Selling Cisco Services Against
the Competition
Positioning Cisco Services in the Security, Wireless,
and Switching Technology Segments
Welcome to the Selling Cisco Services Against the Competition learning
module.
This learning module is part of the Cisco Services Accelerate Program, an
ongoing Cisco effort designed to help resellers accelerate their service
practice profitability.
The Accelerate Program includes:
 Training resources
 Sales tools
 Incentives
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
More Info
Page 1 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Module Overview
The module focuses on helping you to sell
Cisco Services against the competition in the
security, wireless, and switching technology
segments. This training module provides:
 Information about the competitive
landscape
 An overview of customer buyer
profiles
 Strategies for guiding the sales
conversation toward value and away
from price
 Guidance for addressing competitive
issues professionally
It should take you about fifteen minutes to complete this module and the unscored
knowledge checks. At the conclusion of this module you will be directed to a quiz to
test your knowledge and earn points to increase your eligibility to win prizes.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 2 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
The Competitive Landscape
In these challenging and dynamic times,
competitive pressure is mounting. The most
successful salespeople have a competitive
strategy. They:
 Understand customer business
challenges
 Offer a complete solution to solve those
challenges
The competitors you
might face will vary
depending on
region, technology,
and customer type.
 Position the uniqueness of the overall
solution
 Preempt customer objections
 Emphasize value
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 3 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Market Players
Competitors that you might see in each technology segment are listed
below. This list of competitors is illustrative, not exhaustive.
Small Business
Medium Business
Security





Check Point
Cisco
SonicWALL
Tipping Point
WatchGuard Technologies





3Com
Check Point
Cisco
Juniper Networks
Avaya/Nortel
Wireless





Aruba Networks
Cisco
D-Link
Meru Networks
NETGEAR




3Com
 HP ProCurve
Alcatel-Lucent  Meru Networks
Aruba Networks  Avaya/Nortel
Cisco





3Com
Alcatel-Lucent
Cisco
Juniper Networks
Avaya/Nortel
Switching
 Cisco
 D-Link
 HP ProCurve
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 4 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Variety in Buyer Behavior
 One of the main reasons for the diversity of
the competitive field is that small and
medium business customers vary greatly
 In the small and medium business space,
you might find anything ranging from small
offices with just a handful of employees, all
the way up to medium-sized organizations
with several hundreds of employees, or
branch offices of large organizations
 The customers in this space fall into several
different kinds of buyer profiles that are
independent of their size or industry
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Understanding the
competitive field and
what it means to your
sales approach requires
that you understand your
buyers and the way they
think about technology,
how it supports their
business, and partner
relationships.
Page 5 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Customer Profiles In The Small And Medium Business
Segment
Small and medium business customers and their buying behavior vary
greatly. Cisco has identified three primary types of buying behavior:
Elite Buyers
• Sophisticated, depend on
the availability of their
network for business
success
• Think like a larger
enterprise
• Represent just 10 percent
of all the market, but over
30 percent of the
networking spend
Open-to-Guidance
Buyers
• Interested in improving
their business, but are
not sure where to start
• Represent 40 percent of
the market and over 60
percent of the networking
spend
• Represent an important
growth opportunity
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Basic Buyers
• At the low end of market,
less technology-intensive
needs, purchase through
retail or online
• Represent 50 percent of
the market and less than
5 percent of the
networking spend
Page 6 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Profiles Mapped to Services and Functionality
 Each buyer profile has a
different perspective and
approach to buying
technology
 It is important to determine
your buyer’s profile and then
propose the appropriate
service offering from the
Cisco Smart Service for
Small and Medium Business
portfolio to address their
needs
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 7 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Cisco Smart Services for Small and Medium Business
Cisco Smart Services for Small and Medium Business are a portfolio of
services for small and medium business customers. This portfolio provides
a range of options from resale to jointly delivered services.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 8 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Cisco Smart Care Service
Target customer:
Cisco Smart Care Service is a comprehensive
• Businesses with 50–600 network users and 1 to 105 devices
Cisco Smart Care
networkwide service that combines technical
• Network is critical to business
Service
support with proactive monitoring, assessments,
• Limited IT expertise, wants network-level coverage
and remote repairs to help keep networks secure
Features
and running optimally.
• Proactive network-wide monitoring, assessments, and
notifications
 This offering
is sold exclusively as a
• Advance
hardware
Collaborative
Service
andreplacement:
customersnext
canbusiness day
(NBD)/same day ship, 4-hour
only acquire this collaborative service
• Software application updates
through a Cisco Certified partner.
• Partner access to Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC)
24 hours
a day,
7 days
a week for
 This services
offers
you
a platform
• Cisco.com
knowledge
base
and Smart
building
a competitive
set of
services
andCare portal
• Operating
systemstream.
software updates and upgrades
for creating
an annuity
For more information,
visit the Cisco Smart Care Service website.
More Info
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 9 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Cisco SMARTnet Service
Target Customer
Cisco SMARTnet Service is an award-winning
• Any size business, any number of Cisco devices
technical support service that offers direct,
Cisco SMARTnet
• Network is critical to mission critical
Service
anytime access to Cisco engineers and
• Skilled IT staff who require direct access to Cisco engineers and
extensive technical
resources.
want flexible
device-level coverage for all network devices
Cisco Features
SMARTnet Service delivers
• Advance hardware replacement: NBD/same day ship, 2-hour, 4-
 Rapid hour
issue
resolution
and/or
onsite parts replacement and installation
• Direct
customer access coverage
to Cisco TAC 24 hours a day, 7 days a
 Flexible
device-by-device
week
• Cisco.com
knowledge
and improve
tools
 Premium
service
optionsbase
to help
• Operating
system software updates and upgrades
operational
efficiency
• Proactive diagnostics and real-time alerts on select devices with
Smart Call Home
For more information,
visit the Cisco SMARTnet Service website.
More Info
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 10 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Cisco Smart Foundation Service
Target
Customer
The Cisco
Smart
Foundation Service:
Cisco Smart
Foundation
• Businesses with data-only networks, SMB-class products,
and
 Is an entry-level
technical
support
service
fewer than 250 network users (~50 or fewer network devices)
Service*
• Network
is important,
not mission critical to business
 Provides
the support
thatbutsmall
• Needs need
responsive
support
with
device-level coverage that meets
businesses
to help
them
maintain
budget requirements
network reliability and minimize
Features
disruption to business
• Advance hardware replacement: NBD/same day ship
• Cisco SMB TAC call back service (SMB TAC engineer responds to
service requests within one business day)
• Cisco.com SMB knowledge base
• Online network troubleshooting tools designed for SMBs
• Operating system software updates for bug fixes
For more information,
visit the Cisco Smart Foundation Service website.
*Cisco Smart Foundation Service was
previously called SMB Support Assistant
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
More Info
Page 11 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Knowledge Check
The three types of buyer profiles in the small and medium business
segment are:
1.
Foundation, growth, and optimized
Sorry, incorrect.
2.
Select, premier, and gold
Sorry, incorrect.
3.
Elite, open to guidance, and basic
Correct!
4.
Innovator, early majority, and laggard
Sorry, incorrect.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 12 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Establishing Value in the Mind of the Customer
Ask questions to help establish value:
 How do you use the network in your
business, and how long do you expect your
network investment to last?
 Does it enable new services for you as well
as revenue-producing applications?
 Is it agile, resilient, and robust enough to
keep up with business demands and future
growth?
Cisco Services play
an important role in
mitigating that risk
and associated
costs.
 Do you have the right expertise at your
disposal to maintain the network properly
and help it evolve to meet future demands?
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 13 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
The Benefits of Cisco Services
 A whole Cisco solution can include best-inclass products, industry-leading support, and
comprehensive financing solutions
 Cisco offers the widest range of servicessupported network technologies in the
industry
 Cisco sets the gold standard for service and
support, with numerous industry recognitions
and awards in recognition of excellence in
technology service and support
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cisco consistently
rates high in customer
satisfaction, which has
been proven to lead to
greater customer
loyalty, increased
bookings, and longerterm customer
relationships.
Page 14 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Cisco Technical Services:
Industry-Leading Support Capabilities
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 15 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Protecting A Customer’s Network Investment
The best way to protect a customer’s network
investment is with a Cisco Technical Services
contract.
 Highly trained engineers help resolve issues
rapidly to keep network up and running
 Sophisticated call routing system prioritizes
and sends service calls to the right technical
expert, minimizing time to resolution
 Multiple options for delivery of replacement
parts
 Extensive online tools and knowledge base
help avoid need to open a case
 Operating system support can enhance and
extend life of Cisco devices
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 16 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Positioning Cisco Smart Services for Small and
Medium Business
 Elite customers who have an enterprise-like
perspective will see the value of a more
robust solution such as the Cisco SMARTnet
Service
 Customers that are open to guidance might
find that Cisco SMARTnet Service provides
the type of support that they require
 For basic customer buyer profiles, the Cisco
Smart Foundation Service might be an
appealing alternative to the services that are
offered with retail or online products
For both elite and open-to-guidance customers, partners who are willing to invest in
building a unique service offering based on the Cisco Smart Care Service can offer
customized solutions designed to meet the specific needs of this segment.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 17 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Cisco Services Small and Medium Business Buyer
Profiles
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 18 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
The Sales Discussion
 Address competitive issues at the beginning
of the discussion, don’t wait until your
customer or competitor brings it up
 Consultative selling can be an effective tool
to win against your competition
 Steer customers away from price
discussions by emphasizing the breadth,
depth, and quality of Cisco Services offerings
 Ask your customer important questions to
get them thinking critically about the
competition
Address competitive issues at the beginning of the discussion; don’t wait until it comes up.
This is your opportunity to influence how you and your competitors are perceived.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 19 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Positioning Cisco Against the Competition
 The most successful sales approach
ultimately involves
• understanding the customer’s
requirements
• making sure that you are proposing
the strongest Cisco Services offering to
meet those requirements and
• clearly communicating the value that
Cisco offers
•understanding the competition, their
approach and how their offerings truly
compare.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 20 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
HP/3Com
HP ProCurve is often seen as a competitor in
situations where the customer:
The Truth about the
Cisco Warranty
 Can tolerate a reasonable degree of network
downtime or degradation
 Sees no value in leading-edge networking and
refuses to pay for it
HP Sales people position the Cisco warranty as
being shorter than the ProCurve Warranty with no
cover on software updates.
Customers feel that the ProCurve offering consists
of products and services that deliver the simple
capabilities they need, at a low cost, and that the
lifetime warranty is enough for their needs
• Cisco software updates
are available on
Cisco.com to guest
users at no charge
• The Cisco warranty
duration for Cisco
Catalyst 2900 and 3500
Series Switches is a
limited lifetime warranty
HP might also offer ProCurve Care Packs service
offerings to provide support beyond the warranty.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 21 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Strategies for Selling Cisco Services Against ProCurve
 Offer Cisco Smart Foundation service to
customers with the basic buyer profile
Cisco Smart Foundation provides an affordable
support service for customers whose networks
are important, but network support is not
mission critical
 Offering this service will create an even playing
field with the HP ProCurve lifetime warranty at a
reasonable cost and provide more
comprehensive support than the ProCurve
warranty alone
 Smartnet Service is a great fit for coverage of
core and data center solutions and provides a
compelling offer over the HP ProCurve’s Care
Packs in service delivery capabilities
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Propose Cisco Smart
Foundation to create
parity between Cisco and
the HP ProCurve
warranty.
Offer a multiyear Cisco
Smart Foundation
Service agreement to
create an even more
attractive offer with as
much as a 40 percent
discount for a five-year
contract.
Page 22 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Juniper Networks
 All of Junipers technical support services fall
into one of two broad categories - offerings that
the company sells and delivers directly through
its own captive sales force, and others it sells
and delivers indirectly through its channel
partners
• Juniper has been seen to package services with
products in deals of 3 or more years making
pricing variable
• The vendor tends to choose its deals carefully
pouring the bulk of its limited sales energies into
the very largest opportunities
• Juniper routinely claims to provide technical
services for free but disputing this claim,
published company data shows Juniper’s
services revenue to be growing steadily as the
company’s gross margin for support remains
relatively constant at 50%.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Juniper’s discounts for
both hardware and TS
services often range
between 50-80% where
TS services typically
account for 7-10% of
hardware net price
over a three-year
contract
Page 23 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Strategies for Selling Cisco Services Against Juniper
• The J-Care ‘Essential’ portfolio is Juniper’s suite
of conventional, reactive technical services
equating roughly to Cisco’s SMARTnet and SP
Base. By far the majority of customer TS
engagements begin and end with J-Care
Essential
• J-Care ‘Essential’ is enhanced by integrating
with its Advanced Insight Solution – a collection
of nested technical services, each more
extensive than its predecessor. These are JCare ‘Efficiency’, ‘Continuity’ and ‘Agility’
comparable with Cisco’s High Touch Services.
• Juniper’s certification program covers only 3
levels each for hardware and software with 9
education centers and 7 training centers – focus
on Cisco’s prestigious certifications program as
a major source of value
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Juniper’s number of
customer-facing
technicians world-wide
is less than half that of
Cisco therefore limiting
their ability to provide the
level of technical support
service which Cisco
provides.
Page 24 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Huawei Technologies
 Huawei’s suite of technical support services consists
of multiple categories of hardware and software
maintenance activities /elements that differ according
to the intended region of delivery. Outside China
constituent categories include Technical Support
Service ,Software Updates Service and Spare Parts
Support. Inside China, Value-Added Service is added
to this set.
 Huawei are unlike any other competitor. Relatively
low labor costs comparative to the west enable
Huawei to draw from its engineers in China and
temporarily reassign them in vast numbers to make
sure of responsiveness.
Huawei does not
differentiate between
product and services,
rather they regard
services as being
central to achieving
superior levels of
customer satisfaction,
to gaining competitive
advantage and to
securing the
company’s own longterm success.
 Outside of China Huawei do not publish a price list
but either sell their products and solutions as one
price.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 25 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Strategies for Selling Cisco Services Against Huawei
 Remind customers and prospects of the
difference between quantity and quality. A large
number of onsite technicians can hinder, as well
as help, service.
 A redeployed workforce cannot guarantee that
personnel assigned to a support case have the
appropriate expertise
 Processes and infrastructure are comparatively
less solid with this vendor, making their ability to
track and rectify issues more complex.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Never compete with
Huawei on price and
never assume a lost
contract is a lost
account. When a vendor
is over eager to please
the inclination is to
overpromise and under
deliver.
Page 26 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Avaya/Nortel
• Starting with privatization in 2007 and the Nortel
Enterprise acquisition in 2009, Avaya has been
under-going tremendous change which is
creating both opportunity and disruption for their
customers, partners and competitors alike.
• Nortel Global Services has the potential of
significantly expanding Avaya’s partner base
• Avaya’s technical support services continue to
be their largest source of revenue (50%+) with a
high reliance on their traditional embedded
Services base for overall profit margin
One of the major
changes in Avaya is in
their go-to-market
strategy. They are
moving from a direct
services strategy (85%
direct – 15% partner)
to a partner-led
strategy (15% direct –
85% partner)
• Going forward, Avaya/Nortel partners and
customers will be required to have some form of
software support coverage attached as a
minimum in order to obtain support from the
manufacturer.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 27 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Strategies for Selling Cisco Services Against
Avaya/Nortel
• Avaya/Nortel Integration Roadmap has been
criticised on its lack of product and service
specificity
• Although Avaya/Nortel has a set of comparable
technical support offerings, Cisco’s price points
are often advantageous
• Avaya Global Services offer annual and multi
year contracts with structured term price
discounts comparable with Cisco Smart
Services.
• SMARTnet with Smart Call Home and Cisco
Network Collector is a comparable offering to
Avaya’s Proactive IP Support Service
Recently Avaya initiated
introduction of its latest
Aura platform (Aura 6)
which includes Aura
Session Manager and the
potential of extending the
take-over management of
multivendor legacy
embedded base.
• Cisco’s partner GTM is a valuable differentiator
as it is more advanced and well recognised in
the industry
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 28 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Strategies For Selling Against The Competition
Identify your customer’s
buyer profile. Offer the
appropriate service for your
customer’s buyer profile.
Take the high road – don’t
bash the competition.
Solve business challenges
by offering solutions. Keep
the focus on the customer
and solving their problem, not
selling and convincing them of
the rightness of a given
capability over another or
arguing about price.
Learn about the Cisco
Smart Services for Small
and Medium Business
portfolio and sell the value
of Cisco Services.
Emphasize Cisco’s industry
leadership and financial
stability.
Address competitive issues
upfront. Be confident and
challenge the customer to
critically examine comparable
competitive offerings.
Take advantage of Cisco’s
resources for partners.
Cisco offers training
resources, incentives,
programs, and tools to help
you build or expand a service
practice or sell services more
effectively.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 29 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Knowledge Check
Click on the correct choice.
True or False: The best way to address competitive issues is to wait until your
competitor brings it up and then counter any objections that your customer has.
Click the Next button to continue.
True
Incorrect. This is a false statement.
False
Good choice.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 30 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Resources for Partners
Cisco provides a wide range of tools and resources designed to help you
build or expand your service practice and effectively sell against the
competition.
Cisco Services
Accelerate Program
Provides training and incentives to help Cisco partners sell Cisco Services
effectively to small and medium businesses.
Cisco E-Consulting
for Partners
Measures and assesses sales and delivery capabilities against leading
practices, and provides customized recommendations and activities to
address gaps.
SB Partner Practice
Builder
Offers a consistent and repeatable process that enhances productivity by
helping you follow a faster path to profitability and repeat business.
Steps to Success
A business-building platform that provides a step-by-step engagement
model to grow your capabilities for selling, delivering, and supporting Cisco
Advanced Technology business solutions.
Cisco Capital
Learn about special offers that might be available for unified
communications solutions, small and medium business solutions, and
services financing.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 31 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Important Links
Cisco Services Accelerate Program www.cisco.com/go/accelerate
Cisco Partner Central www.cisco.com/web/partners/index.html
Cisco Services for Partners
www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/index.html
Cisco Services for Small and Medium Business
www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/ps6888/serv_category_home.html
Cisco SMARTnet Service
www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/svcs/ps3034/ps2827/ps2978/serv_group_hom
e.html
Cisco Smart Foundation Service
www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/ps6193/serv_group_home.html
Cisco Smart Care Service
www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/index.html
Offering the Cisco Smart Care Service
www.cisco.com/web/partners/services/programs/smartcare/offer.html
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 32 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next
Module Conclusion
Congratulations, you have completed the Selling Cisco Services Against
the Competition learning module.
At this point you have the option of reviewing this module or taking the quiz.
You also have the option of taking the quiz now or at another time.
Cisco Services Accelerate Program
For more information about the Cisco Services Accelerate Program and to
gain access to comprehensive training resources on this topic and other
Cisco Services topics, visit www.cisco.com/go/accelerate.
Cisco Confidential – For Cisco and Reseller Use Only
© 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 33 of 33
Start
End
Previous
Next