[00:43] Itโ€™s time for the MSP Nifty Gifty [No longer active.]! Just like the MSP Summer Treat Wave, the Nifty Gifty is 10 days of gifts for managed service providers from 10 channel sponsors. This year we have Auvik, Technology Marketing Toolkit, BrightGauge, Axcient, Sophos, The Channel Company, ID Agent, Liongard, Warranty Master, and Webroot on deck to hand out free goodies like software licences, training sessions, ebooks, and conference passes. Each day of the event, you get to unwrap a new gift.

[01:18] Plus weโ€™ve got the biggest grand prize in Treat Wave and Nifty Gifty history, worth $1,900, and itโ€™s got things like a commuter scooter, a Sonos speaker, Star Wars LEGO, Apple Airpods and tons more.

[01:53] My guest today is business coach Anthony English, who is also the author of a short ebook called How to Sell Your IT Services (Without Feeling Sales-y). Anthony comes from an IT background, with a lot of experience in UNIX and large-scale data migrations, so he understands the IT world and IT mindset.
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[02:08] These days though heโ€™s focused on helping people take the pressure and anxiety out of sales conversations.

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The Customer Is Always Wrong and Other MSP Sales Techniques: Interview With Anthony English

Anthony English
Anthony English

[02:50] Anthony disagrees that buying decisions are made emotionally and later justified rationally. People look at the human dimension and the emotion and then come up with a plan.

[03:48] People buy because it will make them feel better or give them an opportunity or sense of hope. There is an emotional component. We also get an emotional reward when we sell things.

[05:00] But running a business is about a financial benefit. It’s not just the emotional. The four boxes of returns when selling are emotional reward for your client top left, emotional reward for you, bottom left. Financial value or ROI for your client, top right, and ROI for you, bottom right.

[06:25] An emotional reward for a client depends on where they are coming from.

[07:35] The customer is always wrong.

[08:52] When a customer says they need something, find out why they think they need that.

[10:41] In a cold call situation where someone isn’t expecting to hear from you, first find out who you are speaking to. You want to hear what their language is.

[12:19] Find out what your customer really wants or their priority and then help them do that.

[14:08] Find out if they are aware of their problem and what their pain really is. This works great with IT services. Don’t sell at them. Find out if you are a good fit.

[16:24] Understand what their business problem is and why they care.

[17:42] Once you understand the business problem and what’s important to them, then you can talk about price. Explain the immediate pain relief and the long-term benefit that they will get.

[19:08] Anthony’s book outlines three phases to the sales process. 1. What is the problem and how can we solve it? 2. What’s the value to them emotionally and financially? 3. Present the investment and explain why it’s worth it and ask them for their input.

[19:38] To close the sale, ask โ€œWhat do you think?โ€


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