By Intronis Guest Blog 2

One of the biggest obstacles MSPs face when selling data protection is the simple fact that some clients just don’t understand the need for business-grade cloud backup and data protection services. They might get the general need for backup, but miss the value in having a managed BDR service.  As an MSP it’s an easy business case to make and one you might actually have a little fun with.

For example, have you ever seen an Allstate Mayhem commercial?  These entertaining, yet effective commercials take every day, extreme and exhausting scenarios and push the limits to demonstrate the need for insurance you can rely on.  Each commercial ends with a car crash, fire, explosion, or some other calamity or well-known chaos that is always followed by Allstate’s famous tagline: “Mayhem is everywhere, so get an Allstate agent. Are you in good hands?” The same case, and question, can be used for positioning your IT services.

Another important takeaway in each commercial that VARs and MSPs can adopt is the painful truth that “cut-rate” offerings may not reimburse for “mayhem” claims. When it comes to BDR services, it’s not just about backing up. It’s about time to recovery and having a partner you can rely on to get it done quickly, and with the efficiency and measure needed in business. 

A More Light-Hearted Approach to Discussing Difficult Situations

Fires, tornadoes, floods and other disasters are very serious matters, but sometimes presenting these real-world threats directly can be overwhelming/off-putting to clients. That’s one reason why we introduced the Intronis Data Loss Gremlins. Humor has the potential to engage prospects and clients and to make them feel good about using a product/service as opposed to feeling bad for not using it. Allstate’s use of humor – and repetition – once again confirms the effectiveness of this approach. Playing one of these ads at the beginning of a sales presentation could be a great icebreaker to discussing the business need for not just cloud backup and recovery, but complete data protection. 

Another component that makes the Allstate commercials effective selling tools is that they’re easy for the audience to understand. You can relate to them – even in the most extreme circumstances. To draw a parallel to BDR, it’s critical that your message, and examples, speak to your audience.  Do your homework and see where the likely pain points are coming from, or will come from in the future. That’s where you place your bets and focus your discussion.

Of course you can always point to industry stats, but keep in mind that stats alone don’t convey business challenges the same way a real world example does. Real-world examples of companies that took a “cut-rate” approach to protecting their data (e.g. manual tape backups or no cloud backup) and suffered specific consequences can go a long way – especially if the example is of comparable size and/or vertical market as the prospect you’re talking to.

Although not all of the scenarios in the Allstate commercials apply directly to data protection – the underlying takeaway is one we can all borrow. Are you in good hands?  What about your customers?   The Data Loss Gremlins are masters of mayhem and as a trusted IT business advisor; it’s up to you to protect your clients.

Neal Bradbury is VP of Channel Development and a co-founder at cloud-based backup and disaster recovery provider Intronis. Working closely with the company’s MSP partner community and alliance partners, he is responsible for generating greater business value for the company’s MSP partner community and alliance partners.