TekTalk Insights

TekTalk Strategy – 5 Keys to Dominating SD-WAN Sales

We have placed a lot of focus lately on SD-WAN education as we believe there is an incredible revenue opportunity for TekEfficient sales partners with this offering. As such, we are dedicating the strategy portion of this TekTalk to becoming an SD-WAN sales monster.

If you are struggling to get your SD-WAN sales game into high gear, you are not alone! The good news is, you have not missed the incredible financial opportunity that is transforming network services delivery for your customers, partners, and prospects.

At TekEfficient, we are experiencing high demand for SD-WAN right now and want to ensure you as our partner community are ready to capture as much of it as possible. Below are five keys to successful SD-WAN sales.

1 – Know the Basic Story of SD-WAN – What It Is, Why It is Valuable
Simple Definition:
SD-WAN: software-defined wide area network.
WAN: connection between local area networks (LANs) separated by a substantial distance—anything from a few miles to thousands of miles.
LAN: local network at local site such as branch office
Software-defined: WAN is programmatically configured and managed. So, it can be easily adapted quickly to meet changing needs.
A key application of SD-WAN is to allow companies to build higher-performance WANs using lower-cost and commercially available Internet access, enabling businesses to partially or wholly replace more expensive private WAN connection technologies such as MPLS.

Value/Benefits:
Reduce network costs
Decrease network complexity
Increase flexibility and performance
Easier to use/manage

While you don’t need to be a technical expert to sell SD-WAN, it helps to have a high-level understanding of what it is and why it is valuable to your sales target. This way, when you engage in other steps, you know where to take the prospect based on their answers – know what to listen for.

Don’t have this down yet? Schedule a call with the TekEfficient team and we will be glad to walk you through it!

2 – Ask the Right Questions & Listen
When selling to IT professionals, you are probably talking to the smartest person in the room across the table from you – at least in their opinion! Don’t be a pompous windbag. Let them tell you what they need by asking good questions and listening to their responses.

Examples:
Are you using new technology to improve your business? How?
How satisfied are you with the performance of your current IT/network?
How many cloud-based applications (i.e. Salesforce.com, Office365) and hardware (Amazon Web Services) do you use? Is the number increasing?
Do you have a remote workforce? Is this number growing? Describe their level of satisfaction with current network/mobile performance?
Are you able to secure direct internet access?
How many office locations do you have? Growing?
What is your current network architecture?

3 – Know Your Target
The best possible targets are organizations with the following attributes.

Organizations with multiple branch locations
Organizations who use a large number of cloud-based applications (Office365, Salesforce.com)
Organizations with large remote workforces
Organizations with above average sensitivity to network downtime
Organizations with small/under-resourced IT departments
Organizations using a private MPLS network to tether multiple locations
Organizations with budget constraints – need to “find” money/funding
Organizations with long-standing network agreements that have not been renegotiated for some time

4 – Have Enough Options to Match SD-WAN Offerings to the Specific Needs of Your Target
Not all SD-WAN offerings are the same. Having a vendor you like and trying to force a customer need into that vendor is not a recipe for success – and could lead to customer attrition over time.

The good news: as a TekEfficient partner, you have the ability to position/sell a wide-range of SD-WAN providers/offerings thanks to our global provider ecosystem.

More good news: our team is here to help you position the right options. We can hop on a call with you and the target to do a deeper dive on their network landscape and use the data and our knowledge of all suppliers to get you to the right match. Let us help you help them!

Don’t know exactly which SD-WAN providers are in the TekEfficient stable?
Check out our list of suppliers here.

5 – Know the Common Barriers to SD-WAN Sales – Why People Won’t Want to Buy SD-WAN – and Have Your Answer Ready
Budget: Don’t have the money to launch a new service
Status Quo: Already have an MPLS that works ok, my way is better
Fear: working ok, not great, but scared to make a change
Staff: don’t have the skills/team to make the change right now
Hesitant on New Tech: not convinced the risks outweigh the rewards

Want to go further on SD WAN? We are here to help. Schedule a learning call with a TekEfficient team member, join an SD-WAN vendor training or meet us out and about at an event. We want to provide you with the tools and information you need to – WIN. MORE. DEALS.