MARKET REPORT Vertical Markets
“Smaller providers are now seen as just as reliable as their larger counterparts, while boasting a
greater agility and a place ahead of the curve in terms of product innovation and adoption”
Bernie McPhillips, Sales Director, Pangea
suppliers. ere is no guarantee of
immediate sales success, but it’ll
be much easier for the customer
to purchase a service from you in
the future.
My nal point (and it’s a big
one) is not to mess up on the
delivery of a project once you
have been selected. e Public
Sector is very sensitive to the risk
of failure, perhaps even more
so than private companies, and
tenders can often require full
disclosure of all the projects
you’ve worked on in the last 5
years - including the outcomes.”
Challenges
CCaas solutions provider Content
Guru says working within the
ED SAYS…
Many vendors and distributors have specialised sales support teams and
commercials to help channels with their sales in to the public sector – a resource
that should be tapped whenever possible. Whilst the gov.uk site says that 45% of all
framework sales are now being supplied by SMEs – resellers to you and me, the sales
values of these orders can be seen to have lower averages. I would take that as being
expected but never the less, compared to previous times, the fact that the reseller
community is actually getting to regularly sit at the table is a welcome trend.
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frameworks that enable a more
level playing eld for smaller
companies.
Bernie McPhillips at Pangea
believes public organisations are
now far more willing to deal
directly with providers of various
scales, whereas in years gone by
they chose only to deal with the
largest and longest-established
players.
“Smaller providers are now
seen as just as reliable as their
larger counterparts, while
boasting a greater agility and
a place ahead of the curve in
terms of product innovation and
adoption.
What are the top tips for sales
success in this sector?
Bernie McPhillips at Pangea has
a top three.
“Firstly, you really need to
understand the speci c sector you
are targeting, including the issues
that are unique and important
to the decision makers and key
in uencers (exactly as you would
with a private sector client).
Often, a good idea is tender
for framework agreements to
get on the list of pre-quali ed
40 | Comms Business Magazine | February 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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public sector can represent a wide
variety of challenges for solution
suppliers.
“With the majority of sales
being won through inclusion
on very speci c and lengthy
frameworks, the tender process
is very di erent when bidding
for public sector business. Public
sector organisations have niche
needs, a strong nancial focus
and vary in level of technical
knowledge, creating an often
challenging, and remote sales
cycle. is process looks unlikely
to change, with frameworks
being the Holy Grail of public
sector business, so how can
suppliers harness this to their
advantage?
In addition to applying
for places on the relevant
frameworks, solutions providers
need to understand which
frameworks organisations can
procure through and then listen
to the speci c needs of di erent
public sector organisations and
remain exible to accommodate
the vast quantities of legacy
systems still in use. With an array
of unique requirements, solutions
providers must understand
the current situation of each
individual organisation, nding
innovative ways to achieve key
outcomes and objectives, rather
than sticking to the processes
currently in place.
is innovative way of
thinking is re ected in the
products and services which are
popular in the public sector.
To make di erent departments
work together in a more cohesive
fashion, easy data sharing,
integration and recall are vital.
Many public-sector organisations
are looking to bridge the gap with
cloud communications solutions
that link citizen services to
internal systems, eliminating data
siloes and streamlining citizen
interactions. Moving to the
cloud makes citizen data more
accessible to those who need it,
driving huge internal e ciencies
and creating signi cant cost
savings.”
New products on the horizon
revolve around developments
in AI, chatbots and Natural
Language Processing (NLP),
with some public-sector
organisations already embracing
these solutions to enhance their
citizen communications. ese
disruptive technologies can help
to lter citizen contact, directing
routine enquiries to automated
self-serve options and preserving
agent time for vulnerable citizens
and potentially complex issues.
For instance, NLP allows
citizens that prefer to get in
contact over the phone, such as
the elderly, to make bookings
and access basic information
through their preferred channel
without the need for a live agent,
unburdening agents of timeconsuming,
routine enquiries.”
September 2018, 5.36 million people were estimated to be employed in the public sector
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