eFolder General_The Benefits of Farming Your Client Base

The Benefits of Farming Your Client Base

The Benefits of Farming Your Client Base

Most MSP sales teams include a hunter role. Hunters are typically what you think of when you picture a traditional “sales” role. They hunt down new prospects who have a need for your managed services and are willing and able to make a purchase right then and there. Hunters spend the majority of their time trying to close deals and gain new clients.

In comparison, the farmer’s focus is to engage, grow and maintain relationships with existing clients. A farmer, or another account management type role, is a critical component of any MSP sales team.

In this eBook you will find a breakdown of the key tasks a farmer can help with, as well as some key qualifications for someone to thrive in the farmer role.

First, the Benefits of a Farmer.

Introduction

The Benefits of Farming Your Client Base: Benefits of a Farmer

1 Farmers should be the main point of contact for an existing client. They are the client’s go-to person for your company and are responsible for getting every client need properly and promptly addressed. Does the client have a billing issue? The farmer should steer the client towards your accounting department. Does the client have a question about contract details? The farmer can clarify or provide context for any questions the client has. It’s important to provide a single point of contact, so that your clients always know who to turn to get assistance.

Serve as a Main Point of Contact


2 Business Technology Reviews, or BTRs, are becoming an increasingly important aspect of MSP client management. BTRs are an opportunity to regularly meet with clients and assess how to provide them with the best possible solutions to help them meet their business goals, discuss future changes such as potential growth, and determine how your services can help clients plan ahead for that growth. “As an upsell strategy, quarterly reviews are the best time to communicate changes,” says Nathan Austin, VP of Business Development at Mytech Partners. “We are the technology guides, so we need to advise our clients on technology changes and what that means for their businesses.”

Conduct Business Technology Reviews


3 The farmer can drive upsells and cross-sells for services on existing accounts. A farmer needs to take the information gathered in a BTR and evaluate how to effectively translate that knowledge into an additional line item for an MSP. For example, a new client who is pleased with the service in one tier of a managed services package might be happy to upgrade to the next tier of services if the farmer approaches them with the benefits of the next package. Entry-level packages are great ways to get clients to sign a contract, but once your MSP proves its value, a farmer can increase the profitability of the business relationship.

Drive Upsells and Cross-sells


4 Client retention is key to a typical farmer’s duties. The farmer’s main goal here is to keep existing clients happy so that your MSP can keep the recurring revenue rolling in. Farmers need to check in regularly with their accounts and provide excellent client service to ensure clients’ needs are met and handled in a timely fashion. Resolving account issues quickly and in a professional manner are key to satisfying a paying client.

Ensure Client Retention

The Benefits of Farming Your Client Base: The Farmer Profile

Even though farmers work closely with existing clients and don’t need to hunt down new business, they are still a member of a sales organization. Therefore, it is beneficial for a farmer to possess similar attributes to that of a traditional salesperson. Here are key traits every good farmer should possess:

The Farmer Profile


1 Business knowledge is highly valuable in the farmer role, especially if your farmers are going to be meeting regularly with clients to provide business reviews and consulting. In fact, Nathan Austin of Mytech even values business savvy above all necessary traits for the farmer role. Business consultants need to be able to comfortably and effectively hold a strategic conversation with key decision makers and executives within your client’s organizations, so be sure to hire accordingly for this role.

Business Acumen


2 Another key component to the farmer profile is the ability to make and maintain great relationships. Farmers must be comfortable interacting with a variety of personality types and knowing how to read and understand people effectively. There is a lot personal interaction in this role, so introverts may not be the greatest fit.

Relationship Savvy


3 Farmers must have strong foundational knowledge on every aspect of the services and solutions your MSP offers. Farmers will be expected to communicate the value of your solutions to clients, so they need to have a thorough understanding of everything your MSP offers and what issues the technology solves. Importantly, in terms of technology knowledge and prowess, Austin advises that intricate technical knowledge is not always necessary. “Be patient with your sales team in regards to technology acumen. Work with them and give them time to learn. If they do not understand the technical side of the solutions right away, that does not mean that they will not be a good salesperson. They just need to speak to the value proposition of the services.”

Knowledge

ConclusionIn order to be successful, farmers or any other relationship-driven role need to develop an in-depth understanding of your existing clients’ businesses. Farmers should understand their clients’ business strategies and be able to effectively tie in those business goals with the value that your managed services can add. The farmer should be able identify solutions and speak to technology changes that will impact their clients and provide upsell revenue for your business.

Both the hunter and farmer roles, or a dual combination of these roles, are important to maintaining a successful sales strategy. It is crucial to hunt down new business, but it is also important to “farm” and cultivate existing client relationships, so that you do not lose the clients who you work so hard to gain.

Corporate Headquarters2340 Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30341 n 800-352-0248 n 678-888-0700 www.efolder.net n [email protected]

©2016 eFolder, Inc. All rights reserved. eFolder™ is a trademark of eFolder, Inc. 04/16 EF 540

Documents

eFolder General_The Benefits of Farming Your Client Base