Have you seen the commercials on TV about GMC trucks that say “We are professional grade?” It’s a simple way of telling the consumer that their vehicle meets a higher standard. In this case, the term “professional” likely refers to a construction manager, contractor, field engineer, or the like. You can imagine people like this needing heavy payload, tough shocks, and a lot of horsepower. You can also imagine their trucks have to take a beating and still perform on a daily basis. You would also infer that the average truck that’s not “professional grade” probably can’t handle this type of use. That’s a pretty attractive story encapsulated in two simple words: professional grade.  I finally had the opportunity to sit in on our two-day Convergence Sales Training which, by the way, was outstanding. One of the things that Jim Sevier, the trainer hit on was the idea of Avaya, Juniper and Extreme all being carrier-grade solutions. As we all know, carriers have no tolerance for down-time. What all three of these solutions have in common is the fact that they all separate their hardware from their software. Avaya,  Juniper and Extreme all have modular operating systems which allows for upgrades and patches without taking down the systems.  Therefore, all give the customer the type of uptime that (a) carriers demand;  and (b) the competition cannot provide. Jim took this point to the next level with one simple observation. In many cases, the pinnacle of CTO career success is to work for a carrier. By differentiating your solutions as carrier-grade, you immediately appeal to the aspirations of most CTO’s. Next time you are speaking to a CTO and telling them why you are different, these four words “we are carrier grade” will get their attention and open the door to a great conversation. Better yet, you could say, “If you’re not looking for carrier grade, the competition’s solution is a great alternative.” If you want more information on how to back up this statement, give me a call.