CanDoGo Debuts Web-Based Pro Development Tools

"We all came out of the application vendor market. We worked for Sage, Microsoft, Accpac, Oracle and Siebel. With that background we saw a great channel opportunity here. Rather than try to do direct marketing, we saw the opportunity to go to channel networks that we knew and can offer this new service," said Dave Batt, CEO of CanDoGo.

The content is available via video, audio or text formats which allows users to choose their most comfortable option, he said.

"Companies still are not getting full value out of technology automation. This will drive higher user adoption. It's not just a management reporting tool. The Company has aggregated content from more than 150 authors, speakers and trainers with the hope of converting traditional material into shorter pieces that users can access anytime.

For example, if an employee is dealing with an angry customer, they can get coaching advice from content providers including Tom Hopkins or Stephen Covey on sales or services along with examples of how to manage the customer, Batt said. "The value to our subscriber base is that the [content providers] are experts in this field. Tom Hopkins, is big around sales process. It's like having Tom Hopkins in your back pocket."

CanDoGo hopes to embed its solution with OEM agreements, but also to recruit solution providers and distributors to resell the product. The company hopes to have more than 100 new partners by the end of 2008.

"The value proposition to VARs is we have a service that's unique. People don't have time to read a book to deal with an angry customer. We have 10-year exclusive rights with these content authors. No other company can take their proprietary IP and break it into short form," Batt said.

VARs must commit to get certified, but will make a minimum of 20 percent margin and up to 50 points, Batt said. The subscription is sold on an annual basis at $25 per user per month, which is paid up front. "Getting prepaid is unique, as opposed to Salesforce.com, where you gett he amortized amount over the period of the contract," Batt said.

HELP Solutions, a Baton Rouge, La.-based solution provider, plans to integrate CanDoGo into its current Sage Software, Microsoft and FrontRange CRM solutions, said Patricia Welther, president and CEO of Help Solutions.

"We will be able to provide the much needed reinforcement for the sales and marketing skills training. We are excited to be able to put into the hands of our clients a tool that they can use to coach and mentor their teams," she said.

In particular, she expects CanDoGo's video and audio content to attract younger employees "that have been raised on sound bites and multimedia." The solution provider is in the process of deploying CanDoGo with a regional business journal, she said.

"With this technology imbedded into CRM and sales processes, we can push out to our customers what their teams need as they need it and monitor if they read/listen/watch the insight and evaluate how effective the knowledge has been," she said.