Building a profitable business with IP services – round 1 – operational change & target markets

I blog frequently about the 3 business models with cloud and the opportunity they represent in terms of growing your profitability and valuation of your business. Building your business with IP services being the most profitable of the 3 models, however I regularly get asked by Partners, where do I start when it comes to building IP? To help answer this question we have launched a series of videos delivered by Harald Horgen from The York Group. They were originally designed to help guide ISV Partners moving to a cloud model, however they are very relevant for any Partner that is planning a move to differentiate themselves with a unique offering or building IP and landing this as a subscription model.  Harald recent guest blogged for us on how building IP services can help increase your margins and drive the valuation of your business.

The first module introduces the key business model changes from an operational perspective when you move to the cloud and a subscription or recurring revenue model. This includes pricing, cash flow, sales, marketing, target markets, contracts / legal implications and customer support. The follow on videos delve deeper into each of these topics. The module includes a downloadable template for the Business Model Canvas that can guide you through the building blocks of your business plan.

The second module provides guidance on how to identify and target a specific market for your solution. This includes how you might consider existing clients and prospects, broadening your market and positioning your solution for the enterprise market.

The module includes two downloadable worksheets:

Next week I’ll introduce the next modules focused on pricing methodologies and the partner-to-partner opportunity with cloud and IP services. Meanwhile, a reminder that we have Masterclasses coming up soon focused specifically on how you may change your sales approach as you grow your cloud services business.

Building an unstoppable sales team

Led by Luke Debono from Incredible Results. Is your sales engine working brilliantly, winning more quality business than ever before whilst scaling seamlessly? Is it driving consistent profitable growth in ways that your whole organisation loves? Are you attracting and on-boarding sales talent successfully in this mobile first cloud first landscape? This workshop is designed to help business leaders and sales management professionals create an integrated sales plan that makes a science of the numbers and enables the whole organisation to work better together. For leaders and managers of technology companies, the workshop offers methodology, which helps address age old dilemmas of scaling sales in a technical arena. Click here to register.

  • Thursday 28th May - Sydney
  • Wednesday 3rd June - Melbourne

If you have any issues registering for these sessions please email partnerau@microsoft.com.