In addition to being able to position and articulate the value of technical support services to your customers, it is important to have a successful sales model or process that you can use as you are working with customers as well.

This module is going to provide you with an introduction to a sales model that is currently used by the Cisco account team to successfully sell service solutions to direct Cisco customers. This model is called the Value Selling Approach.

The Value Selling Approach is an eight-step, ongoing process that emphasizes the value, positive impact, and return on investment that technical support services can have on your customer’s organization. Using the Value Selling Approach, you will be able to proactively work with your customers to:

		Identify the customer’s business and network strategic objectives.
		Identify the challenges/pain points the customer is experiencing in reaching those objectives.
		Develop a service plan using Cisco service programs and key service offerings within your own partner programs to address the customer’s pain points.
		Identify the return on investment (ROI) the customer will experience with a technical support services solution using a combination of the customer’s data and a Cisco-developed ROI application.
		Socialize the value of services within their entire organization.
		Remind them of the positive impact their technical support service offerings are having on their organizations at established review times scheduled throughout the year.

The next few sections within this module are going to discuss the eight primary steps within the Value Selling Approach. These steps include:

1.		Identify customer business and network objectives.
2.		Ask questions to uncover customer business and network pain points.
3.		Create a service vision with the customer.
4.		Map service offerings to fulfill the vision.
5.		Quantify the service benefits into financial terms.
6.		Communicate the value of service throughout the customer’s entire organization.
7.		Leverage tools and extended team members to help close the deal.
8.		Establish regular communications to keep your customers aware of the value of service in their organization.