FudBuster Friday #5 - No Resources

This FudBuster is for everyone in Sales or IT, depends on how you view it.
Following up from Ed Brill's post yesterday and some comments I made there got me thinking.

The #1 answer I get when asking clients why they don't upgrade to R8 of Domino or Sametime or Quickr is:
1) No Money
2) No Time
3) Why, we are happy on the version we are using
4) Lack of Resources (whatever that means in reality)
5) All of the above

Bingo, #5. No doubt many of you have more answers, please comment withthem, they might make it into FudBuister #6.

Many clients have been paying for support and maintenance which usually means you are entitled to upgrade AT ANY TIME. Sadly, they don't. They pay and pay and IBM/Lotus makes money off them, but suffers because these same clients are at least 1-2 versions behind.

So they spent all their money on software.... but they own it and could upgrade at anytime.
Whoah! You say you don't have enough staff to do this? OK, simple numbers, can you upgrade one server a week? Probably.
Can you upgrade a batch of clients at a time? Probably, with some preliminary work.
Can you do 10,000 people in one week? Yes, but you won't usually for various reasons, but it CAN be done.

Small staff numbers? Get help, it's cheaper than you think.

No budget? Go ask a business line how they expect to sell more with less people and slower programs or how you could provide them with quotes/pricing to their phone while sitting with the client? You don't know how to do this? Call me or come to Lotusphere.

Happy on the version we use. Hardest one to beat, especialy in organizations with large turnover of staff or very specific needs. One answer is to run your machine like a demonstration box. Make every business line person or sales or whoever come to you or if you have a laptop go to them. I don't know your business, but if you do, I am quite sure you could create a very functional and useful UI that they would jump at to own. This is how I do demo's for potential clients on why they should be upgrading to R8 of Domino, Notes, Sametime or Quickr.

Money is the easiest and hardest thing to get around. Yet, if the business line or executive wants it, suddenly there is money. Just remember my thoughts on this, it is not CHEAP. I fyou say it will cost $5,000 to do it you will not get any respect from executives or business lines.

They want to perceive value based on price. That doesn't mean to tell them it's $1 million, but make it enough so it goes to a budget meeting, not someone who just says yes or no.

If Lotus is truly a corporate solution for you and your company, then treat it like one.