Part of a Series: Helping Your Channel Sell Solutions (So They Can Sell More of Your Products…)

• What 3 Questions Indicate Whether You Need to Sell “Solutions”? (and when does selling “Product” work better?…) (Part 1)
• Do Your Product Business Units Lead to (Product) “Push” Marketing (and Missed Revenue)? (Part 2
• Today;’s Post – What 3 Questions Indicate Whether You Need to Sell “Solutions”? (and when does selling “Product” work better?…)  Part 3
• The Solution Blueprint: A Visual Tool for Connecting with Your Customers (and accelerating product revenue…) (Part 4)
• What are the Steps to Create Solution Messaging? (Part 5)

SOLUTION is a word that can make any IT marketer cringe.  Everyone knows the industry should sell “solutions”, but what does that really mean?  It has become something of a cliché. If you add the word “solution” to any product name, it magically transforms from a “product-push” message to a customer friendly “solution message” – yeah, right.

In today’s post I will talk about the types of solutions (yes, there are several types) and when each type of message should be used in the marketing and sales process.  In next week’s post, I will talk about how to define solutions messaging in a way that connects with customers and is easy for your sales team and channels to use – and that drives revenue for your products!

Why is it Critical to Get Solutions Definition “Right”?

There are two major reasons why it is critical for IT vendors to have strong solution definition and messaging:

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