How to start a conversation with your clients about disaster recovery

For many IT solutions providers, “selling” can be a dirty word. After all, nobody wants to come off as overly pushy when educating clients about new products and (hopefully) getting them to sign a purchase order. But part of being a great IT partner is introducing your clients to new technologies that will improve the way they run their business. And achieving this goal doesn’t always require an uncomfortable, hard sell.

That’s why today we’re launching a new blog series that will help you open up and ease into conversations about new technology with your clients. Look for several tips on how to do just that during September. We’ll kick off the series by offering some tips how to talk with clients about their backup and disaster recovery needs.

Backup saves businesses. But it’s also a quiet hero that does its job in the background and is only rarely needed. As a result, it’s not always top of mind for today’s business owners. Since your clients aren’t usually thinking about backup it falls to you, their IT partner, to start the conversation about how to keep their business in business regardless of any situation that may arise.

While many IT partners find it intrusive to pitch a disaster recovery solution to their clients, we’ve found that it’s a topic most business owners are very eager to discuss once it’s brought up. One of the easiest ways to start up this conversation is by suggesting a “backup consultation.”

A backup consultation is a non-intrusive and soft-handed way to learn more about your clients’ backup needs and how you, as their IT advisor, can make sure they are properly addressed.

To get started, simply identify which of your clients would be a good fit for backup and disaster recovery software. Once you’ve identified them, craft a quick email that lets them know you’d like to set aside a few minutes to discuss their disaster recovery plan. Here’s an example for you to work with:

Hi (client name),
    
Hope you’re having a great week. I wanted to reach out to you today to see if you had 15 minutes for a quick discussion about your disaster recovery plan. I know your business is important to you and I want to make sure you can stay in business no matter what.

Is (Date and time) okay for a quick meeting?

Best,
(Your Name)

Feel free to give them a follow-up call to make sure they received your email, too. Small business owners are very busy so it’s always a good idea to follow up on any important issues, like disaster recovery.

Once you have some time set aside with your client feel free to reach out to your Carbonite Account Manager. They’ll be able to help you sketch out the evaluation and help you recommend the best solutions. They can even help you set your client up with a free 30-day Carbonite trial!

Bonus Tip: If you're a Carbonite Partner and forget your account manager’s contact info, you can always log into your account on the partner portal and you’ll see your account manager’s info right there.

Still not a Carbonite Partner? Learn about the benefits of partnering with Carbonite today.