Watch Out For Training 'Land Mines'

Sales representatives for solution providers that are shifting from more of a product focus need to know how a new offering helps a customer. But "until you sell some of this stuff," Brimley says, "you don't know all the questions that customers may have," such as those tied to internal service-level agreements they must fulfill or security requirements.

Despite initial training and briefings, sales representatives will learn as they go along, "stubbing [their] toes several times … until you find out a lot of the land mines or pitfalls," Brimley said.

That extends beyond the sales staff to company leadership, as well as contract and legal specialists, he added.