TOOLS: Simple, strong tools can increase attach rates.

This weekend I bought a new truck. One of the few highlights of that torturous process occurred during the contracting process. When pitching the extended warranty, the dealer employee asked me to sign a waiver if I declined the optional coverage. Even though we had designed a similar waiver for a storage client a few years ago, my initial gut response was still “Hey, I don’t want to sign away any rights.”

I love seeing great sales pitches. I almost jumped out of my seat to tell the guy how great his form was. This is a great tool for several reasons:

- First, it repositions the problem from selling me something extra to taking something away
- Second, it creates urgency
- Third, it is simple and easy to implement. (The dealer’s document was a sparse half page form.)
- Fourth, it was designed to increase sales and margin for the channel

When we initiated a similar initiative with our client, we increased attach rates for tape storage to servers measurably. We succeeded because we linked the value proposition to the channel's problems and not to the product features.

Powerful sales tools are the hallmark of strategic implementations.

Scott@ChannelVentures.com