Dealing with Bandwidth Constraints in BDR Sales

Managed services providers (MSPs) face a variety of challenges pitching backup and disaster recovery (BDR) to potential clients, but one that may not seem so obvious at first is bandwidth limitations. BlackPoint IT Services Managed Services VP Chris Butler (pictured) told MSPmentor that access to high speed bandwidth an be an obstacle for MSPs who are selling BDR solutions that back up to the cloud. Customer locations can be a prime reason.  How can MSPs sidestep this dealbreaker? We'll reveal the details in the MSPmentor exclusive.

Depending on where you and your customers are located (big city? major suburb?), lack of bandwidth availability may seem like it doesn't warrent concern. However, according to Butler, more than 50 percent of potential BDR customers who are in need of a bandwidth upgrade walk away from negotiations due to this issue, taking money off the table for an MSP.

Butler said educating your sales team on bandwidth should be done before they're out selling your services in the market. His company's account managers discuss potential bandwidth issues with customers at the same time they're pitching cloud services and BDR, an approach that works for the company. Upgrade costs should be presented up front.

Location poses a major challenge for businesses upgrading bandwidth because it is less available in rural areas and small towns, creating a barrier for MSPs.

"Cable is not available in all locations," he said. "Remote locations do not have many options that are cost-effective."

Blackpoint IT Services offers multi-vendor bandwidth solutions to customers looking to upgrade bandwidth. Butler said the company tries to remove a lot of barriers by not pushing responsibility onto customers.

Are you still running into bandwidth issues? How do you overcome these challenges?