Your respect and dedication to your profession gains meaning and importance when you achieve what others see as impossible. Since the day I first told myself this, I have made great efforts to do what I believe in, regardless of being told it is impossible or impossible. Just doing the job in front of me and not getting involved in anything else has never been my thing. I experienced one of the last examples of this last week, and with the news I received, I felt the happiness of achieving one of my goals at my old company.
I wanted to write a summary of this success story for those who want to read it.
Although the goal I set for myself may seem like a sales project, it was actually to sell the ERP product, which is in the leaders category and used worldwide, containing know-how on hundreds of subjects, by installing only the Human Resources modules. When the idea first came to me, without even thinking, I took this goal upon myself and started making plans to achieve it.
In general, it was seen as a futile effort by some of my friends in the company. How would anyone be convinced to sell a huge ERP just for Human Resources?
Many of my manager friends in the company I talked to about this issue confidently said, “ERP for Human Resources cannot be sold.” We started our work regardless of what they said. As someone who has been involved in product development training and consultancy services as well as sales operations for 11 years and has made hundreds of presentations, my opinion is; Yes, the majority of companies would not buy ERP just for HR.
However, while the strength of the human resources solution affects the choice of ERP, any company could choose an ERP only for Human Resources when it is really needed. I was very sure of this; Human Resources solutions within IFS were very valuable and powerful. But apparently in the beginning I was the only one who believed and knew this.
There are many components involved and it seemed impossible to bring them all together. I was aware that it was not something we could do when we said come on. I knew time would be needed for each component to fall into place one by one.
First of all, I wanted it for myself, and I know that if I succeeded, there would be many people who would embrace it, but even if no one cared, the pride of having accomplished a job that “has never been seen before in the world for an ERP in the leaders category” would be enough for me, and it would be a reference and open a door for the continuation of similar projects in my company. What we needed was to achieve this once and the rest would follow. I strongly believed that I had this sales and persuasion skill.
When we realized that the CEO of the company, who put this idea into my mind during the pandemic period, was forward-thinking on this issue and would support it until the end, I was ready to do whatever was necessary.
This job involved issues that needed to be handled so strategically that it was not a job you could do alone, and it was important to do this job with a team that knew their job well. And so it was. We had a very good rapport with my friend, the Sales Director of the company, who has that belief and worked incredibly hard together for this job. The components that need to come together for us in the next process are;
– To be able to find a lead/candidates who need a truly comprehensive HR product.
– To increase awareness of the Human Resources solutions within the product through various events.
– To be able to make an ERP product in the leading category suitable for the budget of the prospective customer, considering its cost in terms of its technology and the benefits it provides.
– To convince you that you will be more productive only with products that have created solutions in the field of Human Resources.
– To highlight in a short time the projects that use and want to use the Human Resources solutions included in the product and to increase these examples.
– Extracting details proving that the need will be fully met in the detailed studies carried out before the presentations at the sales meetings.
– It was necessary to know the product very well and be ready with comprehensive solutions for the solutions needed.
We put all these components in front of us and started working patiently. We were already extremely ready and confident for the last three items. We started meeting with companies from many sectors looking for solutions on Human Resources. With incredible sacrifices, sometimes compromising my private life, we started to increase our reference projects for comprehensive use. In order to increase awareness, we organized webinars with wide participation with our marketing department, despite our busy agenda.
In the candidate companies we interviewed, there were times when we liked the product very much but were stuck in a budget constraint, and my Sales Director friend prepared very special studies and alternatives on this issue and presented them to the candidates. We prepared so well for the presentations that we explained what the customers needed before asking their questions. We never used the word “we do”. We said we already have it. We showed that the desired solutions have their counterparts.
Because we knew very well how to foresee whatever the needs were for the solutions for which I was also the Product Manager, and how to meet the needs both through R&D studies and global solutions.
While doing all this, most importantly, we never gave up. This time, after the long negotiations that we said were done, we went too far, so to speak. Of course, those who said that #ERP cannot be sold for #ik, on the other hand, insisted on the same idea. However, do not get me wrong, my old company has an approach that attaches great importance to HR operations and such issues in order to satisfy its employees.
General perspective on consultancy services; cost etc. in large ERP packages. Due to these issues and because they had never experienced anything similar before, it was seen as if no one would invest in Human Resources solutions and could not be persuaded.
However, despite everything, we felt the full support of our CEO, who supported us incredibly throughout this process and ensured that this idea remained in my mind. If he had not had such a forward view and supported this idea, our efforts would have been meaningless.
And now we were about to succeed with a lead where our efforts paid off. We had gone down to such fine details that we had almost started creating solutions even before the sale was made. The process was 99.9% complete. Even when I decided to leave my company for different reasons in the last stages of the process, I maintained my seriousness and attention on this issue without the slightest doubt. I didn’t think about leaving anyway, why should I tire myself out?
I can’t describe my happiness when I finally received the news that the process we worked hard for last week had ended happily. The pride of adding a company, which is one of the factories of a Japanese automotive giant brand serving in our country, to the IFS family was priceless and it was never easy.
Previously, many steps had been taken regarding digitalization in Human Resources, and we appeared before them when they were searching again as a result of not being able to create the desired solutions in other products, one of which was the ERP product they were currently using. We were faced with a team that was incredibly prepared and knew what they wanted.
Explaining what stages we went through in a Japanese company, while someone whose mouth was burned by milk could even eat yoghurt, will be the subject of a separate article on sales.
I received this news the week after I left, that is, last week, but the detail that increased my happiness and the dramatic part of the story was that the signed contract from the customer reached the company on my last working day, right after my farewell e-mail. So I didn’t leave without reaching my goal. IFS’s motto #forthechallengers was not in vain. In #TeamPurple you will always see people with high fighting power.
I have done my part proudly and abundantly. With this example, I have full faith that from now on, companies that want to solve only their Human Resources solutions in a large-scale ERP will increase and doors will open. I have worked so hard that I wish I had taken part in this project, but I have full faith that my colleagues at HRTEAM will overcome this with the great legacy I left behind.
The story is actually longer and contains many stories that cannot fit into one line. But what I will say is; The feedback I get from people around me is that if there is anyone who can do this and convince me, it is you. This tells me about my belief in my profession and the point I have reached. I did this, first of all, for my self-esteem, and we achieved a first in the world with my valuable Sales Director friend who worked hard on this work.
At the same time, we have carried the saying that ERP for HR cannot be sold to the dusty pages of history. Dear friends, everything that is impossible for others in this life just takes a little time for those who believe. Instead of expecting others to respect the work you do in the institutions you work in, set your goals that will make them respect you and do your best to achieve them. No matter what obstacle you face, let go of silent resignations, etc.
If it doesn’t contribute to you, leave if you can and run towards your goals instead of wasting your time. Otherwise, the time you spend in silent resignation will be written off as a detriment to yourself.
I hope you always have new goals ahead of you…
Stay with love.
Özer Yılmaz
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