Managed service providers (MSPs), especially if they’re astute, are often looking for new services to offer to help distinguish themselves from competitors and hold on to their existing market share. Cloud phone migration is one such way, thanks to the fact that it introduces a valuable new service to companies who know it exists but may be hesitant to adopt it. For MSPs serving the SMB market, cloud-based phone with unified communications services is an excellent opportunity to create a client for life, but how do you go about it?
Encouraging Migration to the Cloud
Like all managed services, cloud phone migration can be a hard sell. So, the key is to listen to what your customers are saying. Several points can help MSPs drive this new service.
Find the trigger. Are you hearing anything about cutting costs? Does the customer’s current solution meet their needs? Is their existing premise-based hardware reaching “end-of-life”? Do they refuse to purchase equipment? Are they looking to reduce staff? Have they discussed the possibility of looking to hire remote employees or consultants? Is application complexity on their radar? Any one of these poses an ideal opportunity and can be your way to introduce your own phone service.
Quell the fear. CopperEgg CEO, Chad Bockius, noted that “fear of the unknown” is the single biggest issue for companies considering a move to the cloud. Presenting your managed services with a focus on low risk is a huge benefit here. Draw attention to things like the resiliency and redundancy of cloud-based solutions. Point out your experience in migrating customers from “single point of failure” premise-based hardware to multi-data center delivered cloud services. Stress the importance of your ability to remotely support the service if something does go wrong. Adopt a “no strings attached” approach to conquer the biggest fear of all—signing a multi-year agreement with early termination fees if the service does not work as advertised.
Fit the plan. Offer a free technology audit. This works well for finding the information needed to locate the trigger as noted previously, but it also gives you crucial insight into the company’s overall plan and how you can fit into it. Once you’ve had a look at what the company already has in place, you’ll be able to tailor your pitch to address the issues. We’ve found it’s the best thing you can do to prompt cloud migration—as long as you have a solution to offer.
Filling the Cloud Phone Migration Gap
Find partners. Sometimes, you don’t have what your customers want. When that happens, the best thing to do is get access to the desired services quickly. Consider an arrangement with a current supplier of the service that you can partner with (many MSPs have taken this approach with security services). Sometimes that’s enough to connect a client to someone else’s services instead of adding on infrastructure and staff to provide a less-than-desirable service.
Become a ”phone company.” If you like the thought of encouraging cloud phone migration, but don’t know how to execute such a strategy, a great place to start is by getting in touch with us at D3UC. We provide MSPs with a white-label, cloud phone solution that you can sell to your customers without risk—no upfront costs, no early termination penalties, no minimum revenue requirements—and receive expert support. Risk-free service is a great way to encourage migration, so drop us a line so you’re prepared to start offering cloud phone service to your current customers.