LeapComp - Sales Performance Management Blog

As my position offers a unique opportunity to work with companies at the early stages of an SPM selection process, I always amazed at the perceptions companies have as it relates to what the various systems will cost them from a ‘licensing’ standpoint all the way through and including implementation. Although vendors vary in the way they approach how they want to charge for their solutions (perpetual vs. Lease vs. on-demand…), it is always intriguing to our team when people include or exclude vendors based on what they feel the costs they might expect from a specific solution provider.

As an example, one of our clients had initially dropped 2 of the larger SPM solution providers from their selection effort (prior to our engaging) solely based on what their competition had said about them. Following a more formal evaluation where these two providers were brought back in against their (lower costing) peers, these two late entries happened to come in as the 2nd and 3rd cheapest solutions in the evaluation.

In the last year we have seen the SPM space recalibrate on a number of different levels from functional offerings all the way through how the providers sell and price their software. We have seen some providers flip back and forth on their pricing model a number of times in a 12 month period to the point a customer simply has to wait a few months and the deal they are looking for may come their way.

To keep anyone from making a mistake that could cost them the solution that would actually be the right fit at the right price… I would urge anyone looking at systems to have a direct discussion with the SPM provider about their pricing before you chose to drop them or keep them as part of your selection process (based on that set of criteria).

Rob Blohm is a partner at OpenSymmetry, a consulting firm specializing in sales performance management, and can be reached at rob.blohm@opensymmetry.com.