11 Nov How to Boost Your Sales: A Cloud Service Provider’s Guide

The demand for quality cloud solutions is on the rise, and many businesses are making the most of this opportunity. This demand, naturally, is making cloud service providers show up everywhere we look.

Nonetheless, their mere presence means nothing if they aren’t doing the right things to sell more of their quality solutions. Is your business doing what it takes to sell more cloud services?

Types of Cloud Service Providers

Before addressing what your business can do to sell more cloud services, it’s a good idea to make a clear distinction between the different types of cloud service providers that are present in the current market.

• IaaS Provider: this type of provider offers the customers comprehensive cloud infrastructure that includes servers, storage, and networking. 
• SaaS Providers: this type of provider, which is the most common among all, offers the customers cloud-based solutions as project management tools, CRM and HRM software, and office productivity suites, everything on-demand.
• PaaS Providers: this type of provider takes the IaaS model one step further by adding software solutions and middleware to the required infrastructure, customizing the service also according to the customer’s project.

How to Boost Your Sales

Now, what can cloud service providers do to boost their sales in such a competitive market? 

While there is a massive demand for cloud solutions, the truth is that many highly-active players are offering their services in a smart, effective way. Therefore, if you want your business to be competitive, the right tactics must be applied.

Recognize Untapped Opportunities and Define a Clear Direction

The first thing your cloud business must do is to research the market, specifically looking for untapped opportunities. Many opportunities are waiting to be tapped in terms of cloud services as these solutions are young and continue to grow in potential, increasing their reach and relevance to new industries and niches. Pay attention, and you may find a sweet (unattended) spot for your business to make the most of.

Distribute Needs and Benefits Among Stakeholders

A value proposition will work one way or another, depending on the stakeholder. Recognize that there are many decision-makers when it comes to choosing (and paying for) cloud solutions for a company. Study the different stakeholders that may exist within the organization and craft a message for every single one of them, focusing on their unique needs and how your cloud services will solve them.

Make Customization and Convenience the Spearhead

Making the transition to the cloud is all about agile provisioning of the development resources, terminating environments when they serve no purpose, shrinking down when required, paying as you go, and many other traits that focus on customization and convenience for the company. Focus on that and always make clear to the customer that flexibility and adaptability will skyrocket results in his or her projects, besides saving abundant resources.

Differentiate in the Long-Term

There are many ways your cloud service business can differentiate from the competition. However, one of the smartest ways to do it is by offering long-term commitment and outlook to the customer. Make sure to transmit that cloud solutions are developing fast, and there is a long road ahead, one that is rich in opportunities for companies to become as versatile and agile as they can be. As a cloud service provider, your role is to become a reliable business partner for your client and not a one-time supplier.