Show your support for this innovation. Tweet it. Like it on Facebook. Leave a comment.
The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.
Get a Shortlist
This innovation initially came to life when…
…we realised many businesses were failing to take full advantage of the power of software to improve their business, despite a compelling business case and many options available. We explored many different ways to serve end-users directly and get paid by them, but eventually concluded they generally lacked enough budget for software selection support. At the same time, we were being inundated with approaches from software vendors keen to find new customers. The light bulb went on, and we developed Get A Shortlist to provide free assistance to businesses while also generating qualified sales leads for software vendors.
WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
…match businesses with a shortlist of relevant software vendors.
It does this by…
…encouraging businesses to register their requirements with us. Our team calls them on the phone to explore their needs in detail, and then we match them with a shortlist of up to three vendors from our extensive database and introduce them to each other. Vendors pay us for delivering top-quality sales leads and businesses get free software selection assistance.
PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
…it accelerates and improves the software selection process for both parties: (1) businesses (end-users) looking for software, and (2) vendors looking to find customers for their solutions. Previously, end-users looking for software found the selection process difficult, time-consuming and intimidating; and software vendors spent considerable time and money to reach and nurture prospects…but still didn’t have enough!
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
End-users get free assistance in finding relevant software — this is quicker than doing it themselves, and delivers a better outcome. Software vendors grow their business by sourcing cost-effective, telephone-qualified sales leads that convert well into customers.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Its predecessors/competitors include…
TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
…the millions of small and mid-sized businesses globally who spend a collective $113 billion each year on software and IT services. The thousands of vendors who target this audience have a total budget (marketing + reseller margins) of around $3.6 billion to reach prospective buyers. We currently focus on the professional services sector, which is around 9% or $322 million of this total opportunity.
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
…the Software Shortlist web site directly, plus a growing channel of referral partners. Software vendors are notified of leads regularly, and either buy particular ones on-demand, or commit to automatically buy leads that meet certain criteria.
Our marketing strategy is to…
create useful, focused content that end-users discover when searching online for software. This draws them in, builds credibility, and encourages them to submit their requirements to get a free shortlist. We use a direct sales approach to build our referral partner channel, and similar efforts to pro-actively engage with a network of vendors who buy leads.
SUPPORTING IMAGES
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT…
Voting for the Readers’ Choice Index has concluded, but you can still show your support!
- Tweet it: Top left of each page
- Trigger a Reaction: Facebook ‘Like’, etc.
- Leave a Comment: Anonymous comments excluded*
More about the READERS’ CHOICE INDEX.
