No longer about the code:

It used to be true that a good website, with great functionality was the most significant indicator of success.  The “if we build it, they will come” mentality just doesn’t work anymore.  With templates from Joomla, WordPress and others available, a good site, with great functionality is a given.  I could cite recent examples of people making this mistake, but if I don’t have something nice to say…

Cheap tricks:

When the quest was for hits, folks wrote programs to continually generate “traffic” all be it false, for sites.  When the quest began to be for content or recent news, the trick became to use feeds and piggy back on the success of other’s content.  Maybe I am a bit slow, but I don’t know of any “tricks” to replicate a steady stream of unique, useful, and relevant content for a target audience.

Today’s strategy or tomorrow’s “trick?”

The current strategy seems to be to gather an army of content creators to publish content on your site.  The sales pitch seems compelling enough:  “I am such a nice guy, I’m going to let you promote yourself for free on my site [by allowing you to create content for me].”  This approach works, if (and herein separates the men from the boys so to speak) the site owner creates useful content as well.  If other’s content augments then we can name it a good strategy.  If other’s content is all that’s there – well than that’s a transparent display of smoke and mirrors.

Being in good graces with the “king:”

I submit that good content should follow the 3 legged stool of 1) self-created, 2) regurgitated (with unique spin/slant/opinion), and 3) delegated.

First, have the discipline to create new content on a regular basis.  Consistency is more important than frequency.  In some cases, yearly is appropriate – as in book writing.  For web content, weekly is a minimum.  When delegated content outpaces uniquely created content, it’s time to increase the frequency.

Second, leverage what’s out there by providing a unique perspective.  Take a stand or different approach.  If there is no value added to the material, it becomes superficial and counterproductive.  Think back to the negative word of mouth from a bad meal at a restaurant.

Third, find other content creators who are A) relevant to your audience, B) good developers of content, C) not regurgitating other’s content on your site, D) can benefit from the exposure to the intended audience.  Only win-win situations make sense here.  Be prepared to reciprocate for best results.  If done correctly, 1+1 can equal 3.

First, the perhaps obvious question – why?  Why all these new entities, outlets, and organizations?  The need perceived by Kate, Vlad, Bob, Jay, myself, and the other group of guys I cannot mention yet is very real within the Channel.  While the news and happenings are well covered by media outlets such as MSP Mentor, SMB Nation, CRN, Redmond Channel, Business Solutions, and a few others, certain resources are lacking.  Specifically, information and resources related to vendors seem to be a growing need within the Channel.  Other needs/wants that some have such as a “BBB” for the Channel remain unaddressed, but let’s not open up THAT can of worms…

The differences:

Channel Eyes is seeking to be an interconnected network within the Channel and will likely be both a social network and a data and analytic resource for what is “going on” within the Channel.

Channel Wiki is seeking to be the Wikipedia of all things Channel.  No stance, no slant, but a “go here first” resource.

Channel (blank) is currently still under “double secret probation” beta and I expect will at first blush seem similar, but I believe will focus mainly on the social networking aspect of the Channel.

VAR TREK is still finding itself between reporting of Channel news, consulting with the vendor community, and offering resources to VARs.  The later, mostly in the form of video content and what I like to call “What’s not in the brochure” information regarding the vendors within the Channel.

All friends:

I have personally spoken with all those I mentioned above including some folks I couldn’t yet name from Channel(blank) and the good news is I believe all these entities will play nicely together and the Channel will win.  This is all great news (no pun intended) for the Channel.  There are already discussions (and actions) taking place for collaboration and cross promotion between these entities and I have high expectations for the net results in 2012.

Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks and months!

Happy hunting!

With the recent news about Zenith Infotech’s $70,000,000 debt bond being called in on default (reported by Joe Panettieri at MSP Mentor here), the subject of debt is on people’s minds.

The main point is that people and, especially business owners within our Channel (VAR and Vendor alike) seem to be unprepared for the consequences that are associated with taking upon debt.  Let’s not get in a blame game of the evil banks, etc… (again another blog).  Rather, here are a few “gotchas” that plague businesses and owners that have taken upon debt.  My hope is that this brief list serves as a cautionary tale as each item is a common theme in the disaster stories I’ve heard or seen first hand within this Channel.

Personal Guarantee:

Man, this is a big one!  The clause is likely in every financial committment paperwork that is signed by a business.  This includes financial obligations not often thought of under the umbrella term of debt, such as Office Leases, equipment leases, and non-cancelable contracts with vendors.  Signing a personal guarantee essentially cuts right through the barrier created by a legal business entity and the people who own the business.

REAL debt number?

Want your company’s REAL debt number?  Add up the total amount of ALL contractual obligations over the term of the signed agreements.  Add that number to actual monies borrowed.  Last include all accounts payable and don’t forget to pay and taxes owed for staff for work performed.  That’s how much the company has in debt.  That is the number that answers the question – “If for some reason the business completely vanished tomorrow due to some unforseen catastrophe, this is what would be owed.”

Promises, Promises…

Simply put, if it’s not written down, not only is it not guaranteed to happen, but little can be done about it.  Everything that can and does happen has two components:  First, defining the action (i.e. payments must be made by 15th of month) and Second, remedy for non-performance of that action (i.e. if payment is not made by the 15th, then interest and late fees will be applied in this manner…”  Hand shakes are only (in rare cases) upheld in Texas.  If it’s important to you, ensure it’s written.  Be as specific as possible.

I know of a company that took on a minority investor and ended up owning the company because of two things:  1) the investor verbally promised to assist financially and in other ways to bring business and marketing resources to bear but never did.  2) because of #1, the company failed to meet projected growth and revenue targets.  Enter the remedy which was in this case equity in lieu of payment.  Btw, once the investor essentially owned the company, the full measure of marketing resources came to bear and the company has grown tremendously since.  Fun fun!

Confidence and Leverage:

I know business owners who won’t gamble on blackjack or lottery tickets but have their companies leveraged to the hilt with debt.  Whomever is lending the money has the leverage.  (He who has the gold makes the rules).  In most cases where money is lent (and in all war story cases), the borrower’s confidence was too high and the lender’s leverage (cost of borrowing or remedy) was too significant.  Take the time to play out “what if” scenarios.  Don’t overlook the advice of a business attorney.  Seek the advice of a bankruptcy attorney.  Pay a consultation fee and simply ask him/her how most of his/her clients who owned business got to that point.

More to come on this topic… but in the meantime, be careful out there!

Happy Hunting!

The solution:

Email communication is vital.  Using native Outlook stops making sense when there’s more than a couple hundred people who are being sent the email.  Enter services such as Constant Contact, Stream Send, and others.   A WYSIWYG editor makes it easier for non coders like me to be able to send out mass email communications to a large number of contacts at once.  Thank you, Constant Contact, et. al. for solving this need.

Another point of credit to Constant Contact is that unlike Salesforce (and numerous other services that claim to do what Constant Contact does), Constant Contact sends to all the email addresses at the same time, or at worst, within the span of an hour.  Salesforce (and others) send in blocks of 400 or so and spread the blocks out up to 4 hours apart, making it impossible to send a time-sensative email to a list of 4,000, as an example.

The new problem:

The big issue is the default selection of “Unsubscribe to ALL lists.”  This sounds great on the surface, but consider this:  Often, organizations have different lists for different purposes as a way to only send relevant, desired information to its contacts.  In my case, (and I know I’m not alone here), I have lists for people who have bought a particular book of mine, people who have attended certain events, and numerous other categories of contents.  I have contacts that want webinar announcements, and others who don’t, contacts that want information on certain events, and others who don’t, and other contacts still who prefer emails that are technical or business, but not both.

Contacts who unsubscribe rarely take the time to look at the lists he/she is on and painstakingly pick and choose.  When in that mode, the contact typically clicks quickly and poof – they are unsubscribed from ALL lists.  Perhaps the person didn’t want to hear about that conference again or perhaps only wanted updates about a book he/she bought.  It matters not.  They are gone.  These same people complain asking how come they never hear from me anymore.  I don’t blame them entirely.

Does it exist?

What I wish was out there (please point me in the right direction if it does) is a way to have multiple lists/groups of people who can only unsubscribe from the lists that mail was sent to.  Gosh it seems so simple.

Enter my constant contact “customer service” experience.  After several annoying exchanges, I finally got a “solution” from the rep handling the chat window.  He initially teased me that although multiple accounts could accomplish this that they could be consolidated and managed as a whole.  Well, not exactly.  See the screenshot below for a laugh.

Happy Hunting!

Rule #1 – Avoid sounding rehearsed by rehearsing:

Practice.  Record yourself and play it back.  Listen once for content and flow.  Listen again for filler words (uh, um, etc..).  Listen a third time for timing.  Practice in front of a mirror.  Stand up.  Practice hand and body movements to be used during the presentation.  Practice the fluctuation in volume, inflexion and tonality – this is especially important for audio only presentations.  The truth is the more practiced and rehearsed the speaker is, the more natural the presentation appears to the audience.

Rule # 2 – Convey more by speaking less:

The adage “less is more” certainly applies.  Specifically, put bullets on a slide with keywords or phrases, not sentences.  Have 3-5 bullets, not 7-12.  Be more concise with the words that are best suited to illustrate your point.  Non verbal communication such as pauses, inflexion, annunciation, and lowering or raising one’s voice are all examples for presentation elements that have a deeper effect than additional words.  Also, it must be noted to be careful with the words chosen.  Use a word that some consider profane or in poor taste, and that single word can outweigh the entire presentation.

Rule # 3 – The Less time you have to speak, the more time needed to prepare:

I was taught this almost 20 years ago and recently traced the origin of this wisdom to Mark Twain who reportedly once told his publisher, “I cannot give you 2 pages in 3 days.  I can give you 30 pages in 2 days, or 2 pages in 30 days.”  The secret is to condense your message.  When given a topic on which to speak, begin with a brainstorming session.  STEP 1 – Brain dump all words, phrases, stories and anecdote clues, and other examples of the point you would like to make.   STEP 2 – review brainstorming and add what is missing.  STEP 3 – Organize your notes into sub-categories of the topic.  STEP 4 – Write and Outline with an Introduction to get attention and state the goal of the presentation, a Body with at least 3 points to support that goal, and a Conclusion with a summary assertion and a memorable statement or call to action.  STEP 5 – Condense content based upon presentation’s time constraints.  STEP 6 – Practice.  (Repeat steps 5 & 6 as needed)  STEP 7 – Delivery.

Happy Hunting!

After reading Vlad’s blog (www.vladville.com) I found it thorough, informative, insightful, and a wee bit of “what no one else is saying.”  Great blog, Vlad – as usual.

I have a bit of a unique perspective on the subject of the industry events and particular the vendor side of conferences having worked for clients on both sides of that fence.  In fact, I chuckled at some of the “value statements” Vlad cited as I know I have uttered some of them myself and some to Vlad’s marketing team.

Vlad was wrong about one thing:

Where Vlad got it wrong, in my opinion, is that the attendees don’t see the vendors as a “vital component of the event.”  Attendees I have spoken with have consistently responded that a given event’s expo hall, or an introduction to a vendor is in the top 3 reasons they either chose to attend the conference or found value from doing so.

Especially, with the change(s) that are sweeping the IT industry, and in particular with the SMB focused Partners, integrating vendor solutions is the only way to stay in business much less be or remain competitive.

My own $0.02

I have “seen” behind the curtain of the conference business in chatting with several conference organizers as well as my own work experience.  I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the bullshit.  And for the most part, Vlad is right – it ain’t pretty out there.

In fact, the entire reason I am building a consultancy around helping vendors with their Channel Partner programs is I see tremendous opportunity for improvement.  I’m amazed at the Channel Marketing budgets of some vendors.  Of the 100 plus vendor Channel marketing programs I’ve been closely involved with in one way or another, I am shocked at how few really focus upon ROI on an event by event basis.

Of course, there IS something to the goodwill, community, or the impact of “not being there.”  While real, these intangibles should be used to sway “on the fence” decisions, not be at the core of decisions that involve precious marketing dollars.

Regarding attendees and their “quality” as it matches (or doesn’t) to any particular vendor I suggest a few old, but solid techniques for flushing this out.  I suggest the following:  1) Simply attend the conference the first time you hear of it and use that “scouting trip” to help in determining if the event should be sponsored next year.  Do this for the events seriously being considered but aren’t absolute certainties.  2) Share with the event sales rep what your “A” Partner and “B” Partner look like and get a number of each that will be in attendance.  3) Most importantly, question that number.  Typically, as it was in my case, the sales rep believes what he/she is saying.  Look at the history of the event.  Ask about what marketing activities the event organization is doing to generate the promised number.  Look for or negotiate a guarantee.  Find a bottom number that the sales rep sees as worst-case scenario and base an ROI calculation on that.  4) Finally, strategize on how your firm can stand out at the event.  Approach the buying decision like buying a boat or bigger house.  There is a lot more than the purchase price involved to “do it right.”

Last thought:

I disagree with my friend Vlad on another point as well.  It’s not necessarily true that there are too many events in the industry.  If attending these various events has taught me anything, it’s that each has its own ”community” following and unique audience.  Vendors, however, seem to limit their scope and marketing budget to the event’s they know of or their competitors are sponsoring.  I know of an event that only two vendors “in the circuit” have ever sponsored and it’s a goldmine.  But beware, it’s a different event that requires a different strategy.  Email me and I’ll share, plus it’s more fun than my looking at “view” statistics. 

Happy Hunting!

Almost everyone I spoke with enjoyed the conference for one reason or another. The highlights seemed to have been the technical sessions, Harley Davidson give away and of course the ASCII Cup party!

Of the vendors I spoke with, interviewed, or made videos with mostly said the conference either met or exceeded their expectations. With approximately 400 attendees (unofficial number), there was plenty of activity in the vendor hall. SMB Nation remains the conference that brings new faces into the community.

The expo hall was the most impressive I’ve seen at the 9th annual SMB Nation Fall conference (my 7th). Booths were well staffed, looked more professional than ever, and great conversations were abound. In fact, among the attendees I interviewed, roughly a third told me the expo hall (and looking for a type of vendor) was the main reason the attended the conference. A vast majority of the other two-thirds said the expo hall was an important, but not main reason they came.

The attendees mostly told me that it was the technical content offered that drew them to attend the conference. A sentiment that was echoed by SMB Nation founder, Harry Brelsford who told me, “The technical sessions are more popular [with attendees] than the business sessions by far, so next year we’ll have more because that’s what our audience wants.”

In terms of the fun at the ASCII Cup party I’ll let the Facebook pictures tell that story.

On all counts SMB Nation Fall 2011 was a success. Mark your calendars for next year’s conference, the 10th annual, back at the Rio in Las Vegas on Oct 12-14, 2012. hope to see you there!

This year, save the Christmas and Happy Holidays cards for family and close friends.  For your business’ partners, friends, customers, and vendors send them a Thanksgiving gift or card.  There are several reasons this works well and fits into more of a “Guerilla Marketing” approach.

1. Not many people do it
2. Most business people get so many holiday cards beginning mid December that they don’t open them all
3. Your card and/or gift is lost in a sea of others making it difficult to make an impression
4. What better holiday to convey your gratitude for this person or business
5. It is unexpected, and therefore powerful
6. It is perceived as more thoughtful than expected
7. Spending less money gets a bigger bang for the buck

Gift baskets work great!  If your customers are local, they can be delivered in person.  A tin of cookies and/or a bottle of wine work well too!  If sending cards is more your pitch, then consider handwriting the address and possibly the card itself.  Anything handwritten is always better, but don’t let that stop you from sending something.  Plan to have whatever you send arrive a week before thanksgiving or the Monday prior.  Any closer to the actual holiday and the recipient may not be in the office.

Follow these tips and your customers will receive something thoughtful from you and be sure to remember it no matter what others may send around the “normal” holiday times.

Happy Hunting!

Receptionist: “Good Morning COMPANY_NAME, can I help you?”

Me: “Yes, someone there named Jim, I think, called me three times this morning trying to get a hold of me.”

Receptionist: “We have a number of Jims here.”

Me: “Sorry.  I have been speaking with VP_NAME and MARKETING_MANAGER_NAME, but I don’t know if Jim is calling for them or what…”

Receptionist:  “I wouldn’t worry about it.  It’s probably a sales call if you weren’t expecting a call from anyone here.  I would just disregard it.”

Me:  “OK, thanks, anyway.  Have a great day.”

Receptionist: [cheerful voice] “You too.  Bye.”

“It’s probably a sales call… disregard it.”

Lovely.  It never ceases to amaze me how many companies fail to understand the critical importance of the person who answers the company’s phone.  For the record, I don’t blame the receptionist.  Like “Mr Miagi” said – there is no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher.  The company in question has not trained the receptionist well enough.  Sure she was pleasant and wanted to help.  That’s a given (or should be).  She didn’t know who I was, whether I myself was a salesperson, or potentially the biggest revenue generator they’ve ever worked with – or both.  She asked zero questions.

So here are some tips for training your receptionist or anyone who answers the company phone:

1) YOU represent the FRONT LINE for our company

2)  The impression YOU give is not only the most lasting, but at times the ONLY one the caller gets about the company

3) ASK questions to gather info.  Do so in a friendly, conversational way which builds rapport (with you and the company)

4) Have a system to pass this info along.  Never dismiss the information a receptionist possesses.

5) Look people up in CRM or even google to determine “who” is calling

6) ALWAYS get the caller’s phone number

7) Ask the spelling of the caller’s name

8) Try to help by placing caller on hold and seeing if someone else can facilitate the caller’s need

9) The person who answers the phone can be considered the most important person in the company, treat him/her accordingly.

10) Listen.  Training this person is an ongoing process that involves constant teaching, observing and managing.

If receptionist is making effort and treating this person as important, the caller will feel it and have a good feeling about the company.

As a last resort:  “I think I know who can help you but they are in a meeting.  I’ll get them to call you back today for sure.  Is there a good time? How about tomorrow?  I’m sure it was important.”

We’ve all heard the saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.  Ensure the impression your company exudes mirrors the attitude the company wants to project.  The alternative is having valuable marketing dollars wasted due to lack of training the person who answers the phone.

Happy Hunting

So, IMNSHO (in my not so humble opinion), here is a list of the top seven mistakes I see struggling or failing MSPs make.  Any one can spell disaster in its own unique way.  While this list is by no means exclusive, avoiding these 7 business killers can positively transform your business.  ~Happy Hunting

1. Selling hours and “All you can eat”

Typically, “all you can eat” or “all-inclusive” offerings transform the customer’s behavior and attitude about IT services in a fundamental way.  The customer now can understand the value of IT services in terms of results, the absence of issues, and feeling secure about their business’ continuity.  Also selling hourly services is contradictory and teaches the customer to assign the value of IT services to time spent.

2. Using the words “Managed Services” as a customer facing term

Customers don’t typically know what the term means.  I would submit that the definition varies widely among the IT community as well.  The reason to avoid using it is simple, as it eliminates the possibility of a less than worthy competitor breathing those God awful words, “we do what they do, too.”  Managed Services offerings are often unique and your company’s offering should stand alone in the value the solution brings to the customer.  Rather, brand your offering, e.g. (YOUR_COMPANY Complete Support) or similar.  No one has that, but “everyone” has “managed services.”

3. Not reading your own (or other) contracts

Few and far between are MSPs who have invested heavily in lawyer fees to create a contract from scratch.  More often, a template is used (like the one on the CD in my SELLING Managed Services Book).  Please read the entire contract template.  At best, you’ll be embarrassed by not catching an obvious error.  [...this agreement governed by the laws of New Jersey... even though the MSP is in Nebraska]  At worst, you’ll be asked why a clause or phrase is there and have no idea what to say.  Start with the template, make adjustments, then have an attorney review.  Understand every clause in your contract AND any contract you sign with a vendor.

4. Not having budgets

Have a marketing budget that is between 3% and 10% of gross revenue.  Create a budget that includes both anticipated revenue and expenses over the next quarter, 6 months, and year.  Review monthly.  Don’t purchase or commit to ANY new expenses without checking your budget.  This includes staff, office supplies, furniture, software tools, etc.  The sentiment of “if we build it they will come” does not mean rush out and get a bigger office, furnish it, and add a ton of monthly expenses before getting recurring revenue in the door.

5. Taking on a new client without a project

There is always a project when taking on a new client.  Always.  Either it is an upgrade or a stabilization project.  Prior to the project a detailed analysis and/or site survey is required to know what that project needs to be.  Plenty of war stories can be shared by those who made this mistake that can cost thousands to the bottom line each instance.  Also, when a project is needed is THE BEST time to get the customer to agree to your managed services offering.  Do NOT wait until everything is fixed before presenting the agreement.

6. Not believing in the value of your offering

YOU must believe that your company’s offering is the best option for your customer.  You must believe that once on your managed services plan, your customer will have improved efficiency in their operations, and save time, money, and aggravation as a result.  You must believe it is a great value for your customer.  If all you see is dollar signs for you, or you feel like it’s “a lot” of money for the customer, either re-adjust your belief system by looking deeper at the true value of your offering, or quit now.

7. Allowing emotions to drive staff decisions

Think of Simon Cowell.  It is not cruel or mean to tell people the truth, even if it’s not what they want to hear.  While I would suggest a bit more tact than Simon Cowell, the brutal truth is the best way.  A great book for any “real” conversation with staff is Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott.