Google Acquires Marratech

Google has quietly acquired Marratech, a video conferencing start-up company based in Sweden. Marratech was incorporated in 1998, has less than 20 employees and does about $1M in revenue. They were originally a spin-off from the Centre for Distance-Spanning Technology at he Lulea University of Technology.

On a personal level, I always thought WebEx might be a great acquisition target for Google but as it turns out, Cisco beat Google to the punch with a $3.2 billion acquisition of WebEx last month.

The Marratech solution is not web-based but desktop-based and has basic functionality like video, chat, whiteboard, etc. The solution includes a freely downloadable client and a server, called the Marratech Manager. The latter is available as a free server (limited to 5 users) and a licensed server.

The Google Blog stated that the acquisition was to enable Google employees, "Googlers," to share documents internally. Rather than Google building their own internal colloboration solution, they decided to buy Marratech.

Financial details have not been released as of yet.

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Blog

Sales Sense...The 6th Sense

In my sales career, I have been fortunate to have worked with some of the best sales reps. It's always interesting to examine the characteristics of the very top performers compared to the average performers. What is the secret formula? Is it product knowledge, sales experience, vertical market expertise, asking the "right" questions, or having a defined sales process? Perhaps a bit of all of them is important, however, I think the 6th Sense, Sales Sense, is the differentiator between the very top performers and everyone else.

What is Sales Sense?

Sales Sense is having a sense of SELF. Understand who you are, what's important to you, what your goals are personally and professionally. Having a sense of self is critical since the projection of yourself is what buyers see and feel. Many people have often told me that people buy from people way before they buy a product, service, brand, or company.

Sales Sense is having a sense of OTHERS. Understand other people's feelings and listen to what they say as this will help you craft impactful value proposition statements and questions that draw out information as to what is truly important. Understanding how people think, process information, evaluate risk, and if they are in a position to buy. Often times, sales reps jump the gun and ask for the business much too soon, only getting a firm, "We are not ready yet." Having a sense of others enables the best sales reps to know when to close because they know that a "Yes," will follow. Realistically, any sales reps can trial close since it's not very hard to ask trial close questions, it's knowing to ask and knowing when all the right pieces are in place. You know this by having a sense of others.

Sales Sense is having a sense of SITUATION. This is all about paying attention to the little details and not overlooking anything. Everything the prospect says is for a reason so listen. It's your job to advance the sales process forward with subtle control...by asking questions. The more questions you ask, the more two way communication you get. Concentrate on the situation not how big your commission check will be if you close the deal. Focus on the situation, things you missed, potential risks, competition.

If you have Sales Sense, you will win your sales engagements and become a top sales performer.

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert