I have been talking to some MSPs (one as recently as today who will remain anonymous) who have been trying a new model in managed services that I hope will continue to gain acceptance. I am talking about how to sell managed services.
Now, for those of you who have read my book (shameless promotion for "The Art of Managed Services"), you'll know that I believe that selling managed services is a lot different from selling hardware and software. It's so different that the traditional VAR sales techniques are not effective at all for marketing and selling managed services.
This is, I believe, now a point of fact and not opinion. We have seen decades of examples where new MSPs cannot sell managed services when they use the sales tactics which worked for them when they were a VAR.
The book goes into a lot of discussion about why this is so. Cultural differences, business model changes, are just a few of the reasons why new approaches to selling managed services must be developed and employed. Anyone who has been to MSPWorld in the last 10 years has probably seen the push towards treating managed services more as a profession. And, other professions certainly have a lot to teach us about how to sell effectively.
So, should you get rid of your sales staff? Probably not, unless they aren't producing for you. Instead, you should examine how your sales staff is performing and look at whether new sales models could be introduced for your managed services offerings. Chances are, you will find a lot of areas for improvement.
