Flipping the Script to Successfully Sell AV-as-a-Service

By Paul Metzheiser – Managing Partner, TAMCO

System integrators everywhere are making the shift to AV-as-a-service. The market is demanding it more than ever and integrators are discovering its importance to build valuable recurring monthly revenue for the business.

When integrators make the pivot to a service sales model and sell technology-as-a-service solutions, the way you approach your sale needs to be slightly different than the traditional transactional sale you’ve always known if you want to be successful. While you are still selling the same type of hardware, the manner in which it is offered is different and therefore the sales approach needs to be different.

AV-as-a-service is not a one-and-done sale. It is a true relationship an integrator enters into with a customer. You are making a promise to provide access to and use of hardware as well as your important maintenance and support services for a monthly subscription cost for an agreed term.

Therefore, the narrative you use when selling technology-as-a-service needs to be articulated differently than the traditional one-time sale. Simply put, you need to flip the script!

When positioning technology-as-a-service solutions there is a right and a wrong vernacular. Words matter. Certain terms can be the difference between clarity and confusion.

Below are two lists of words integrators should refrain from using and the words they need to use when explaining and selling AV-as-a-service successfully.

Words to Avoid When Selling AV-as-a-Service Solutions:

1. Lease
2. Rate factor
3. Ownership
4. Interest rate
5. Return on Investment
6. Amortization
7. Building Equity

Words You Should Use to Position & Solve With an AV-as-a-Service Offer:

1. Subscription
2. Service
3. Flexibility
4. Essential Use
5. Access
6. Usage
7. Obsolescence Protection
8. Control
9. Peace of Mind
10. Fully Managed
11. Fully Supported
12. Preservation of Capital

These small nuances can elevate you in the as-a-service space and help you improve your technology-as-a-service solution sales, creating stronger, stickier customer relationships and building your recurring monthly revenue streams. 

To learn more about AV-as-a-service download the TAMCO eBook: The System Integrators Playbook – How to Make The Pivot to a Service Sales Model & Build Monthly Recurring Revenue 

Learn about TAMCO here. For nearly 30 years, TAMCO has been solely dedicated to the technology space, partnering with system integrators to help them offer AV-as-a-service and build monthly recurring revenue.