Systemizing decision support through analytics for an army of reps has always been a challenge. The challenge is less technical, more bureaucracy. The fact that budget holders tend to be higher ups in the corporate hierarchy whereas the user is the rep on the field is at the heart of this challenge. Most service providers forced to a B2B selling approach hence come up with a templatized solution architecture negotiated at the very top and forced down below. Though this model might look good conceptually on paper, a one size fits all analytics framework is of little use when it hits the ground given the increasing complexities reps face.
In some sense, this problem has played out in many industries before and the software industry exemplifies this best. In 1992, Eric Raymond of the Open Source movement came up with a seminal article called the Cathedral and the Bazaar contrasting two models of software development. The Cathedral model representing proprietary software development was likened to a pontiff sitting atop dictating the contours of what the product should look like and developers below taking orders. Contrasting was the Linux model of bazaar software development where an army of users and developers collaborate to jointly develop a solution that fits their needs. Built around a core kernel, multiple versions of the software float around that suits the needs of individual users.
Fast forward in time and space to the world of analytics. Cathedral analytics can do only so much for the rep on the field dealing with nuances and complexities on a daily basis. What is needed is a model of Bazaar analytics. A core solution model that is flexible enough to be customized to individual rep’s needs to help them enhance their efforts as they fit. This model puts the user (rep) at the center of the solution and obviates the need for brainstorming on finer points of the solution by stakeholders far removed from the field. Making Bazaar analytics for sales reps can achieve the El Dorado of sales force effectiveness that many pharmacos have been chasing for years. It does so by turning the current paradigm of sales force solutions on its head – instead of treating the reps as a single aggregate and a problem and an external entity to examine the problem and come up with a solution, it puts the reps in charge of determining what they want and how they use the support they have.
January 31st, 2011 by Rajagopal Sevilimedu
