Tip 4: Make it an easy sale.

Keeping a sales pitch simple is key. One way to do this is by not using inside lingo with the outside world, as the telecom industry is fraught with acronyms that a client might not be familiar with or understand, which can make a solution provider's message convoluted, Bullseye's Basa said.

Rob Rae, vice president of business development at Datto, Inc., a backup and disaster recovery provider based in Norwalk, Conn. said that the reason why its solutions – which it sells exclusively through the channel -- are sticky is because the provider keeps its message simple.

"Our job is to show you how to demonstrate disaster recovery to customers," Rae said. During meetings and conferences, Datto has even lit laptops on fire to demonstrate how disaster recovery works and how quickly a customer can be back up and running.

"I can show you in six seconds how I can keep you going," Rae said. "We make it a very simple message so that your end users understand the application."