Selling Cloud: 5 Ways to Make More Money

Are your sales reps as aggressive as they could be when it comes to selling cloud services to customers? Is it time for the channel to get over it and embrace the cloud?

Cloud Guru CEO Terry Hedden at ChannelCon this week held several sessions on how channel partners can make more money selling cloud services. He revealed several approaches and strategies he’s used in the past to close these kinds of deals. Most of his advice revolved around what channel partners should look for in their salespeople, and how they can spot trustworthy salespeople.

Does your sales team (if you even have one) need help? Here are five ways your salespeople can close more cloud deals.

1. Dress to impress. While this first tip might seem elementary to you, it’s one that frequently gets overlooked. Don’t go into a meeting dressing like a sterotypical IT guy (meaning a golf shirt and khakis). “A lot of what you say is on your face, and the clothes that you wear,” Hedden says. You want them to treat you like a salesperson, not an IT guy.

2. Find out customer pain points. Stop talking and start listening. Don’t ask what customers need because they don’t know (take a lesson from Henry Ford). Ask open-ended questions to under customer pain points, Hedden says. Extract as much information as you can during a conversation.

3. Bundle your solutions. Hedden says bundling your services and solutions makes things easier for you and customers. The more choices you have, the longer your sales cycle will be. Need an example of how bundling products works? Next time you order fast food from McDonalds, take a look at their combo meals. That’s where they make the majority of their money, Hedden says.

4. Knowledge+confidence=sales. Knowledge increases a salesperson’s confidence. The more they know, the more confident they’ll be closing a deal. “If you want somebody to sell something, make sure they use it,” Hedden says. Customers can sense a lack of confidence, so be ready for what they throw your way.

5. Talk business, not technology. Customers are not technical people, nor do they want to be. They have a business and a problem, and they want you to be their solution. Find out their business needs. When technology does come up, however, make sure you ask them about their IT infrastructure. This is where you can sell more than just the solution they originally asked you about.

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