Within each managed IT services sale, there are usually multiple people, or stakeholders, involved who provide varying levels of input on choosing your product or solution. Every MSP must be able to identify who these stakeholders are within any given company you’re prospecting. And not only that, you must also know how to position yourself accordingly with each. A 100 percent uniform strategy will yield zero success in selling managed IT services.
Welcome back to our MSP Sales Success blog series, a collection of posts that dive deep into the sales journey. Last time around, we looked at the do’s and don’ts of an MSP sales discovery call. In this next post, we cover the three types of people whose trust you have to earn and how to do it!
The Gatekeeper
The Gatekeeper is just that – someone who won’t let anyone or anything get to the decision maker without their say in the matter. You’ll encounter the Gatekeeper in at least two instances:
- When you’re working towards a net new sale
- When the organization you’ve been trying to sell has waning interest
When you’re working towards a net new sale, whether that’s upselling clients on IT products and services or acquiring brand new accounts, the Gatekeeper can either be your best friend or your biggest obstacle. A good strategy when encountering these people is to incorporate them into your MSP sales process, turning them from adversary into ally. Instead of seeking out the Decision Maker (more on this stakeholder later) directly, involve the Gatekeeper by asking questions like:
- How has your experience been with your IT service provider thus far?
- Do you need any assistance with your internal IT operations?
- Is there anything about IT that you would like to run better?
And if clients give you the impression they’re not interested in using any more of your services:
- What has led you to come to this conclusion?
- Is there anything that we could have done better as your IT solutions provider?
- If we had done this for you, would you then be interested in this new sale?
By dedicating part of your sales conversation to the Gatekeeper, you’ve now empowered them. They’ll appreciate you for valuing their feedback, rather than dismissing them in order to access the Decision Maker.
Keep reading! (http://it4msp.com/29lJDL8)
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