Software Sales Business Plan

We operate in the business-to-business segment of e-commerce which recent research estimates transactions in excess of $160 billion (www.e-commerceguide.com). Our market is further segmented into companies with sales forces greater than 100 people and companies with branches, divisions or franchises in excess of 100 units.

4.1 Market Segmentation

We segment our market by size of sales force and number of company subunits. Our target customers will have sales operations in excess of 100 direct sales representatives or more than 100 organizational subdivisions or franchises. For the first three years of operation we will focus on U.S. companies in the Pacific Northwest, California and the Southwest. Geographically this make sense as our office is central to these regions and management has established key client contacts in each of these areas. Larger clients are more likely to benefit from the efficiencies our product offers and will provide fees that will sustain our profitability. Exact figures for the number of businesses are hard to determine, however, the lean structure of our company will allow us to be profitable by generating two to three new clients per year.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

Our strategy is designed to target:

• Medium- to large-size organizations whose sales forces provide their clients with proposals and plans that the client either collaborates on, or would benefit from collaboration.
• Companies that sell franchise rights and take an active role in the success of their franchises.
• Larger clients that will provide greater revenues through a larger volume of software licensing sales and greater chance of selling client interface solution.

4.2.1 Market Trends

The most significant trend affecting our company is the growth of business-to-business e-commerce. More and more firms recognize the need to take advantage of the exchange of information over the Internet and our products and services rely on this.

4.2.2 Market Growth

The fastest growing segment of the e-commerce industry is the business-to-business sector. This segment has gone from less than $50 billion to more than $160 billion in three years.

4.2.3 Market Needs

Customization-products that strengthen their brand and address their differences:

• We will “Private Label” the solution so as to further strengthen the clients’ brand.
• We recognize that different clients will have varying levels of sophistication and we will design different product templates for each customer.

Speed, efficiency and information:

• Our product will allow the client to make better and faster business decisions and receive quicker feedback from their end-customer.
• Managers will have the ability to monitor the progress and profitability of their staff.

4.3 Service Business Analysis

Customers tend to buy enterprise software solutions based on reputation, price and reliability. Also, compatibility with existing or legacy systems is very important. With this in mind, the key decision makers and influencer(s) will be the companies’ chief financial officer and chief information officer.

4.3.1 Business Participants

There are currently several companies that provide business planning software for desktop applications, but as yet none of these offer enterprise-wide solutions. Additional competitors are companies which provide word processing, spreadsheet and collaborative planning software, as well as publishers of business planning literature.