Tips for Positioning Against TotalSource

Over the next few months, we’ll be providing some tips on how to position PrismHR and your services against some of the other competitors in the market. In this post, we’ll be focusing on ADP Totalsource. You may already know that TotalSource clients renew their benefits each year on June 1st.

What does this mean for you? It means that within the next month or so, a lot of TotalSource clients will be receiving their renewal letters and it’s a great time to start calling on them (if you haven’t started already). So as you’re making your calls, how do you go about positioning yourself against one of the largest PEOs? Here are some tips and insights:

Use Their Size to Your Advantage

TotalSource is large. There is no arguing that. Their size can also be used against them. You could say something like, “There’s a reason that ADP has gotten to be the size that they are. They are obviously doing something right, and are a fantastic choice for a lot of organizations. As long as those organizations fit in the ADP ‘box.’ Because of their size, ADP clients have to operate the ADP way, which is very black or white.  Business is never black or white. There’s a lot of gray. And as soon as you need something that falls in the gray…well, good luck getting it done.” At this point, the prospect’s head normally starts nodding. Most can recall an instance where they needed some flexibility from ADP and they had a terrible experience trying to accomplish what they needed. Ask them about it and use that to your advantage!

Service Matters

Another advantage that a lot of service providers have over TotalSource is their service model. This may or may not apply to your organization, but a lot of smaller service providers are able to take a much more proactive approach in supporting their clients. You could say something like, “A lot of TotalSource clients that have made the switch have told us that they really appreciate having a dedicated service team that reaches out to them regularly. They have shared their frustration with us about having to call a 1-800 number each time they needed service from ADP, speaking to a different individual each time, and having to repeat their story or issue because sufficient notes weren’t taken. They’ve shared with us that by having one point of contact through us, they’re able to save time by not having to go through the run-around each time they call in.” Again, a lot of TotalSource prospects will relate to this.

Transparent Billing

Billing. Have you ever tried to break apart a TotalSource invoice to figure out what a client is paying towards taxes, comp, and admin? Then you know it can be done, but not without a lot of effort and time. Even employees that have worked for them have a hard time figuring it out! Well, so do their clients. This is a big deal, especially if you’re talking to a CFO who needs and wants to know what dollars are going where. If you offer more transparent billing, then let your prospect know. Or better yet, show them a sample invoice that breaks apart your billing. The billing frustrates their clients.

On a related note, if you get your hands on the prospect’s invoice, confirm that they are truly on the TotalSource platform. It’s not unheard of for clients to believe they are on TotalSource, but upon closer inspection of the invoice, they were on Workforce Now or Resource.

Reporting

Reporting, or lack thereof. TotalSource clients will tell you that it is a nightmare to pull reports from their system. The system underwent a “facelift” a couple of years ago, but the backend didn’t change. Integration between modules is disjointed, making it difficult for clients to easily get the information that they need in one place. Oftentimes, they’ll have to call TotalSource and request a report with the desired info. If you give your clients the ability to pull the information that they want and need themselves, make sure to highlight that. Show them the system and how easily they can run the reports they need.

Now, just to be clear, the points above are meant to give you some ideas on how you can position yourself against TotalSource. Please do not unload all of these at the same time or even in the same meeting. If you do that, then you’ll just come across as bitter and bashing the competition (which no one ever wants to do). File the information away, and sprinkle it throughout your sales process and conversations. And remember, ADP has gotten to be its size for a reason. They are good at what they do. The trick is to find the area in which your prospect is feeling frustration and exploit that. If there are any other common areas of frustration that you’ve found in your experience, please feel free to share below!