Last month we (hopefully) provided some insight to help you position yourself more effectively against ADP TotalSource. This month we’ll be covering TriNet, starting off with a quick history lesson.
History
Until 2009, TriNet was very much a regional player. However, the acquisition of Gevity enabled TriNet to compete on a national level and made them the second largest PEO. Since then, TriNet has continued to undergo many changes, including additional acquisitions such as SOI and Ambrose, as well as going public in 2014. Many of TriNet clients’ frustrations come from the explosive growth TriNet has experienced in a relatively short amount of time. Therefore, it’s important to have a foundational understanding of that growth and the pains that have come along with it.
It’s also important to note, that TriNet’s numerous acquisitions have resulted in varying renewal dates. Legacy Gevity clients continue to renew in October and SOI continues to renew in March or April, but new TriNet Passport clients renew at the beginning of the quarter in which they originally joined TriNet. For instance, if a client joins Passport in June, they’ll renew the following April. Therefore, when you’re profiling a TriNet client, make sure to ask them when they renew or when they signed with TriNet so you have a better idea of one of your prospect’s trigger events.
Verticalized Approach
Now, TriNet’s acquisitions have allowed them to take a verticalized approach in serving their clients and in their selling strategy.
TriNet Passport
TriNet Passport focuses on selling to and serving white collar industries. Each of their salespeople specializes in a specific white collar vertical, such as professional services, technology, life sciences, financial services, engineering, and health care. They present themselves as experts in that specific industry and learn the specific pain points, hot topic issues, and triggers for their field. TriNet Passport’s technology platform is powered by Oracle Peoplesoft, it’s is robust and easy to use. They offer integrated expense management (via ExpenseCloud) and single sign-on allows clients to access to payroll, HR, time management, expenses, performance management, and learning management. The client employees also have access to robust employee self service that gives them the ability to manage a lot of the their own details and activities.
TriNet SOI
TriNet SOI focuses on more grey and blue collar industries, such as automotive, manufacturing, retail, and various skilled trades. Most SOI clients will be on the legacy SOI technology platform. However, it is possible that they are using the Passport technology. When in doubt, just ask the prospect what platform they’re on. The SOI technology platform is considerably less robust than the Passport system. The capabilities of the system are limited (especially in reporting) and integration is lacking. If they’re on the Passport system, you should hear minimal complaints. If they’re on the SOI legacy system, you’ll hear about a lot of inefficiencies and manual processes that you can then create value around in your demo and proposal.
TriNet Ambrose
Lastly, TriNet Ambrose caters to a very high end clientele. TriNet has positioned Ambrose as their concierge, high-touch service offering, geared towards very high wage owners. Many of their employees have advanced degrees allowing themselves to position themselves as educated consultants that have a deep understanding of business practices and laws.
Now that you have a basic understanding of TriNet’s offerings, how can you better position yourself in a competitive situation with TriNet?
Bigger Doesn’t Always Mean Better
The amount of change that TriNet has undergone in the last 10 years is incredible. They’ve gone from a small, regional, privately held PEO to one of the largest, publicly traded PEOs in the country. That’s no small feat, and that kind of growth does not happen without considerable bumps in the road.
A lot of clients that became TriNet clients through the acquisitions consistently note that they feel like TriNet’s service has declined the larger they have gotten. Communication is lacking and it’s difficult to get issues resolved. Where clients used to have a direct point of contact, now they find themselves getting the run-around and have to go through a lot of red tape to get things done. Again, using the talk track “as long as you operate in the TriNet box, everything will be fine. But have you ever had an instance where you needed a one-off or had an issue to resolve?” Most prospects will have at least one story to share, if not more.
Consistent Support
Another frustration that TriNet clients will commonly share is regarding support turnover. As TriNet has gone through their changes, a lot of employees have decided to leave. Ask about the client’s service team. Questions like, “How often does your HR Business Partner come to see you?” or “Oh, you’ve been a TriNet client for 3 years. How many HR Business Partners have you had in that time?” This will often uncover that their client hasn’t seen someone from TriNet’s team for a while and sometimes they’re not even sure who they’re representative is anymore due to turnover.
A couple of other things to keep in mind when selling against TriNet:
ESAC
They promote that they are ESAC (Employer Services Assurance Corporation) accredited. ESAC is an organization that verifies a PEO’s financials and ensures they are in compliance with government regulations. A lot of times TriNet will direct prospects to ensure that whomever they’re considering is accredited. They equate using a PEO that does not have ESAC accreditation to banking with a bank that is not FDIC insured. If you are ESAC accredited and you’re going up against TriNet, make sure you highlight that. If you are not, then make sure you are prepared with a rebuttal in case it comes up. Or better yet, be proactive and upfront with the fact that you aren’t accredited, but highlight if you undergo any third party auditing or reporting.
Pricing May Vary
Again, pricing is going to depend on the platform that the TriNet client is on. Generally speaking, TriNet pricing is on the higher end, and oftentimes, their clients do not feel like the level of service that they receive is worth what they are paying. The good news is that in the majority of cases, their billing is very transparent and they charge a flat per employee per month admin fee. Ask your prospect for an invoice, and you’ll be able to tell very easily what a client is paying towards admin, workers comp, taxes, and benefits. Keep in mind, that if the prospect is on SOI, then most likely their billing will be bundled. Use that to your advantage if you offer more transparent billing.
When presenting benefits pricing, TriNet will most often include only the minimum required employer contribution in their proposal summaries. They include the full premiums in the proposal, but how many prospects do you think actually read a full proposal? Exactly. Most often, TriNet’s benefits will appear a lot less expensive than they really are because on their one-page proposal summary, they are only disclosing the minimum required employer contribution under the benefit pricing. Now, overall TriNet does have pretty competitive pricing on their master policies, but make sure you tell a prospect to look at the total benefit cost, not just the summary page when they’re comparing their options.
TriNet also requires their clients to offer a minimum of $20,000 employer paid life insurance to all of their eligible employees. If your organization does not have similar requirements, make sure to point it out.
Lastly, TriNet does not restart taxes. They will carry-over all taxes that an organization has already paid. This is a large advantage that they will highlight throughout their sales process, especially as the year progresses. If you have a similar policy toward tax restarts, highlight it. If not, then make sure you disclose that upfront and take that into consideration as you’re pricing deals against TriNet. Most prospects will appreciate hearing that their taxes will restart, and the financial burden associated with it.
Once again, keep in mind, the above is meant to give you some insight into how TriNet is selling against you, and some common areas of frustration that you can use to your advantage. Take the information, and use it to help guide your questions as you’re speaking with TriNet customers or to alter your selling strategy when you’re competing for the same business. And as always, please feel free to share any insights that you have discovered in your experience below.