managed services, time to sell it! eric g steinberg principle consultant/founder the boundless...
TRANSCRIPT
Managed Services, Time to Sell it!
Eric G Steinberg
Principle Consultant/Founder
The Boundless Group, Inc.
Success• Sales success is not an island, but a
synergy of:– Sales and Marketing Strategy– The Sales Force– Training– Focusing on Results– Prospecting– The Sales Call– The Relationship
Let’s Have a Conversation
• Building the Plan
• Getting the Right People on the bus
• Training for Success
• The Relationship
• Prospecting
• The Sales Call
• Managing for Results
Definition of Sales and Marketing
• Marketing– Anything you do to determine what to put on
your cart
• Sales– Anything you do to get your stuff off the cart
Costs
• Do you know what your real costs are for your MSP Services?
• Do you know your Burden?
• Do you know where Break-even point is?
• What are your variable expenses?
• Do you understand how to make money overall when you have a loss leader?
Cost of Goods Sold• Salary
– Base– Bonus
• Utilization– What percent do you get
for field engineering work?– What percent do you get,
or anticipate getting for MSP
• Payroll Taxes• Insurance
– Health– Liability– Other
• Facilities– Hosting– Staff
• Vacation/Sick Leave• Equipment
– Hosting– Laptops– Other
• Travel– Mileage– Out of Town
• Training– Class costs– Travel costs– Lost revenue costs
Pricing• The million dollar question• Do top down pricing, not bottom up pricing• Fixed Fee• Incremented based on either users, devices or
servers. (Kiss)• All inclusive
– Hardware– Software– Services
• Based on research and SWAG• Mark up verse mark on
Pricing
• Top Down– Establish what the high price your clients will
pay– Establish what margin you’d like– Determine costs– Does it work?
• Bottom Up– Take COGS and mark it up (or on)
Who Would Ever Buy This?
• Why would anyone want to buy this?
• What is it’s (vertical) market value
• How does your offering meet your client’s specific business needs
• Why should they buy it from you?
The Benefits Of Brand Management
• Brand Equity/Value– Awareness– Relevance– Loyalty– Price Elasticity– Extendibility– Competitive Advantage
The Brand Called You
• Who knows your company?
• Who knows what your company does?
• How are you uniquely qualified to meet your clients needs?
• How do you define “Specialized” or “Vertical” markets?
• Branding Test
Brand Positioning TemplateFor _______________________________, ___________________
(Audience) (Brand)is the ______________________________________________ that
(Competitive Set)______________________________________________________,
(Primary Benefit)because _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________.
The Test
• Go to everyone in your building and ask them if they ever heard of your company
• If they have, ask them what you do
Identifying
• What are the characteristics of your most successful sales people?– Skills– Personality (in the selling situation)– Interests
• Always be interviewing
Recruiting
• Where do you find the best sales people– Competition– Vendor– Supplier– Out in the World– Referrals
Creating a Profile• Creating a Hiring Metric
– Part Personality– Part Interests– Part Skills
• Interviewed by someone from each department they will interact with and some of their peers
• Set the bar high
Retention• Work environment• Benefits
– The usual suspects– The not so usual suspects– Develop a career path
• Base pay• Commissions and Bonus
– At the time of the sale– At the time of renewal– Monthly reoccurring
Profile of a successful MSP Sales Rep
• Has successfully sold intangibles
• Knows more about business then technology
• Understands the technology
• Understands the unique requirements of the client’s business/industry
• Fits your metric of a successful sales rep
Training for Success
• Business 101
• Understand the technology behind the offering, but don’t sell it
• Communications
• Critical Thinking
• Questioning
Making Your Price Stick
• The client rarely makes it about pricing. You do!
• If a client does bring up a competitors price there’s generally something else under the surface
• If you sale your product at a 30% GP and give your client a 10% discount, you must sell 1/3 more to make up the same commission/GPM
The Cost Discounting the SaleSelling Price $10,000
Gross Profit Margin 30%
Gross Profit Dollars $3,000
Commission Rate 10%
Commission Dollars $300
Discount 15%
Selling Price $8,500
Gross Profit Margin 26%
Gross Profit Dollars $2,168
Commission Rate 10%
Commission Dollars $217
Forfeited Commission $83
Additional sales required to make up lost commission $3,200
Sales to equal the same commission 32%
Total sales for equal commission $13,200
Getting your Stuff off the Cart
• Advertising
• Seminars
• Lead Generation
• Prospecting
• Sales Calls
Advertising• Why
– Name recognition– Lead Generation
• Where– Newspapers– Radio– TV
• When– When your target audience will see/hear/read it
Seminars
• Establish your expertise
• Create educated prospects
• Don’t sell, give information
• Host a speaker who will attract the type of client you’re looking for
Lead Generation
• Prospecting by calling names out of the Yellow Pages is a kin to banging your head against the wall. It makes you tougher, but not smarter.
• It’s not promoting a sales person’s laziness, it’s promoting their (and your) success
• Sources– References/Word of mouth– Vendors– Seminars– Advertising
Prospecting (Asking for a date)• The only thing you’re doing when call a prospect
is selling an appointment to meet– Never. Never. Send literature or pricing– Never attempt to sell your product or service– Always get an appointment– A fast no is better then a slow no– Don’t sell, have a conversation– Do your research first – Imagine how much easier this is when you have
successfully branded company
The Sales Call (The Date)
– Make a great first impression– Be interested, not interesting (at first)– Speeds and feeds don’t cut it– You must present a business case where you
have a solution to the client’s business problem(s)
– Better yet, have a solution for a problem they never knew they had
The Relationship
• They’re clients, not customers
• You’re looking for engagements, not projects
• Never stop adding value and value isn’t what it used to be
Planning the Sales Call• Write down each sales calls’ objectives prior to
meeting with a client– An objective that leads you to Proceed forward
• Proceed, don’t prolong– Proceeding is something specific that mores
towards a sale
– Prolonging is where no specific action is taken to more towards a sale, but the sale is not dead
Myth Busters
• Closing questions don’t work
• Be a “hard” closer (2:1 ratio)
• In major account sales, fewer then 10% of sales calls lead to an order
• The product or service doesn’t matter
• It’s all about price
The Client Value Zone (CVZ)
Value Zone
Business knowledgeProduct Knowledge
Knowledge of Client’s Industry
The Value Zone
• This is where you can uncover unrealized problems.
• This represents true value to your client• It differentiates you from the competition• It’s not about asking questions, it about ask the
“right” questions– Industry knowledge– Business person, not sales person– Learn good questioning skills
The Value Equation
• Value = Benefits – Cost
• Benefits = – (Skills + Process + Knowledge) x Effort
• Skills = leading the client to “self-discovery” of the problem
• Process = Learn what specific challenges face your client’s industry and which of them you can solve
The Value Equation (Continued)
• Knowledge = insight in to your client’s industries. Always be learning
• Effort = what you do. Become immersed in your client’s business and where you services delivery a solution.
Managing for Results
• Treat them like adults (don’t micro manage)
• Set mutual goals
• Give them everything they need to succeed
• Gain agree that they will do what ever it takes
• Reward them well
Contact Info
• Phone 303.800.0686
• eMail [email protected]– Email me for a reading list
• Web Site www.BoundlessGroup.com