Sometimes the best managed services sales tips are short and sweet. During our June 23 MSPmentor Live webcast, ARRC Technology CEO Alex Rogers called on MSPs to rethink their approach to sales. Among Rogers’ three recommendations…
1. Remember, you’re not in sales: You are in relationship development. Build a relationship with your client.
2. Less talking, more listening: When you are talking, make sure to ask questions then take notes as the customer describes his or her business strategy, priorities and needs.
3. Think long term: You need to ‘touch’ a client at least 12 times before you get a response. Leverage emails, phone calls, messages, letters, gifts, etc.
The tips above sound extremely basic. But I wonder: How many MSPs have actually mapped their business processes to these tips?
Sales Staffing Problems?
From Robin Robins to MSP University, a lengthy list of educators help MSPs with marketing and sales development. And software executives like Intronis CEO Sam Gutmann are helping MSPs to adjust their SaaS pricing discussions. But the old cliche — “VARs and MSPs are technologists who often lack sales and marketing savvy” — is difficult to kill.
The latest proof: Our third-annual MSPmentor 250 survey (which runs through July 23, 2010) attempts to identify and track the MSP industry’s top executives, entrepreneurs, coaches, community developers and sales professionals. Of the nominations so far, only 4 percent are sales professionals.
Four percent? Ouch.
Hang Out With A New Crowd
Of course, you can always reinvent yourself. The fastest way to do so is to start hanging out with sales-minded professionals. This may sound crazy but go to your local real estate office and ask the broker to meet the top real estate agent. Then, ask the agent a bunch of questions about their approach to successful sales. Repeat that process across a range of verticals — car dealerships, insurance, financial services, etc.
I suspect you’ll spot some common sales traits across all the verticals. And I also suspect the sales pros will reinforce Rogers’ three points from above. During all of my conversations with Rogers and ARRC Technology, I’ve never heard him talk about speeds, feeds and tech jargon. He often asks about my own business priorities, what I’m up to, etc. Does he have a hidden sales agenda? I’m not sure.
And that’s exactly the point.
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Posted In: Sales
Tags: Alex Rogers | ARRC Technology | Managed services sales | MSP sales | MSP University | MSPU | Recurring Revenue | Robin Robins | Technology Marketing Toolkit
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Joe,
Sometimes I just can’t resist commenting. This is one of those times. I’ve been selling managed services, as well as managed services software to VARs/MSPs for 15 years. It hasn’t changed since my first year doing it (and I suspect it won’t change anytime soon). To try and write the complete answer in a blog comment is a mistake because selling managed services is a learned behavior that takes commitment to learn and time. Let me just add a few tid bits. 1. Talk to your customer in partner-speak (we are partners going down a path). 2. Listen to their business goals, objectives and pain 3. Do not talk technology 4. Describe to them the partnership process (and examples) by which you can help them achieve their business goals and objectives and solve their pain. 5. Listen to them react and allow them to see the light and close the sale/partnership on their own. If they close the sale/partnership you have much healthier partner/customer. 6,7,8…..
best,
Todd Hussey
todd@toddhusseyconsulting.com
Todd: Thanks for the additional tips. I’m certainly guilty (all the time…) of over-simplifying solutions and tasks for MSPs. But that seems to be a common trait among bloggers.
-jp
Joe, I wasn’t “dis-ing” you at all. I was agreeing with you in my own way. The challenge we have is sometimes (too often?) people want a quick-fix to a problem. Technology is a science that has quick-fixes. Many people in technology think sales is an art. To some extent they are correct, but to much larger extent it is a science, a learned science (unfortunately not from just reading a how-to book).
best,
Todd Hussey
Todd: I didn’t take it as a dis. I’m proud to make a living over-simplifying things I don’t understand
Best,
-jp
Sometimes, it takes technology shifts that transform the way companies have to run their businesses in order to really change sales behavior and the profile/personality needed to effectively sell the new technology. How many sales “pros” aren’t good at building trusted relationships? How many are terrible listeners? How many can’t (or can’t afford to) think long-term? Lots and lots. Going one step further, how many come from a product-centric background and are now expected to migrate smoothly to services-oriented selling? Lots more. I don’t understand why so many CEO’s tolerate the mismatch between what customers want in a salesperson and the type of salespeople that churn through and are put in front of them.
I agree completely with Todd’s approach to selling managed services. Companies want to buy business outcomes, not software, hardware, circuits, etc.
Joe@5: Regarding long-term relationships… CEOs have to set the tone on those. Many CEOs push their sales folks to hit monthly and/or quarterly quotas. There needs to be a balance. If the CEO is pushing short-term revenues over long-term relationships, there’s no motivation for the sales team to think long-term.
-jp
yuidfe http://extremeperformanceinc.com/ htsmck