Strong customer engagement is key for every technology service partner. In the latest episode of the High-Performance Partner Podcast, Dr. Joseph Sweeney chats with his guests about how they address the changing needs of their customers, position on value, earn trust and build lasting relationships.
Auckland Manager, Advantage NZ
Senior Business Analyst, Dynamics Square
Business Development Director, Blackbird IT
Commerical Director, Crayon, APAC
All guests agree that client engagement has evolved significantly in recent years. According to Steve Smith, clients no longer want a ‘black box’ solution but want to work with partners that understand their business, its unique challenges, and know how to align technology solutions to their growth objectives.
There was also general consensus that very few partners can be all things for all customers. Our guests discuss where partner-to-partner engagements help them to remain responsive to customer needs, and how the collaborative dynamic between service providers and customers changes with the use of low-code/no-code platforms.
Navigating cost-sensitivity and price-driven procurement practices is a common challenge for partners. Dr. Sweeney taps into the strategies that his guests use to shift gears in these scenarios. Jitender offers some great practical insight to why Dynamics Square invests in understanding the customers industry, business processes and market competitors, and how this supports value-focused customer conversations.
Customers have become more strategic and outcomes oriented when it comes to technology investments. Dr. Sweeney explores how this influences the ability of partners to win incremental growth through cross-selling and upselling sales motions.
Jitender, Ben, Steve and Joel share their thoughts on how to take a consultative approach to sales, why a focus on adding long-term, strategic value to customers leads to new opportunities, and how to avoid falling into the transactional hard-sell trap.
View the full podcast here or download and save the audio file to your mobile playlists.
If you missed the first episode, tune in here and don’t forget to subscribe for updates when each new episode drops!
Dr. Sweeney is a principal advisor and industry analyst at IBRS. He is a recognised thought leader in Future of Work, digital innovation, workforce transformation, and organisational change strategy. His fields of expertise include Microsoft, Google, AWS, VMware and Citrix.
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