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Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only

Welcome to the Handling Objections and Preparing for the Upturn: Selling Cisco Services in Turbulent Economic Times learning module.

This learning module is part of the Cisco Services Accelerate Program, an ongoing Cisco effort designed to help partners accelerate their service practice profitability. The Cisco Services Accelerate Program includes:

Training resources

Sales tools

Demand generation activities

Incentives and rebate programs

More Info

Cisco Services Accelerate Program

For more information about the Cisco Services Accelerate Program, visit

www.cisco.com/go/accelerate

Handling Objections and Preparing for the Upturn

Selling Cisco Services in Turbulent Economic Times

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Module Overview

The module focuses on helping you to sell Cisco Services in turbulent economic times.

This training module provides:

Guidance to partners for navigating the current economic storm

Strategies for stimulating services revenue

A high-level overview of objection handling guidance

Suggestions for preparing for the upturn

It should take you about fifteen minutes to complete this module and the unscored knowledge checks. At the conclusion of this module you will be directed to a quiz to test your knowledge and earn points to increase your eligibility to win prizes.

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Get Access to Comprehensive Information

This training module is designed to complement the more comprehensive services guide on this topic.

Visit the Cisco Services Accelerate Program to access the complete set of training resources that provide detailed guidance for handling over 50 common customer objections.

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Helping You Navigate the Storm and Accelerate

Cisco began predicting turbulent economic times on the horizon in early 2008.

At the time, we sent a strong message to our partners that if the situation were to worsen, we would be there to help them charter the troubled waters

Our goal is not only to navigate through these tough economic times, but also to help our partners be prepared to accelerate business during the next upturn

Cisco is here to help our partners survive the downturn and prepare for the upturn.

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Opportunity on the Horizon: Services More Important Than Ever

Cisco is on a journey with our partners, a journey to a new world of Web 2.0 collaboration solutions that will increase the need for networking and services.

New business models for partners, such as managed services, and an increased focus on business solutions will bring the productivity that customers need to remain competitive

The result will be strengthened customer relationships that allow Cisco partners to be seen as trusted business advisors

Opportunities will exist throughout the network lifecycle to provide services to help customers make sound decisions about implementing these new technologies and to make sure the network is functioning at optimal performance.

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The Partner Journey – Promise of the New World

Web 2.0 /Collaboration

High Productivity

New Business Models

Managed Services / SaaS

Business Solutions Focus

Relationships vs Transactions

Greater Partner Relevance

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Facing Tough Challenges

Our partners are facing tough challenges:

Pressure on profits

Pressure on cash flow

Tightening credit

Fluctuating exchange rates

Delays in customer purchasing

Changing customer priorities

In times like these, our reaction might be to hang on and try to ride it out. The real opportunity comes to those who can continue to move forward and not lose sight of their goals.

Partners that make smart strategy decisions and invest in their business properly will be the ones that survive and that are poised to take advantage of the upturn.

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Maintain the Course…..

The Partner Journey

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Navigate to Accelerate

Navigate to Accelerate is Cisco’s plan and commitment to helping you navigate the current economic climate while preparing you to accelerate during the upturn. Navigate to Accelerate programs are mapped to four focus strategy areas:

Finance

Customer base

Changing customer needs

Future

The program provides you with access to tools, resources, and incentives and makes it easy for you to participate in an ongoing dialogue regarding market conditions.

Focus on Customer

Base

Focus on Changing

Needs

Focus on the Future

Focus on Finance

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Cisco Services Stimulus Package

The Cisco Services Stimulus Package:

Is contained within the Navigate to Accelerate starter kit

Presents a four-point strategy designed to help your services practice effectively navigate the current economic storm

Provides detailed recommendations and resources

Acts as a roadmap to help your chart a course toward future success

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Strategies for Navigating the Storm

Click on each item below to learn more about the four-point strategy outlined in the Cisco Services Stimulus Package.

1.

2.

3.

Focus on the customer base

4.

Focus on finance

Focus on changing customer needs

Focus on the future

Drive true customer intimacy by getting closer to primary customers, gaining loyalty, and truly understanding and meeting customer needs.

Manage revenue mix to optimize gross margins. Save to invest by controlling operating costs.

Outpace your competition by investing in service sales enablement. Maintain the customer experience by unlocking employee potential.

Lead the transition to a borderless enterprise. Join the Cisco Services Community for Partners that provides a centralized environment for all partners, incorporating discussion forums, wikis, and blogs for improved collaboration and real-time access to information.

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Helping Customers Thrive in Dynamic Times

During economic downturns it becomes more important than ever for you to help your customers find ways to increase their competitive advantage through technology solutions. You can guide your customers to embrace five essential strategies for surviving and thriving in difficult environments.

Guide your customers to embrace five essential strategies for surviving and thriving in difficult environments:

Save to invest

Unlock employee potential

Drive true customer intimacy

Outpace your competition

Transition to a borderless enterprise

There are opportunities to sell services in all five of the business imperatives.

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Five Essential Strategies

Click on each item below to learn more about the five business imperatives.

1.

2.

3.

Save to Invest

4.

Unlock Employee Potential

Drive True Customer Intimacy

Outpace Your Competition

Intelligently reduce costs to fund investments for improvement Focus on profitability, capital efficiency

Augment employees with collaborative solutions Harness the collaborative power of all employees to maximize

effectiveness and efficiency Nurture key employees; focus on motivation, morale

Get closer to key customers Embrace customers in your decision making Personalize/customize to match customer needs

Focus on important strategic initiatives Invest to expand and pull away from competitors Transform to increase speed and scale

5. Transition to a Borderless Enterprise

Make full use of your entire ecosystem Work together globally for greater impact Include all stakeholders in ideation, improvement, and expansion

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Cisco Smart Services for Small and Medium Business

Cisco Smart Services for Small and Medium Business can offer value to you and your customers as business imperatives influence the need for new collaboration, virtualization, and video technologies.

The Cisco Smart Services for Small and Medium Business portfolio includes:

Cisco SMARTnet® Service

Cisco Smart Foundation Service

Cisco Smart Care Service

You can complement your customer’s hardware and operating system support services with software application support services.

Cisco delivers industry-leading support that is validated by industry recognition and consistently high customer satisfaction ratings.

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Cisco Technical Services: Integrated Solutions for End-to-end Support

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Cisco SMARTnet Service

Anytime access to Cisco engineers and extensive technical resources for rapid issue resolution

Customer Profile

Any size business, any number of Cisco devices

Network is critical to mission critical

Skilled IT staff who require direct access to Cisco engineers and want flexible device-level coverage

Sales and Delivery

Sold by Cisco and Certified Partners, delivered by Cisco

Service Capabilities and Features Advance hardware replacement— (NBD,

2-hour, 4-hour and/or onsite engineer) 24 x 7 global access to the Cisco TAC

for help with configuration, diagnostics, recommendations

Cisco.com knowledge base and tools Smart Call Home proactive diagnostics

and real-time alerts on select devices OS software updates

and upgrades

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Cisco Smart Care Service

Customer Profile

Businesses with 50–600 network users and up to 105 devices*

Network is critical to business

Limited IT expertise; wants network-level coverage

Sales and Delivery

Sold Certified Partners, delivered collaboratively by Cisco and partners

Service Capabilities and Features Proactive network-wide monitoring,

assessments,and notifications

Advance hardware replacement—NBD or 4hour option

24 x 7 partner access to TAC Cisco.com knowledge base and Smart Care

Portal Operating system software updates and

upgrades Software application

updates

Technical support combined with proactive monitoring and assessments keep networks secure, and running optimally

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Cisco Smart Foundation Service

Customer Profile

Businesses with data only networks, SMB-class products, and fewer than 250 network users (~50 or fewer network devices)

Network is important, but not mission critical to business

Needs responsive support with device level coverage that meets budget requirements

Sales and Delivery


Service Capabilities and Features Advance hardware replacement—NBD Access to SMB TAC Call-back service

during normal business hours (8am–5 pm)

Response within one business day (varies per region)

Cisco.com SMB knowledge base Online network troubleshooting tools

designed for SMBs OS software updates

Maintain network reliability and minimize disruption to business with entry-level technical support service

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Cisco Software Application Support (SAS) Plus Upgrades (SASU)

Customer Profile

Any size business, any number of Cisco devices

Network is critical tomission critical

Needs responsive support

Sales and Delivery


Service Capabilities and Features Registered access to

Cisco.com 24 x 7 x 365 access to Cisco

Technical Assistance Center (TAC)

Application software updates Application software

upgrades (SASU only)

Strengthen availability, functionality and reliability of Cisco software applications with updates and upgrades combined with access to Cisco software application specialists

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Sorry, incorrect.

Sorry, incorrect.

Knowledge Check

The four focus areas in the Navigate to Accelerate program are:

1.

2.

4. Correct!

Save to invest, unlock employee potential, drive true customer intimacy, transition to a borderless enterprise

Transform, accelerate, optimize, maximize

Finance, customer base, changing customer needs, future

Sorry, incorrect. 3. Transition, transform, evolve, survive

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Handling Objections

Greater reliance on the network increases the business effects of network performance and downtime.

Cisco Services play an important role in mitigating that risk and associated costs

By effectively promoting the value of Cisco Services as part of a whole solution, you can preempt many common objections

The more you establish the value of services upfront, the easier it will be to counter objections

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Proactively Promoting the Value of Cisco Services

Be sure to promote the benefits of Cisco Services:

Cisco offers the widest range of services-supported network technologies in the industry.

Cisco sets the gold standard for service and support, with numerous industry recognitions and awards in recognition of excellence in technology service and support.

Cisco consistently rates high in customer satisfaction, which has been proven to lead to greater customer loyalty, increased bookings, and longer-term customer relationships.

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Cisco helps you counter objections related to:

• The value of services

• Budget or cost

• Financing

• Renewing service agreements

• Selling multiyear agreements

• Selling consulting services

• Unified communications services

• Selling against competitors

Guidance for Countering Customer Objections

Your customer might still have concerns, especially during these challenging economic times.

This training module provides high-level information about countering objections in each of these categories

Be aware that there are no standard answers. The best way to be prepared to handle objections is to understand the customer’s goals and challenges and to customize responses to address the needs of each customer

More Info

Comprehensive Objections and Responses

View the comprehensive services guide on this topic available through the Cisco Services Accelerate Program.

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Objections Related to the Value of Services

When a customer has objections related to the value of services, either the customer has a fundamental misunderstanding about the value of the service and the benefits to the business, or it is simply a stalling tactic.

Useful strategies for countering these kinds of objections include:

Conveying the full range of benefits that the services offer

Promoting the value of software updates

Justifying the initial services investment as far less expensive than time and materials support or network downtime

Tying networking services to the success of the business

More Info

The following are common objections that your customers might have:

• Why do I need service? Isn’t the warranty enough?

• I have in-house technicians who can handle all of my network issues and needs.

• I don’t think that updating or upgrading operating system software is necessary.

• I don’t think I need the hardware replacement option. It is expensive, and I do not see the point.

• I do not see the value or benefit of supporting or paying extra for software applications support.

• I have service coverage for my core network, but it is too much for my branch locations.

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Objections Related to Budget or Cost

Making the right funding decisions might be a matter of survival for your customer. Useful strategies for countering these kinds of objections include:

Acknowledging your customer’s concerns

Determining whether the issue is that funding is available but allocated toward other projects or a fundamental cash flow issue

Helping your customer build a case for allocating funds from other projects

Providing your customer with alternative funding options such as multiyear agreements and financing that can help them address a cash flow issue

More Info


• There is no budget for service.

• I don’t need service. Keeping an inventory of spares is more cost effective.

• I can pay for time and materials if I need support from the Cisco TAC.

• I do not have a budget for both the networking solution and the services.

• I need services, but yours are too expensive and give me more than I think I need.

• We’re a small company, and services would break our budget.

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Objections Related to Financing

Financing can greatly improve a customer's cash flow and expense management capabilities—it can even enable them to acquire a larger or more robust solution than they think they can afford.


Promoting the affordability that financing can provide

Emphasizing the Cisco Capital strength and breadth of offerings

More Info


• We prefer to pay outright for our technology acquisitions and have no need to finance.

• We have a purchase-only policy.

• Financing is too expensive.

• Financing a service agreement seems complicated.

• I am worried that the technology will date too quickly.

• We keep our assets for a long time.

• We’ll just get a low-cost loan.

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Objections Related to Renewing Service Agreements

When a customer has objections related to renewals might mean your customer is not fully aware of just how much they have benefited from their services agreement.


Showing your customers how much they have used their service contracts

Quantifying the value that they have received

Emphasizing that the cost of network downtime and/or time and materials expenses will likely exceed the cost of the renewal

Offering multiyear or financing solutions to address cost or cash flow concerns

More Info


• Why do I need to renew my service contract? I have not used it this year.

• I know the technology now. Why should I pay for another year? My team can look after it.

• I have not used phone support (for Cisco SMARTnet Service).

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Objections Related to Selling Multiyear Agreements

The biggest challenge in overcoming objections related to multiyear agreements is overcoming the larger upfront cost.


Showing how financing a multiyear service can enable customers to lock in prices, obtain additional discounts, and spread out the cost over the life of the contract

Reinforcing the benefits of services and improved return on investment

Helping them decide whether to purchase the multiyear agreement by prepaying or by financing

More Info


• I did not budget for a multiyear agreement. I only budgeted for a one-year service agreement.

• I do not want to make a long-term commitment until I know we will get value out of a service agreement.

• I cannot make an expense commitment beyond the current fiscal year because I do not know what my budget will be after this year (whether I will have budget in the future).

• Buying a multiyear service agreement seems like it costs more in the short term.

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Objections Related to Selling Consulting Services

Customers might have objections about the additional cost of consulting services and the value that these additional services provide.


Showing that strategic thinking and planning are not luxuries, but essential steps in smart business decision making and preparing for the future

Emphasizing that lack of planning leads to poor performance and unexpected costs

Promoting the value of balancing short-term needs with long-term plans

More Info


• I do not need initial assessments of the network, a comprehensive architecture, or ongoing optimization activities.

• Why should I invest in consulting services when I already get a free assessment of my business needs from my salesperson?

• Thinking long term is a luxury. I have to focus on my current business and networking needs.

• I do not need a long-term plan. I just want to address a specific business issue.

• I do not have the time or resources to develop and maintain a strategic technology plan.

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Objections Related to Unified Communications Services

Customers might challenge the need for Unified Communications services because they believe that their unified communications solutions are not mission critical.


Emphasizing the unified communications solutions are mission critical

Promoting the value of services in terms of reducing total cost of ownership

Pointing out the connection between services and enabling the collaboration solutions that are important to business survival

More Info


• I do not need a service contract. Instead, if a phone breaks, I will maintain an inventory of spare parts in the event that I need to replace a component of my unified communications solution. Or I can always order spare parts on eBay.

• I did not buy service on my network because it was not mission critical. Why do I need services for my unified communications solution?

• I don’t see the value in Cisco Unified Communications monitoring and periodic assessments.

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Objections Related to Selling Against Competitors

Your customers might offer objections that have been deliberately planted by your competitors. Guide your customers toward a discussion about value and away from price.


Clarifying the customer’s concern; make sure you are engaging in an accurate comparison of the competing offerings

Evaluating competitors claims and accurately communicating the truth about the Cisco warranty and service offerings

Building a case for the value of services to the customer’s business

More Info


• Sure, Cisco switches have a good reputation. But I’m not willing to pay a premium for service when a competitor gives me much of the same for free.

• A competitor gives me advance hardware replacement as part of its warranty. Why should I pay Cisco for the same thing?

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Changing the Conversation

Turn conversations away from price and focus on the value of Cisco Services.

Help your customers protect their network and extract the most value with Cisco Services.

In an economic downturn, there are some very compelling reasons for Cisco Services.

In a tough economy, customers want to reduce capital and operating budgets.

Cisco Smart Services for Small and Medium Business can help customers maximize operational efficiency, control operational expenses, and extend the life of the network assets.

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Tactics for Generating Service Opportunities

Attach services at point of sale, sell services on uncovered equipment, and sell renewals and multiyear agreements at every opportunity

Discuss renewal opportunities with your customers to insulate against the economic downturn and provide an ongoing annuity revenue stream

Talk to your customers about their older equipment and build a plan for refreshing their network assets

Offer financing solutions through Cisco Capital to help fund technology investments

Change the conversation by focusing on the five business imperatives

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Resources to Build Your Services Practice

Cisco Services Accelerate Program

Provides training and incentives to help Cisco partners sell Cisco Services effectively to small and medium businesses.

Navigate to Accelerate

Cisco’s plan and commitment to helping you navigate the current economic climate while preparing you to accelerate during the upturn.

Cisco E-Consulting for Partners

Measures and assesses sales and delivery capabilities against leading practices, provides customized recommendations to address gaps.

SMB Partner Practice Builder

Offers a consistent and repeatable process that enhances productivity by helping you follow a faster path to profitability and repeat business.

Steps to SuccessA business-building platform that provides a step-by-step engagement model to grow your capabilities for selling, delivering, and supporting Cisco Advanced Technology business solutions.

Cisco CapitalLearn about special offers that might be available for unified communications solutions, small and medium business solutions, and services financing.

Cisco has brought together a collection of tools and resources to help you build or expand your services practice or learn more about how to position and sell Cisco Services.

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Guidance for Owners/Managers Guidance for Sales Representatives

• Take advantage of the Cisco Navigate to Accelerate recommendations.

• Make use of the strategies in the Cisco Services Stimulus Package to help your services practice survive the economic challenges and prepare for the upturn.

• Use Cisco resources for partners to help you build or expand your service practice.

• Encourage your sales teams to participate in the Cisco Services Accelerate Program.

• Become familiar with the five business imperatives and prepare to guide your customers in an exploration of how these strategies can help them survive and thrive.

• Conduct a quarterly business review with your customers.

• Review the appendixes in the services guide that covers this topic in detail:

• Appendix A: Comprehensive overview of customer objections and responses

• Appendix B: Information about time and materials coverage.

• Appendix C: Sample customer waiver letter

Preparing for the Upturn

Cisco provides guidance for owners/managers and sales representatives to help prepare for the upturn.

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Knowledge Check

Click on the correct choice.

True or False: The more you establish the value of services upfront, the easier it will be to counter objections.

Click the Next button to continue.

True

False

Good choice. This statement is true.

Sorry, this statement is true.

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Important Links

Cisco Services Accelerate Program www.cisco.com/go/accelerate

Navigate to Accelerate www.cisco.com/web/partners/pr46/other_nav.html

Navigate to Accelerate Starter Kit www.cisco.com/web/partners/pr46/nav_starter_kit.html

Cisco Services Stimulus Packagewww.cisco.com/web/partners/downloads/765/download/n2a/n2a_services_stimulus_package.pdf

Cisco Services Community for Partnerswww.myciscocommunity.com/community/partner/

New Ways to Thrive www.cisco.com/web/partners/market/five_to_thrive.html

Cisco Services for Small and Medium Businesswww.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/ps6888/serv_category_home.html

Services for Partners www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/index.html

Cisco Partner Central www.cisco.com/web/partners/index.html

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Remember to View the Comprehensive Services Guide

If you have questions about how to handle specific objections, be sure to review the comprehensive services guide on this topic.

This training module is designed to complement the more comprehensive services guide on this topic.

Visit the Cisco Services Accelerate Program to access the complete set of training resources that provide detailed guidance for handling over 50 common customer objections.

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Congratulations, you have completed the Handling Objections and Preparing for the Upturn: Selling Cisco Services in Turbulent Economic Times learning module.

At this point you have the option of reviewing this module or taking the quiz.

You also have the option of taking the quiz now or at another time.

Cisco Services Accelerate ProgramFor more information about the Cisco Services Accelerate Program and to gain access to comprehensive training resources on this topic and other Cisco Services topics, visit www.cisco.com/go/accelerate.

Module Conclusion

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