How Cloudian’s social selling model is heralding new channel leads

Cloudian has stepped beyond the usual lead generation methodologies to tap into its partner focused social selling model and so far it’s proven to be a success.

The new model is resulting in opportunities for partners in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ), counting more than 75 new potential deals, and more than 23 partner-led quotes being reviewed, with a number of them converted into deals.

What does the social selling method involve? Cloudian’s marketing and sales teams use LinkedIn Sales Navigator and conduct a targeted outreach to stakeholders across the C-suite.

Tailoring a personalised approach that may include the likes of discussing storage over steak tartare, cyber security with a whiskey in a bar or IT projects over a walk.

Once the opportunity has been identified, this is where Cloudian engages a partner to take the customer lead. 

Cloudian Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) head of marketing Anna Christensen said the business started connecting with end users all over A/NZ, putting together an engaging yet well positioned message that captured enough attention to read what Cloudian is about, analyse their environment and agree to a meeting.

“At the same time we’re 100 per cent channel focused and it is a great way to activate and engage with channel partners,” she said.  “We’re using channel partners for these customer opportunities while helping them nurture and convert leads.”

Cloudian took its first steps into the A/NZ market in November 2019 with APJ senior director James Wright and director of sales engineering Jason Mantell.

“The world of marketing, lead generation and pipeline continues to evolve,” Wright said. 

“I was very conscious when we started Cloudian in A/NZ that we were going to be very focused on a certain set of service providers and partners and not spreading ourselves too thinly. 

“That has been the cornerstone of our strategy and continues, even though we’ve grown our partner network and found net-new opportunities. We haven’t let go of some of those long term relationships.”

One of these long-term relationships has been with AUCloud, who has been reaping the benefits from this style of customer approach. 

AUCloud head of sales Bernadette Jenkinson said Cloudian was an important aspect within its technology stack because it applies to many different services that it takes to market.

“When you’re engaging with a technology vendor, it’s very much about your obligations to participate,” she said. 

“Cloudian really profiles, qualifies – there’s a real catalyst, of timing and need that’s already been worked through the process, offering complete continuity around the customer experience. 

“The customer sees it as one solution engagement rather than a disconnect and that’s the beauty of it. The other part is trust and it’s a reciprocal, trusted engagement.”

Historically, the federal government has been the majority of its customer base and over the last couple of years, AUCloud has been stretching its scope into the wider market and servicing critical national infrastructure communities and creating a second revenue billing engine, Jenkinson said. 

This is where Cloudian’s social selling model has helped AUCloud develop its customer base beyond the federal government arena. 

Aside from scoping a new customer, Jenkinson said it has also been able to delve further into the customer’s security and resilience technology stack.

“It has introduced us to new customers and what we’ve done in respect to what Cloudian has found, was solve the problem really quickly for the client,” she said. 

The selling formula has been so successful for Cloudian, it has taken the program into New Zealand and will also be a adopting a refined approach for ASEAN. 

“We did the trial in Australia and improved it in New Zealand. Now taking it into the ASEAN market, we may need to change the approach, not necessarily the formula, tailoring it to each individual country.”

Christensen added a valuable relationship was built on making a personal connection.

“People sell to people, the relationship is valued,” Christensen said. “The hardest bit is getting people to give us their time, tell our story and about the solution.”