Reaching Tech End-Users in France with Aurora Live

In a Nutshell

CHALLENGES

• Expanding end-user customer base while operating a small team

• Getting in touch with hard-to-access IT and security decision-makers in France

• Building vendor awareness among end-user stakeholders
  

RESULTS

• Valuable new contacts and follow-up opportunities to nurture over the sales cycle

• Direct access to decision-makers and entry into new accounts 

• Renewed partnership with Aurora Live with plans to expand the sales team’s meeting capacity
  

The Full Story

As a value-added distributor for IT solutions to the French market, MIEL represents a plethora of vendors who want to showcase their solutions to relevant IT and security leaders in the region.

Although their main target customers are tech resellers, MIEL also wants to evangelise the vendors in their portfolio to end-users, which are the hard-to-reach teams under CIOs and CISOs.

Cédric Gauthier, Marketing Head at MIEL, shares insights from his sales team’s experience with Aurora Live’s virtual meeting format to meet decision-makers in target accounts, and how Aurora Live’s services complement MIEL’s existing marketing outreach.

Finding Senior IT Decision-Makers Beyond the Reseller Network

MIEL has 40 years’ experience in discovering and distributing IT solutions to French tech resellers, from traditional IT solutions to cloud computing and AI. They also represent several new vendors who are unknown in the French market.

“Our job as a value-added distributor is first to recruit a channel of reseller partners. We never sell directly to the end-users. However, we still need to reach out to end-users to raise awareness and gain opportunities for our resellers.”

Cédric explains that the sales team is divided into two – one arm handles vendor partners, and another reaches out to end-users. When Aurora Live presented another avenue to reach IT and security decision-makers via its virtual 1-to-1 meeting format, Cédric and his team decided to give it a go. 

“My job as a marketing manager is to find as many good contacts as possible to help my sales team reach out to end-users. We work with networks like Aurora Live to get in touch with contacts in our targeted companies.”

Opening Doors to CIOs and CISOs with Structured 1-to-1 Meetings

The main challenge for MIEL is growing their end-user database with the right contacts as a small team of 60. Additionally, decision-makers in IT and security have packed schedules and limited time to scan the market for solutions.

“We don't always have the right contact or the right opportunity to meet with them, because these people are very busy and difficult to reach out to.”

MIEL has a broad audience to reach in the realm of IT and security. Cédric adds that in certain companies, IT decision-making is done by teams that include non-IT stakeholders. However, Cédric explains that it’s preferable to speak with CIOs or CISOs first to get their go-ahead for MIEL to reach out to their teams who are the true end-users of the solution.

“Our day-to-day process is to identify the right person who understands the technology and help them convince the top IT management for buy-in. But of course, it’s always better to reach the top management first, as they are door openers.”

Low-Pressure Conversations Create Continuous Opportunities

Cédric commends the quality of the decision-maker pool in the Aurora Live Network, consisting of the right CIOs and CISOs. They are door openers to the next phase of decision-making and carry a big influence as they oversee the overall external vendor network and budgets. 

“We could reach high-quality decision-makers with Aurora Live and have first conversations with new accounts. We were able to make good contacts that we can nurture long-term.”

Additionally, Cédric adds that the Aurora Live web platform was integral in the pilot’s success, from features to filter decision-makers to the meeting booking system to agenda management. Also, MIEL’s salespeople were adequately briefed by the Aurora Live team to maximise each virtual meeting. 

“Everything is vigorous and well done. The platform is a big part of the success of Aurora Live’s proposal.”

With the virtual meetings, MIEL’s sales team could have low-pressure conversations with CIOs and CISOs, discussing their areas of interest and discussing solutions in MIEL’s portfolio that may be beneficial.

“Although we don’t sell directly to the decision-makers during the meetings, we have the necessary tools to track interest we may raise with Aurora Live.”

Maintaining the Momentum of the Pilot with More Meetings and a Bigger Sales Team 

After a successful pilot, Cédric has renewed MIEL’s partnership with Aurora Live, with plans for a bigger team to handle the meetings. His goal is to create valuable opportunities from the contacts made so far. MIEL’s sales cycle is between three and six months, and Aurora Live is seen as a door opener to follow-up meetings with other decision-makers. 

“We got what we promised with Aurora Live – to get in touch with new decision-makers and companies. The meetings are well-organised, and the decision-makers are committed to having good conversations. It’s an effective way to raise awareness for our vendors with top-level decision-makers.”

*The insights have been edited for length and clarity.

About MIEL:

Founded in 1985, MIEL is a leading value-added distributor in France, discovering and distributing new technologies to help French companies accelerate their IT transformation journeys. They started with traditional IT solutions in the 90s and have grown to carry innovative solutions following the cloud computing and AI revolution. For the last 15 years, MIEL has focused on cybersecurity solutions with the rise of cloud computing and evolving security regulations. Additionally, MIEL represents vendors specialising in network equipment, backups and storage, and data management.