We eliminated complex multi-tiered service. Included a dedicated TAM for every size client. Baked-in our popular Rapid Response & Escalation. Made our 15-minute guaranteed response times and our escalation SLA’s the same across the board. Combined break-fix and proactive hours so you don’t have to choose. And did away with penalties for adding hours mid-contract.
All of these benefits were born from the need to lower complexity and barriers for new clients — particularly those caught at the tail end of Microsoft’s “running-out-the-clock” sales tactic. We made our offering straightforward, easy to understand, with no hidden fees, and uber-flexible so that more companies could break out of the viscous cycle of Microsoft Support.
Our sales process consists of four basic elements: a 30-minute education session, targeted discovery to gauge need, and a quick one-page quote within 24 hours of a request. These combine to effectively lower the bar on bureaucratic hoops you need to jump through to make the switch to US Cloud. Of course we are willing to go through as many rounds as needed and dig deep on Q&A’s if that is what is needed for a large complex client. But even then, we strive to simplify our side of the equation and make it easy to do business with US Cloud.
Education Session: Depending on a prospective client’s needs we can spend our initial introductory meeting educating about Unified vs. Premier Support and offering negotiation strategies, or take a deep dive into US Cloud capabilities. In many cases, a 30-minute conversation is enough to convince teams to move forward and schedule Q&A’s with broader IT teams.
Targeted Discovery: For clients willing to share service and ticket logs from the prior year, discovery can be truncated without any loss of accuracy in quoting service. Plus, with Rate Lock, companies can be conservative on service estimates and have a greater margin of error without fear of penalties.
Quick Quote: With the right information we can turn around a simplified one-page, binding quote that can be used as leverage in Microsoft negotiations or to truly explore more affordable, more responsive support with US Cloud. We are happy to provide quotes for either reason.
Just because negotiations with Microsoft Support are insanely difficult and drawn out, don’t assume coming to an agreement with US Cloud will require the same amount of runway. Likewise, don’t think that the misfit project-oriented retrofit contract you got from you VAR that needed a total overhaul is indicative of independent support vendors.
We have worked to trim our Master Service Agreement down to the true essentials. US Cloud’s MSA is still a comprehensive legal document that affords you the necessary protections, insurance, SLA’s, and terms needed for such an important service, but it lacks the needless junk that often hitches a ride from standard managed service contracts. Unlike contracts that can get hung up in legal for weeks, we are very often successful at coming to terms quickly, even with massive enterprises.
US Cloud will also work from a client’s MSA if that is preferred. Microsoft Support is all we do and we are experts at what is important and what is not for these contracts. It is how we have taken Fortune 50 companies from first call to first ticket in less than a month. No matter how close you are to your resubcription deadline, do not assume it’s too late to test the waters and explore alternatives.
How long is your Microsoft Unified Support quote document? With a minimal amount of information, US Cloud can provide you with an accurate, binding, one-page quote for comprehensive Microsoft support that can replace Unified — in 24 hours.
And even if you are sure you’ll never leave Microsoft Support, you should still get a competitive quote from US Cloud. In a huge percentage of cases, Microsoft dropped their Unified price in response to a US Cloud quote. In some cases they even matched it. It is worth it to us to at least educate you about your options this year, anticipating getting a real shot next year. Over 30% of our current clients renewed with Microsoft after getting a quote the first year they spoke with us, coming back and making the switch in year two.