How to Sell Life Preservers

Smart solutions providers in the SMB market are always looking for ways to expand their business. Voice and data convergence represents a huge payoff, but only if you provide the right solution at the right price. There are plenty of opportunities to sell the technology. Thats because very few providers currently are able to reap the rewards of unifying two traditionally separate industries. Throw your clients a life vest before the wave washes them away from you.

1. Spend money and resources now to understand how to install and support converged systems in the future. Its an ongoing process that takes time, even years. The Yankee Groups Joe Gagin maintains that these systems are easy to install and service, which is a good way to start building your domain expertise—and your client base.

2. Find clients that are in need of a PBX upgrade and determine if one of these products can help them save money—for example, by improving customer service via a call-center application, or reducing calling costs via a VoIP link between separate offices. People will spend up front to save in the long run.

3. Sell the client new applications that are only possible with convergence, such as unified messaging or VoIP. But be careful. Some clients may not need the extra functionality—or the price. Match the products capabilities to the clients needs.