As a value-added reseller in today’s competitive markets, you’re always on the lookout for ways to gain additional leads and drive your business’ growth. However, more often than not, the bulk of your workday is spent on tasks that further your mission of providing world-class services to your clients. Because you’re good at what you do, you’ve likely been more than a little tempted to put other less-enjoyable tasks on the back burner. If you’re like many others among the VAR or technology sectors, sales is one of those tasks that you’d rather put off and deal with “tomorrow.”

However, if you want to stay in business, you simply cannot afford too many of those tomorrows. The same goes for stagnant growth or a sales “slump.” With skilled competition cropping up to your left, right, and center, waiting to jump-start your sales could end up costing you everything. Growth responsibility starts at the top. Whatever the reason, if your managed services organization hasn’t been closing sales lately or meeting your sales goals, we’re pleased to offer some helpful and easy to implement suggestions.

Back to Some Basics

In our digital age, technology service providers need to have more than just a couple of niche services and a nice website. You need to be able to provide the services required by today’s businesses, but when they determine that they need those services, they have to be able to find you.

When looking at what you can do to increase sales, start with some basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Even the best looking website in the industry won’t do you a bit of good if your target audience has no idea that you exist. Actively working to increase your placement on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) can drastically improve your service inquiries and, by extension, your potential sales.

Meta tags, mobile optimization, browser compatibility, and the overall design are just a few key areas that should be evaluated, but you should take the time to ensure that your site meets or exceeds today’s SEO requirements. Think SEO sounds scary? Think again, more than 90 percent of small technology businesses have no SEO strategy in place at all. That means the simple act of adding keywords to your website or claiming your Google My Business and Yelp pages put you ahead of MOST competitors.

Going Old School

While few people actually enjoy it per se, and even fewer are actually good at it, one of the most effective ways to sell your services is through cold contacts. Whether it’s by picking up the phone and calling businesses directly or contacting them via email, when done correctly, these can unlock the door to new prospects, partners, and business contacts.

There are those that think this old school tactic is worthless and unproductive, but with businesses spending less time on the phone with their customers, it has once again become a great way to generate new business. A startling number of businesses in your area needs the services you provide and are relying on a friend’s recommendation or an uneducated Google search to find a provider. Pick up the phone or walk into a new business and introduce yourself, what you do, and see if there might be a way to work together.

Focus

Offering multiple services is a fantastic way to increase sales, but whether you provide two offerings or two-dozen, you have to focus on your key selling points. From your print and online advertising to the website and even on to the closing, identify your target audience’s key pain points and focus your messaging efforts there.

Trying to wow them by listing off every single service, whether it pertains to them or not, is simply going to overwhelm the prospect or make you appear inattentive. For your website, ensure that the services are easy to find, intuitive, and fact-based. When face-to-face, establish their trust by listening to them, asking appropriate questions, and stressing the value in your services for addressing their specific pain points.

More is not always better.

Get the Team Involved

Who better to talk to your potential clients about the benefits of partnering with you than those that know your product the best? Including members of your tech team in at least the initial meetings can ensure that the prospect’s questions are completely answered and there are no doubts about your offerings, capabilities, and benefits.

Although many technical employees, including those in management, may not jump at the prospect of speaking to potential clients, you can help strengthen their abilities and increase their confidence by providing them with some pointers or proper sales training. Furthermore, involving members of your team brings a fresh set of eyes and ears to the table, helping to ensure that nothing is missed or misunderstood.

Jump starting your sales can be as simple as doing things just a little differently.

Expanding Relationships

How does your value-add reseller build sales and expand its portfolio while avoiding a significant negative financial impact? One way is through expanding your relationships with a strategic growth plan that specifically includes partnering prospects and options. Reselling is a great way to offer higher-value products and services without investing in R&D or carrying massive amounts of inventory. Expanding your partnerships is at the very heart of being a VAR!

By building relationships and leveraging partnerships with vendors, you can open the door to a number of options for expanding your organization’s sales. Whether it’s a partnership with a small boutique service provider or you form a collaborative agreement with a large cloud management company like Connectria, partnerships make great sense for helping grow your business.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you increase your VAR’s sales. With Connectria, you can immediately expand your offerings to include:

• Fully audited HIPAA & PCI compliant solutions in AWS
• 24×7 advanced cloud monitoring & support
• The largest, most-trusted IBM i (AS/400 / iSeries) Cloud & Managed Service Provider (MSP) in North America
• Cloud migration services
• Cloud management – private, public, or hybrid
• Disaster recovery
• Our exclusive and intuitive TRiA cloud management platform
• Much more