Overcoming Objections – With these Arguments, You will Convince Your CEO and CTO of PIM

Good Preparation is the Be-All and End-All

Let’s be honest with ourselves – CEO and CTO are the most difficult rocks to climb when it comes to the approval of PIM software. This is why it’s all the more important to be well prepared when joining the discussion. Both CEO and CTO have their own questions and objectives which you can, however, easily overcome with solid arguments. Learn about what questions to anticipate and what answers you need to have ready to hand in this blog entry.

Let’s Get Down to Business: This is How You Convince Your Executive Board

The business administration has one essential objective: all processes are to run as smooth as possible. Additional software translated into more investments, be it personal or monetary. During your discussion with the executive board, questions and objections will be raised which can be easily taken care of with a few smart answers:

Question 1: What costs lie ahead of us?

Your answer: To put the question differently, what costs can we cut by introducing PIM software? The question is to be put in this way since the company will suffer from a lot more costs without such software. Automated processes versus manual routines – the daily to-dos of a product manager include re-occurring tasks such as product maintenance, data editing, content creation, and exports to various sales channels etc. For 300 products, such manual editing requires weeks. With a software such as our eggheads Suite, all work steps involved can be automated. This frees us from the biggest time killers. In relation to this, a software which can support you in tackling these issues is, in fact, not expensive and the high ROI compares favorably even in short-term calculations. A good provider may even guarantee a quicker implementation phase.

Question 2: As the CEO, can I generate reports at the click of a button and answer questions related to sales numbers myself?

Your answer: With PIM software, the executive board maintains an overview of all product-related topics at all times and can, consequently, make decisions on the basis of rich data.

Question 3: Will the Product Management become more transparent and efficient? Can we cut the time-to-market regarding all sales channels?

Your answer: Naturally, the equation is rather simple! All product data being centralized within one and the same system means…
Higher productivity + faster exports into distribution channels = stronger sales.

Question 4: Will the responsibilities and tasks of the Product Management become clearer?

Your answer: Organizational chaos renders the entire work process difficult and slows down the time-to-market enormously. A PIM software can counter this. Many PIM software solutions feature integrated modules for assigning and managing tasks and responsibilities. Not only does this clarify the responsibilities involved but it also defines all our processes in a more distinct manner.

Question 5: Will this software support us in our goals targeting growth and internationalization?

Your answer: As far as both corporate growth and internationalization is concerned, a PIM system is, in fact, indispensable. Manual data management on an international scale cannot be managed with available resources. The system’s algorithms will automate many manual processes. And not only that. With a PIM software like eggheads Suite, the translation process can also be automated.

It’s All a Matter of Technology: This is How You Convince Your CTO of PIM Software

When arguing for a PIM software, the Chief Technical Officer is less interested in why the software is required. Here, the primary interest concerns the question, “How will the software be implemented” and “What technical requirements are to be satisfied?” Accordingly, you should have the nitty-gritty details down before presenting your arguments to the CTO and look for a software provider which can satisfy specific technical requirements. To convince your CTO, you should answer the following questions in a clear and argumentative manner.

Question 1: What resources do we need for the implementation?

Your answer: We require capacities for the software training of our teams and related workshops. We are to either budget and schedule these resources or request them from a service provider. However, if the implementation is approached in a well-structured and methodological manner, it will only be a major short-term effort – yielding a huge mid-term and long-term benefit as a result.

Question 2: Does the provider have a clear schedule for the implementation process?

Your question: New software means – at least initially – effort. This is why the contract with the provider includes support for the implementation process. A tested and structured phase plan for the entire implementation is provided. We can gladly go over the details of individual steps.

With eggheads, the implementation process takes only six months. This is because our software is implemented without any programming effort. Thanks to the generic and adaptive data model of our eggheads Suite, you can setup your system using the graphical user interface. Throughout, we proactively support you on each step with our well-received training concept, eggheads Academy.

Question 3: Does the software meet all Data Protection and Security Standards?

Your answer: The software by the provider is developed utilizing conventional programming languages and state-of-the-art tools, allowing us to operate it on modern operating systems such as Windows and Linux. The software receives updates and patches in regular intervals. eggheads satisfies all requirements of EU-GDPR concerning both organization and software.

Question 4: Does the provider support the data import from current tools and sources?

Your answer: The provider is proactive when it comes to data imports. Be it Excel or our existing software – all data from all sources can be transferred into this new, powerful software. We have a good provider as our implementation partner who will support us in configuring a data model which is sustainable in a long-term manner and who will also provide support for the data import from existing tools and data sources.

Question 5: Do we need special IT skills?

Your answer: There are two options. We either settle for a SaaS Solution and operate the software via cloud. Or, should we decide to operate the software in-house, we can also go for the On-Premise Solution. Concerning this second option, our IT will be more than competent since basic skills for managing Windows Server / MSSQL or LINUX / PostgreSQL will suffice.

Question 6: Will the data quality improve?

Your answer: Automated processes reduce all efforts revolving around Product Management – be it for executive board or coworkers. Processes which we’re still repeatedly carrying out ‘by hand’ are the root cause of many inefficiencies (which could be compared to using capsule pipelines for communication in today’s day and age). This software will automate process such as ‘moving Excel lists from A to B.’ Both executives and team members will no longer lose time to repetitive tasks and can properly concentrate on issues at hand. It will also help us to structure the Product Management process. This will render our organization more productive.

Question 7: Don’t we already have an ERP System, why not use that?

Your answer: ERP systems are neither developed nor designed for today’s requirements concerning personalized and segmented product content. The consequence is that processes will slow down, some information will be lost and some will remain inconsistent amidst data chaos, and our teams will sacrifice more work time for quantitatively less and qualitatively worse impact.