The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we work, collaborate and do business. We’re now approaching two years of remote work and adjusting to the “new normal,” which has included a shift to Microsoft Teams and Zoom calls.
But the still-lingering uncertainty means businesses that once wanted to keep their legacy telephone systems are more open to Voice over IP (VoIP) service that integrates Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) features. They’ve become more aware of UCaaS and the value and ease it brings to their business.
When weighing their options, they’re looking for phone systems and collaborative solutions that allow them to futureproof their businesses and provide remote work capabilities, while also consolidating and economizing their phone service.
This is an ideal environment for dealers to enter the business telephone and managed service space. Those that may have found it difficult in the past, or who may still be reticent in doing so, will find that selling phone systems and UCaaS is considerably easier than before. The legacy telephone service providers haven’t evolved to offer the innovative UCaaS solutions that customers are looking for.
Your sales team should leverage its role as an advisor to help determine which solutions will deliver results and integrate best with customers’ workflows and office technologies. This begins by educating customers on the value of UCaaS by doing the following:
Learn Customers’ Pain Points and Provide Solutions
Spend time understanding their problems and provide a custom, hands-on approach. Many future issues can be avoided by simply educating the customer on how the UCaaS solution will help their business. As with any consultative sales approach, ask discovery questions that provide insight into customers’ usage and behavior so you learn their current needs, as well as any needs they don’t even realize they have.
Educate and Advise Them on the Market, Not Just the Product
The increased demand and availability for UCaaS and Internet-based phone service means customers will likely be familiar with some of the features and providers available to them. Be prepared to explain why your solution is preferable to an alternate product. As a trusted advisor, you need to understand your customers’ unique technology needs, their competitive environment and any inhibitors or barriers they have to changing their business or technology.
In addition, when explaining your services, be careful not to confuse benefits with features. Click-to-call, video conferencing and text messaging are important, but descriptions of these are not as impactful as describing benefits such as time savings, remote work capability and increased productivity. These are what sell the solution.
Don’t Focus on Price
UCaaS technology has matured, becoming highly scalable and easy to deploy. However, in the absence of product knowledge, customers are apt to focus on price. One of the toughest and most common objections from customers is that their business needs are simple and small, so they don’t need the sophisticated benefits of a unified communications solution.
Most often, this mindset arises largely from the fact that the service is “as a service.” UCaaS offerings can be regularly misconstrued as synonymous with hosted solutions, which is often perceived as a large enterprise solution for Fortune 500 companies. Thus, they conclude that enterprise tools are far out of reach for smaller businesses.
These objections can be overcome through a holistic examination of services beyond just the phone system. Eliminate separate ancillary services and subscriptions (video conferencing, business texting, CRM, etc.) the customer requires in order to eliminate their pain points. Remind customers that they will only have to pay for services they need, resulting in more flexibility and scalability, and a reduction in expenses.
Live Product Demos Are Key
There’s a huge difference between hearing how great something is and actually seeing it. Salespeople who successfully engage prospects in live guided demos that incorporate the customers’ pain points have the highest conversion rates. Many find it easier to explain how UCaaS works during a demo, particularly given that people are becoming more cloud-savvy.
Once the prospect sees the product in action and has a chance to ask questions, they’ll visualize and internalize how they can use the product and champion it on your behalf.
For customers that may require additional education or training on the product, or are simply technology averse, avoid technical jargon and complicated explanations.
Make Sure the Customer Is Ready for UCaaS
Customer experience is key in both acquisition and retention. Unlike legacy telephone systems, VoIP and UCaaS require additional configuration and preparations. Customers will often begin using the service without making changes to their network, and then it doesn’t work as described. As part of standard procedure, it’s advisable to verify the reliability of the customer’s Internet connection, router and firewall configurations to avoid this.
Sales, when you boil it down, is about helping businesses quickly get where they need to go. We’re technology partners and providers, so we should be evangelizing technology and how it can improve business outcomes. To be successful, don’t concentrate on selling change—sell business improvements, and the customers will follow.
