When managed service providers (MSPs) talk to clients about their security or technology needs, the clients’ employees are a vital part of any proposed solution. Deploying technology without the proper user training and education can lead to underutilization, lower customer satisfaction, and ultimately business churn. Besides investing in customer training, MSPs should consider their internal training investments for their sales engineers (SEs). These frontline employees are critical in winning business, supporting customers, and establishing your MSP as a trusted advisor across various technology services. MSPs should provide their SEs with the tools, training, and resources to improve their skills and customer experience.
Don’t reinvent the wheel: Leverage vendor partnerships
Given the scope of tools and services most MSPs offer and how rapidly technology is evolving, keeping SEs up to date can be a tall order. Thankfully, MSP vendor partners and distributors can help.
Taking advantage of vendor education resources is even more critical now that many MSPs are considering vendor consolidation as they work to alleviate strain on their technical resources. SEs must be familiar with the entire vendor technology stack to grow revenue. As the industry continues to shift toward as-a-service models and product-led growth, it is also important for MSPs, value-added resellers (VARs), and vendors to work together to address the entire customer lifecycle management process.
For example, Barracuda Networks’ Partner Success Program was introduced in 2023 to provide resources, incentives, and other support to its channel partner network. Barracuda enhanced its program this year with the Barracuda Partner Sales Engineering Community for VARs, MSPs, distributors, and systems integrators.
The new community provides access to scanning tools, product demos, sandboxes, and collateral to help SEs improve their technical expertise and offer customers better cybersecurity insights and support. Members earn rewards for completing program activities and Barracuda provides member badges and course certifications for sales engineers that expand their knowledge of Barracuda products and services.
The benefits of a properly trained SE team
These types of programs are essential to MSPs for several reasons. First, sales engineers are critical to designing and building customer solutions. The more knowledgeable and comfortable they are with the products and the more they believe in them, the more success they’ll have in selling them.
Training explicitly focused on sales engineers (as opposed to more generalized education for the entire team) enables the SEs to build better solutions for customers because they thoroughly understand the full suite of products. Sales engineers may uncover additional opportunities with clients by recognizing a good fit with a vendor module or service. This capability allows them to identify solutions that might have previously gone unnoticed. This depth and breadth of knowledge can be the difference between closing a sale or losing it.
SE training can also provide new tools that help sell these systems. The Barracuda program, for example, provides scanning tools, sandboxes, and demos for sales engineers to use with clients and prospects. The program also equips SEs with specific product battle cards inclusive of “elevator pitches,” case studies, and other resources. These make sales presentations more compelling to customers.
Don’t assume new SEs know all the basics
Education shouldn’t stop at product training; SEs should also receive industry-specific training. They need to stay informed about current technology trends, industry-specific regulatory requirements, security threats, and the structure of client organizations within those industries.
Sales and presentation training is another must-have for SEs. As younger workers enter the industry, many companies are surprised at the lack of basic skills some new employees exhibit — from phone etiquette and presentation delivery to appropriate dress for an in-person client meeting. Don’t take anything for granted.
Higher employee retention and morale are two additional long-term benefits MSPs receive from SE training. If SEs see that the company is willing to invest in them through technical certifications, vendor training, and professional development, they are more likely to stick with the MSP. A well-trained and well-rounded group of professional SEs can benefit the entire company through improved customer service and the creation of innovative client solutions.
This article was originally published at Barracuda Blog.
Photo: ImageFlow / Shutterstock
