How's your September? It's the final month of the 3rd quarter of 2023. We're now in the 9th month of pundits warning about a recession this year.

So far, no recession. With luck, the recessioneeres will quiet down by the end of next quarter.

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As for my company, we're launching a new postcard campaign for IT Service Provider University. We're starting with a mailing of about 2,000 to see how well this medium works. I've always loved direct mail (postal) marketing. It's more expensive than sending an email, but the response rate is pretty good because people don't receive as much advertising as they used to.

The "standard" response rate to postcards is about 4%. But that just means someone will take some action. We only have one call to action: visit our web site and get a discount on the classes.

AND - as I say in the Cheeky Sales Coach videos (www.cheekysalescoach.com) - every element of marketing has to do its job. So the postcard should drive people to the web site. Then the web site has to do its job and get them to click and buy.

We shall see.

The total cost for printing and postage is about 57 cents per postcard. So we need three class sales to make a profit. With luck, we also add a few people to the mailing list, although that's not the call to action.

There are many variables that make any mailing unique (The list, the audience, the offer, the medium, the landing page, the buying process, the industry at this moment in time, buyer cash flow, etc.). So the performance of one campaign cannot be generalized to the approach as a whole.

No matter how well the postcard campaign works, our plan is to make a few tweaks to the ad copy and send another round of cards. In this way, we create an A/B test with sequential mailings. Of course, it requires that we track responses and web traffic carefully.

This is a great example of the advice from Great by Choice by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen: Shoot bullets, not cannonballs. If you haven't read it, DO!

The basic idea is that, if you have limited amount of lead, you can shoot one cannonball or lots of bullets. If you shoot the cannonball and miss, you're done. So, the advice is to shoot bullets to get your aim right. Then, when you're sure it's good, use the remaining lead to shoot the cannonball.

So, this is our first shot.

Fall is a great time to look back and see how your year is shaping up - and to begin planning for next year. Of course this means money, but it's more than that. After all, money is simply a reflection of all the other activities and choices in your business.

Start now on a multi-pronged approach. Ask clients how their year has been, and what they think next year might be like. Then ask your employees the same thing. I always think you should be engaged in never-ending discussions with your clients. And employees.

As we see in the economic news, "good" economic times and "bad" economic times are often just the collective belief in where things are headed. Your economy is not same as the national or international economy. Remember, someone's always in the top ten percent. Why not let that be you?

Another prong in the multi-pronged approach is to review events for this year and next year. Which events brought you the greatest value? Which will you repeat in 2024? And which will you manage to add to the 2023 achievements?

Events should have goals. At almost every big event (1,000 or more attendees), I meet someone who shares their list goals for the event. They intend to find someone who is familiar with a new technology or vendor they are considering. They have a short list of people they want to meet and shake hands with. And they have reviewed the agenda enough to know which sessions they will not miss.

I call this attending a conference with intention. And, really, your evaluation of your business should help you finish the year with intention and plan next year with intention!

Over at IT Service Provider University . . . We've got a great savings opportunity right now.

Browse to https://www.itspu.com and use the code FallBlog23 to save $50 per class on all courses we offer.

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The next big class is on Service Agreements - always a popular one. And now you can save big with that code. Class starts Sept. 19th.

After that, Lori Hardtke is offering an all-new course on Profit First for MSPs. As you may know, Profit First is a popular book by Mike Michalowicz. Lori is a Profit First coach and will walk MSPs through the process of taking control of their finances and setting up processes to help you keep them under control.

Again, just use the code FallBlog23 to save big right now. All the details at itspu.com.

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Keep sending me that calendar updates for any events you plan to attend in person. I'd particularly like to hear about any new events on your schedule.

Please share this newsletter if you enjoy it.

Have a great week.

:-)

Links below in the events calendar - or at WhereInTheWorldIsKarl.com.

Taught by Karl W. Palachuk

Author, Coach, and Community Builder

- Five Tuesdays

- September 19th - October 17th

BONUS: Class registration includes a free copy of the latest version of Service Agreements for SMB Consultants

Delivered by Karl W. Palachu, author of Service Agreement for SMB Consultants and Managed Services in a Month.

Includes five weeks of webinar classes with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor.

This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for the Owner or Operations Manager.

Meets Certification Requirements for:

This class will be recorded. Each unit is generally posted within 24 hours of the live class. These recorded units will become the On-Demand class and you’ll have lifetime access to it.

SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday

Our YouTube IT Consulting channel now has more than 9,200 subscribers and 712,000 views!

Subscribe today and don't miss a thing!

You can always check out my YouTube Channel and subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/smallbizthoughts

OR my Relax-Focus-Succeed Channel at https://www.youtube.com/relaxfocussucceed

What's YOUR favorite benefit? For some members, it's the weekly Zoom meetings. For others, it's the books, checklists, and SOPs. And for many others, it's access to twenty-five courses over at IT Service Provider University. In all, your annual membership is worth more than $20,000 - but you need to go get it!

If you're looking for something in particular, please contact us. We are here to help YOU and your team to be as successful as possible.

-- -- --

Manuel has been a technology savant for more than three decades. He has run and managed managed services business across the U.S. and coached consultants from all over the world.

Manuel has a great keynote speech entitled The Culture Imperative.

We talked about his journey and how culture is maintained in successful organizations. The recording is now in the Community. Check out "SBT Roundtables" from the Community menu.

-- -- --

All New Book!

My latest book is in the final weeks of development. It should be in release in print next month AND via ebook download in September.

But remember: YOU always get my new books free of charge inside the Community.

Keep an eye on the What's New area of the Community site. And, of course, the new book will be available in the Book Resources section as soon it's released.

My goal is that you'll use this new book for some serious planning for the next year. AND we're going to have a set of members-only classes to go through the book together. Plus, that will be the kick-off of a new program in the Community. Details soon!

We look forward to helping you in the weeks and months ahead!

Here's the last Community News video:

Spotted at a local store . . .

This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.

More Info: https://getnerdio.com/nerdio-training-camp/#trainingregister

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events

September 20 & 21

Chicago, IL

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

More Info: https://www.canitcon.ca/events/canitcon-2023-banff-1

Sep 18-21

Huntington Beach, CA

More Info: https://summit.sandlerpartners.com/2023

Sept 28-29

Scottsdale, AZ

More Info: http://bit.ly/kernanmastermind

Oct. 2-4, 2023

Miami, FL

More Info: https://www.dattocon.com/

More Info: https://getnerdio.com/nerdio-training-camp/#trainingregister

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events

Oct 9-11

Washington, DC

More Info: https://msspalertlive.com/2023

October 10-11

Amsterdam, Netherlands

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange

Oct. 10-11

Atlanta (Southeast)

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/channelpro-smb-forum-2023-atlanta

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events

Oct. 16-18

Miami, FL

More Info: https://promo.acronis.com/summit-2023-pre-register.html

More Info: https://getnerdio.com/nerdio-training-camp/#trainingregister

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events

More Info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/registration.asp

October 18 & 19

Washington, D.C.

More Info: https://events.ascii.com/

October 19

London, England

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange

More Info: https://www.smbitpro.org/conference-2023/

Oct. 30-Nov. 2

Miami Beach

More Info: https://www.channelfutures.com/channel-events

More Info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/content/2023-events-registration

More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/evolve/agenda

More Info: https://getnerdio.com/nerdio-training-camp/#trainingregister

More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/evolve/agenda

:-)

More Info: https://web.cvent.com/event/70970f2a-39dd-46ad-9469-1c6e7733071e/regProcessStep1:74825d1d-ed84-4213-ac63-741430f5a2d4

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events

More Info: https://navigate.ascii.com/

Dec 7-8

Phoenix, AZ

More Info: https://kernanconsulting-mastermind.mykajabi.com/mastermind-event

More Info: https://getnerdio.com/nerdio-training-camp/#trainingregister

:-)

Send us your updates

March 3-5

Orlando, FL

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange

March

UK

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange

More Info: https://www.channelfutures.com/channel-events

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events

Send us your updates

More Info: https://www.mspgeekcon.com

June 2024

East Essex, England

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange

More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange

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