Best Sales

Sales, Meet Marketing: The Channel's Shift Brings The Functions Closer Together

As more channel partners shift from transactional to service provider models – fed in large part by the rise of the cloud – their approach to sales must shift as well.

And in the quest for more recurring revenue, it's becoming increasingly important to not only land new customers, but to manage the relationships with existing customers.

Talk Back On LinkedIn: How Does Business Make IT Spend Decisions?

Most IT purchasing decisions within business either originate outside the corporate IT organization or are fully executed outside IT. Does that thrust you squarely in the middle of a conflict? That's just one of three new posts this week on IT Best Of Breed's LinkedIn page, and we invite you to weigh in.

Where do IT procurement decisions come from?

Fortinet, HP Inc., Sungard Availability Services Move to Adopt Recurring Revenue Model. Will Partners Keep Up?

Fortinet, HP Inc. and Sungard Availability Services have embraced consumption-based or as-a-service sales, but the IT channel has often struggled with supporting an annuity business model.

Forrester Analyst: Customer Focus Spins Tech Buying Decisions In Business

The development and rise of new technologies, coupled with a business transformation that has become "obsessed" with focusing on customers, is changing how solution providers and tech vendors talk with their customers, a Forrester analyst told solution providers Tuesday.

"It's not a technology conversation anymore; it's a business conversation," Bobby Cameron said during a 45-minute presentation at the Best of Breed Conference in Atlanta, sponsored by The Channel Company, the parent of IT Best Of Breed.

Want To Sell IoT? Make Sure You Have These 5 Skills

http://i.crn.com/images/training400.jpg

(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com Oct. 20.)

'Must Have' Skills To Sell IoT Solutions

The Internet of Things is more than merely connecting devices. It requires solution providers to build up specialized expertise, some of which might be outside their comfort zones, said several executives from IoT vendors participating in a CRN IoT Roundtable.

MSP Opportunity: Reduce Clients' Software 'Waste'

U.S. Software Waste Estimate? $28 Billion

Managed service providers looking to help their clients rein in costs might want to look at how much of their software lies unused, but still being paid for.

Apparently, there are billions of dollars in software "waste" spread across U.S. businesses, according to a report by London-based software lifecycle management vendor 1E.

Pages