High Impact Prospect Engagement

Mark Stuyt Partnerworks

Mark Stuyt
Over 25 years of professional sales experience
Microsoft
SAP, PeopleSoft

Principle Sales/Sales Leadership Practice

Business Transitions On-Premise to Cloud Sales Leadership/Sales Process Design

Microsoft Programs
Office 365 Business Transformation Workshops Office 365/Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Engagement (US/WW) Authored Microsoft Accelerated Selling Methodology

Our Focus.....

Changing Buyer Behavior

Setting Up for Success in the Cloud

Packaging & Delivery of Cloud Services

Marketing Cloud Services

Accelerate the Sales Cycle

High Impact Prospect Engagement

Accelerated Sales Process

Communications
Introduction E-mail Engagement Opening Voicemail 2nd/3rd E-mails Alignment E-mail

Before You Begin

What are the most compelling features or attributes of your solution set? What specific customer needs does your solution set satisfy? What does your organization offer that your competitors do not? Know the business issues of your target industry Know the business issues of the individual you are calling Treat gatekeepers with respect

E-mail Engagement

E-mail Engagement Structure

Less is more! Opening Line is critical! (interruption)
What is the hook? Why open it?

Why will the prospect respond?

Fear Greed Curiosity

Call to action

Ineffective Introduction E-mail

Subject Line: Your Acme Systems Contact Hi John, I am following up on your Microsoft Office 365 trial registration and would like to introduce myself as your primary contact for any questions or challenges you might have during your evaluation. Acme Systems is a gold certified Microsoft partner and a Microsoft Cloud Champion with over 20 years experience working with MS platform products. Please give me a call at your convenience at (XXX) XXX-XXXX to review your project requirements and timeline. Sincerely, XXX Sales Representative

Effective Introduction E-mail

Subject Line: Critical Microsoft Office 365 Trial Support Information Hi John, Thanks for expressing an interest in Microsoft Office 365! As Acme Systems Office 365 solution specialist Id like to speak with you to better understand your trial expectations and project objectives to determine how I can be of assistance. While every organization and project is unique, some of the benefits that many of our clients have realized are: Reduced IT costs/risk Improved anti-virus protection Business class e-mail I will be reaching out in the next 48 hours to share with you how Office 365 facilitated these benefits for many of our clients. Alternatively, please forward a day/time that works best for you. Sincerely, Office 365 Solution Specialist

Engagement Openings

Ineffective Opening
Good morning John, this is Peter Smith calling from Acme Systems, a gold certified Microsoft partner. I am following up on your Office 365 trial registration. Do you have some time to talk?

Effective Opening
Good morning John. This is Peter Smith calling from Acme Systems, following up on YOUR recent Office 365 trial request. Microsoft forwarded your contact information to us specifically because of our deep understanding of Professional Services Organizations. Do you have some time to share what led you to exploring a new e-mail system?

Effective Opening
Good morning John. This is Peter Smith calling from the Acme Systems on behalf of Microsoft, following up on your recent Office 365 information request. The purpose of my call today is to determine how I can be of assistance in support of your trial evaluation. Is now a good time to talk about what led you to explore a new e-mail system?

Voicemail Engagement

Voicemails
Tempo is too fast Always too long Sound bored, nervous, excited 92% of outbound call end in voicemail Senior executives seldom respond/reply Always preface a voicemail with an e-mail Less is more (20 seconds maximum)

Voicemails
Opening Line is critical!
Capture attention

Credentialing
How are you different?

Why will the prospect respond?

Greed (whats in it for them, what value do you bring?) Relevance

Call to action
I will call you! Do not rush through the phone number

Ineffective Voicemail
Hi John , this is Peter Smith calling from Acme Systems, a gold certified Microsoft cloud partner, regarding your Office 365 online trial. Im calling to better understand your functional requirements as well as your role in the project. My number is XXX-XXX-XXXX, please return my call at your earliest convenience.

Effective Voicemail
Good morning John, this is Peter Smith calling from Acme Systems on behalf of Microsoft. The purpose of my call is to better understand your initiative so that I can forward you the appropriate trial support guide. (Optional) I would also like to share with you how some of our Professional Services clients have leveraged Microsoft Office 365 to improve project profitability and accelerate the onboarding of new consultants. I can be reached at (XXX) XXX-XXX, again thats Peter Smith from Acme Systems at (XXX) XXX-XXXX.

Follow Up E-mail Rhythm

E-mail Rhythm
E-mail #1 Credentialing message (curiosity) E-mail #2 Value message (gain) E-mail #3 Closure message (fear of loss) 10 12 day cycle

E-mail #1 Credentialing Message

Subject: Connect with a Microsoft Office 365 Solution Specialist John, I am following up on my recent voicemail in support of your Microsoft Office 365 trial evaluation. My role as an Office 365 solution specialist is to ensure your trial experience is as meaningful, informative and efficient as possible. To that end, I would like to coordinate a time to provide some guidance that should accelerate your initial setup as well as direct you towards some PSO specific content (best practices, case studies, videos) to ensure you get the most out of your Microsoft Office 365 trial. I have also included links to two important sites that I believe you will find insightful. Your Office 365 home page Click Here Microsoft Deals and Offers Click Here If there is an ideal time to connect please provide me with a date/time that works best for you. All the best, Office 365 Solution Specialist

E-mail #2 Value Message

Subject: Compelling PSO Case Studies John, Further to my voicemail of this week, I look forward to speaking with you soon to discuss your Microsoft Office 365 trial expectations, project objectives and migration questions. Additionally, I would share some insights into how other companies have leveraged Office 365 to: Improve utilization through improved internal and external communications Reduce travel costs Accelerate estimate creation Please provide me with a date/time that works best for us to connect live. In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of our informative demo site and extensive library of case studies for insights into how other companies similar to yours have unlocked the value of Microsoft Office 365. All the Best,

E-mail #3 Closure Message

Subject: Last Chance to Discuss Your Microsoft Office 365 Trial... John, To ensure you are aware of all of the resources developed to support your Microsoft Office 365 trial experience I have attempted to reach out a few times to schedule a conversation. Unfortunately, the business challenges that compel many organizations to explore Microsoft Office 365 often get in the way of the trial evaluation process itself; which I suspect may be the case with your organization My experience is that most companies benefit from a short conversation with a Microsoft Office 365 solution specialist during their trial as there is often a lot to consider and evaluate in advance of making an informed decision. With that, I wanted to reach out one last time prior to closing your file. If you would prefer to stay engaged, please feel free to connect with me directly at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, or reply with a time that works with your schedule. All the best,

Alignment E-mails

Alignment E-mail
Primary Business Driver Bill,

Thank you again for taking the time to share your business objectives and e-mail project goals with me today. What I took away from our conversation is that the primary challenges driving your project are:

Current ISP mail does not provide adequate archiving Shared company files are hard to locate and manage It is difficult to quickly onboard new consultants IT support is becoming increasingly complex and expensive Not all consultant smart phones and tablets can access company data

Alignment E-mail
Desired Capabilities Based on these challenges, you suggested that the primary capabilities you are looking for are:

Hosted (cloud) e-mail service that can add/subtract users as required Easy to manage structured internal file sharing Web conferencing Ability to share project documents and view consultant schedules Internal and external instant messaging to multiple devices types

Alignment E-mail
Anticipated Impact You suggested that with these capabilities your organization would:

Improve compliance and reduce business risk Improve estimating accuracy by 5% Experience same day consultant onboarding Avoid a capital investment in server infrastructure Improve consultant productivity and utilization by 3% Lower IT costs by 3%

Alignment E-mail
Next Steps I look forward to working together over the next 3-4 weeks to determine how Microsoft Office 365 can address your project objectives. The next steps in this process are:

Facilitating a mutual discovery session with John Smith. Completing, returning and reviewing our migration assessment Reviewing your Microsoft Office 365 trial experience Mutually determining if your organization would benefit from a Microsoft Office 365 solution demonstration.

Please confirm my understanding of our conversation, or clarify/add to what I have captured above, at your convenience.

Best regards, Mark Stewart Microsoft Office 365 Solution Specialist

Summary
Less is more. Every communication should stimulate curiosity, benefits (greed) or risk reduction (fear). Always focus on prospect value Experiment with new approaches