Every business owner nowadays knows that data loss equals to major financial losses. But for some mysterious reason, selling backup still is not an obvious and easy task. Further we will discuss what techniques should be undertaken to simplify the selling process, and which ones should be avoided.
How to NOT Sell Backup-as-a-Service
Being an expert in IT, you understand the necessity of the backup and how it helps your clients in their daily tasks. But be ready that for most of your clients the situation is not the same. If you start discussing different technical details like storage options, ways of recovering data, etc. with your client, most likely it would make them confused and eventually, they just won't buy anything. Unless your client is engaged in IT, it all would be just empty talk for them.
Of course, it is much easier to sell managed backup to existing customers than to the new ones. But still, don't expect it to be as easy as 1-2-3.
Further reading Selling Backup as a Service: Guide for MSPs
Further reading 6 Benefits of Backup as a Service
Here are some tips for an MSP on how to sell managed backup services.
Step #1. Don’t Sell Features, Sell the Value<
First, you should understand that this is not the backup itself that your clients need, but the benefits that it gives them. So the first thing you need to do is to explain in a simple way what the backup is and outline its benefits.
Highlight your client’s pain points: stability, low cost, high SLA. Remember the most important thing: they don’t want to think of the infrastructure at all.
So don’t offer the backup itself while selling managed backup to your client. Instead, offer them their business stability. Don’t ask “want to backup your servers?”. Ask “How will 3 hours of downtime impact your business?”
Of course, the technical details should be discussed as well, but raise this question closer to the end. Remember that this is the last thing that your client is interested in.
Step #2. Define All the Options for Your Service
What technical details should be discussed?
After you have convinced your client of the necessity of the managed backup service, negotiate all the technical points of the backup:
- What data to protect, which data is most critical.
- How often backup should be done: once a week, once a day, once an hour. Perhaps, for some of the tasks, the real-time backup would be needed as well.
- Where data will be stored: in the cloud, on-premises or both.
- How quickly data should be recovered.
- Pricing options.
Step #3. Give Them the Special Offer and Set Up a Deadline
Even when all the details are discussed and all the agreements are set, the client may still be in doubt. This is where you can offer them a discount and set up a deadline. E.g. they can pay 30% less of the negotiated price for the first month if they send the money in the next 3 days.
But never, never offer the discount in the beginning. If you do so, the client will think more of saving money and not of solving the business problems. Use it as the last way of convincing the client to accept the managed backup service.
Conclusion
So these are the 3 major tips that can help MSPs sell managed backup services.
Don't focus on the service, instead talk more about the value that your client gains with it. Discuss your client’s business and how the downtime will affect it. Keep the offer as simple as possible and give a discount only if it is the last way to keep the client.
- The components of a strong BaaS offering
- The importance of including local backups and advantages of cloud backups
- BaaS pricing strategies
