Big deals come through consultants

VCustomer is one of the few BPO companies to remain under one management ever
since it was started. The reasons behind this success story are: a single
decision-maker and very focused niche area of operation in retail and tech
support field. Sanjay Kumar, CEO, vCustomer spoke to Anurag Prasad of Voice
&Data on involving outsourcing consultants in bringing business to India.

Are consultants helpful in bringing the business to India? 

There are three types of consultants: One, those who outline the strategic
plan for the client. These people study the client and advise them what to do
and when to do it. It might be possible that they recommend that outsourcing is
not required at all. Such consultants are not only study the market but try to
fit the client out according to requirements of that market. The key word for
them is strategy. They help the decision they help the management to decide on
strategic issues.

Then there are consultants who supply market trends and provide information
the client has asked for. They do a detailed research on trends and issues but
may not be involved in strategic planning of the company. Their work ends when
they provide the required information.

The last category is that of brokers who call themselves consultants. These
are typically people who pitch in for a third party vendor and often take a
percentage cut of the deal from both sides. They have little or no experience in
market research or strategic planning and act as a virtual sales team for the
vendor. It is obvious that the third category is very dangerous as their work
ends as soon as the deal is struck.

However, a good BPO or outsourcing company with a strong sales and marketing
team does not require consultants to bring in business. If you have a good
presence in the United States and there are references to speak for you there is
no need of these middle-men.

What is the vCustomer's relationship with consultants?

We have a clear policy of avoiding consultants. We do not take any kind of
help from them in closing deals. Our sales and marketing team is strong enough
to pitch for the company. Further we have our reputation and work to show. So
from our side we do not maintain any database or take the help of any
consultant. The buyers might bring them and we cooperate with them but in our
case usually our team and work speak on our behalf.

Then who needs the consultants? 

The bigger companies are comfortable with their own team and they maintain a
standard to attract customers. It is the start-ups and smaller companies, who
cannot maintain a global team, that require the services of the consultants.

On the buyer's side, again the big companies have enough manpower and
skills to evaluate a company for their outsourcing needs. Also, almost all
companies have put up their information on their websites, which is enough to
assess a company. And for anything besides, there is the sales team. Of course,
for more in-depth research and strategy planning, some companies prefer taking
the help of specialists.

What is the trend abroad?

 Abroad most companies are aware of the outsourcing business,
understand the importance of RFP and also get involved in the running the RFP.
But it might happen that they need help in identifying the right vendor and the
right processes. They might be familiar with outsourcing but not with
off-shoring or the model they adopt.

There is also a group of companies which neither understands outsourcing nor
is ready to learn. They are in a great hurry to arrive at a conclusion. Thus,
from the buyer's side we cannot eliminate the involvement of the consultants.
A company might take their help with due diligence or might be more comfortable
with putting the whole responsibility on them.

But isn't it said that every second Indian in the US is an outsourcing
consultant?

Most US companies want to learn more and want value from their supplier. But
it often happens that people advising them have little experience in the
outsourcing industry and are there for the money. The buyer is fooled and a gap
is created between the supplier and buyer.

What percentage of business comes through consultants?

The big deals are usually not made through the consultants. It is the
smaller inconsequential deals that are routed through them. I would estimate
that around two to three percent of the total outsourcing business is done
through these consultants.