Impacting The Modern Buyer
Reading Time: 13 minutes
Overview: Greg Dickinson the CEO of Omedym and Paul Noone’s discuss the modern buyer and how to create a buying process that caters to them.
About the speaker: Greg Dickinson, Founder and CEO, Omedym. Greg is an experienced software executive who has helped drive growth and establishes market leadership for true innovators like Ariba (acquired by SAP), Hiperos (acquired by Coupa) and now, Omedym. Throughout his career, Greg has supported all aspects of the customer journey and has had a close-up view of the changing expectations of the software buyer. He understands that buyers are no longer content to let the sellers control the process and started Omedym in response.
Greg
Well, welcome everybody to RevTech. My name is Greg Dickinson. I am the CEO of Omedym, and I’ve got with me today one of our customers Paul noone of HireIQ. Hey, Paul, thanks for taking the time to join us. And I think people get a lot of value out of this out of this session here at revtech. So let’s get right into it. Additionally, I know Paul as a CEO of higher IQ, you guys are impacting your revenue. And the reason you think that’s unique and different is that we all know right now, we spend a lot of time at the buyer is different. It’s a modern buyer, a change buyer, unique buyer, right?
In addition they do more on their own 60 70% of the buyers journey. You guys needed to figure out ways to you know, impact your revenue. And what you told me you did that you think is pretty unique, as you’re using modern technology, Omedym, to be able to work on real opportunities, instead of spreading yourself thin and working on those that are not necessarily real buyers. So Paul, how you doing that? Well,
Paul
First of all, thanks a lot, appreciate you taking the time to sort of talk to us. What’s interesting to me about this whole journey, and what we’re doing using Omedym is really about putting our best foot forward. It’s about communicating what we know is essential to the buying journey as early in the process as possible. And while this sounds difficult for any salesperson who’s ever been out there, to let go a little bit and put that information where customers are going or where prospective customers are going is the most important thing I think we can do.
So what we’re doing with Omedym is we’re really putting as much information into video as we can. What you guys refer to as content portable, we really refer to as just a tab a video of frequently asked questions on the website. And we have a really answering what we think is the most essential part of what people are trying to understand. Because what we do is about hiring, what we do is a relatively competitive space, we’re really interested in sharing what it is about our particular technology that makes it different from everything else, they’re gonna look at.
HireIQ
Essentially that’s what people are going to ask us when they eventually get to us. But what we’re trying to do is say you’re looking at this space, let me tell you what, what’s essential about HireIQ, what’s meaningful in your journey about HireIQ as quickly as we possibly can. Because one way or another, you’re going to find out that they might find out from a competitor, they might find out from someone else, from what they might surmise, based on some articles they’ve read.
What I want to do is actually put my face or somebody in the company, on a video explaining what’s important in a short, brief way that we inevitably cover with every demonstration every meeting. And that’s really been critical to improving that dialogue, or it’s actually a pre dialogue, it’s when the customer comes to looking for us. They want those answers. And when they get those answers, we get to engage with them in a much higher, more engaged and much more meaningful way.
Greg
Let’s peel that back a little bit. Right. So I think the first thing I’m hearing you say is that we, right You, me and everyone else in the world, getting ready to buy something right? It doesn’t matter where we are. Someone tells us Hey, go look at the this thing called HireIQ, we want to hire people better we want to. They find you guys in the website, they go to your website. And traditionally, there’d be a lot of glitz and glitter and marketing stuff. But they really want to know about HireIQ, they want to see the product they want to dive in, they’d have to opt in.
You’ve changed that Paul and you said, hey, we’ve got this technology called Omedym. People can get to our videos, right? Our message message from the CEO message VP of sales, etc. And they can ask whatever questions they want, that you provide them with a roadmap of questions, if you will, here’s the top 10 things that people traditionally want to know about our space about our company. And then through our technology as well, right, you’re able to provide a set of phrases or topics that allow them.
The people that want to ask questions that people that want to follow a path or the people that are clickers who want to click on topics. So you’ve kind of said hey, let’s move that experience of meeting with a salesperson and they may not be they may not be qualified. Let’s let them self qualify, self discover much earlier in the buying journey. And Paul, that’s what you’re doing right? You kind of changed it, put them on its head a little bit.
Paul
Thats 100% true. We’re old dogs in this thing. Greg, we’ve been here a long time. And I used to be a point where we were as the salespeople as the organization. We were the gatekeepers for all that particular information. And now what I find that is just an impediment to people getting to an understanding where they can make a decision, right? So what you guys have done for us has given us the ability to give them that information in a way that makes sense to them. I think what you mentioned about asking specific questions.
We’re trying to anticipate those questions, and allow the methods that particular buyer go and answer those questions on their own. So they can make the decision of whether this is the right thing. I think one of the results of that is we get to a decision maker much quicker. I actually don’t care. I’d love for everybody in the world to be checking out all of those questions and all those answers. It’s only gonna really be meaningful to the people who are out to make that decision. I doubt very seriously, I think our numbers probably prove that out is that people come to the website, but they don’t bother.
They don’t have to engage us. They don’t have to, they can get the answers they need. And when they’re ready to engage with us, there’s a different level altogether. They’re really trying to understand Okay, what is the last proof point? I need? Not what is the first fruit?
Greg
Yeah, yeah, Paul, that’s spot on. Right? I think if people on this on this video, they’re watching today, as an audience, think about them. Pause for a second, think about yourself, how do you behave? If you’re an appliance to vacation or whatever? Right. You’re early on? Listen, let’s face it. Right. I love salespeople. I’ve been one you’ve been one, Paul, but we don’t want to talk to sales. Day one. Oh, and we don’t have to right in what you said is, Hey, I can help educate, take away friction. That annoying opt in are no annoying scheduled meeting.
Or your inspect salesperson to ask you 20 questions about budget and who are you. And which decision can be made and who’s signing the check. Which is, by the way, way premature. Because that buyer is saying, Hey, I just want to know, if hierarchy could add value to my company? Bingo. Right?
Paul
Right. You see people trying to do this in two dimensions. On their website, they’re trying to take every page and answer every question, but really, there are some fundamental questions they need to hear from a person. I think in the old days, actually probably even today, a lot of the website content is purposely vague. They want it to be applicable to everybody and every question.
We are a little different. And what we’re trying to do with your tool is be really specific about why people come to us and not try not throw out so many hooks that we’re going to snag you on something. We believe that there’s a really specific reason that people use our tool.
We know that they’re affected using this particular thing. And we want to share that as early in the process. We’re hoping asking that question is really at the forefront of their mind. And we’re, again, pre meditated in our in our way that we answer those questions. And without, without your tool, we would be trying to do this the old fashioned way.
Greg
Paul, The other thing is that people want to see themselves in your software, right? They want to become emotionally attached. And you can’t do that by reading a two or three or five paragraphs on here’s how HireIQ works. And here’s how HireIQ does this. Think about if you were buying a car, you want to sit in the car, you want to feel that car, right? You want to get experience. That’s the same thing you said to me was Greg. The other thing is, I could spend all day long answering questions. What’s your question? And what’s your answer? What’s your question?
But when I show it in the product, you guys want to know how HireIQ does this? Or can it do this? Let me show you. They become engaged, right? Because they’re going to be using your software someday. And they want to see themselves in that seat, if you will. Test driving your software. Yeah.
Paul
Yeah, no question. Great. I think the other thing that we talked about was this concept of trust in the selling process. What I’m trying to do is make sure that we’re not hiding anything. We’re putting as much information as we can available to that particular prospective customer. And I think that it is the trust part of particularly this last year. Trust has been the maybe the most important thing, I want to work with a vendor who understands me. I want to work with a partner, not even a vendor. Additionally, I want a partner who lives in the space that I live in.
Using Omedym
And I want to understand that he understands before I engage with him or her or them. That’s really the thing that I think is sort of connected most to to what we’re doing at HireIQ is that we’re trying to connect with that customer through those particular questions. What’s interesting, particularly about your stuff is that we’re not trying to be perfect, right? More specifically, we’re not trying to be studio produced video. We’re trying to tell you if you sat with me right now, and you asked me that question, what’s special about HireIQ would sit here just like this and the answer to this question.
What I wouldn’t do is go to a studio get perfectly lit, be perfectly suited up and everything like that answer this question. Yes, try to do it in this honest and sincere way. And that’s actually sort of a that was part of a journey for us to be comfortable in sharing that information. It is no different. In continuation what we’re trying to do to say, look, here’s the most immediate way to get this particular data. And if you get that data, you’re more likely and it connects with you, you’re more likely to want to partner up.
Greg
Exactly, yep. Well, I mean, you’ve hit the nail on the head. You guys have said we need scale, we need leverage. My buyer wants digital on-demand and authentic. So what you’ve done is you’ve extended you started off this call by saying you’ve extended your best and brightest by being able to message around HireIQ or machine learning or how you help in in value. Where that statement, or that demo it comes from different people. It’s authentic, it’s real. Continuing, Paul, when we first started using it in a year ago, you were right, reading from a piece of paper and trying to be scripted.
And we were telling you, Paul survey says right, it doesn’t that doesn’t necessarily work. In addition, I want to ask you another question, though. So I’m sure you guys have Omedym top of the funnel. People come to your website, they can click on video FAQ. It brings him into a whole bunch of of the Omedym platform content. After someone’s gone through that experience. I mean, you’re using it to disqualify as much as you are to qualify, but someone is qualified, that then says, Wow, I want to talk to HireIQ. Is that person different than a different buyer? Are they more engaged? They smarter? What do you see in there? Because I think that’d be a huge advantage.
Paul
It’s unbelievable. I think one of the things that we’ve observed, certainly in the last couple of years, and this year more specifically is that customers are they’re reaching back out to us. So they’ve gotten all of their questions answered, now they’re ready to engage. By the way, one of the questions that we answer and that is, how do you engage with HireIQ? Is there a way to pilot this stuff? If I have one more step that I feel would make me comfortable? How could you do this? Rather than talk to me about that? I answer that question. So they’re coming to me saying, I’m ready to get going.
That’s a lot different than Tell me what you do. Well, tell me what HireIQ does salesperson, right? Hey, I’ve heard about you guys, is what I’m hearing correct? We hope we’re answering all these questions before that. Which, of course requires us to constantly review and go are we answering that question correctly. Are we are we misleading anybody? And so, again your platform allows us to make changes to put the most specific things up there every day
Greg
I mean, every every day, people ask a question. And you look at Holy mackerel, the number one question people are asking is X, Y, or Z. Let me go look at my response, while I want to update that, or let me look at the data of the engagement and make better informed everyday content. Or kind of continue that engagement, that digital engagement journey. The other thing, Paul, that I think, for your space, as well is when someone buys HireIQ right, for a major company with a major Help Desk, there’s not one buyer, there’s many buyers.
So not only can that first person come engage, they can invite other people. Now the quote unquote buying team is well informed. And they’ve used it kind of for consensus or buy in and said, hey, let’s go look at HireIQ we’ve checked all the boxes, they do what we need to do. The different buyers have been able to do that in an automated fashion. Well, that’s got to give you scale, and sales cycle.
Paul
This is one of the things you don’t want to do as a CEO of companies, you well know is to just scale straight line. You don’t want to put a salesperson every time. Really what we’re trying to do is as much as we can, with the customer success team, build out this customer success teams make sales sort of the first point of engagement, but not the end point. It’s not the goal, it’s just an event. Engaging with us as the first event that you’re going to do or going really to the website and having all of those questions answered that are running through your mind about these kinds of platforms.
And then the time that you engage with us is really about how are we going to use this? How is my team going to come to it. How are they going to experience it? And how is that going to be as smooth a transition from current process to next level process? That’s exciting way better discussion. I don’t have to talk to them about what do we do and how we’re different? We’ve tried to answer those questions up front. And customer I think in our space, we touch almost all of the big players in that space one program or not. We’re working with them.
So what they’re trying to do to us is understand, is this rocket science? Are they putting the most impressive credentialed people on every project. Is it approachable, understandable, and we’re doing everything we can to break that down. So yeah, communicating to them, that this is an easy, approachable process and technology.
Greg
You’re touching as many people as you can, the ones that like what they hear, like what they see, like the frictionless kind of modern. I think you’re using modern technology, and you’re selling modern technology. In addition they kind of make that association that if here’s a company, that’s current. I know, you can’t give specific numbers, but 2020 just ended. And my understanding is you had a pretty good year.
Paul
In conclusion we did have a good year. We had a great year. Of course, you know, if you look back on the year, and you look back you distracting yourself from the details, you’d say, That must have been a tough year. It was a tough year, right? Our customers were put in a difficult place. They all, we work a lot to lots of brick and mortar call centers. So, one day, we got a call and said 80,000 people are being sent home.
So we’re thinking, what does that mean? How do they hire? How do they hire the traditional ways? And realizing, of course, that we are the answer that question. We’re being able to engage virtually be able to impact those people at the at the end point. Whether it’s at home or not that was a walk into a call center and try to apply for a job. Yeah, all of that was really meaningful.
To your point, we increased our sales, the market was moved in such a way that was meaningful to what we do as a company, virtual. Async. Around the clock time, agnostic really across time zones. And there’s another thing, and I’ve been talking a lot about this, in the recent weeks is, if we think about who our user is these talent acquisition, folks. These individuals who are responsible for making the hires. They had been sent home, they’re predominantly women. In addition they all have families in some form. And what we’re doing is giving them the opportunity to work from home.
Engaging in Covid
One to see all of the data about a candidate before they engage, and to make sure anytime they engage, they are actually engaging with the right person. With the right skill set with a with the understanding that they’ll succeed if hired. That is incredibly important these days. So, it needs to be the Asink was the important part. It’s not exactly getting to the right individual is so important yet that has been meaningful. Therefore servicing around the clock. Our customers are in the Philippines or in India, they’re in Latin America, they’re in South America, they’re in Europe, they’re in every place. I don’t have a sales team for everyone of those timezones.
I don’t want people and frankly, I’m trying to be as good to my team as I possibly can right now. Meaning, let’s give them as much peace and grace as we possibly can when times are as difficult as they are. In a way, I mean, I don’t think we could have done what we did without Omedym, because it just allowed us to extend our organization in a meaningful way.
Greg
Yeah, it sounds like, Listen, it sounds like what you guys do for your customers we’re doing for you, right? You need scale, you need 24/7. You need to get to the right person at the right time. And you’re using that technology. To sum up, Paul good year, great year, I’d love as a CEO of Omedym to say that’s all because of us. I know it wasn’t. But would you would you fairly say that Omedym helped impact your revenue in 2020?
Paul
Oh, there’s no question. Absolutely no question about it. We’re excited about working with you. We work from the minute we understood the premise. The engagement is direct. And your team is, you know, the model that everybody wants to follow is supported. It is all about the game. Some of you struggling with somebody and somebody says, Let’s get on zoom was walk through with you. Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to do as well.
Greg
All right. Well, thank you very much. I think this will be a lot of great data here for the people watching it at RevTech 2021. So Paul, thank you very much. Have a great day.