Best Practices For Solution Provider Business Development Module 1: Building A Managed Services Demand Generation Engine

1©Copyright 2014, Morris Management Partners, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Best Practices For Solution Provider Business Development

Module 1:Building A Managed Services Demand Generation Engine

Partner Education Series


Introduction: Partner Education Series

Module 1:Building A Managed Services Demand

Generation Engine

• A realistic, repeatable process for targeting customers, developing compelling content, and connecting with decision makers to initiate qualified opportunities

• Part 1 of an ongoing channel partner enablement program from DATTO & Morris Management Partners

Demand Generation

Engine

Getting More First

Meetings

Maximizing Sales

Productivity


How Do You Sell Your Services?

• Have You Heard About Our Services?

MANAGED!!

NEW OFFERING

AWARDS!!Cross Platform

(R)EVOLUTION

Brilliant!!!

PARADIGM

Market Leading

Efficiency


• Are Your Services Great?– YES …

• Why Doesn’t Everyone Buy Them?– Competitive Offerings– Existing Commitments– Marketing Messages & Noise– Sales Coverage & Execution– Etc.

Reality Check


The Basics Of Market Evolution

• There’s a logic inside the dynamics of commercial markets that governs the adoption of “bleeding edge” innovation every time … in every market.

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase ‘N’

INNOVATION ADOPTION GROWTH SCALE

FIND A CHALLENGE

FIND A PARTNER

FIND A CUSTOMER

FIND A LOT OF CUSTOMERS

PROVE THE SOLUTION

PROVE THE MODEL

SELL THE VALUE

SELL THE VOLUME

TECHNICANS WIN MANAGERS WIN SALES REPS WIN BUSINESSES WIN

MANAGED SERVICES MARKET

DATA STORAGE MARKET

CLOUD SOLUTIONS MARKET

DATA SECURITY MARKET


• Active vs. Reactive– You can’t afford to wait for customers to start shopping. The core principle is

“creating” demand. That doesn’t mean creating the need … it means causing the customer to feel a sense of urgency toward buying your solution.

• Competition from Every Angle– Beyond other MSP companies, your customer could be distracted / prevented

from taking action by a number of forces: other resellers … internal IT resources … other customer financial priorities … the status quo.

• Essential Agreement– Your fundamental goal is to cause the customer to agree with the following idea:

Basic Demand Gen Principles

Spending money on this new communications tool will help me achieve my most important, immediate goal … whether that is serving my

customer, making my job easier, advancing my career, impressing my boss, solving a technical problem, saving money, etc.

YOUR SOLUTION THEIR GOAL


ALIGN

COMPELL

CONNECT

Building A Demand Gen Machine

Effective demand generation isn’t merely a random connection of activities … but a systematic process that leads to a predictable pipeline of qualified opportunities.

Identify a relevant set of customers and learn what

they want to pay for

Persuade the customer to take action that will lead

them to a valuable change

Initiate a conversation with a real decision maker who can decide to take the next step

Who Is Your Customer?

What Value Can You

Offer Them?

How Will You Engage

Them?


Demand Generation Best Practices

CONTACTS

RESPONSES

LEADS

OPPORTUNITIES

PIPELINE

REVENUE

• There is no single tactic or activity that will “generate revenue.” It’s the product of ongoing promotions & communications … organized in the form of CAMPAIGNS


Assign A Campaign Owner / Reporting Process / Metrics

Precisely Define Your Target Audience Profile

Identify The Real Decision Maker / Persona / Process

Align Your Value Proposition w/ Customer Outcomes

Deliver Concentrated, Repetitive Contacts / Campaigns

Make A Specific Offer / Call To Action

Define, Operate & Measure A Lead Nurturing Process

Demand Generation Best Practices

We asked your peers

what they do that works. Learn from

their success!


• Who Decides to Buy Your Solution?– The User … Communication tools are

directly attached to existing skills and daily work activities

– Business Buyer … Communication & productivity tools have broad impact on business processes

– Financial Buyer … Cost of the solution is only a minor consideration in total ownership

• Who Do You Talk To?– Key Messages …– Database Information …– Marketing Tactics …

• When Do You Engage Each Decision Maker?

Demand Generation Challenges

Decision Maker Access

Entrenched Competitors

Switching Costs

Upgrade Challenges

Market Competitor Noise


• Marketing in a Mature Product Segment vs. Emerging Segment– Upgrade vs. Switch … Most customers

already have communications tool and have heard many offers

– New Customers … If a customer doesn’t have any communications tool, they’re probably very small

– User Skills … Information workers are highly trained in their skills, but not necessarily focused on tools

• Relative vs. Absolute Advantage– Meaningful Functions …– New Release Cycles …– Frame of Reference …

• Who Else is Talking to Your Target Audience?




Switching Costs

Upgrade Challenges



• The Real Cost of Buying Managed IT Services– Technical Skills Re-Training … Cost to

change IT resources and functions – Services Migration … Even if it’s better,

buying / changing services can be very expensive in the short term

– Other Business Process ... From sales to service to purchasing to operations to internal collaboration, etc.

• How Long to Value?– Time to Adopt …– Cost to Train …– Direct Services Cost …

• What is the Real Business Value of Your Services?




Switching Costs

Upgrade Challenges



• New Services Can Be Beyond Customers’ Current Resources– Business Processes … Many businesses

follow defined, proscribed methods to do their jobs

– Operating Limitations … The services may have valuable capabilities that a customer isn’t able to use

– Value Chain Relationships … Suppliers and customers are often dependent on IT systems / services compatibility

• Satisfaction vs. Utilization– Features Used …– Features Wanted …– Functional Effectiveness …

• How Do Your Customers Use Systems & Tools You Support w/ Services?




Switching Costs

Upgrade Challenges



• You’re Not the Only One Marketing to Your Customers– Quotas vs. Reality … Every competitor

wants to grow, just like you want to grow … faster than the market grows

– Market Share Goals … When the number of new customers is limited, growth means take-away wins

– Product Release Schedules … Many players + many offerings = lots of marketing schedules & activities

• Competitor Marketing Tactics– Service / Assessment Test Drive …– Rebate or Incentive …– Value-Added Promotions …

• How Will You Cut Through All the Marketing Noise?




Switching Costs

Upgrade Challenges



• An effective customer profile is not just a few common factors (company size, job title, phone number), but a carefully cultivated picture of exactly who is most likely to buy from you … and why they would say yes.

– Customer Segment / Vertical / Category – You can’t be an expert in every customer … so focus & specialize

– Decision Maker Structure / Players – Companies have unique buying processes … and people want what they want

– Specific Business Objectives / Metrics – Their goal is not to buy your stuff … but to achieve a countable business result

– Key Competitors / Reference Sets – You don’t have to be the best in the world … just better than what the customer knows

– Customer-Specific Business Case – Generic promises of value don’t make people move … relevant numbers do

Question 1: Who Is Your Customer?


Developing A Customer Profile

Customer Profile TARGET CUSTOMER SEGMENT

Customer Segment / Vertical / Category

Decision Maker Structure / Players

Specific Business Objectives / Metrics

Key Competitors / Reference Sets

Customer-Specific Business Case


• Contrary to many seller’s beliefs, what your customer wants is not your services, but their own business benefits. Don’t push the service … promise the outcome they value.

Question 2: What Do They Want?

Increase My Revenues …

Decrease My Costs …

Accelerate My Productivity …

Improve My Advantage …

Manage My Risks …


Proven MSP Value Messages

Access To Experts

• Customers have many systems but few resources … who can’t be experts in everything; but you can

• A central resource that covers systems management, incident response, performance improvement, reporting, etc.

Business Process Mgmt.

• Standardization of IT services allows better integration & performance for all systems that support a single business process

• Elimination of downtime / faster resolution yields higher productivity for business users

Predictable IT Costs

• Maintain performance and reliability without massive highs & lows in IT service costs

• Consistent service fees eliminate variable staff costs: new hires, training, sick time, high-value skills, motivation, loaded costs …

Proactive Improvement

• Plan ahead for important systems maintenance, seasonal projects, preventive projects, etc.

• Learn from issues, trends, causes and address the underlying problems before they happen


Beyond “Soft Benefits” … Can You Calculate the VALUE?

How Much?

How Soon?

How Certain?

Incremental Value – Investment Costs = RETURN• Revenue = More wins + Higher rates• Costs = Products + Services + Processes + People

Time to Realize Return = PAYBACK• Cash Flow Payback = Time to First Revenue Impact• Profit Payback = Time to Total Investment Return

Likelihood of Achieving Payback = CONFIDENCE• Risk vs. Reputation vs. Trust vs. Reward• Testimonials + Methodology + Guarantee / Warranty

Building A Compelling Business Case


Stage 1:PROMOTE

Generating Initial

Responses

Stage 2:QUALIFY

Establishing Qualified

Leads

Stage 3:ENGAGE

Engaging Qualified

Opportunities

Stage 4:SELL

Winning The Deal

Stage 5:RETAIN

Retaining The

Customer

•SEO•Social Media•Online / Web•Direct Mail•Telemarketing•Referrals•Advertising (Niche)•Public Relations

•Referrals•Online / Web•Assessment•Sales Interview•Telesales•Seminars/Events•White Paper, etc.

•Seminars/Events•Case Studies•Sales Engage•Solution Config.•Collateral•Web Advertising•Testimonials•Lead Nurture

•Demos / Trials•Incentives•References•Website•Proposal / Presentations

•Acct. Mgmt.•QBR Meetings•Cust. Portal•Email Mktg.•Newsletter•Incentives/Rewards

Question 3: Which Tactics Work?


• Do “Backwards Math” to determine your lead generation requirements … tied directly to your revenue goals

How Many Leads Do You Need?

# OF TOUCHES

# OF RESPONSES # OF LEADS # OF SALES REVENUE

GOAL

RESPONSE RATE (%)

QUALIFIED RATE (%)

CONVERSION RATE (%)

AVERAGE DEAL SIZE ($)

• Targeting

• Messaging

• Call To Action

• Repetition

• Solution Match

• Profile Match

• Participation

• Authority

• Engagement

• Proof Case

• Sales Cycle

• Negotiation

• Customer Size

• Contract Term

• Service Pkg.

• Avg. Price Point


Managing The Lead Handoff Process

• More than 70% of all sales leads generated by marketing departments in the IT channel are not followed up on by sales departments – ever

• The #1 reason given for not following up on leads: The leads were cold / not qualified

• Even if your leads are highly qualified and truly urgent, leads are meaningless if your “team” isn’t prepared to “catch” them

• In most cases, companies don’t actually need huge marketing budgets to grow … they just need the sales team to follow through on the money they already plan to spend*

Creating Demand Capturing Demand

Marketing Team Generates a Lead Sales Team Converts Lead to Revenue


Plan Your Marketing CampaignCAMPAIGN CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION

Audience

Market Segment

Customer Profile

Decision Maker

Offer

Customer Need

Solution Stack

Value Promise

Tactics

Promote Qualify Engage Sell Retain

Calendar / Timing

Metrics

Prospects Leads Opportunities Pipeline 12-Month

Budget / ROI


• Budget Metrics– Cost of Marketing Elements + Activities (Lists, Research, Design,

Printing / Production, Delivery, Incentives, etc.)– Revenue Structure (Typical Deal Size, Deal Timing, Mix of Revenue)– Incremental Progress (Pipeline, Probability, etc.)

• Activity Metrics– Customer Participation– Customer Response– Sales Engagement– Sales Process Advancement

• Ultimate Calculation

How Will You Know If It Worked?

Incremental Revenue - Total Cost of Campaign = R.O.M.I.


Action Items + Next StepsAction Items Owner Status Action Required

Planning Calendar, Key Dates & Deadlines

Budget Definition & Marketing Business Case

Target Audience Profile

Call To Action, Incentive

Tactics Plan

List Development

Creative Development

Lead Qualification Criteria

Lead Tracking & Management Process

Sales Preparation


For More Information …

Ryan MorrisPrincipal ConsultantMorris Management Partners, [email protected] (C) 303-618-9370

Documents

Best Practices For Solution Provider Business Development Module 1: Building A Managed Services Demand Generation Engine