MSP Business School

Jason Schaller joins us in today's episode to discuss the importance of regular assessments and compliance reviews. Anderson Zurmuehlen started as a traditional audit and accounting firm and ultimately added technology as a division of their business. Leveraging their existing relationships where trust was established it only made sense to move into IT where trust of private information is also required. Jason is responsible for both internal security and serving as the vCISO for the AZTS technology clients. AZTS has built a strong advisory firm focused on IT governance and performing audits like SOC2 and CMMC.. Jason tells us how there is a huge opportunities for MSP's to provide security based resources to the small to mid-sized business community.Accountants have long been conversing with clients about risk management and in his role he is able to use that common language and extend it to IT. We then discuss how many MSP's are changing their models to MSSP, but most are falling short in the areas of governance and maintaining security policy and controls. While tools are being brought in to support security the talent hasn't often caught up to really identify vulnerabilities. We talk about how the industry and how the MSSP community mirrors how the early days of the MSP world got started, a number of proven premium security players and a large numbers of upstarts that may not be qualified (yet) to truly be an MSSP and opening up risk to themselves. One of the biggest black holes for many MSSP's today is a proven incident response team. Jason speaks of the key to mitigating that risk is having a good front end and build a quality prevention program. We close with that MSP's that are unsure if they are conducting assessments and evaluating risk prevention appropriately they can engage Jason and his firm by visiting Anderson Zurmuehlen and engaging with their firm.

Today's Interview Series guest is Todd Whitley, CEO and Partner for Brightwire Networks. Brightwire started as the traditional owner-led sales organization, and has since completed the transition to a mature sales team. Todd sees 5-year business cycles within his business. They key is being adaptable and focusing on growth. A key to Brightwire's success is building trust with clients and the sales team to drive the sales relationship. We talk about the responsibilities an MSP and its ownership has to supporting staff, clients, family and community. One of the biggest challenges Brightwire faces is the pace of change within the technology sector and helping the team keep up with new tech. Todd explains that Brightwire's mentality as a Business first service provider has given them the ability to control the pace of new technology and when their clients will implement new services. Through consultative advice, business alignment, and strong client relationships, Brightwire is not forced to allow technology to rule the team. To keep morale with the team, Brightwire doesn't become a slave to their customer. He encourages MSP's develop a process to support your team, leverage business conversation to keep the customer focused, and this drives successful digital transformation. This is critical to a strong, partner relationship with each client.

In this episode we recap some of the highlights from our past 5 guests. As experts in the field we have seen that each has their own approach in achieving success. Robb, Tim, and Brian discuss hat they learned and share their opinions on whether they agree or disagree. We start with a discussion that centered around discussions with Craig Skevinington and Matthew Bookspan. Each has experienced a large, game changing sale and each shared with us what it took to win the deal. The biggest takeaway we learned as each put in about 100 hours of business development time to win the deal. We discuss the tactics you need to take to win a big deal and how it is not for the faint of heart. We also talk about service models and whether of not a dedicated resource model trumps the pod model for providing support to your key clients. We close with a discussion around peer groups and how they have helped most of the experts we met with and what they have done for our own businesses'.

Today we speak to Tommy Wolosin, one of two partners operating NetWorks in Nashville, TN. Tommy talks to us about creating an amazing culture to drive both client and customer relationships. We start with a conversation around how NetWorks started operations and how growth came from Tommy networking heavily in the Nashville area. We talk about how peer groups and coaching were fundamental in breaking past growth driven by hustle into a more predictable sales model. We then transition into creating a culture that both customer and staff wanted to be a part of. Tommy shares how Net Works has long term and close relationships with many of their customers. They leverage a strong vCIO process to drive engagement and loyalty in their client relationships. We also discuss how that culture spills into the business with most employees being part of the team for 10+ and the tactics that Net Works employs to meet the needs of both the business and their team.

Jon Rees joins us today on MSP Business School. Jon is the Head of Technologies for Allied Communications, a Communications focused service provider with a large focus on the Casino and Gaming industry. In fact, they are the provider for 37% of the Las Vegas strip and 60% of Atlantic City. Today we discuss how to approach the enterprise space with a solutions focused approach. How once you crack the first enterprise account, you have to work your relationship to help guide you to the next enterprise opportunity. We shift gears to solutions to drive the remote workforce. Jon explains how UCaaS and CCaaS can simplify customer interactions in a world of expanding remote workforce. We talk about customer experience and how that can make or break a relationship. Jon tells us where contact centers can enhance the experience and client support. It can also help managers keep tabs, especially when your team is geographically dispersed.

In today's episode we speak with Eric Kiehn, the owner of C&W Technologies. His service provider business has lasted 36 years and has seen good times and bad. Eric tells us about those experiences and the downturns often led to new revenue opportunities. Eric speaks about how as he went into the last great recession in '08 it opened up a new market in cloud services for his break-fix shop. Through the need to control costs it opened up a new recurring revenue model. In fact, cloud drove the MSP services vs. the other way around. Eric also shares how peer groups changed his business and his life. How the feedback from peers, both inside the industry with other MSP's, and with local business leaders shaped his leadership perspective and helped C&W Technologies innovate. He then shares about C&W's approach to the COVID-19 crisis. Change is more apt to happen during these down periods and clients are open to ideas they may have rejected in the past. He adds that C&W Technologies built a list of 5 things they planned to accomplish to improve internally in the crisis. On a personal level, Eric focused on learning as much as he could on PPP, not for his business, but to help guide others. It drew attention to him locally and drove new prospects into the top of his funnel.

Today we start our Interview Series with our first guest Matthew Bookspan talks to us about the launch of Blacktip IT. He did this at a time where most of us would be avoiding risk. Holding a six-figure job and with a baby on the way, Matthew and his wife made the decision to start and IT company and he has never looked back. Matthew starts by telling us the story of his launch and his decision process to make the jump becoming and IT Service provider. Not only did he take a big risk for himself and his family he went a step further focusing Apple Solutions at a time where Apple could only be termed as 'hyperniche". Matthew takes us through his journey of going from startup to a multi-million dollar service provider. His story is a great one as he shares the focus and strategy he used to drive growth, keep costs in-line and even fire 200 clients on a single day.

Today we start our Interview Series with our first guest Craig Skevington, the founder of Steadfast IT. Steadfast started as a traditional break-fix house, moved to managed services and then took the bold step in focusing on multi-location companies with remote workforce. Craig shares with us the steps his company took to drive success. This included building a portfolio and driving customer acquisition. Craig discusses how their focus is over delivering to their client base. By focusing on service analytics and searching to the repeatable issues that affect their clients to streamline support. This yields an 8 minute ticket response goal, and leverages skill based routing for support. This approach increases client happiness and drives referral business. We then move into Craig's story about the process he took in order to "hook a whale", an extremely large deal his organization has in their portfolio. He discusses the sales process, how critical it is to listen and find the pain, and then use that to drive the solution. He shares what the sales process looked like, the time investment required to land the opportunity, and what your should expect from the prospect. Additionally, he expands on the concept of prospect obligation and how to get the client to "put skin in the game" which may not need to be monetary. We close with how to manage the "whale".

On this episode we do another virtual case study on using sales metrics as a source of sales rep motivation. Brian kicks off the conversation talking about a rep he took on through an acquisition. This rep was a textbook salesperson with a mission. We go into how this mission will drive success From a metrics perspective this rep was consistent, and his sales metrics reflected that consistency. Knowing how he operated he needed less of a sales manager and more of a sales coach. Someone to keep on track. We discuss sales DNA and learning what a sales rep looks like based on their DNA. Once this DNA is recognized, it becomes easy to pull the right levers to move the needle. Robb talks about to provide reps with systems and support in the sales operations process. What tasks should the rep own what tasks should belong to others? We discuss how to approach this. We then discuss the activities that are required and how you can use ConnectWise sales activity points to manage the Business Development efforts. We also discuss one critical trait that successful sales people have and how that supplements motivation and drive.

As MSP's work with their clients' it is easy to get complacent and work exclusively through your primary point of contact. What happens when then contact is not the sole decision maker and has an equal partner who has equal say in your renewal decision. Can you be at risk? Robb and Tim share a real-life case study of a client who ran into the exact issue described above. The client had been a long-term relationship of the MSP, but primarily in a break-fix fashion. The relationship to date had been primarily reactive. Also, client had added a Level 1 tech making this an even more difficult renewal. The MSP walked into the renewal finding out that the client that "who loved them": Had been educated to the concept of Managed Services by a competing vendor who provided a proposal. The proposal was much lower than his existing fees. The other partner liked his model and price. Tim and Robb then share how the customer worked the deal, and the good, bad, and ugly of the final outcome.

Today's conversation focuses on client engagement, especially when things are slow in the relationship and things are working and we have moved to cruise control. Brian kicks this one off with a discussion around relationship building and how it is critical to not neglect the relationship or take it for granted. So, how can we start this conversation when we don't have much to say? It's all about ice breakers and asking questions about the clients business. This conversation needs to go beyond the point of contact and you need to engage with all key stakeholders in the process. We discuss how there are always changes going in the client environment. Personnel changes, customer wins, budget changes. These forces can change the client view on our relationship and we need to stay in front of our client so we can see opportunities and problems that may be coming. We can do this through live touch points, CSAT or NPS surveys and gain information we can use. The challenge is most Account Mangers fall down on touching their client in between sales. These resources need to schedule time to contact each customer to stay in tune with the customer and build the relationship. Robb speaks about the past, present, and future model and how the AM's often struggle with the future, or strategy, piece of the puzzle. Brian goes into detail on approaches for junior reps to get the process started. If we manage the relationship consistently over time we become the sherpa guiding our clients. The result happier clients with improved sales velocity.

Today's we break down the prospecting process, how to get organized, focused, and targeted in your plan. Robb kicks off the conversation with the concept of the Dream 250, a process OSR Manage and their sales teams live by. This process helps you get laser focused and find those valued relationships each sales rep requires. Tim discusses tactics to get to those target prospects. We dive into a multi-channel approach to sales prospecting and using cold-calls as intelligence gathering. It's not easy to get to your best prospects and the process helps you make each step a valuable exercise on the way to engaging your target. We then engage on how to qualify MSP clients so prospecting time is not wasted on low value targets. We discuss the information you need to obtain and when to cut a prospect loose. We also address the common sales gripe, "the leads are no good and I don't have enough". The truth is not the leads, but your approach and mindset will really dictate success. Most reps give up on a lead to early and we discuss what the proper expectation should be (psst....its not 3 calls).

With more an more staff working from home and many businesses looking at making that move permanent for their staff, we look at the impact on manage those teams and steps to take to keep everyone productive. Sponsored by vCIOToolbox and OSRManage Today's episode focuses on a trend that been growing steadily over the last decade, the remote office workforce. The work from home model has had steady year over year growth for quite some time, but the recent pandemic event made it a necessity. Companies are now looking at the overall pro's and con's of this workforce model and many are putting in place plans to not bring many of their employees back into the office. Ultimately, for some businesses this offers the opportunity for reduced operating costs through eliminating rents. We kick off the discussion with Robb discussing the OSR Manage approach to virtual management and how they are leveraging teams to get the team on the same page. Tim follows with talk around needing to increase their daily huddle call to a twice a day event to ensure all team members were on the same page and to facilitate any communication or decision making assistance that might be required. the team discusses there individual approaches and what has been working or not working as they all grow more accustomed to remote management of staff. The conversation then flows into what is required for an effective remote team. We discuss tools that are needed, how to structure business hours and staff availability, and we close with a discussion about work-life balance when home is also work.

Going Vertical! Sounds like we may be talking with skater or snowboarders, but the vertical we will be speaking about today is singular focus on one industry. Many MSP's have adopted the vertical approach, and quite a few with huge success as we can see in the ChannelE2E's Annual Top 100 Vertical MSP report. But the big question is can a vertical focus be right for my MSP, and is the risk associated with a single industry to big a risk to put all your eggs in one basket? Robb kicks us off with his opinion and we quickly learn that he is not a fan of the vertical approach. The risk in his perspective of an industry going dry or facing an economic downturn is too big an impact for many MSP's to survive. This is being shown here in the pandemic as you see MSP's that singularly serve the hospitality and entertainment venues seeing big channels. Brian brings a discussion of not a complete vertical focus, but implementing "pocket verticals" and taking success you may have had as an early stage and leverage that into building these 'pocket verticals". Robb speaks that you need to capitalize and get better at the markets you have the most success and then research how to beat your competition in that vertical. Tim reflects on the concept of the generalist and how there is too much of a 'one-off' approach across your client base and you do need to narrow down to a few verticals to support your business growth. The reality for many MSP's the local market is too finite to support pure vertical growth. Brian speaks about how that vertical MSP's have to be open to moving into new markets and finding a marketing mindset and delivery process that can support that footprint. We close with a discussion of vertical industries and where the least amount of vertical risk lives and MSP's can pursue with the least risk.

In this episode we dig deep into the role of the MSP Inside Sales Representative. Robb starts the discussion with some of the key responsibilities of the farmer rep and discusses their involvement in deal registration and renewals, proposal generation and customer service. Brian discusses how MSP clients can be the 'gift that keeps on giving" and how it is crucial to keep close to your client and the account manager function needs to support the account and understand the client drivers and obstacles and communicate that internally. The role of vCIO drives the farming process. In building a roadmap we are better able to illustrate a long term plan. This allows for better client budgeting and shorter sales cycles if executed properly. We then dive into key activities around communication, cadence, and duties. this includes staying informed on client and propsect news. They keep tabs on press releases, annuncements, and events to keep the entires team aware of current events. The farmer should also be responsbile for tracking customer satisfaction. For EOS users this cn be iin the scorecard. It is key for the account manager to stay in tune with the overall health of the relationship. For companies that integrate the farmer roles they can be a growth agent and ensure the account blooms.

In this episode we MSP Sales models that can be leveraged beyond the owner led sales model. We discuss how to get started and the steps you need to take to set yourself up for long-term customer acquisition success. Tim starts the discussion in outlining owner led sales. This is the most common way most MSP's get started. Robb expands on the owner-led sales model generally starts with the 'friends and family" referral approach and how that doesn't scale. We discuss the realities of this model and why it often doesn't scale. The discussion then moves into sales tactics and how the money is in the follow up. This starts in the prospecting phase and moves through each step in the sales cycle for MSP's. When this becomes a larger problem this can be an indicator that it is time to expand the sales team. Robb talks about getting focus and really driving opporunity by building your 'Dream 250". Many MSP's do not focus on clients that are similar to the companies that they have had success and building pocket verticals. We then move into the transition phase of moving past the owner-led sale and building a team. We also discuss why the oowner can never really remove themselves from the sales process until you have scale in your overall business. We then discuss what these new sales models look like and the roles that need to be filled. Also, we hone in on when a full-time sales manager is really needed in the business and its later that you think. We close the masterclass on identifying the key roles needed to build a strong MSP Sales engine and drive success.

In this episode we have a special guest filling in for Robb and Tim. Jason Moss, Director of Marketing at Allied Communications, shares with us the tips and tactics he has employed to grow the Allied following by nearly 600% in seven months on the job. We begin with a discussion on strategy and the approach model Jason leverages when creating content for the team and when he is posting directly. We talk about the first step is to engage. Early in a social media strategy, commenting and engaging is often more important that posting in raising brad awareness and demonstrating thought leadership. Jason then dives into how you can train many social media algorithms on the content you prefer and the contacts you want to see most often. Jason then dives into how you can train many social media algorithms on the content you prefer and the contacts you want to see most often. We talk content creation and how to find ways to engage people without "post fatigue". As we move through the COVID crisis you can see how people are just growing tired of the pandemic rhetoric, work from home strategies and regurgitated posts on new widely known . We can fight this issue through sharing personal experiences, talking about your company culture and finding entertaining ways to develop your content. Drive intimate experiences vs. a firehouse of news articles or service offerings. We close with tools you can use at little or no cost to build your social media marketing and look spectacular doing it.

In this episode we discuss the role of the MSP Account Manager. A great account manager can maximize the lifetime value of the relationship and ensure that the relationship sticks long-term Brian outlines the strategic account management process he employed while running his MSP. Key points are understanding the key initiatives and obstacles that a client is facing and making recommendations to contribute to solving each. We also identify the key difference between the Key Account Manager (KAM) and the Technical Account Manager (TAM). Key drivers for each role depends on the size on personnel of the MSP. We also discuss how these resources can "stealth sell". Tim discusses how to leverage the DISC profile for assessing resources and determining how to assess success in each role. Robb discusses the communication style that can be leveraged within the DISC profile. We dive into QBR's as an account management tool. We discuss the frequency of Business Reviews and that should drive those meetings. WE talk about ways to rate your clients to determine frequency and driving value back to your client. We close the meeting with staying in contacts with clients begin the key to account management. You need to be proactive and stay ahead of issues.

In this episode we discuss our the various sales approaches in use at MSP's and MSSP's today. These include owner-led, inside/outside sales team, and hybrid sales models. Robb discusses the realistic expectations for bringing on your first sales person and what support a new MSP Sales Rep will require. We then discuss how to transition from a word of mouth and refer sales organization and move into a true prospecting led sales engine. Robb dives into how one of the biggest things that OSR Manage teaches owners making their first sales hire is patience. We also identify one of the easiest things to fix in your sales team, improving follow up and staying in touch and driving sales through a pleasantly persistent approach to sales. MSP's also need to understand and develop sales metrics. If you don't have a measurable plan your sales hire will fail. Develop your process before making that first hire. We close the meeting with how to interview and hire those resources and tactics to weed out the 'big talkers' and identify the producers.

We have hit the peak of the COVID crisis and our conversation focuses on what MSP's can do to prepare to head back to work in the "New Normal". Brian speaks of the importance of the VCIO role as small to mid-sized businesses get back to work. VCIO's can help with helping the SMB's catalog WFH lessons learned and gaps they may have experienced in deploying a WFH workforce. More importantly, helping our clients build a new strategy as the restrictions on this crisis starts to relax. We start to look at the cyber security issues experienced during the crisis. These include the impact of layoffs of remote workforce, Zoombombing, and staff security awareness. We then start mapping out solutions to these common issues. Robb discusses how too many Account Managers and vCIO's only look at the past and the present and not enough are helping shape the technology plan for the future. Tim sparks a discussion about how all team members need to step up and help contribute wherever necessary to keep the machine moving as we move into the 'new normal'. Robb touches upon how many MSP's he is speaking with are reviewing their SOP's as they have changed as a result of work from home. He is also seeing those that embrace security will be leading the way in the 'new normal'. Brian shares that security awareness programs and employee monitoring will be key needs.

The Dean's discuss the global condition of MSP sales teams during the COVID-19 crisis. Are they laying off staff? If not, what tasks are sales team taking as companies assess post-COVID damage. We discuss what steps sales managers can take to keep their sales team engaged during this slow period and ready to execute when life returns to the "new normal". Robb speaks about some of the tactics he is seeing MSP's use during this crisis. He notes that is is a great time to both show empathy and gather business intelligence from your clients and it is helping build a stronger relationship. We discuss how many MSP's are not taking steps to accelerate sales when the crisis is over and too many are choosing sales people as the resources to cut to reduce payroll. This also will create a buyers market for many MSP's post-crisis. A surprising trend is by shifting the conversation to empathy with our clients, sales rep time on call is increasing as their clients are more open to discuss their current situation freely. Brian talks about if there is any selling going on right now and the answer is yes. MSP's are seeing increases in technologies supporting WFH and Cybersecurity. Robb discusses some interesting approach models to drive stalled projects and make their employees happy.

In this episode we discuss our experiences in filing for the economic stimulus packages. We also talk about how to manage our remote teams as we work from home. We highlight tools that can be used and some of the interesting things we need to adapt to in WFH. Finally, we talk about how to keep your sales teams motivated and engaged as we work through this period of crisis. Tim discusses about teaching his team to lead with empathy. He has found this approach is opening doors and allowing the sales team to log discovery calls that may convert to sales when the country reopens. We close with a discussion of how to engage with your existing clients and build better relationships through learning lessons learned and how to help our teams sharpen their skills during this period of downtime. Note: This was recorded prior to the exhaustion of funds and program reopening.