I had an unfortunate experience recently where my Project Manager decided to steal from a customer from us. I’ve blogged about this here http://www.umairaziz.com/2009/08/30/thieves-in-the-outsourcing-business

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All such a sales person needs is to bring in one large client — not “process” — in order for everyone to be happy.

If anyone asks for (or claims to have) a book of business ready to be transferred, then politely walk away. That’s not how the industry works, neither for IT nor ITeS.

i’ll be using your idea’s for more blog posts here in the future, please do keep contributing!

imran: i completely agree. i run a regional sales/marketing function in addition to other responsibilities, and the number of idea’s that get shot down are just incredible.. so i know exactly what you mean.

In Pakistan, it is “one man show” concept even there is marketing and sales team in place. Everything is done on the “CEO’s” approval, and during hard times the sales and marketing team are finger pointed for not doing better job.

What do you say to this?

In speaking with IT promoters seeking sales assistance, a good way to find out how much they know about their industry is to ask about the sales cycle and competitors’ strategies.

A full sales cycle for outsourcing can entail six months for lead generation, followed by a RFQ/RFP and award process of from 6 to 18 months.

In the U.S., the Indian majors Infosys and Wipro offer starting salaries of $84,000 per year to new sales people (compared to the $80,000 that domestic US companies pay) plus an expected 50% bonus. With fringe and overhead, it costs a quarter of million dollars to fill a seat per year. At a minimum, two people are needed for a sales team.

Assuming that a sales team can identify leads within 6 months and pursue the sales process to its conclusion, an IT or outsourcing company will have spent one million dollars and run for two years before knowing that it has won a contract. Meanwhile, there may be a fully staffed, equipped office sitting idle somewhere in Pakistan.

The sales process can be jump started by advertising and aggressive trade show participation, which Indian majors maintain on a routine basis but which is outside the reach of Pakistani companies unless outside support and a pooling of resources can be organized.

However, such jump starting will prove futile without a common understanding of the sales process. In Pakistan, such an understanding is widely lacking. In Pakistan, incoming contracts and projects are often seen in isolation. They are not seen as part of a wider client acquisition and client relations process. Projects do not come in on their own, they come in with clients.

The Indian majors have figured out how the sales funnel works. They have figured out deal flow. They have figured out how to enter foreign markets using local staff and local expertise — even at a quarter of a million dollars per year per person.

If I were to attempt to open a business in Pakistan, even something as simple as a food store, it would be foolish for me as an American to attempt to do so from the outside, without hiring local experts. Yet the same process is being attempted in reverse in my country by IT entrepreneurs from around the world.

Pakistan has a superior combination of advantages in IT and outsourcing. Those advantages are drastically under utilized because the nation lacks a viable marketing strategy or even a common understanding of how sales and marketing is done.

Pakistan lacks critical infrastructure elements for supporting sales and marketing efforts. Yes, it supports certification, but certification alone does not put you in front of clients and give you the tools to close deals.

Putting an infrastructure in place is a complex process, but it is a process that can be broken down into achievable components.

In India, the IT companies are big enough and rich enough where they can maintain their own infrastructure.

In Pakistan, the industry needs to think in terms of resource sharing. It also needs public funds (which can include some of the fresh aid moneys being provided through USAID). The industry in Pakistan needs help for:

1. Branding — at company and national levels
2. Intellectual property protection
3. Compliance assistance and education
4. Internet-based marketing
5. Public relations and advertising assistance
6. Research and intelligence gathering on client opportunities
7. Training of sales and marketing staff, including cohort training
8. Benchmarking and upgrading of existing sales and marketing activities
9. Strategic advisement to target emerging, profitable market segments rather than chasing after marginal work such as keypunching and outbound B2C telemarketing

From the inside, Pakistan faces significant challenges. But on a global level, Pakistan has tremendous potential and its challenges are not insurmountable — including its image issues. The question is whether there is enough will to succeed. The answer to that question can only come from within Pakistan itself.

Is there a forum for business people in Pakistan similar to GnW?