“We all want to make money but we have prioritized the idea that we make money over providing solutions and services.”.-Bruce Sarte

Today one of the issues facing tech companies and many others is that we treat people like everything but human beings.  We classify them as clients/customers, employees, bosses, or even simply as “The man”.  We have dehumanized relationships. We used to solve problems for people now we only present pre-built solutions without understanding the person in front of us.

This week, author Sean Mahar joins us to discuss the concept of his book, Stop Wasting Words: Leading Through Conscious Communication. What does it mean to waste one’s words, and what are people doing (or perhaps saying) to make their words wasteful?

If the idea of wasting your words is hard to grasp, try thinking of your words as your time. You surely wouldn’t be wasteful with precious time, and your words are no different. If a loved one were reaching their final moments, would you spend this time with them chattering about trivial and unimportant matters? Absolutely not! You would pour out words that are meaningful and touching. Doing this is important in far more life aspects than simply when it’s time to say goodbye to a loved one. Being intentional about using meaningful words has an effect on your relationships - both personal and professional - as well as your success.

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/fjYb1uKnNNQ

Dimes, dollars and profit. Put away every dime you make and save it for the future. It’s an idea we’ve all heard and are eager to follow because it usually makes more sense to save every penny. But the truth is that stashing money away will never lead to making a profit. You’ll start making money when you prioritize where to spend your time, making human connections and even where to spend your money.

In the corporate world, it’s not unusual to find oneself doing nothing and still making money. But as MSPs, we don’t have that luxury. We have to keep things moving, provide solutions for our clients and, most importantly, have conversations.

We’ve all found ourselves in those meetings - the kind that can last for hours and take up huge portions of the day. Meetings are important. It allows us to sit down and hammer out all the kinks that may be holding us up and plan for the future. But if these happen too frequently, you’re spending money paying your employees to sit in, they’re losing out on the time where they could be helping your clients and you are losing opportunities for more client engagement. Again, meetings have their place and purpose. However, it is imperative that you prioritize topics of discussion to ensure that you’re spending your time and money wisely.

Sales are important. It’s what keeps your business growing and makes your money. But when you walk into a meeting with a potential client, you’re not just selling your product or services. You’re selling your story, listening to theirs, and aligning them so that you can both be excited about your venture together. Make your client engagement memorable. Get to know them. Take them to dinner at their favorite restaurant for your next quarterly meeting. Host an event where your new and existing clients can get together and have fun! Customers are more likely to do business with you if you have taken the time to engage with them. When they know you understand their mission and are passionate about the value you bring to their success, you can continue cultivating a lasting relationship, even if your competitors have lower prices.

In the tech world, we tend to be service driven. We have a task or goal and work to get the job done. We focus on the operations and forget about the human element that drives people to want to do business with us. Balance operations and the time you take to engage with customers and staff. The personal touch is guaranteed profit. Your staff feels heard and valued and your clients know that you are invested in their mission. Make sure you are someone that you would do business with, someone you want to work for.

Turn your dimes to dollars and start making a profit! Human engagement with both your clients and your staff will drive up your revenue and make your work enjoyable for everyone involved.
yone involved. 

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube: https://youtu.be/7uIOwxWU_HU

In the tech world, we tend to focus on the tasks that directly correlate to our work. But if we only focus on things like fixing firewalls and cybersecurity without understanding our clients - that is what makes tech companies suck at risk analysis.

That is not to say that what we do is unimportant. Our clients would not have hired us if they did not need our services. What is important is that we understand that to our clients, there is a difference between technical risk and business risk.

It is only natural that tech companies focus on technical risk. It’s what we do! But, you must remember that business risk will always outweigh technical risk to your client. Make it a point to talk to your customers. Understand what they see as risks and threats to their company, and then align your services with their needs. For example, if you have a client that runs a dog kennel, their main concern is the health and safety of the animals. If you only talk to them about everything you have done to improve their cybersecurity, your words will fall on deaf ears. But, if you can explain to them how improvement to their cybersecurity helps oversee all dogs that they are caring for and allows owners to safely access live streams of their pets from work, you have proven how your goals match those of your customers. Now your client has more features to sell to their customers, and you have opened the door for your business to provide additional services to build an ongoing relationship.

Aligning technical risk with business risk benefits you and your customers by providing a clear path to success. It helps your clients prioritize the factors that threaten their business and enables you to understand how your services help them meet their goals. Use this as a foundation to expand your business.

Business Risk x Technical Risk = Opportunity

When your client understands how the risks and threats to their business can be resolved by addressing technical issues, it allows you to cultivate your business relationship and the opportunity to offer additional services. In turn, it is your responsibility to ensure that you understand your customers. Focus on what your clients care about and what is most important to them. Learn how to identify the problems they face and then mitigate them to how IT can help prevent problems from happening. This strengthens the trust your clients have in you, provides direction for you and your client and creates a base on which you can expand your services.

Tech companies don’t have to suck at risk analysis. We just need to listen and understand how our work impacts client businesses and reduces the threats they face. Building client rapport is more than just doing a good job. Remember, we have conversations, not presentations! Take the time to understand what they value. Turn your risk analysis from sucking to spectacular!

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd
Youtube:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

In your job, you most likely assume that you’re doing well. Why wouldn’t you? But, if most people think they’re performing well, how do we actually gauge that and test performance? It’s really easy to talk about what makes a good MSP, and that’s generally what we like to focus on. This is a touchy subject, but one that can really benefit you in your pursuit to be a great MSP. So, let’s get started with how to see if you are a good or bad MSP!

The first thing to look at within your MSP is client retention. If your clients are only staying with you because of an iron-clad agreement, then you may have a problem. If you’re only keeping clients because you’re the cheapest bid in town, that is also a red flag. You should be offering a value to your clients that would make them want to stay with you, no matter what. Client retention should not come from force or a constant effort on your part to convince them to stay.

If you can provide an easy out for your clients and they choose to stay, then you’re doing well. We always stress conversations with your clients, and this is a great way to talk about your value and what you provide for them. You shouldn’t have to beg them to stay!

The next thing you should dive into is whether you are continuously improving. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. Essentially, continuous improvement is the cornerstone of what makes you a good MSP. Do you know if you are operating better than you were last year? Do you have the metrics to analyze to see that growth? If you haven’t improved or don’t have ways to track data, then you’re a bad MSP.

If you answered no to the following questions, it probably doesn’t feel like you’re doing badly. Generally, a lack of improvement happens from ignorance or pride. The best thing to do is identify what could be improved within your organization. It doesn’t have to be monumental changes—just small steps that will help you grow in the long run.

The third and final metric is whether your clients are in your lane. Basically, are your clients looking for the type of MSP that you are providing when looking at both services and culture.

People are always looking for different things, and there are a ton of options for MSPs. The thing to look at is what you are providing your clients. Do those services line up with what your client truly needs? If so, great! But, if not, it is time to refer them to another MSP that will align with them better.

Let’s say you work really well with schools, and that is your niche. Almost all of your clients come to you knowing that and looking for high-quality services that might cost a bit more but will align with the education field. If a hospital comes to you looking for the cheapest option, chances are they are not going to be a good fit for you. As a good MSP, you would refer them to another agency that will be able to serve them best.

Use metrics—customer retention, continuous improvement and whether you align with your clients—to test whether you’re a good MSP. If you aren’t, then it’s not too late to improve in each of these areas! If you are doing well, then maximize those skills!

If you’ve ever walked into a room, gave a lecture and then walked out and wondered why no one bought your product, this one is for you. 

Here at Humanize IT, our motto is conversations, not presentations. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve probably heard us talk about that a ton — and, for a good reason! We want you to have the best conversations with clients, and that means it’s time to get rid of PowerPoint. 

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NHRRDl
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3AyHCUd

We’re all too well aware of the enormous amount of work that goes into the preparation phase of every client IT project. From the idea stage (we need to replace the server architecture) to actually being able to send a proper quote ($18,500 with labour cost) the MSP spends dozens of hours coming up with the IT project plan and the numbers. The hours are tracked as “sales” hours spending time on those quotes but at the end of the day most of those projects never take off. Everybody is bummed, the client calls off the opportunity, the team writes off the time to a “lost opportunity” category and life goes on. However there is a totally legitimate, battle-tested sales tactic that a few MSPs use to cut this unproductive and morale-draining busy work. Let's get into the details.

If you are reading this blog, it’s likely that you’re the best managed IT service provider in town, you have the most mature offering, hire and train the best people, and have the best internal processes an MSP can imagine. However, it’s also probable that your sales are just not at the level you want them to be. You are not alone. Even the best MSPs have issues with sales. But underperformance in sales is only one symptom of the problem. The root cause is that your sales are not predictable, and this leads to all sorts of issues. Let's dig into the cause, then see what you can do, then develop a plan to make this happen!

Are you struggling to sell Managed Services?

If you are struggling to sell services, don't worry, you are not alone. MSPs of all sizes are feeling the pinch when it comes to sales, so this struggle is not exclusive to you. 

Factors such as increases in competition, frugal clients, poor product positioning, diminishing referrals and lack of overall strategy, cumulatively contribute to a continual decline in sales.

Leads are at an all time low and the cost of generating leads is at an all time high. In light of this, it is more important than ever to utilize ways to set yourself apart from the crowd, secure your role as an industry expert and thus, gain credibility from existing and future clients.