Hello, VoIP Providers. How are the sales going on your Hosted PBX? I'll bet you are selling SIP Trunking -- at a savings on regular PRI pricing, right? Nice. Lower the revenue while fixed costs increase.

That SIP Trunk could be a foot in the door to Hosted PBX sales down the road, right? Maybe. If you can inter-op with their PBX. If you remember to follow up and stay in touch, so that you are around when the maintenance contract expires or the PBX hiccups. What's your follow-up routine look like? What's it look like when you churn sales team members?

A recent survey showed that "only 3% of prospects understood the sales presentation". It underlines my point that you need a relationship to sell something like Hosted PBX. Why? Because it is outside the box thinking. 

Remember the RBOC's couldn't sell Centrex, which is a close cousin. They could barely explain Centrex. "Prospects said the confusion convinced them that the products or services involved would be difficult to install and maintain." 

How do you overcome that?

With a Trusted Advisor. It's a solution sale to get the prospect to buy into the concept of Hosted PBX. Prospects have had outages - in email, the Internet, their cell phones. It creates FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) in the mind of the prospect. You are basically selling the invisible, which is difficult to do when you have been selling boxes or replacement services to your whole career.