Interconnect companies typically sell hardware & service to their customers and is how they make a living, but is actually quite inexpensive compared to the total cost a communications system! The customer should be looking at all five components in their decision making, they are: hardware, service, lines, usage, and administrative overhead.
Do the math yourself: How long does a customer typically keep a system? 10 Years? More? What does support cost over the life of a system? Okay, now add your maintenance charges to those of the manufacturer and see what that cost to the customer is after 120 months. Blows your mind doesn’t it, and that’s just the service component. Many manufacturers today are “buying their customers” with what looks to be competitive purchase pricing, but it isn’t. The manufacturers recurring support charges plus your maintenance charges are far higher than the total purchase price of whatever you are selling over the life of the system.
How about line and usage expenses? Even on a small communications system, the lines and usage are exponentially higher cost than equipment. A small office with just a few lines is: The cost of each line each month, times the life of the system. If usage is separate, you need to do the same math for usage. Administrative overhead is one thing that you cannot provide a number for a customer (they won’t know either so don’t try to put a number to it). Just know that it is a real concern and needs to be addressed.
Spydur Impact Business Partners who use our Solutions Selling method and provide a complete “picture” of the solution with costs (and savings) projected over a period of time enjoy a 75% close rate. To quote a credit card commercial “what percentage sales are in your pocket?”
Recommendation: Don’t major on the minors. Solve communications issues and show the customer what your solution is expected to cost over the life of the system. It doesn’t matter if you are selling, leasing, or providing communications-as-a-service (CaaS); showing the total picture will enable you to close the sale!
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Gary |