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Module 6: Taking your

BC/DR Offering to Market

Gary Bixler President, Bixler Enterprises

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CompTIA Channel Training

About this Education The content and materials featured in this presentation are the result of a collaborative, CompTIA community-led development effort. An advisory group comprised of channel leaders and technical experts identified training goals and objectives, while education specialists carried out development work based on the insights and information provided by the advisory group and other subject matter experts. About CompTIA CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, we focus our programs on four main areas: education, certification, advocacy and philanthropy.

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Module 6: Taking Your BC/DR Offering to Market

• Sales and marketing objectives

• Marketing programs and materials

• A go-to-market plan

• Research, improvement and evolution

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Sales and Marketing Objectives

• Lead generation • Sales appointments • Account acquisition • Gross revenue • Gross margin/profit • Average sale size • Accounts under management • Average revenue per account • Monthly recurring revenue • System utilization rate

Which of these do you use? What is most effective? What has proved difficult?

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Marketing Programs and Materials

• White papers

• Capabilities presentation

• Technical briefs

• Marketing collateral

What are your “go-to” marketing materials? How much do you leverage vendor provided content?

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Marketing Materials: White papers

Creating the must-read paper

• Pick the right author

• Keep it short

• Use visual elements

• Emphasize subject flow

• Use a case studies

• End a strong summary

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Marketing Materials: Capabilities presentation • Use an outline of your process

• Keep it bright and tight

• Train the presenters

• Keep updated

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Marketing Materials: Technical Briefs • Demonstrate functions, features and

performance

• Use vendor tech briefs as foundation

• Customize and co-brand as needed

• Develop unique tech briefs to complement

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Marketing Materials: Marketing Collateral • Demonstrate need

• Highlight your capabilities

• Allay customer reluctance and fears

• Train your sales force

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Go-To-Market Strategies

• Create a plan

• Identify likely customers

• Establish a review cycle

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The “30-60-90” Plan

Launch Plan

• Launch products

• Find first customers

• Generate Publicity

• Establish sales objectives

• Initiate field testing

• Collect feedback

Launch Products

• Limit products at first

• Focus on specific customer segments

• Generate repeatable implementations

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The “30-60-90” Plan

Establish Customers First

• Customer list mirrors launch products

• Mine existing accounts

• Leverage trusted advisor status

• Seek early adopters

Publicity

• Seek appropriate media exposure

• Distribute releases

• Prepare senior managers for interviews

• Piggyback on events, both live and virtual

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The “30-60-90” Plan

Sales Objectives

• Referrals

• Meetings

• Demonstrations

• Proof of Concept

• Closed Sales

Field Testing

• Deploy at customer sites

• Review performance

• Assess product and services

• Measure utilization

• Make adjustments

Get Feedback

• Talk to customers, understand satisfaction & perceptions

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Research, Improvement, Evolution

• Make continuous improvements to your service

• Build in research and development budget

• Form focus groups

• Invest in expansion

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Taking BC/DR to Market

Conclusions and Recommendations:

• Set sales and marketing objectives

• Develop and deploy marketing collateral

• Execute your 30-60-90 plan

• Always be evolving

Yes, you have to have a suit. But… it’s NOT the suit that determines your

performance!

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FINISHING UP

HTTP://SURVEYS.COMPTIA.ORG/S3/EDSESS

HTTP://L.COMPTIA.ORG/DATTO

Assessment

Survey

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Questions

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Question 1

Lead generation reflects:

a. The amount of marketing material amassed on a topic

b. The variety of technology options in a particular solution set

c. The number of potential customers interested in a sales call

d. None of the above

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Question 2

True or false: Rebranding vendor materials is sufficient to fill your marketing collateral needs.

a. True

b. False

c. Don’t Know

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Question 3

Elements of an effective white paper include (choose all that apply):

a. Choosing the right author

b. Making it as lengthy as possible

c. Using visual elements

d. Ending with a strong summary

e. Packing it with deep technical detail

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Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a part of the 30-60-90 go-to-market plan?

a. Launch products

b. Establish sales objectives

c. Generate publicity

d. Choose vendor partners

e. Initiate field testing

f. Collect feedback