The Strategic Approach to Selling Cloud Services: Education

If your clients don’t understand the basics of the cloud, they’ll never get on board. In my video below, I share how to make cloud education effective.

Knowledge is power. You understand the cloud inside and out, but your clients might not know anything about it. You’ll need to spend time getting them comfortable with your cloud services before you can expect them to sign a contract.

Get cozy.

You don’t need your clients to understand every detail of the cloud, but you do need them to be comfortable enough that they’ll purchase your cloud services. As it turns out, we can learn a lesson from my dog, Tucker.

As Tucker got older, hip pain made it hard for him to jump out of the family car. When we brought home a ramp, he was so scared of the unfamiliar that he jumped out of the SUV anyway, even when he knew it would hurt. In the end, it took over an hour of patiently introducing the ramp, starting out flat and working gradually to an incline, before he knew what to expect and was willing to take the risk.

If your clients aren’t educated about the cloud, you can share every benefit in the world, but they won’t be comfortable enough to buy in. So how do you create the right comfort level?

Lessons from Tucker.

You’ll need to help your clients become gradually more familiar and comfortable with the cloud. Education is the key, and I’ve got six tactical ideas for making that happen:

• Quarterly topics

Decide on one topic per quarter and develop content and campaigns to share with your network. Eventually, you’ll be positioned as the expert in cloud services.

• LinkedIn group

Use social media to drive the discussion around the cloud. Let clients and partners weigh in with questions, experiences, and comments.

• Get to know internal customers

Your point of contact may be familiar with the cloud already, but the other decision makers in the office may not be. Make sure your point of contact has the knowledge necessary to educate their coworkers on the cloud.

• Lunch & learns

Offer to bring lunch and present a topic for your clients. Meet them when and where it works for them, and focus on educating them instead of pitching your products.

• Surround them with experts

Give your clients access to experts outside of their industry who can help them understand the larger implications of the cloud for their business.

• Speak locally

Head out to local associations to share your cloud services message. The cloud is a curiosity for most people, and positioning yourself as the go-to cloud expert means educating your clients and maybe finding new ones in the process.

Your Action Item

Once you’re acknowledged as the cloud expert, your clients will think of you first when they have a question. Your task is to plan out the first topic you’ll cover in your quarterly cloud education series.

Try An Interactive Demo

If you’re looking for ways to educate your clients on cloud services while tracking every step of your way there, check out the ConnectWise Manage interactive demo now.