MSP’s AND VAR’s: 95-100% Of Your Target Customers Have No Business To Give You!

I hope everyone has the time to let the reality of that statement sink in because it is the harsh reality of the sales channel for MSP’s and VAR’S looking to expand into new markets and grow sales. Let me start by saying that I have been running sales operations for over 25 years and in my experience, in the B2B sales channel, there are 2 major mistakes you can make;

• You can ask for someone’s business when there is no relationship in existence to leverage.

• You can ask for the business when the customer has none to offer.

The reality for companies selling products or services in the B2B sales channel is that we are targeting, in general, what I call non receptive audiences. There is no desire to listen to what we have to say or to purchase what we have for sale. There is no “High of the Purchase” to leverage, as there would be in aspirational product markets.

Not that it bears any resemblance to what I am doing today, but to serve as an example to prove my point, I ran sales operations in BMW Dealerships in the 90’s and the sales channel there could not have been more different from that facing MSP’s and VAR’s today. In that environment the perception of the product and the desire for ownership was built by the manufacturer; they created the mystique around the product and the desire for ownership.

This drove “Warm” enquiries to the business that had, in most cases, made up their mind that they wanted to purchase the product; the challenge was to build a relationship good enough with the customer, in the short amount of time available, to ensure that you got their business. What I affectionately call “Selling in the 30 Second Window;” in other words you had the first 30 seconds upon meeting any customer, to make an impression good enough with the customer in order to obtain their business.

This scenario of course could not be further from the challenges facing the MSP or VAR looking to expand and target new markets. In general, this is something the industry has not had to do in the past; organic growth has been enjoyed and the sector has continued to grow, but those halcyon days are over, and unless you are lucky enough to have a ground breaking product for which there is much commercial demand, or your business model is selling £20 notes for £5, the reality is that there is a huge amount of specialised work to be done, before you can then learn the harsh reality that, at the moment of launching any campaign, 95-100% of your target customers have no business to give you.

This is why, as a strategy for first contact with target customers, “Cold Calling” and mass telephone sales initiatives are fruitless in the channel today; even if you manage to identify and get through to the decision maker, you are not only unprepared for the call, the reality is that there will be no business available at that moment. So the perception is that you run these campaigns, they yield very little, if anything so people give up.

Some MSP’s and VAR’s that we have conversations with want to target customers over a period of 4 months, but even this doesn’t work; you can throw everything at that campaign, including the “Kitchen Sink”, and not get any positive responses. Why?

Well for the vast majority of you reading this, your customer will look at any spend on their IT Infrastructure as money straight off the bottom line; in other words there is no tangible benefit in their mind to any further investment, if the current IT infrastructure is still working; I call this the mother of all impasses! But this can be overcome if you are prepared to engage with your customers in the right way, and on a continual basis.

If we accept that my business is no different to yours, in terms of what I am trying to achieve and its ultimate aims, we can think about things a little more strategically. You are my target customer, you are no different in your mind-set to me, than your target customers will be to you. I have the same challenges as you do if I want to get your business, but first I have to get your attention, then your interest and then your trust, before I can expect you to give me your business.

Now this relationship building process will take time, everyone I send my content posts to will be at different stages in their growth and have different requirements, so I continue to build a perception with you all, that I am the expert in my field, so that when you do have some business to give to someone, you are likely to reach out to me.

So how have I done this? Well I have sent you content messages talking directly about the problems you face in the channel and how to overcome them. I have done this continually because I know that when I first reach out to you, you will have no business to give me. I know that you will only reach out to me when you decide you have a need for my services, and that I have no idea of knowing when that will be.

To overcome this I continue to engage with you, regularly and over time, with content messages speaking about the problems facing the sector; this is done to build empathy and includes links to my industry specific blog, so at any time, (and at a time to suit you), you can find out all you need to about me and learn that I really do know what I am talking about. This builds gravitas with you, as my target audience, without ever speaking to you and it gives me a head start when you want to discuss business and what I can do to help.

Has the penny dropped yet?

This is no different to what we do for all our MSP and VAR clients, which ultimately involves us going on to work on a flexible basis around the needs of their business and supplying the skills and expertise required in order to succeed on their behalf. In the last 18 months we have already constructed and delivered successful sales, marketing and business development campaigns for MSPs and VARs operating in the Independent Schools, Pharmaceuticals, Legal, Recruitment, Accountancy and Financial Services sectors, to name just a few.

We have existing, highly effective and proven sales, marketing and business development campaign modules ready for your business that have already been utilised to sell many different product or services offerings; from traditional in-house infrastructure to cloud based solutions.

My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses and can deliver sales, operational, business development and marketing experience that is IT sector specific, straight to your door. We know how to build these models, they are “Current” and continually evolving, we know how to target and speak to the decision makers in your target markets and most importantly, we know how to grow your business and make you money!

If this has resonated with you and you would like to explore how we can help you achieve your growth aspirations, then please do not hesitate to contact me on 0118 947 1010, or at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk

MSPs and VARs: Are You A “Jack Of All Trades And Master Of None?”

The best piece of advice I ever received in my business career was this; “Know What You Are Good At, Then Wake Up Every Morning And Go And Do Just That!”,,,,,, and now that I am building sales marketing and business development programmes in the MSP and VAR sector, I know that very few of our customers have this focus.

Now in order to get this point over, let me draw an analogy; I am not a particular fan of football, but even I know that there is a player called Cristiano Ronaldo, who I understand, by all accounts, is quite good! I understand that he scores a lot of goals and has won many trophies, including leading his national team, Portugal, to winning the European Championships!

Now let me tell you how he is likely to plan his working day, because he should be an example to us all; both he and his manager have identified his individual USP, they know exactly what he is good at, what he can bring to the team, its overall objectives and aspirations. Now having identified that, he will get up every morning and when he goes to work he will work exactly on that. He will not wonder what it is like to play in goal and give that a try for a couple of games, or try another sport, like rugby or tennis; why? Well, because there is nothing to be gained!

Why is this important? Well this is exactly where we start when discussing our sales, marketing and business development programmes with MSP’s and VAR’s when I will probably start any meeting with a customer with 2 very important questions, they are as follows;

• What are you the best at?

• Why should anyone purchase your products or your services?

The importance of having the answers to these questions and then having this understanding running through your business must not be underestimated, because if you don’t have this focus you will probably be running from pillar to post with no direction; and worse, you will have no message and no way of delivering it to a receptive target audience.

Then we get to the inconvenient truth that none of your customers wake up in the morning wanting to buy your products or services. This is the same for me by the way, we are both in the B2B services industry channel; we are not Rolls Royce, Rolex or Sunseeker; there is no desire to jump out of bed and go and purchase our products or our services.

So how do we overcome this; well we start by focusing on what we are good at and where our products or services have most value, because then we can begin to target markets where we have a “USP” and a genuine “Value Proposition”.

Those of you who are regular followers of my blog will understand that I am beginning to bang the drum of verticalised markets again and how important it is to your overall success. Well yes I am and for one good reason; I know it works and it is the only way your business can succeed long term in the sector.

Over the last 18 months we have helped to build and deliver highly effective and profitable campaigns for our customers. During this process we have built a “Value Proposition” for our customers, having identified target markets where their services or product offering is going to have tangible commercial value.

We have then built the database required to get the contact details of the decision makers within their target markets and chosen geographical area; then we have built and delivered the campaigns required to engage with and obtain the business of the identified target audience.

This process involves us working on a flexible basis around the needs of your business and supplying the skills and expertise required in order to succeed on your behalf. In the last 18 months we have already constructed and delivered successful sales, marketing and business development campaigns for MSPs and VARs operating in the Independent Schools, Pharmaceuticals, Legal, Recruitment, Accountancy and Financial Services sectors, to name just a few.

We have existing, highly effective and proven sales, marketing and business development campaign modules ready for your business, which have already been utilised to sell many different product or services offerings; from traditional in-house infrastructure to cloud based solutions.

My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses and can deliver sales, operational, business development and marketing experience that is IT sector specific, straight to your door.

We know how to build these models, they are “Current” and continually evolving, we know how to target and speak to the decision makers in your target markets and most importantly, we know how to grow your business and make you money!

If this has resonated with you and you would like to explore how we can help you achieve your growth aspirations, then please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Banning on 0118 947 1010, or at andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk