As a Channel Sales Professional, you pride yourself on your ability to provide your customers with premium cloud solutions and first class customer service. You realize that the industry is changing, with more options than ever for your customer. As a sales professional, how do you keep up-to-date with the ever-evolving technology so that you can continue to provide your current and potential customers with the best solutions for their businesses?
As a marketing expert for the cloud and technology industries, Total Product Marketing knows how important it is to keep up on today’s technology, and that’s why we are dedicated to finding new ways to help our customers share, learn, and grow. We are strong believers in channel sales enablement through continuous learning. In this post we explain what this means and how you, as a channel sales professional, can use continuous learning to sell more cloud.
“Getting the right information into the hands of the right sellers at the right time and place, and in the right format, to move a sales opportunity forward.” This is how IDC described channel sales enablement. While it is brief, we find it fits the term well.
Take Advantage of the Massive Growth of the Industry
The industry is constantly growing. Cloud computing is one of the fastest growing areas of the IT sector, expanding some five times faster than the overall industry. In 2008 the cloud computing industry was $46 billion. In 2014, it’s $150 billion. That’s a growth of over 300% in 6 years. The industry is set to grow substantially in the years to come. According to IHS, cloud-related business spending will hit $235 billion by 2017. With $13 billion of this spent in the United States alone there is a lot of potential revenue up for grabs.
Source: IHS Technology, Cloud- Related Spending by Businesses to Triple from 2011 to 2017
Keeping up to date on the latest trends and ensuring that you know everything there is to know about the cloud will benefit your customers. By providing the best possible solutions for your existing and potential customers, you will be able to take advantage of the massive growth of the industry, and put more money in your pocket.
Keeping up with Industry Adoption
With all of the benefits of moving to the cloud, it’s not surprising that close to 90% of all businesses have adopted some form of the cloud. Of the adopters, 43% wish they had adopted it sooner. With the following benefits of the cloud, it’s no doubt that more companies will embrace the cloud:
- 51% say the cloud reduced their time managing IT.
- 50% said the cloud required fewer resources.
- 94% say the cloud produced security benefits.
- 75% say the cloud improves service availability.
- 96% worry less about outages with the cloud.
It’s important as a sales professional that you are able to explain all of the benefits of the cloud to your customers in order to put their minds at ease about adoption. Finding the best solution for your customers–whether it’s public, private or hybrid – will help the migration process for your customers and allow them to reap all of the benefits of moving to the cloud.
Ability to Show Cost Savings to Customers
What if you could learn how to increase customer trust by showing your customers how they can save money by migrating to the cloud? 50% of cloud adopters were able to pursue new opportunities because of the time and money saved moving security to the cloud. What’s more, 70% of adopters reinvested the money they saved on moving to the cloud. How successful could you be as a Sales Channel Professional if you could show each customer how they too can save money by moving to the cloud?
Knowledge is Power
Only 13% of customers believe a sales person can understand their needs. Show your customers that you are different. Good sales professionals need to be able to uncover their customers’ issues and needs in order to sell them the right solution for their businesses. Knowledge is power… and Sales!
Knowledge is Power
Sell More Cloud!
What if you could participate in a vendor-neutral, self-paced certification program where you can learn about cloud, telecom, and cable services, enabling you to become a certified specialist?
Channel Sales Enablement Through Continuous Learning: Intelisys Cloud Services University
Cloud Services University is an online training institution that was created for channel professionals. Its purpose is to help Telecom Agents, Consultants, VARs, MSPs and IT solution providers make the shift to cloud services. At CloudServicesUniversity.com, the focus is not just to teach the bits and bytes of cloud technology, but also the practical “street smarts” needed to compete for and win cloud deals. Its certifications will give you the credibility you need to build trust with your clients.
Why should you join the other Sales Channel Partners benefiting from iCSU?
✓ The only Cloud University built exclusively with the goal of channel sales enablement.
✓ Developed by the nation’s leading technology services distributor with insight from experts from twenty-one of the Nation’s Leading Cloud Providers.
✓ Attain Master Status and receive exclusive status on Intelisys website
✓ Get iCSU certified and sell more cloud.
Intelisys Cloud Services University – Learn it. Sell it.
