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Disaster recovery and business continuity solutions should be easy to sell. Everybody needs them, and some businesses are required by regulatory bodies to meet specific and demanding standards. They also represent a place where IT solution providers and manufacturers can distinguish themselves because DR/BC is not only a cost, but one that will show a benefit only rarely. So, a company that can shorten backup and recovery times, consume less storage space and lessen demand on datacenter staff is likely to find a willing audience.

But, there are factors that can frustrate the DR/BC sales effort. There’s plenty of competition, making it harder for our voice to be heard and causing sales fatigue to set in among CIOs and other IT decision-makers. Further, the technologies that can have the greatest impact can disrupt IT — and end-user — operations, a situation that many IT departments seek to minimize. So, what’s intuitively an easy sell can become rather complex.

Here are five ways to tip the odds in your favor:

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The first decade of the 21st century will be remembered, at least in part, as one of the most complex regulatory periods in U.S. business history. IT departments have had to address the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and many others. As we begin to sort through the implications of the recent financial crisis, expect more to follow. Some changes to financial oversight rules are already in the works.

For your clients, this means IT changes to address new regulations may become an ongoing effort: essentially, there will always be a new reg to consider. This, of course, comes on top of managing existing compliance frameworks. As the complexity of this environment accumulates, your clients will want to know they are partnering with a solution provider that has the technology knowledge to complement their compliance programs.

Does this mean you will need to become a compliance guru: No.

Does this mean you will need to know which solutions are best-suited to your clients’ needs? Absolutely.

If you haven’t reached out to your clients on how they can use technology solutions to increase transparency, security or information and process control, contact enter:marketing. We’re ready to help you develop and implement a strategy for connecting with IT buyers on this crucial issue.

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According to Forrester Research, you should expect some major changes in how Chief Information Security Officers – and other IT risk and security professionals – will support their business users next year. Even with the economy showing some signs that it has stabilized, memories of the financial crisis have yet to fade.

IT departments around the world are developing and implementing capabilities to address new internal policies and are readying themselves for regulatory changes currently in the pipeline. Since regs lag the business environment, we have yet to experience this second act in the financial crisis saga.

Below are four ways IT risk and security are expected to change next year. Watch these trends, and contact enter:marketing to plan and execute client outreach programs on these themes.

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Tell a prospect that he needs virtualization, and he’ll ask why. Ask him how he plans to cut costs and increase IT operational efficiency, however, and he’ll invite your ideas. IT manufacturers and resellers spend far too much time pitching systems, and not nearly enough time understanding their clients’ businesses. The latter is what leads to near-term sales and long-term relationships … not to mention referenceable projects and referrals.

Don’t think about selling technology – that’s what your competitors do. Instead, become a true “solution provider.” Take a consultative approach through the sales process. Work with your clients to understand the business problems they face, and you’ll have the opportunity to develop and implement technology solutions that solve problems inside and outside the datacenter. The key is to get as specific as possible and show how the pain can be alleviated in a manner that improves the business operation while reducing costs or increasing revenue.

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