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For Zuck's Sake - A Facebook App Store?!

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 01:35 AM PDT

With the announcement that Facebook (FB) are launching an app store, it has become vividly apparent, in my opinion, that they are the personification of guerrilla capitalism in the 'social' sphere. Unfortunately though their revenue suggests that they are are failing at it. This post is my speculations on their rationale behind launching their very own app store.

What They Say

On the FB developer's blog, Aaron Brady claims that the app store is a new place for people to find social apps. Their take on it is that you are driving further traffic and downloads on your app by exposing it to potentially 900 million people on the network. A key USP is that rankings of the app will work with differing metrics and developers will be provided with greater insights than that of other app stores.

What I Say

The real reasons behind the launch:

Rationale 1 - revenue

FB has always had one huge monkey on its back - revenue. With a less than even remotely impressive IPO, it's valuation is back to approx $57 billion - not far off half of what it was previously. Even the announcement of the app store didn't tickle the fancy of wall street analysts with a slight fall in share price on the day of the announcement. This is an attempt to grow revenues through two methods - advertising by getting more and more eyeballs onto pages for longer periods of time and through mobile and by taking 30% of the listed price of apps on the store.

The world is beginning to look for substance in FB's valuation and if FB can't prove that it can create a significant, growing and sustainable turnover in the immediate future, that share price is going to keep falling. This is a long, twisty and treacherous road to solving that issue. Juniper Research predicts that by 2016 mobile apps will generate $52bn – 75% from smartphones and 25% from tablets. FB has their sights set on a slice of that pie.

Rationale 2 - domination

15% of Facebook's revenues in quarter 1 were due to the gaming giant Zynga. While Zucks should be glad, it is rumoured that he views them as the little brother whom he wants to succeed, but just not too much. Now he can put Zynga back into the playpen that is his app store. Similarly with with Android and iOS apps, if more and more people are downloading them from iTunes and Google Play through FB redirects, it makes Apple and Google more reliant on FB and keeps them again somewhat in the Zuck's playpen.

Rationale 3 - big brother

Many argue that we all have invested too much information in FB. Well imagine FB with your credit card details? Imagine how easy after purchase one it would be to start splurging. With the way ads and various forms of content are targeted at people on the network, you can only conclude that buying behaviour would be an even further indication as to where people will spend money and where ads will be placed. I think we are going to see some changes in this sphere - FB knows there's an opportunity to utilize this info to further generate revenue. How is the big question.

Conclusion:

This app store is about stitching another element of peoples online habits into FB - yet another reason to spend a just a few more hours every week on the network. FB need your money. Advertising on the platform has turned big revenues but not big enough according to investment powers.

However, the app store presents some positive opportunities to entrepreneurial folk - it provides an additional proven-to-work platform to sell you app on; it provides another channel of revenue potentially and it gives you greater insights into how you should be marketing your app using social networks. I like this.

As an end user though there are some factors that suck e.g. I can see it now on your feed: 'Connor Keppel recommends you buy the FB app - 'irrelevant non-sensical I couldn't care less updates - please go away' for just $2 on the app store'. In addition to this update you have to think logically. I really only have 20 friends that I would take recommendations off. While the rest are lovely people, successful recommendations generally work through conversation, trust and credibility - not an algorithm.

Complexity will be another issue - going onto a site and seeing they have an app that links through the FB store that is Android App that therefore has to be downloaded via Google Play - it's like the mobile version of inception.

While it will probably drive app downloads and that's great, there is one real reason that I think this sucks - it's just so DONE. I don't blame FB for trying to get more involved with apps - according to dailyfinance.com the platform sent 83 million visits to the Apple app store in May alone. But another app store that looks like the Apple store is not really an answer for such a huge player. Come on guys, give us something fresh. Based on this news I'd say that the FB phone is a given. Lets hope that there is some sense of originality in that.

Why do you think Facebook are launching the store? Will it succeed? Will its launch stimulate your social experience or add to your businesses potential?

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Image: developers.facebook.com/blog

5 Awesome Steps To Qualify A Client

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 01:14 AM PDT

It's pretty simple, qualify hard and make sure it's done early enough that the deal practically closes itself. A client that is qualified early in the process is one that makes the closing part super easy, why? Because it means that little effort and consideration needs to be put into what angle you need to take to get the deal done and dusted. So we have put together the 5 steps you need to qualify hard and early which will abolish the dreary sales approach you may have and put less stress on closing the account.

# 1. Questions, we hate lots of questions

It's a habit, to go loco with the questions to get you in the mindset that everything is fine with the client and it's a constant reassurance, a sense of personal security if you will. However ask 20 questions and that client is bored and walking away, keep the questions awesome and get the client thinking. A run-down of the lame questions that we are guilty of asking and the awesome one's we avoid can be found here, use them as you wish but remember keep it short and make sure you ask the 'real' questions.

# 2. Commercial Perspective

Commercially focused people will use the qualification checklist at the earliest stage possible to get an idea of the client's needs but ultimately to have the client qualified. It's important to drill down the 3 stages of questioning that will help you go through the checklist. Example questions would be; will you give me an order now? Why in 2 weeks? Is there anything that could stop this from happening? These are tough but a confident approach will make your client want to copy that confidence with a solid reply.

# 3. Qualification Checklist

Maybe you have a criteria you follow or maybe not, either way it's essential you have one and a rather incredible one. Our criteria consist of;

Need - How will this affect the business and would it work? Pointing this out generates a thought process on both parts and can really determine if the deal is worthwhile.
Money – Can you really afford it right now? It'll be a hard question to ask, but your knowledge of the product and a non-bias view will be straight and say what the actual cost will be in the short and long term. If there are no major issues they will gladly answer and back it all up, easing any worries that may be present.
Authority – The decision maker is who you have to qualify, if you are not talking to that person then call off the meeting. If a deal is to happen and not get lost in translation it is imperative you avoid the front desk staff so to speak, even though in time they may become an internal champion for your business, the decision maker will probably not have a clue who you and your service are.
Timing – It's no good trying to qualify a customer that won't require your product for over a year, if contracts are not signed then it's a waste of time for both parties. Business situations can change quickly and your client may be interested to get an offer in now, but be straight with them and ask if the timing is right and ask them the likely hood of requirements changing. Looking out for the customer is important to build a good relationship, getting all of the possible time constraints out in the open will help with the final decision.
Champion (the champion is explained here) – This can be anyone within another business so like mentioned above the front desk staff could be prime. These people will be your best way into the boardroom to have a meeting with the decision maker, if you arrange a meeting and no one with authority turns up, make sure that the person you do meet loves your offer and even becomes an expert in your company, this way if your service is required in the future you will be the first to pop up. It also helps that internally someone has experience with another company; less risk is involved that way.

Using this checklist (MNATC) look at your last 5 deals, won or lost and be extra critical on them then go through them again with MNATC. Chances are you will see that with MNATC 99% of those deals you would have had no choice but to close the deal sooner rather than later, however without the use of MNATC there is a strong chance you wouldn't get that sale.

# 4. Process Centric Sales Techniques

Steps of the sale training can be very good but little emphasis is on qualifying an account early which needs to be much stronger than on closing the deal. If it's done early it practically closes itself remember to ask the tough questions, again the sales script we pick up over time is generic and tedious the right questions however will get the account finalized.

# 5. Control

Use your sales model, stick to it and be sure to use it early. Ask the sales specific questions early and get the account going in the direction you want it to, leave it too long and it will go another direction which then completely ruins your sales process. Be careful not to get manipulative though as this is a huge no-no which can and will upset you clients, don't grab the account by the horns and lead it down the unknown as this tends to leave more than just you red faced.

Conclusion - Make sure that on every account you qualify hard and it's done early. Skip the nursery questions and get into your big boy pants, asking the right things will get the sales mindset flowing for both parties. By all means remember to close just don't search far and wide for the 'guru' and 'ninja' that everyone seems to love.

It's really not that important to close!

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luni, 11 iunie 2012