Hey people ive been recently transferred to the business development division of my company, something Ive been trying to do for a year now. Ive been working as a software engineer for the past year. This switch in divisions is reward for my fruit…
Hey people ive been recently transferred to the business development division of my company, something Ive been trying to do for a year now. Ive been working as a software engineer for the past year. This switch in divisions is reward for my fruitful negotiations. Since this is all new to me ive got dozens of questions that are swimming in my head. It would be great if you guys both experienced(preferable)/non-experienced guys help me answer these questions. We could use this thread as an open discussion for the Business Development/ Marketing/Sales related issues. I hope this is fine by the MODS.
All right here goes...
1 . How exactly do I go about with my market research ?( Im working for an IT service company). So say im looking at a new domain, how do I go about reasearching the new domain( lets say HealthCare industry). How do I find the major players offering solutions here ?
2. How do I find out the pricing stratergy adopted by service companies ? We all know that there is a price-war going on. The company offering a reasonable rate gets picked.?
Im starting with these two questions. As time goes by I'll ask you furthur questions. These might be trivial issues for many of you. Id love to hear what you guys have to say.
Thanks A Lot!
Regards,
Rosh
Hey people ive been recently transferred to the business development division of my company, something Ive been trying to do for a year now. Ive been working as a software engineer for the past year. This switch in divisions is reward for my fruitful negotiations. Since this is all new to me ive got dozens of questions that are swimming in my head. It would be great if you guys both experienced(preferable)/non-experienced guys help me answer these questions. We could use this thread as an open discussion for the Business Development/ Marketing/Sales related issues. I hope this is fine by the MODS.
All right here goes...
1 . How exactly do I go about with my market research ?( Im working for an IT service company). So say im looking at a new domain, how do I go about reasearching the new domain( lets say HealthCare industry). How do I find the major players offering solutions here ?
2. How do I find out the pricing stratergy adopted by service companies ? We all know that there is a price-war going on. The company offering a reasonable rate gets picked.?
Im starting with these two questions. As time goes by I'll ask you furthur questions. These might be trivial issues for many of you. Id love to hear what you guys have to say.
Thanks A Lot!
Regards,
Rosh
Hmm...Interesting...I wonder if people would disclose those details here...
Well... Im actually looking for the methodologies as opposed to actual facts and details..So im really hoping people will come up with replies for my questions..
Rosh
Congrats on your promotion Rosh. Here's my attempt at answering your ques -
1 . How exactly do I go about with my market research ?( Im working for an IT service company). So say im looking at a new domain, how do I go about reasearching the new domain( lets say HealthCare industry). How do I find the major players offering solutions here ?
1. I think you are thinking of market research as a magic capsule which when eaten would enable you to know & understand everything about a particular market, its customers, major players, etc. I do not think so. First try to realise what kind of market research would benefit your cause. Is it the customer behaviour you want to understand or your competitor's marketing strategy. There could be hundreds of types of market research reports. Find out which one do you want.
Researching a domain .. ummm I dont have bright ideas but useful places could be .
- websites of consulting firms who work in that domain
- specialised knowledgebases on the web.
Then again.. Your question is too broad. Healthcare domain is pretty big in itself. There is a pharma segment in it which is further subdivided into other segments. Then there is Biotech, Medical Equipment, Medical informatics & Insurance. So, what exactly are you looking for? Cognizant is a major Indian player offering Healthcare services to clients in US. look up its website. EnY & Accenture in the US are the major players.
2. How do I find out the pricing stratergy adopted by service companies ? We all know that there is a price-war going on. The company offering a reasonable rate gets picked.?
2. Pricing in IT serv companies. There is no single industry wide, well known, easily accessible formula. Most IT serv companies follow the consulting companies model of cost accounting. i.e. use the billing rates (depending on domain, tech, resources skill/experience level) & multiply it by the time factor. This is the crudest idea. There are a lots n lote of complications in pricing of a real project. Then there is a fixed price mode where you decide the scope of delivery upfront & negotiate a price for it. More in vogue lately. & hybrids of both model. But as I said, all this is theory. even in same company, you would find many different costing models being used. So, dont expect any easy answers here.
hth.
amit
Hey Amit,
Thanks for the reply. It gave me a reasonable insight into what I shoould start looking at and how I should go about things from here. Whilst, I start full blown work in three weeks time, I'd like to use the three weeks to bring myself upto speed with whats required of me.
It would be awsome if we could have open discussions about marketing , techniques, business development etc.
By the way, are you working in this line too ??
Cheers!
Roshan
1 . How exactly do I go about with my market research ?( Im working for an IT service company). So say im looking at a new domain, how do I go about reasearching the new domain( lets say HealthCare industry). How do I find the major players offering solutions here ?
2. How do I find out the pricing stratergy adopted by service companies ? We all know that there is a price-war going on. The company offering a reasonable rate gets picked.?
Congratulations! You may find these sites useful in your research:
Hoovers.com
KnowledgeStorm.com
and ofcourse
You can also find useful info from the reports published by the Consulting firms as pointed out by Amit.
Pricing is something that you won't find easily, companies do not disclose such information.
The bigger service companies would have KR systems that store all kinds of info - tech, domain, customer, whatever. Go through stuff in your KR system if your company has one. If its got a process portal that has RFP templates and stuff like that, you know where to head next. You could talk to ppl in BD (if you haven't done so already) and get gyaan on what to do next. In other words, you need to figure out what your company's expectations of you are and tailor your steps accordingly.
Which brings me to a couple of questions I want to ask you 😃 
Has your company clearly defined your role? Will you be reporting to a managerial hierarchy that is distinct from project management and delivery?
Hey Anurag and Ashwin,
First of all Anurag thanks a lot for those website. Going to be intensify my googling methodologies .
Well ashwin I pretty much already knew about the stuff that you suggested, but thanks anyways :).
Regarding my role definition, I havent formally joined the BD division as yet. The formal change will take place in 2 - 3 weeks. So im trying to prepare myself before I actually reach there. I dont know if it is a good thing or bad but I will be reporting directly to the Regional Managers. So as a business development executive, I wont be reporting to a BDM but to the Regional Managers.
This hierarchy is exclusive and does not follow the Project management hierarchy. I'll bidding sweet good bye to the techie side soon . Lets see how things go. Will keep posting and keeping everyone up to date.
Now ive got a few questions. Are you guys in BD / Marketing / Sales ? Are you aspiring MBA students or MBA holders ?
Au revoir,
Roshan
1 . How exactly do I go about with my market research ?( Im working for an IT service company). So say im looking at a new domain, how do I go about reasearching the new domain( lets say HealthCare industry). How do I find the major players offering solutions here ?
Roshan,
Regarding market research I think you need to be specific on the kind of information you need and which industry you are looking for. (Only then can this forum give you specific advice.)
This is because many players are getting specific about the kind of knowledge the are offering. for example - in my work (risk consulting) i need to constantly stay updated with Best practices in the industry... so i use Protivity (www.knowledgeleader.com). They deal with specifically that.
you could also try wetfeet.com (its a pay service however, see the attachment) - they offer really good guides. You can get an idea on the stuff they offer from the attachment.
but, for free information, there is nothing better than google.
you could also surf around on consulting sites and hope you get sector specific information, if you get lucky i.e 😃
For numbers, financials etc. - Get hold of a CA friend. CA firms usually subscribe to a program called Capital Line Plus (CLine for short). It has information like latest news, projects, financials, auditors etc.
2. How do I find out the pricing stratergy adopted by service companies ? We all know that there is a price-war going on. The company offering a reasonable rate gets picked.?
Which companies are you talking about...? sector etc...?
This information is hard to get. You could try talking to people to see if they know someone in the company you are researching. This problem is pure networking :)
At least, thats what i'd do !!
Cheers,
Akash
Hey Anurag and Ashwin,
First of all Anurag thanks a lot for those website. Going to be intensify my googling methodologies.
Vous tes bienvenu
Now ive got a few questions. Are you guys in BD / Marketing / Sales ? Are you aspiring MBA students or MBA holders ?
Au revoir,
Roshan
None of the Above :). I am currently in my final year of MBA
, I know about these sites because I happened to do my summer internship project in the International Marketing division of a s/w company :).
Well ashwin I pretty much already knew about the stuff that you suggested, but thanks anyways :).
Assumptions are the mother of all #@#$ ups! I guess if you're savvy enough to make a shift from tech to BD, you must have done the basic spadework!
This hierarchy is exclusive and does not follow the Project management hierarchy. I'll bidding sweet good bye to the techie side soon
Awesome! Keep up the posts on this thread, it'll be useful for all those looking for a shift like the one you've made.
Now ive got a few questions. Are you guys in BD / Marketing / Sales ? Are you aspiring MBA students or MBA holders ?
I'm a techie
and will be writing CAT this year. Will mostly be travelling stateside for 2 months where I'll get to FINALLY interact with "live" clients 😃 and dabble in stuff like requirements analysis and arhcitecture definition - will be back just before CAT. It'll be cool to experiment with a different kind of role before doing the MBA 😃
Ah! Merci beaucoup Aurag et Ashwin pour l'information :).
An update regarding my work.. Well as of now its basically reading up stuff to get myself aquainted with technical jargon et al. In a few days or weeks I will be cold calling prospective clientele in Singapore, hoping to make a deal. Apart from this. I will be starting a certification course (IBM certification) for Sales Professional. I will also be accompanying my Regional Manager for client visits.
All of the above has'nt started as yet but will eventually.
Ive also started CAT classes in Bangalore. So Ive got a lot of work on my hand. I'm however looking for and more intrested in an international MBA. Not throwing all my eggs in one basket, thats why I'm going to writing the CAT. Taking the classes to get my basics up to speed etc.
LEt me know if any of you have any more contributions to Marketing/Sales/BD. It would be great hearing from people with my same profile and guys still in B-School.
Looking forward to all your replies..!
Roshan
Hey Akash,
This is regarding the attachment (doc file) that you added along with your post. Do u think you could mail me the documents present on the website ?? It would be really helpful and informative if you could do so.
Let me know. Thanks
Regards,
Rosh
check out www.frost.com. But most stuff there is not free.
However, there are some articles that do are free access. And Frost & Sullivan is well known for it's work in health care services.
If you need any help with research let me know. i will try helpin ya 😃
Hi Guys
I am reviving this old thread to ask few questions. I have 28 months exp in BPO. The profile was pure calling and a little bit of team handeling. Now today I recieved a called from ICICI bank telling me that I have been shortlisted for the position of Sr Sales Executive and I have to appear fr the next round tommorow. When I appeared for the first interview a month back , the guy told me that it's pure sales job where we have to meet the targets in opening checking accounts. Now here are my questions to people who are doing similar kind of job:
1. What is the exact profile of Sr Sales Executive? Do u guys indulge in making a stratergy for building relationship with potebntial customers like business development OR Is it only sales where u only do cold calling and thn trying to convert that sale?
2 I am getting a chance to move out of the BPO industry and do something in marketing. I always wanted to gain some experince in marketintg before doing MBA. Now I want to know how far this particular experince will help me during the Bschool interview and for my placements later? How far the Brand ICICI will help me?
3. Also whom do u guys report to? Team Leader or Regional manager.
4. What r the further career prospects in the marketing of Finalcial products? I have a customer service background. So if I gain some exp in marketing then then is it possible to go specifcally in Customer Relationship Management?
I would really appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.:
Cheers
Hitesh
Hey people..
Its been a long time since I have posted on this thread, that I had started, when I was a newbie in the industry... I dont really mean to bump this thread up... Rationale behind posting on this thread is purely to inform everyone that all the questions that I initially posted have pretty much been answered through the course of my work experience.... I'd like to use this thread to deal with specific questions pertaining to Marketing/Sales (Business Development) and Strategy queries...
Looking forward to receiving your questions...
Regards,
Rosh
hi i m Mohil. doing b.com tax final year frm rennisa.my aggr. till second year was 51%. My counsellors are suggesting me to do mba in marketing... bt others say tht der is no scope in marketing. u hav to travel here nd der for marketing nd all... i m vry gud in computers. my frends keep telling me tht u shuld go in computer field.. wat shuld i do in dis case i m nt able to decide... pls suggest me. vl b waitin for ur suggestions.
thanx
thanx
Hey people..
Its been a long time since I have posted on this thread, that I had started, when I was a newbie in the industry... I dont really mean to bump this thread up... Rationale behind posting on this thread is purely to inform everyone that all the questions that I initially posted have pretty much been answered through the course of my work experience.... I'd like to use this thread to deal with specific questions pertaining to Marketing/Sales (Business Development) and Strategy queries...
Looking forward to receiving your questions...
Regards,
Rosh
hi.
just joined as B.Dev. now. I wonder how useful those sites were to you. I am checking them all out. Will follow up wiht more queries soon. I hope you still hanging in there.
hi.
just joined as B.Dev. now. I wonder how useful those sites were to you. I am checking them all out. Will follow up wiht more queries soon. I hope you still hanging in there.
Its been close to 3 years since I made that post - done a whole lot since then. Would be glad to still help with any queries.
Rosh