How to Sell Azure Cloud Services

Posted:
08/10/2016
| By: Craig Fulton

Being a relatively new movement in the industry, there’s an understandable lack of familiarity surrounding the cloud and why it’s important. It’s a complex concept to grapple with, even for seasoned technology solution providers (TSPs).

It can be an even tougher concept to sell to customers outside of the tech world. Fortunately, there’s a wealth of information from trusted resources available to help forward-thinking TSPs formulate the perfect cloud services sales pitch. One of those resources is Microsoft.

Their cloud computing platform and infrastructure called Azure is one of the newer players in the cloud space. The platform supports an array of features and functionalities that other cloud platforms don’t offer. And what’s more, Microsoft recognizes that TSPs might want a little backup in the sales process.

Here’s their recommended approach for selling Azure.

1. Tailor the Benefits

Azure lets users build on its flexible platform, allowing them to work more productively with fewer limitations. Additionally, it protects data, supports anytime/anywhere access, and offers a pay-as-you-go model similar to cellphone plans. That’s just scratching the surface!

So while it might seem like a good idea to list the vast benefits of all of the features, it may be overwhelming to your customers. Instead, target their pain points. Try to find out what they’d like to fix or improve upon at their business, and handpick the features that bring the most benefit to their situation.

2. Rely on Expert Resources

It’s hard to sell something you don’t fully understand. That’s why in addition to an extensive partner network, Microsoft offers everything from video series to online boot camp courses to help TSPs learn the most effective ways to sell Azure.

Using these resources will help pave the way to easily navigate a variety of scenarios, concerns, and questions weary customers may come up with during the sales conversation. They’ll also help you address your customers’ doubts about Azure’s accessibility, functionality, and security.

3. Prepare for Pricing Questions

Pricing is a common question you should expect to receive from prospects. Fortunately, Azure’s payment structure is one they’ll recognize.

In addition to purchasing Azure and signing a contract, you also pay for a predetermined amount of usage. Like a cellphone plan, if you go over your allotted usage, or plan to use more in a certain month, you pay for the overage.

These 3 tips are just the beginning. Once you attract qualified prospects to your cloud services, whether you’re offering those supported by Azure or another cloud platform, you’ll need the right tools in place to help your business operate efficiently, so you can offer them consistently stellar service.

ConnectWise CloudConsole™ makes monitoring, managing, and billing cloud licenses easy and profitable. Learn how this groundbreaking tool can help you support Azure in the upcoming webinar.

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