Aberdeen Group Teaches IT Sales Forces the New Rules of Sales Engagements in the Internet Economy.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2001

"eBusinessAcceleration" Combines IT Market Analysis,

Sales Training, and eLearning

Aberdeen Group, a leading IT market analysis and positioning services firm, today announced eBusinessAcceleration, a series of Web-based training solutions that focus on the new rules of sales engagement in the Internet economy.

"The e-Business economy has significantly changed the nature of IT sales," says Tom Willmott, President and CEO of Aberdeen Group. "The IT sales professional must understand these changes, develop consultative sales skills, and put technology products in a compelling market or business context. If they don't, they will face longer sales cycles and confused customers. Aberdeen's in-depth knowledge of client technologies, markets, and positioning makes us the ideal firm to educate the sales force and others, such as the channel, partners, and employees," he states. "This is something our analysts and eLearning professionals do very well."

"The easy times in IT sales are long gone, and investing in shortening the sales cycle has never been more compelling," says Janice Lawrence, President of Aberdeen eLearning, a division of Aberdeen Group. "Aberdeen's eBusinessAcceleration helps sales professionals accelerate sales by applying their technology solutions in the context of a customer's business strategy and making sense of the disruptive changes in the e-Business marketplace."

Aberdeen clients such as Cisco, Commerce One, and Unisys have praised Aberdeen eLearning for its timely, unique content and innovative training techniques. By training an organization's sales force, Aberdeen eLearning ensures that a consistent and compelling message is delivered to potential customers. Using contextual marketplace analysis, Aberdeen empowers sales professionals to put their solutions in the context of the Internet economy.

eBusinessAcceleration provides value by addressing both top-line and bottom-line concerns, especially given the current economic slowdown and the need to reduce expenses. The product includes three courses: Dynamics of the e-Conomy, e-Business Solutions, and e-Business Strategies.

On March 20, Aberdeen Group will host an informative, 30-minute Webcast to explain how eBusinessAcceleration helps clients gain greater market credibility, shorten sales cycles, and increase sales.

Additionally, Aberdeen will host four seminars about the new rules of sales engagements in the Internet economy. These 30-minute, interactive, eLearning seminars will discuss the following topics:

-- Translating Your Message Into Sales Conversations, March 30

-- Selling in the Internet Economy: Changing Paradigms, April 9

-- Competitive Positioning in the Rapidly Maturing Technology

Markets, April 16

-- Selling Technology-enabled Business Strategies in the Internet Economy, April 23

To register for the Webcast or the eLearning seminars, contact Lynne Hansen at [e-mail] or [phone], ext. 7005.

About Aberdeen eLearning

Aberdeen eLearning offers unique Web-based sales training solutions for the rapidly changing Information Technology market. Leveraging Aberdeen's research and analysis, Aberdeen eLearning shortens the sales cycle by educating field sales and channel sales organizations in a cost-effective and timely manner. Aberdeen eLearning is a division of Aberdeen Group, a market analysis and positioning services firm that helps Information Technology suppliers establish leadership in emerging markets. Founded in 1988, Aberdeen is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and has research centers in Palo Alto, California; Ft. Collins, Colorado; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.