How do you go about selling your product when your distributors don't really understand the concept behind it? That's the dilemma faced by T@lecom, which specialises in wireless technology and sells its products through mobile phone companies.

How do you go about selling your product when your distributors don't really understand the concept behind it? That's the dilemma faced by T@lecom, which specialises in wireless technology and sells its products through mobile phone companies.

T@lecom's Wireless Delivered suite of solutions were designed specifically for the transport, logistics and courier market when the company launched in 2002. In essence, drivers are equipped with a personal digital assistant (PDA) that keeps them in constant contact with their organisation's back-office system over the GPRS mobile network. This ensures there is up-to-the-minute information on deliveries and their status, and customer signatures can be captured as proof of delivery.

Managing director Jan O'Hara admits that when the company was launched, the market was probably not quite ready and there was a resistance to taking its new technology on board.

But the products are now proving both successful and adaptable. Their ability to monitor schedules continuously, so contingencies can be put in place for any problems, has led to their introduction in other areas, such as the movement of non-emergency patients between their homes and hospital departments, and the delivery of meals on wheels.

Major organisations are proving very interested and turnover, which stood at £750,000 last year, is expected to grow to £2m this year.

However, while the business itself has improved, T@lecom is now finding that there is a skills shortage among the resellers, which restricts the volumes they are able to sell and in turn has an impact on T@lecom's growth. "If we can't get the concept across to the potential end user, they won't buy," explains Mr O'Hara.

And the concept does need some selling because many of the smaller companies - particularly transport firms - targeted by T@lecom seem to have an inherent fear of technology and an unwillingness to carry out any big investment. It is unlikely that this culture will change for some time as fuel costs rise and profit margins become tighter, pushing hi-tech spending further down the list.

"This is a nonsense: if these companies did invest in these technologies, they would give themselves an advantage over the competition, which would be more likely to secure their future," says Mr O'Hara. "But it's our resellers that need to get this message across on our behalf, or we won't get their business."

Most of the salespeople in the mobile phone industry, he believes, struggle to communicate issues relating to networks and the reliability of technology. "We want to know how to overcome this problem."

So far, T@lecom has focused on taking the mystique out of the process. "We are telling sales- people just to get the paperwork on the system that the company is currently using, and to understand the business process behind it - and we'll take it from there. Although it is costly, we absorb this because we are looking for volume in the market. But we want to know if there is anything else we could be doing to sell our product."

www.talecom.net

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Annabel Pritchard, corporate brand manager, the Chartered Institute of Marketing

"If T@lecom's resellers are unable to get the message across, a more direct approach might yield better results. T@lecom has a number of case studies on its website. More examples, grouped according to industry sectors, would help to underscore the value of the product, and also illustrate how the technology can be incorporated into successful business practice.

"This would offer additional support to salespeople and, at the same time, help potential end users to find out more. Mr O'Hara should also ensure that all resellers are well equipped with a good selection of literature about T@lecom and its products.

"Strong PR can be used to prepare the market for a product that is not widely understood. Jan O'Hara needs to keep a close eye on what is happening in the trade press and make sure that T@lecom and its products are mentioned in all relevant articles. Case studies illustrating how T@lecom has transformed the businesses of end users would also be of interest to the trade press of the company's target areas, such us the medical sector or the food-service industry."

Mike Conroy, senior manager, commercial banking, HSBC

"So how can he persuade resellers to embrace his products? One answer could be to get clients successfully using the service to provide case studies - to sell the benefits on behalf of the firm. Perhaps resellers could be put in touch with the customers or invited to visit one to see how the technology works in reality. This approach will demonstrate the benefits on offer, but will require the goodwill of existing clients, so a discount may be in order.

"Alternatively, could the resellers be given an incentive, providing them with a good reason to make a concerted effort to understand and sell the technology?"

Bobby Hui, head of planning, Saatchi & Saatchi, London

"This sounds like a good example of engineering triumphing over marketing. I don't know how my DVD player works, but I do like watching high-quality films at home.

"Rather than struggling to educate a third-party sales force on the nature of the technology, T@lecom should develop marketing materials that focus on the benefits and the applications of what the company makes.

"We aren't quoted a price for the products but my assumption is that they are fairly expensive. In this instance, I would develop case studies that show how much more cost- or time- efficient businesses have become as a result of buying T@lecom technology.

"Sell the benefit and the customers will come. Leave the technology story to the first face-to-face meeting, or to those that have to install and run the equipment."