Wade’s notes: Part 1 – Selling

• Selling Private Wireless Transformation
• When you sit with the customer, what should you ask?
• Common Miscues
• I can do it myself!
• Do Partners Matter?
• PLTE and 5G Selling Checklist

Selling Private Wireless Transformation

We’re talking about Private Wireless networks here. Telecom grade. Not free Wi-Fi. Usually, PLTE and P5G is the private network. This is actually a network transformation. Never think of it as adding wireless, Wi-Fi has broken the cables. This is a high-end use case specific solution. 

I see the same story over and over again in selling private networks to non-telecom companies. They really don’t know what they want. They think they do, but not really. They get a lot of options and little clarity.

So I think the customer should see what it can be used for and the roadmap. 

However, the customer, in most cases, thinks Wi-Fi is enough. They may be right. Wi-Fi is reliable and works very well. A PLTE or P5G network may be a waste of money. Let’s face it, it has to pay for itself or solve a problem.

So when facing the customer, make sure you understand what they need and if they’re interested in network transformation. But that isn’t enough to get them interested or even motivated. You can show them the use cases, but they may not care or want to spend the money on another wireless network. Again, most Wi-Fi networks are OK, but they are also one more thing they have to maintain.

I think it would be a good idea to talk with the customer and challenge them a bit more.

I see a lot of larger companies that want to offer PLTE and P5G and a side network and not as part of the network transformation. This may not be the best way to move forward. 

Some customers come to companies seeking solutions and ask if P5G is the best way to go. Let’s not be hasty but review what the possibilities are. It may not be the best solution.

I have talked with people working with companies in logging, medical manufacturing, logistics, enterprise, education, investment, and more. They all like the idea of private wireless but can’t envision the right fit.

So when it comes to this, education seems ready to pull the plug since they generally have the grants and budget to extend their school network. I have seen several of these cases move forward.

Of course, you have seen many manufacturing use cases from the largest OEMs, but to be honest, they all seem to be trials right now. This has to be part of the larger picture for them when they upgrade their plants. It’s only part of the solution but a huge part.

When you sit with the customer, what should you ask?

Honestly, just ask them what problem they’re trying to solve. Don’t bring up the wireless or wired anything. Just listen to what they are dealing with.

Don’t stop there. Once they give you the 10-minute pitch, challenge them to tell you what is stopping them. 

• Ask them to explain the use case.
• Where do you plan to be in a year? 5 years?
• What is the barrier to entry?
• Do they have a roadmap?
• Do they have a budget?
• Do they have a timeline?

These will help break the ice and will help you picture what they need, the end result. Most of you who are technical are probably wondering why it’s not asking them about bandwidth, devices, or latency. I’ll tell you why – because we’re not there yet. They don’t need to worry about any of that just yet. 

Also, don’t worry about the solution details. From a high level, think about what makes sense. 

Like I said, challenge them, Unfortunately, the bigger the customer, the longer the sales cycle it. They have to get more answers from other people. They have to work with teams and committees. Normally there is no one person to work with. 

I always found this funny because most companies like working with a person, but they have teams. It’s usually the same on both sides because we all want our experts to explain 

One more thing to consider, do they want a customized solution? Many customers don’t until they look at what they want to accomplish. Of course, they want an out-of-the-box solution, but that may not check all the boxes. 

If they want a standard solution, ask them what they’re willing to sacrifice. 

Common Miscues

I see so many people present all the options and then just let the customer think about it. It’s as if they know what they need and what it can do. You need to train them, teach them, and give them a vision of the problems solved and the roadmap to solve more problems. 

You need to understand the customer and spend time with them to know their business.

It helps if you have use cases, but when selling something new, chances are good that you only have demos to share. Use the demos to demonstrate what it has done and how you tested it. Also, point out what it couldn’t do or the mistakes you made. The customer needs to see what you did right, but also what you did wrong. 

It helps if you say, “if we would have done this, then we could have done that.”

Be open and listen when they speak. This is a consultative process that requires a lot of listening and learning before you can solve the problem. 

I can do it myself!

I can’t believe this, but after sitting with some teams, they want to do it themselves. They will sit with you and bleed information out of you and your team. Then they think they are experts and can do it themselves. Seriously. You will see this when dealing with small teams or very large teams. 

The nice thing about large teams is they usually have a bigger budget and someone who can talk sense into the leadership. When they see they could fail, it motivates them to pass the buck so they have someone else’s throat to choke. While they still want to save money, they try to find a cost-effective partner. This isn’t always the cheapest but may go with the low bidder and hope for the best. FYI – hope is not a strategy, planning and education are. 

There are so many issues with teams doing this themselves. You will see this when dealing with small teams or very large teams. They think they can manage and do it all themselves. The dream of a network in a box and the simplicity of Wi-Fi has them overconfident.

One thing I have been seeing is companies trying to pick partners. I have seen some companies that tried to build their own PLTE network thinking they were saving money by doing it themselves. Let me tell you how it turned out.

They decided to buy a small core and then a few PLTE radios that were way cheaper than the suppliers to the carriers. That is fine but when they tried to set up the network it didn’t work. The IT team they had did not have the expertise and didn’t know what they were doing.

The network was built with a lot of problems and headaches. In short, it didn’t go well and when they tried to turn it up it had tons of problems. This was on CBRS spectrum here in the States. 

When they went back to their “partners” which was basically the radio supplier, they didn’t get any help. The radio supplier they picked moved on. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the support they needed and ran out of money. 

This IT Director, (CTO), didn’t do their research. They thought it was just another IT network. They thought their existing IT staff had the expertise. They were wrong. 

If someone comes to you and asks if they can do it themselves, don’t sugarcoat it. Make sure they understand the complexity of the network. Ask them if they do Cloud computing themselves. They will probably say yes, but when you ask them who they use, AWS or Microsoft or Google Cloud, then they may realize they outsource that too. You would be surprised how many companies don’t know they outsource cloud and edge services. They think that because they had to do configurations and log in to set up the system themselves that they’re actually doing it when in fact they are only managing the third party’s system. 

It really helps to point this out and let them know that you will be a partner going forward. Partners matter, all you have to do is look at all the failed projects out there. They generally went bad because one of the many partners bailed or didn’t want to support the project since the money ran out. Don’t get me wrong, we all want to make money, but when you look at the bigger picture, success breeds success. I look at those projects and realize how fickle some suppliers were. Shame on them. 

Do Partners Matter?

Like I was saying above, partners are key to a project. Someone with experience is nice, but you want someone who understands what you do today and what you plan to do tomorrow. This is a key partner. 

That partner may be learning as well, but they can help you manage all the other partners and vendors. I think it makes sense to have one throat to choke. Have your key contact that knows your network. Let them figure out the rest. 

Remember, depending on your model, you may have a cloud provider providing the core, a radio supplier providing the radios, an integrator providing the architecture and installation services, and special device makers supplying the end devices. This is a lot for one person to manage. 

Then you have the network, security, and backhaul to consider. Make sure you have architects that understand all of it.

I am a fan of integrators because they are generally responsible for designing and delivering the network. They can provide the solution and help you look beyond one piece. 

If the customer is working with a carrier, this is OK and could be a good thing. The only thing that drives me nuts is that many carriers still spend a lot of extra money installing a DAS system where small cells would work just as well. Just what I have seen. If the carrier is the lead, they will do what they want, not necessarily what is best for the customer. I’m just saying, be prepared to present your side and defend it. 

If you’re a partner, take the time to understand what the customer wants. 

PLTE and P5G Selling Checklist

What is the customer really looking for? Let’s use this list for a quick overview.

• Customization is required.
  • Always custom solutions requiring thought, planning, and design.
  • Wi-Fi & PLTE & P5G should all be considered.
  • Solutions as part of network transformation, not adding wireless. 
  • UE devices should be considered for all use cases.
  • Specialty connections should be looked at.
  • Specialty setups will be required.
• Verticalization is hard!
  • So many individual use cases that don’t align with verticals, create a plan.
  • Need more than IT, need telecom and LTE/5G expertise along with security and core. 
  • It’s not just devices and networks, it’s security and backhaul.
  • It’s not just the network, it’s the physical connections.
• Who will manage?
  • We all want IT teams to manage, but can they handle this?
  • Do we outsource management and network? It may sound crazy, but we do it with Cloud, backup, and many IT services, don’t we?
  • The core is so different, it takes that expertise, and the only shortcut is to outsource.
  • The devices are generally unique, who manages them? Who supplies them? What is their lifespan?
  • Is it harder than Wi-Fi? Hell to the yes!
• End-to-end solutions required.
  • You need a solution, not just the radios, core, and devices
  • Customers need an integrator to put it all together, a solution manager if you will.
  • The problem with most vendors, they are fragmented and the end customer thinks they can put it together themselves. Unfortunately, they completely muck it up.
  • Don’t make a half-ass network, there are enough of those already!