Creating "frictionless" cloud sales

One of the main benefits of cloud computing is that cloud computing enables organizations to simplify lengthy and cumbersome it hardware configuration processes. These enterprises seize the opportunity to start with small things, support hourly pricing and low risk initial configuration. A new generation of tech-products buyers, especially those familiar with cloud services, are coming with fresh expectations. They are used to smartphone apps and software as services (SaaS). They want to be able to access IT resources anytime, anywhere-and they want to be able to use IT resources at any time. They also hope that colleagues and customers will be able to use these resources flexibly and access them through the Internet and mobile devices.





"frictionless" Cloud Sales Model – in the procurement process, customers completely bypass the sales team-in such an atmosphere, rapid development, for first-time buyers to provide a "self service" ability. Because no sales reps are required, most customers get the service and do not increase the corresponding sales costs. Preferential prices (to eliminate the results of long-term contracts) and a frictionless sales environment, buyers can immediately make a decision without having to endure a few days, weeks or even months of sales process. It usually takes 6-12 to six months to sign a traditional software contract, and in the meantime, the service provider has no source of revenue, and in contrast, self-service clients can generate immediate revenue.





This does not mean that the sales team is no longer functioning. Once the enterprise begins to test the cloud workload, they try to determine how to take advantage of the entire organization's cloud environment more fully. This is where the account manager comes in. The Sales and project team plays an essential role in consulting customers, helping customers to fully use the cloud services, and directing customers to the use of automation tools and other tools to save customers more cost and time and, in the future, may help customers expand their size.




Three core functions of
non-friction sales





to master this frictionless cloud sales model, service providers should see if their sales processes meet the following three "avoidance"





· Avoid contracts-consumers of cloud services tend to buy what they need in the cloud. When the service provider eliminates all it configuration barriers, it reflects what the enterprise wants to achieve with a cloud-flexible resource management approach. In this case, clicking the mouse is better than calling.





· Avoid contracts-lengthy contracts lead to lengthy negotiations, all of which take months to complete. By relying on the contract process, you miss out on the key opportunities for companies to "try and buy first". So that the advantages of the product to stand out, if the product can meet customer demand, customers will continue to use products.





Avoid complications--in the pursuit of initial configuration, customers expect simplicity in cloud computing. As customers use cloud extensions, they need to provide help and expertise on migrations that need to be integrated and expanded. Maintaining the simplicity of the initial contract can eliminate the barriers that customers have just started, and subsequent contracts may occur at the account level.





-frictionless cloud sales can increase the revenue of service providers





has an example of what a frictionless sales strategy can achieve: a service provider offering software or services at a price of 7 cents per hour. For users, this price sounds cheap, but the price is doubled, seven cents per hour equivalent to about 50 dollars a month or about 600 dollars a year. In many cases, the buyer is a heavy consumer who can pay the above price to buy the system, but the combination of low risk and low price helps to bring higher benefits. 7 cents an hour without a purchase commitment, customers will not feel that because of the use of products, taking the company risks, so eliminate the inertia, and customers are willing to buy more products.





In addition, the frictionless sales process allows prices to remain unchanged throughout the year, as well as across the customer base, without any quarterly clearance sale activities, and therefore may increase revenue.





Although this hands-on approach to sales is likely to be a fundamental shift for many service providers, the fact is that in some ways companies benefit from it and it is worthwhile to adopt this sales strategy further. First, by eliminating the gap between the purchase date and the listing date, customers will get what they pay when the customer pays. Second, the price changes are immediate and they benefit, so if a service provider lowers the pricing, the pricing will take effect immediately – not the next contract period. Finally, no friction sales strategy, to achieve rapid decision-making, to avoid long-term contract predictive risk, and, more importantly, every time the customer wants to make changes, no longer need the sales team for customers to click the "Start" button.





Click on a button, you can buy software, in accordance with the services used by customers, using hourly billing method, simple and clear. For cloud services, the core value offerings provided by service providers should be simple and easy to use, and can bring significant value to the organization. When customers see the value of your service, complexity and scale will naturally evolve slowly. By creating a way for customers to make efficient use of their time and resources, customers then buy, adapt, expand, and grow the cloud services they need, saving customers time and saving valuable sales team resources. For cloud computing, these providers provide customers with the things customers want, and with the rapid development and increased competition, these providers will most likely succeed.