Selling “Point” Solutions

I've seen a lot of Tweets lately about selling what I would consider to be "point" solutions.  Specifically the conversations seemed to center around backup and disaster recovery solutions or BDR’s.
A well-defined, proven BDR solution is a must-have component of any production class computing environment. But even though it umbrellas over the entire network is not really a complete solution.

My company, Endsight, has used managed services to deliver our outsourced IT solution since 2004. We introduced our backup and disaster recovery solution in 2007 and we included it as part of our broader approach to ongoing IT support and computer system management.  But I've never sold it as a standalone product.

In my opinion, it's unwise to to use a point solution (any point solution) as the foundation for an initial business conversation with the potential new client.  
In my mind, beginning the conversation around an incomplete solution forces the sales professional into playing the role of “option” guy. The client has already diagnosed his or her situation and is in the process of evaluating his or her options.  The conversation will be about features and price and there won't be a lot of opportunities for the sales person to add value.

In this situation the salesperson has two choices:

1. Provide the client with the information requested and wait for them to contact you to place the order.  (And wait... And wait)
2. Ask thought-provoking questions and broaden the conversation to include a review of the clients current approach to IT support.
Choice number two is better for the client and  better for the salesperson. But it doesn't always work. 
I guess if you feel like a business relationship based on the point solution is a good end result then starting your conversation there is not a bad thing. But I don't think anyone is ever completely served by an incomplete solution.

Ask for a meeting to talk about your core service!

So if I intend to put the time and energy into developing a lead generation program intended to create first-time conversations with business owners that I've never talked to before, I'd much rather try to make it so that the foundation of that conversation is about my core managed services offering.
Setting up the conversation so that I can talk confidently about the completeness of what Endsight brings to the table allows me to position myself as an “idea” guy instead of an “option” guy. 
Setting up a conversation so that you can be an idea guy is better for the client because it helps them to get to what they really want and it's better for the sales professional because it helps him or her to really demonstrate their value.