MSP's and VAR's; Account Management Is Not Selling!

“Then You Will Know The Truth, And The Truth Shall Set You Free!”,,,,,,,, 
As those regular readers of my blog will know, I’m not usually known for my biblical quotes but I thought this was very appropriate for today’s business development post; which is actually an updated version of one our most popular posts from earlier this year, the content of which is becoming prevalent within the IT Channel.

Now firstly and before everyone starts bombarding me critical messages about my statement in the title, I know, I know, of course account management is a “Form” of selling, but I had to get your attention and if you have got to this line, well I think we can agree that it has worked?

And before you get irritated with my tactics, there is a lesson in this exercise, and that is that you have got to work very hard to get the attention of your target audience if you ever expect to eventually get their business.  As an owner of MSP’s and VAR’s reading this post, you are my target audience and over the months I have subtly gained your attention and your interest and this has earned me ”The Right” to grab your attention with a deliberately provocative headline!

Not necessarily because it is right but because I know it will grab your attention, because it tugs at your emotions and your professional pride; in fact all the emotional areas we call the “Hallowed Ground” in new business development circles, which must be handled with respect and empathy when targeting customers, thus you will notice how having grabbed your attention, I immediately placated you, but by then you are interested and reading my post; has the penny dropped yet?

In most cases we have never met, not even spoken over the telephone yet, but I am speaking to you via this medium as one of my target customers. Many of you will have clicked through to my Business Development Blog, and our Website, both carefully written and constructed to add gravitas to what I am both saying and delivering, (professionally), because I know that in the B2B sales channel, (the channel that we both occupy), if I want to get your business, 3 very important things have got to happen during the journey of building our relationship:

• First; I have to get your attention! 
• Second; I have to gain your interest! 
• Lastly; I have to gain your trust! (Because only then can I contemplate asking you for your money!)   

And thus we return to the original title of this post and if I’ve done my job correctly you will have realised that all I have done in the text preceding this paragraph, is to subtly show you that, actually, there is much truth in that statement; in other words I am taking you, (as my target audience), on a journey of showing you that I know what I’m talking about, so I can begin the process of earning your trust, because without that, I will never get your attention, let alone your trust and your business!

And this is the journey we will take your business on with your target customers because “Account Management” is NOT selling to new customers! Although account management is a skill, in fact a very important one, (having worked hard to get customers, we must ensure that we don’t lose them and that the opportunities for further future revenue are maximised), if you are to continue to leverage them commercially and make the most of the opportunities that exist.

But speaking to existing customers, where a relationship exists and trust has already been built is a very different skill-set to obtaining new customers and taking them on a journey to where your business is managing their account. These customers don’t know you and worse than this, they will already have relationships in place for their IT infrastructure requirements, so if you want their business you are going to have to get over the natural lethargy to change, and convince them they should be giving you their business.

This is a very different skill-set to account management and thus my headline statement; because account management is many things, look at it in simple terms as “answering the phone” in the sales department, which is a completely different skill to “making the phone ring,” which in simple terms is new business development.

And as the sector transitions into and come to terms with, what we call a “Lethargy To Change” market, the 2 most important business models for an MSP or VAR are going to be the protection of your existing customers from competitors targeting them via their own new business development initiatives, and the targeting of the business currently held by your competitors. It is the ability to do this, the undermining of existing supplier relationships and the building of your credibility and gravitas with the customers of your competitors that is the skill that the industry is now paying so highly for; it has to, with the first purchase market now exhausted, the only model that remains is the targeting of existing businesses with IT provision and services already in place.

And this is what we at Virtuoso Consultancy do for our customers; In the last 36 months we have already constructed and delivered successful sales, marketing and new 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.

So, all is not lost because luckily help is available to the owners of MSP’s and VAR’s looking for the answers to the challenges that growing sales pipelines and delivering sustained growth present; The Virtuoso Virtual Sales Director, a service was discussed in great detail in our previous message; Introducing … Virtual Sales Director for MSP’s and VAR’s

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 Jane Gatfield on 0118 947 1010, or at  janeg@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk

To read more posts covering all aspects of sales, marketing and business development for MSP’s and VAR’s, please visit our blog; https://it-business-growth-strategies.blogspot.co.uk/ 

As an MSP or VAR Your Current Business IS being targeted!,,,,,,,,,

As MSP owners’ thoughts start to turn towards 2019 and the challenges that the year will undoubtedly bring, I thought it worthwhile exploring an issue that not all of you will be aware of.

Those of you who know me and/or follow our blog will know that I have enjoyed a career seeking out opportunities in evolving markets and when those traditional markets are being put under pressure by third party businesses challenging the way business is done.

After many years of constructing and delivering successful sales, marketing and business development programmes for MSP’s and VAR’S, I can assure you all that market conditions have never been so challenging and that changes to traditional IT provision are changing the IT sector in ways that have never been experienced before.

 Those of you who read our post at the start of this year; An MSP Or VAR?,,,,, Are You Going Into 2018 With The Right Team, will be aware of some of the challenges being faced by the sector and how this is changing both the importance of certain roles within the business and the salaries being paid in order to acquire the skills you will need to acquire, in order to survive and grow in the current market.

The article discussed the importance of successful new business development professionals, not traditional account managers, and how these very rare and in demand professionals are now enjoying the highest rate of salary increase in the sector. So I thought it worthwhile exploring just what these professionals will bring to your business and the dangers that are posed if you don’t, and I can do this because I am one myself and know what will be required, so let me take you all on an imaginary journey, but one that some of your competitors will be going on.

Let’s imagine that I have I have joined your business and we are having our first strategy meeting, I would probably start with a presentation to you and the senior shareholding directors and the brief version would be as below;

Market Conditions

We have some major challenges; currently the market has a “Perfect Storm” forming over it involving customer fatigue, the relentless demand and transition to cloud based services, apathy towards some traditional products and services, lethargy to change and over supply in provision for services. Think of the market as being like a game of musical chairs, when the music stops we will all be fighting for a chair in order to remain in the game and unfortunately, there isn’t just 1 too few chairs, the rate of chairs available to players means that probably 35% of the companies currently playing the game will be out of the game when the music stops.

Difficult Choices

Someone once said to me that “A recession is defined by your neighbour losing his house, but that a depression is defined by you losing yours!” Just let that sink in for a moment because for many of you, and just like me, your business is your life’s work but it is an inconvenient truth that not everyone can survive this market and we are going to have to roll with the punches and get down and dirty, so don’t be shocked by the rest of this presentation.

The New Business Development Reality

OK, so now that I have set the scene, time for some realities as to what that means in a daily operational sense and in what I will be doing on your behalf when I come into the office. I will start by advising you of the mind-set of our customers because this will go to heart of how we move forward, because we have what I affectionately call a “Lethargy To Change Market” to target. It is termed thus because the first purchase market has been exploited, everyone has an IT infrastructure and services provision, so in essence our challenge is to target the customers of our competitors, undermine that existing relationship and convince them to change to our business.

Now this is an important moment of understanding for people because where else is the growth and financial security that this future growth provides going to come from? It is the only game in town, it is why everyone can’t win and why so many MSP’s and VAR’s will fail over the next 1 - 5 years. This may sound harsh and overly aggressive but sometimes the person delivering the bad news is the person you should be listening to the most.

In general the sector is waking up to this fact but does not know how to achieve this, because it has never had to operate in this way before, thus why genuinely successful new business development professionals are so sought after. But this can be achieved; I would reassure you at this point that we are ahead of the game and that I know how to target competitors businesses and undermine these existing relationships on your behalf. Sure there is much work to do and I will challenge your product and services offerings and perhaps tell you some harsh truths because the pace of development in some competitor offerings is astonishing but luckily, for now, they probably don’t know how to communicate that in a language that the customer understands and that adds value for the customer. 

As a successful new business development professional I will turn things on their head, change perceptions and put the customer at the heart of what we are doing, because as long as we provide solutions to the genuine problems our customers face, and we can communicate that, we will have a business, so all hope is not lost. It will only become lost when your competitors take the initiative and get hold of the skills required before you do, because then, they are targeting your customers and this will be happening to a lot of you reading this post.

So just what is the solution to finding the right new business development professional for your business? Well you either get involved in the very expensive race to acquire the individuals required or you look for an alternative solution, should you be able to find them first, but then baulk at the prohibitive financial nature of acquiring them.

Well, all is not lost because luckily help is available to the owners of MSP’s and VAR’s looking for the answers to the challenges that growing sales pipelines and delivering sustained growth present; The Virtuoso Virtual Sales Director, a service was discussed in great detail in our previous message; Introducing … Virtual Sales Director for MSP’s and VAR’s.

My fellow directors and I have over 40 years combined experience in growing businesses, which included co-owning and running an MSP for 10 years during which time I grew the business from £900k to £3.5 million. As such we can deliver MSP-specific sales, business development and marketing strategy knowledge and experience straight to your door.

More Information

If you would like to find out more about our Virtual Sales Director service, please email andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk.

Alternatively if you’d like to find out more about our outsourced marketing services or business development consultancy for IT companies, please contact us on 0118 947 1010, email janeg@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk or visit our website at www.virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk/IT_companies.

To read more posts covering all aspects of sales, marketing and business development for MSP’s and VAR’s, please visit our blog at https://it-business-growth-strategies.blogspot.co.uk/

DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER 
This post forms a small portion of a white paper we have written covering The Art of The Approach, a specific sales based white paper written for the IT Sector. To request a copy please email andrewb@virtuosoconsultancy.co.uk