Comments for Managed Services Blueprint

Comment on How To Overcome Sales Objections When Selling Managed Services – Part I by Mike Brandonisio

Mike Brandonisio — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:10:00 +0000

Hi Robin,

Nice presentation. Lots of good tips and info about addressing a first meeting with a client. Thanks for posting.

Mike

Comment on How Important Are Negotiation Skills To Selling Managed Services Or Getting A Managed Services Agreement Accepted? by Robin

Robin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:02:59 +0000

Hey Jodie – help is on the way! I believe you are a Managed Services Blueprint client…the next couple of sessions coming up are going to be focused on mapping out the sales process to overcome objections in advance, build value (desire) and dramatically improve your closing ratio.

Comment on How Important Are Negotiation Skills To Selling Managed Services Or Getting A Managed Services Agreement Accepted? by Jodie

Jodie — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:05:53 +0000

I NEED all the help I can get for contract negotiation. I am tired of losing out to the competition! Specifically, I would some in depth material on controlling the sales/proposal meeting while still maintaining desire in the client.

Comment on How To Overcome Sales Objections When Selling Managed Services – Part II by Robin

Robin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:51:10 +0000

First off, it sounds like downtime is not a pain point area, so you can’t argue that it is, at least with this person. What I would do is keep asking questions to find out where this person’s pain is. If they called you in, there MUST be something bothering him…what is it? And why is it a problem? And what has he done to resolve the issues? And why does he want to fix it? What’s his VISION of what he wants?

Once you know what THEIR problems are and what THEIR vision is, you should offer up a solution to solve those problems. Maybe that’s managed services…maybe it’s not. You’re the doctor so you have to prescribe what’s right for your patient. If it IS managed services, you need to show this person why it’s the right diagnosis for what ails him.

Just remember, prospects buy for THEIR reasons, not yours. Your job is to find out what they want to acheive and put together a solution that will deliver those results.

Comment on How To Overcome Sales Objections When Selling Managed Services – Part II by Jarvis Edwards

Jarvis Edwards — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:19:19 +0000

Excellent video!

Robin, what if the prospect’s business model is one in which downtime can’t be quantified on a dollar-cost basis? In other words, I came across a prospect who said:

“…my business doesn’t lose money if our systems go down. Yes, we use numerous computers, but we don’t save any important data on them so we don’t need these managed services….”

Is there a good rebuttal to that, that would make sense to the client?

Comment on How Important Are Negotiation Skills To Selling Managed Services Or Getting A Managed Services Agreement Accepted? by Robin

Robin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:23:45 +0000

I would say that you shouldn’t go into any sales situation with the expectation to compromise or that’s what you’ll end up doing. Plus, there is no such thing as a “reasonable” compromise – a compromise is just a compromise and there is no black and white line of what is “fair” and what isn’t. It’s a matter of opinion so it’s up to you to determine what you need and how you can best help the client. Further, I think many IT firms “compromise” thinking they are doing the client a favor when in fact they aren’t. If you fully understand what the client needs and wants, know what the best solution to their problem is, then why on earth would you compromise anything? It’s your job to help them understand that. I recommend reading Jim Camp’s book, “Start With No” to help you overcome this challenge.

Comment on How To Overcome Sales Objections When Selling Managed Services – Part I by Louis Rosas-Guyon

Louis Rosas-Guyon — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:16:58 +0000

Another idea to consider is to get your prospective customer accustomed to saying “yes.” It sounds strange but it works like magic.

Basically, as you start winding down the conversation and you start approaching your first close attempt, start asking them a series of leading questions that they must answer with “Yes.”

Examples: Do you believe that technology is an important aspect of your business? Are computers important to your work? Do you agree that unplanned computer downtime is hurting your productivity? Would you benefit from switching your IT model to a more proactive approach?

If you do this correctly, the prospect gets more and more excited. People naturally like to agree with one another. Humans like saying Yes. By getting them into Yes Mode, you dramatically increase the likelihood of a successful close.

Give it a try.

Comment on How To Overcome Sales Objections When Selling Managed Services – Part II by Louis Rosas-Guyon

Louis Rosas-Guyon — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:12:30 +0000

Excellent video. Congrats!

Another sales tactic that is very useful is to ask leading questions during the Q&A portion of the meeting. Always make sure to ask them plenty of questions that build up the value proposition of your offering.

For example: Do you experience loss of productivity when computers are down for repairs? How long do you typically wait for computer repairs? How often do your computers suffer from failures?

This will build the value proposition of your managed services offering. Remember, sales is the art of giving someone a headache then selling them the aspirin.

Comment on How Important Are Negotiation Skills To Selling Managed Services Or Getting A Managed Services Agreement Accepted? by Ron Brockelman

Ron Brockelman — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:37:19 +0000

There is no doubt that negotiation skills are paramount to a successful endeavor in any business. I personally have much trouble determining where the balance is between a reasonable compromise and capitulation.

Please help.

Comment on How To Overcome Sales Objections When Selling Managed Services – Part II by Calgary Internet Marketing

Calgary Internet Marketing — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:37:12 +0000

Robin,
While it’s true that some may object to outsourcing their IT or other services to a company, what I always ask the potential customer is, “What is 1-2 extra hours per day worth to you?”, and I leave it at that.
The internet marketing services I offer at target your site locally are not that different and once my clients see what I can do for them and the time factor, they are blown away and usually I tell them about my “other” services about 2-weeks into the initial program and gain even more business!
Great video content btw.
Regards,
Calgary Internet Marketing