around as your long-term partner. They co-develop success plans and your dedicated Customer Success Manager will meet with you on a weekly basis as well as drive monthly and quarterly business reviews.  

If when you call your technology partner, you spend the first 10 minutes on the phone explaining who you are and what your company does, maybe it's time to consider a provider that is invested in your success and spends the time getting to know your business as well as you do.   

Read More: “Customers awarded Zilliant the maximum possible rating in customer satisfaction and support.” - IDC MarketScape Price Optimization Report 

Keeping things fresh

Falling into a rut is easy. Doing the same things, the same way doesn’t lead to personal or professional growth. If you are working with a technology provider, particularly in the case of B2B pricing and sales optimization not only should your partner work to understand your business but they should be a thought leader bringing you best practices and ideas to keep things new and exciting!  

The Zilliant team is filled with associates that have deep B2B industry expertise and backgrounds in pricing, consulting, technology and data science. We are often called on to speak at conferences, contribute to professional journals and regularly publish new content on a variety of topics.  

Arguing over money

During the initial stages of a relationship when buying technology, maybe the initial price and implementation seems reasonable. But once the ink on the contract is dry you find out that there are lurking extra costs. If you want extra support (it will cost you), if there is a system upgrade (it will cost you), if you need a change (it will cost you).  

Zilliant is 100% built on a cloud-native platform. You will always be working with the latest version of our software. When we scope out our implementations, we go to great pains to ensure we provide detailed project plans that ensure a successful, well supported deployment that comes in on budget. Additionally, when it’s time to make a change, our platform not only has many opportunities to self-serve, but you will also have your dedicated Customer Success Manager who is there as part of your subscription to help with that effort.   

Read More: “Customers rate Zilliant very highly in value delivered...one large customer using the product for 11 years said that it had seen 10x ROI for several years.” - IDC MarketScape Price Optimization Report 

“I’ve evolved, have you?”

Businesses like people must change over time. Market forces shift and new strategic initiatives need to be developed. If a company isn’t constantly evolving, it’s likely not going to be prepared for what is coming over the horizon. The price optimization and management space has been around for over 20 years and many of the players are well established. But having longevity does not necessarily mean growth.   

Not only was Zilliant the first B2B price optimization vendor to move to move fully to the cloud, it has also grown those capabilities by developing a full suite of offerings that deliver intelligent actionable selling solutions where they are needed. Most recently we added Campaign Manager™ to our product line. Campaign Manager allows users to scope, prioritize and refine targeted actions and use closed loop reporting to track progress. It is a unique one-of-a-kind solution in the B2B marketplace and just one example of how Zilliant leads the way in innovation.  

Conclusion

Break ups are hard. You have invested time and energy in your current technology provider. So, you are trying to stick it out, hoping that it will get better and be just like the good old days when you first met. Some relationships are worth saving, but sometimes you need to make a break. If any of the above scenarios sound familiar, perhaps you owe it to you and your company’s best interest to find a technology relationship that meets your needs. You can always tell your current vendor.... it’s not you, it’s me.  

In this day and age, online dating is easy. The Zilliant team would love to talk with you about your business, show you some of our products and see if a long-term relationship makes sense.  

If you’re interested in how Zilliant can help your company turn insights into action, swipe right and send me an email at michael.naughton@Zilliant.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.