5 Ways to Transition More Customers to The Cloud and Increase MRR

Are you and MSP aiming to expand your cloud offerings? As an MSP, you likely know the real challenge lies in effectively communicating the benefits of cloud to your customers and prospects!

However, the cloud can seem very complex, making it a tough sell. So, what do you do?

In this blog, I’m going to talk about 5 key ways to help your clients and prospects understand and embrace the cloud that will allow you to sell more and increase your recurring revenue. Let’s get started with number 1!

#1 Understand Your Client’s Needs

Whether you’re selling cloud, managed services, security, or any other service, you need to understand the specific needs and challenges of your client beforehand. What are their pain points? What business objectives are central to them?

Truly understanding client needs is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time! Make sure to plan out what your clients need today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

This is where your quarterly business reviews come in. If you aren’t already holding these, set them up with your clients! In these meetings, discuss how cloud can support their long-term goals and their growth plans. With your research, you can ensure that cloud is the right fit for that business, greatly increasing the chances of them being open to a migration.

#2 Educate Your Clients and Prospects

A lot of clients and prospects are reluctant to move to the cloud for the simple fact that they just don’t understand it. It’s your job to make them feel more comfortable!

The best way to sell cloud is to have the client or prospect decide for themselves from the education that you provide to them. This goes closely with #1: If they don’t need cloud but you’re trying to explain it to them and force it upon them, it isn’t going to work.

If your prospects are well-informed and understand the cloud at a fundamental level, they are more likely to see cloud as a positive. Remember, this information doesn’t need to be overly technical: it’s better if it isn’t!

Clients and prospects will naturally trust your MSP more when you continually provide high-quality education and information. Make sure to leverage your website, blogs, newsletters, and social media as different avenues for reaching more users who may need the cloud, but just don’t know it yet.

#3 Correctly Compare Cloud Benefits

Don’t compare the cloud to regular, every day on-premise hardware… you can’t! It’s like comparing apples to oranges. They may both host client data and applications, but the focus should be on the benefits the cloud can provide.

Here are some cloud comparisons we focused on that worked with our clients in the past:

1. Comparing cloud storage to renting a storage unit versus building the warehouse that those storage units were in.
2. Comparing plugging in a kitchen appliance and paying for that electricity versus building an entire power plant.

These really worked! Instead of your prospects having infrastructure in their office and having to pay physically for all of it, the cloud allows them to just pay for the usage of the things they need. It’s an appealing comparison that gets prospects thinking about the cloud in a different way.

#4 Speak Your Client’s Language

I’m sure you’ve heard the advice to avoid technical jargon: we even gave it earlier in this blog! This is especially true when discussing the cloud and all the acronyms and complex terms we use in the industry.

Being overly technical can really alienate your customers and prospects and create barriers to their understanding. Oftentimes, they’re already confused: using technical jargon that they can’t understand is only going to make them even more confused.

When educating clients and prospects about the cloud, speak in non-technical language and take the time to slow down and ensure for that they grasp a concept before moving on to the next.

Imagine that you’re explaining your recommendations to an elementary school class, but don’t talk down to them! Just take it down a notch and position the conversation differently than if you were  talking to a technician in your office. Y

Another good step is to encourage questions. Allowing prospects to bring their own questions to you and you answering with simple and straightforward answers is some of the best value you can provide!

#5 Sell the Right Value

When selling the cloud, it’s most impactful to highlight how the cloud solves problems that are unique to their business. When you are able to pinpoint your client’s needs, it is much easier to communicate these benefits!

For example, it’s crucial that data is accessible in the legal industry. If there is a disaster and lawyers can’t access their data, that’s a big problem!  

Targeting this specific pain point makes cloud much more appealing than if your MSP just parroted a laundry list of benefits. Make sure to show that your MSP is an expert in the industry you’re targeting, and you’ll see an increase in the interest of your prospects.

Time to Start Selling More Cloud!

Transitioning customers and prospects to the cloud requires patience, clear communication, and a focus on what their needs are. By following the 5 tips that I covered today, you’ll be better prepared to help your customers and prospects see the value of cloud.

We hope this helps you to build a stronger and better business partnership with your clients and prospects!

As always, I’m going to leave you with a quote today, this time from Franklin D Roosevelt, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”

Thank you for reading, and have a great rest of your day!