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OUR TAKE -  The Worry Price     Lasting Impressions: Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Yesterday, I shared my story about interviewing realtors to sell my house. Over the last week, I have talked with a dozen agents asking them what they can do to differentiate themselves from the other agents given the extremely harsh market conditions. Unfortunately, it has been difficult to determine any real differentiation that makes me feel that one rises among the rest.   It could be that I pre-selected realtors that have experience and references. It could be that when one realtor discovers a good marketing strategy, the others copy thus neutralizing the temporary differentiation. And, as many CRMAdvocate readers suggested, realtors are stuck in the old way of doing business - list it, do a little marketing, and sit back for prospect feedback.   I suggested that price might be the big differentiator instead of the realtor's marketing/selling acumen. Interestingly, I had suggested listing prices vary from low to high by over 20%. The funny thing is they are all using the same market data to arrive at their suggested price. Regardless of realtor selection, there is a high probability I will be priced either too high or too low causing the house to sit on the market too long or I may leave money on the table. I asked one agent to give me a price that would make the house sell quickly. He called it the "worry price" - a low number that prospective buyers would worry the house would not be on the market long. That price makes me worry too.   That's my take. What's your take?   Gary Lemke, Publisher          Action Center         Free Subscription         Submit Content         Industry Events         Webcasts         Archive   Stock Ticker eLoyalty 5      0.25 Selectica 1.12      0.03 Astea 3.09      0.06 NetSuite 18.03      0.3 APAC 2.21      0.03 Salesforce 65.48      0.84 LivePerson 3.25      0.04 Pegasystems 14.4      0.09 Sykes 19.49      0.09 Vignette 12.69      0.05 Intervoice 8.21      0.02 Epicor 7.92      0.01 RightNow 16.85      0.01 Chordiant 5.9      -0.01 SAP 56.03      -0.16 Amdocs 30.09      -0.13 NCR 26.68      -0.12 Interactive 11.07      -0.08 Oracle 22.56      -0.21 ATG 4.12      -0.04 NICE 30.34      -0.32 SupportSoft 3.69      -0.04 Unica 8.98      -0.12 Tekelc 16.05      -0.27 Convergys 14.09      -0.26 HP 43.69      -0.91 Rainmaker 3.16      -0.07 Nortel 5.87      -0.18 SPSS 32.71      -1.1 CDC 2.5      -0.11 Teletech 15.24      -0.77 ICT 9.02      -0.55 ClickSoftware 2.52      -0.18 As of 4:00 p.m. on 8/19/08         NEW IN CRM   News:  Salesforce.com announced the acquisition of InStranet, a provider of knowledge management technology for business to consumer (B2C) call centers. The acquisition brings knowledge base Dimensions technology to Salesforce CRM Customer Service & Support, enabling customers and call center agents around the world to find the answer they need.(Source: Salesforce )   Article:  Is terminating a project a waste of the efforts already exerted? Or is it an evolution of mature information technology practices? Based on the survey findings of one IT governance organization, the answer depends on whom you ask. In May 2008, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), a 75,000-member organization published findings from a survey.(Source: Baseline )   News:  Selectica has upgraded the Selectica Contract Performance Management (CPM) platform with new features that shorten time-to-contract. For instance, documents can now be accessed from within e-mail, including wireless e-mail, such as on a Blackberry. The new release also can convert PDF documents to Word documents using OCR software to make it easier to convert third-party documents for review and editing. (Source: Selectica )   News:  NICE Systems announced the availability of its Interaction Analytics Packaged Business Solutions offering to help organizations improve business performance and operational efficiency. Michael Maoz, Research Vice President at leading analyst firm, Gartner Inc., commented, "A package of tailored business solutions that is based on analytics is essential if an enterprise is to retain customers. Namely, an understanding of the customer's intentions and analyzing the customer experience are often ignored as part of many CRM initiatives, but they cannot be avoided. Understanding and managing the customer's intentions, expectations and experience is the next generation in CRM. And providing such a package is a key element of achieving this goal." (Source: NICE )   News:  Shred-it, an on-site document destruction company, has selected Knoa Experience and Performance Manager (EPM) to monitor end-user experience and improve end-user performance related to its use of the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application. Shred-it is implementing SAP CRM to manage all customer-facing interactions, including contract administration, service orders, invoicing and customer support services. The new application will be used by Shred-it employees in 80 globally dispersed locations, on five continents, to help the company serve over 150,000 customers. (Source: Knoa )   News:  UIEvolution is extending its ability to deliver dynamic multimedia experiences to consumers on any network or device with its support of AT&T' s new MEdiaMall 2.0. MEdia Mall 2.0, the first UIE-based application service deployed by AT&T, is enabling customers to have a personalized mobile shopping experience that is proving to enhance customer relations. The multimedia experience has resulted in shoppers being able to more easily navigate the AT&T mall and has facilitated the purchasing process. (Source: UIEvolution )   Didn't read the last edition of CRMAdvocate? Click here to see what you missed.