As a 3CX Partner, you can use trials for much more than simply giving a prospect temporary access to the product. From the 3CX Partner Account, you can create an 8SC PRO trial for a prospective customer. On request, the trial can be changed to the SC size or Edition the customer needs. When they are ready to move forward, the same system can then be converted to a commercial subscription.

You can also use your Partner referral link to let prospects start a 3CX trial themselves while remaining associated with you.

This gives you two ways to use trials:

• Create and configure an environment directly for a customer
• Let prospects start their own evaluation and follow up with them as the opportunity develops

Read on to see how to make trials part of your sales and deployment process.

A 3CX trial allows you to show prospects how 3CX can work for their own business. Use the trial to start preparing the customer environment. Configure users and departments, set up queues, IVRs and call flows and test the SIP trunks, phones and integrations they expect to use.

You can then give key users access and let them evaluate 3CX using a setup based on their actual requirements. The conversation moves from simply showing 3CX features to demonstrating: “This is how 3CX works for your business.”

The work completed during a successful trial can carry directly into the customer’s final deployment. Use the trial period to build, test and validate the configuration ahead of go-live. Once the customer is ready to proceed, the trial can be converted to the required commercial subscription.

This allows the same environment to move from evaluation to proof of concept and then into production, while giving the customer the opportunity to experience their future setup before committing.

For larger opportunities, this can also give you more time to validate requirements, involve key users and prepare the system ahead of the planned deployment date.

A 3CX trial can also create the first sales conversation. Your 3CX Partner referral link lets prospects start their own trial while being associated with you. Add it to:

• Your website
• Email campaigns
• Social media
• Webinars
• Events
• Digital advertising

This will give your prospects a direct way to start evaluating 3CX. Also, instead of only asking prospects to “Contact us”, give them the option to start your 3CX trial. A prospect who starts a trial has already moved from researching 3CX to actively evaluating it. This gives you a clear opportunity to follow up and understand what they are looking to achieve.

Follow up while the prospect is actively using the trial and use the conversation to understand their requirements. You could ask a variety of questions.

1. What prompted you to evaluate 3CX?
2. What communications system are you using today?
3. Which requirements are most important to your business?
4. Would you like help configuring the trial around your requirements?

From there, you can help turn a self-service trial into an assisted evaluation and, where appropriate, build it into a structured proof of concept. The objective is to use trials at the right point in the customer journey.

• For an inbound lead, a trial can turn interest into product experience.
• For a larger opportunity, it can support a proof of concept.
• For an upcoming deployment, it can give you time to prepare and validate the system ahead of go-live.

For your next opportunity, ask: Would this customer benefit from experiencing their own 3CX environment before they buy?

If the answer is yes, use the trial to start building their 3CX from the beginning!

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