Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
|
|
Be a little different . . . it's easy
|
|
If you haven't read Delivering Happiness by Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, please do yourself a favor and read it soon. It's not about building a successful delivery chain. It's a great book on building a successful culture - and protecting that culture with processes.
And as Hsieh fully admits, that takes a certain element of doing things differently than others. In particular, he spells out their rules for hiring people who will be a good fit for their culture. My favorite criterion: Candidates have to be a little weird.
It's surprisingly easy to add a little bit of "being different" into your business. I am reminded of this because I just bought some stamps. Yes, those things you use to post letters in the physical world.
I use maybe five stamps per month. But I find it super easy to bring a little joy to people - and maybe even get an envelope noticed. The US postal service always has cool and different stamps. I think they hope people will buy them and never use them. I use mine.
When I used up my last Bugs Bunny stamp, I ordered some Star Wars stamps.
I could be buying rolls of 100 stamps like every other business in the world. But it literally costs me nothing extra have stamps that are just a little more interesting.
Granted, this is a far cry from jogging backward down the street in a bright yellow track suit. It's just different "enough" so that people know I'm okay with different. That won't lead to greater sales or better marketing promotions. But little things like this can remind clients and prospects that you're a person - not a big, faceless corporation.
-- -- --
|
|
Size Matters
I had a long discussion over the weekend with a friend of mine from a fairly large business. We somehow got on the topic of mergers and acquisitions in both the IT industry and his industry (public relations). As I spelled out what we're seeing, he commented that we're not alone. In his industry, and with some of their clients in other industries, the same patterns are being repeated:
- Companies are growing by buying up smaller companies. This is happening more in the last five years than ever before.
- Eventually, investor money (private equity) gets in the picture and the goals shift away from service and more toward profit.
- Goals such as number of customers, clients on contract, endpoints, and licenses deployed become more important than profit in specific decisions. Sales techniques become cut-throat.
- At the same time, service goes down the toilet because it is seen strictly as a cost center.
- Closing tickets fast becomes more important than solving the actual problem or doing what's in the client's long-term best interest. Of course, when tickets are close prematurely, that leads to rework. But it's not labeled rework because a new ticket is opened. Again, no one is paying attention to the big picture.
- As the IT company gets larger, service gets worse.
One of the core changes going on with the M&A frenzy is the complete loss of vision, values, and mission. The mission has become to make money at all times. Maximize profit. Money, money, money.
But making money can never be a valid mission. When a company loses its vision and values, it loses its reason for existing. You can make money doing anything. So if all you care about is money, it could be in any industry and any business.
If you're in a service industry, particularly in small- and medium-businesses, your vision and values have to be customer focused and service focused. That's not compatible with a management team that only cares about money and a service team that is completely overworked, stressed out, pressured to close tickets as quickly as possible.
The bad news is that we all have to compete with the aftermath of the M&A Frenzy. We now live in a world where your reputation is being tarnished by large companies who will whatever it takes to make a sale and delivery horrible service.
The good news is that you can stay completely focused on your mission, vision, and values. You can sell against those larger businesses who give poor service. And here's the irony: You can charge a premium! You're going to give superior support and personalized support.
Here's your challenge: You need to educate your clients and prospects. You need to promote your business on a personal level. Become a giver of information. Become a true advisor (a consultant). When prospects don't have knowledge, they have no choice but to make a decision on price.
I saw a perfect example of this at Home Depot last week. I went in to get some grass seed to fill in spots in my yard. I overheard a Home Depot employee talking to another customer. She was pointing out the various types of grass seed (rye grass, Kentucky blue, tall fescue, custom for shade, etc.). The customer asked which is best for this area. The HD employee said "I don't know."
Without even one second of pause, the customer then said, "Okay, then just give me the cheapest."
That's exactly what happens when buyers do not understand what they're buying. They DO understand money. So when they don't understand your service offering, they have no way to evaluate your offering - except the price.
When you're up against an entire subset of the industry that literally cannot provide good service because they're playing the M&A game, you have the upper hand. But it requires that you dig in and educate your prospects. Tell them all about your service in excruciating detail.
Give them the criteria they should use to evaluate your business and your service. Promise them great service. And tell them flat out: "If you sign with one of these large companies that only offer horrible service, please remember that we will be here next year when that contract expires. We will welcome you back and give you the service you deserve." Then offer to keep them on your mailing list.
I believe we will be in this business environment for at least four or five more years. Maybe longer. You can't change it, but you can make a plan to be successful in this environment.
|
|
Travel note . . .
Tickets are bought. Over at www.smbroadshow.com, you'll find my Roadshow dates for the UK and Canada. Plus one stop in Rhode Island just because I've never been there. Early bird pricing is in effect.
Please plan to join me in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, or Providence. Assuming I get my shots and the world starts to open by August, we are a GO for the 2021 Roadshow.
Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community members - please see details for your special discounts.
. . .
If you like this newsletter, please share it with a colleague who might also enjoy it.
Thank you.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
|
|
MSP Professional Sales Program
5-Week Class Starts April 27th
|
|
Sign up today.
MSP Professional Sales Certification Program
Course 5W22
Taught By: James Kernan
Five Tuesdays
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
Want to master MSP sales? Small Biz Thoughts has partnered with award-winning sales training company Kernan Consulting to offer the MSP Professional Sales Certification Program. This content-heavy, motivational program will reveal how top-producers succeed in 2021’s uncertain marketplace:
1. Bring new prospects into your pipeline
2. Shorten the sales cycles
3. Increase average deal size
4. Sell value so you do not have to compromise on price
Learn the industry’s best practices on the overall sales process from Prospecting, Qualifying, Needs Analysis and Assessments, Connecting your value proposition to the customers issues. Tips to get through the Sales Process faster and Closing the Deal!
The MSP Professional Sales Certification Program will include five live training sessions delivered in 60-minute classes. Designed for technology business owners, sales managers, and sales professionals, this training program covers industry best practices for selling contractual monthly recurring revenue.
The MSP Professional Sales Certification Program includes five 60-minute trainings. After completing all five sessions, you will receive a sales certification from Kernan Consulting. All five sessions will be recorded LIVE and delivered with a PDF workbook. For more information on James Kernan or Kernan Consulting please visit: www.KernanConsulting.com
|
|
Weekly Agenda
Week One - What is Value Based Selling?
- Why value-based selling is best
- 5 principles of value-based selling
- Matching your solution to their business challenge
Week Two - Qualifying
- Why you do not chase after every opportunity
- 8 step process to qualify all opportunities
- The power of NO
Week Three - Sales Process
- 7 step sales cycle
- Emotional sales cycle
- The customers buying process
|
|
Week Four - Framework for Successful Sales Departments
- Create your Sales Plan
- Goals/KPIs
- Unique Sales Proposition (USP)
- Compensation Plans
- Corporate Marketing Leads
- Sales Skill Training/Mentoring
- Communication/Meeting Schedule
- The Right Tools
- Staffing the sales team
- Documented Sales Process
Week Five - Negotiating/Closing
- How to overcome objections
- Trial closes
- How to ask for the order
- Letter of Understand technique
|
|
|
Only $299 per student
Delivered by James Kernan
James Kernan is the author of the 36 Month Millionaire Program, and recently published books, Leadership Essentials for Successful Executives and Business Tips. For the past 12 years, James has served as a Principal Consultant for Kernan Consulting and provides Coaching, Advising and Mentoring programs to entrepreneurs and leaders. Kernan Consulting offers One on One Coaching, CEO Peer Groups, M&A Consulting and online training programs.
James is a frequent speaker for TechSelect, CompTIA, XChange, Convergence, Robin Robins Bootcamp, HTG, Mastermind Peer Groups, SMB Nation, SMB TechFest, and Microsoft IAMCP events. He has been recognized and written up as an extraordinary “example of success” in industry publications such as CRN, Business Solutions, VAR Business, CRM Today, and Inc. Magazine.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download.
This course is intended for business owners and sales people.
A Few Details . . .
- Each course will be five one-hour Zoom webinars
- There will be handouts and "homework" assignments
- Class webinars will be recorded and made available to paid attendees only.
- All calls start at 9:00 AM Pacific Time
|
|
All the Resources That Are Fit to Print
|
|
Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos
|
|
Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
Relax Focus Succeed:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
The Cheeky Sales Coach Podcast / Video - New episodes drop every Wednesday
.
|
|
SOP: Executing and Documenting Monthly Maintenance
|
|
Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Note: We started auto-posting the podcasts to YouTube. Those are not listed here as YouTube Videos since they're listed under the podcasts above.
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: More than 700 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 275+ SOP videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
|
|
Small Biz Thoughts Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
|
|
Ecommerce Working Group Update
|
The Ecommerce Working Group had another meeting last week. Kara showed off the site we're building to demonstrate our concept of selling products and services right off your web site - and engaging new prospects they they become new clients!
If you are interested in learning more, don't miss the Big Monthly All-Member meeting Thursday, April 15th. Also: If you want to be on the Ecommercing Working Group, please email Kara.
Links are in your Dashboard. Meeting link is right at the top of the Dashboard. You can contact Kara at her email, or Concierge.
If you're a member, join us.
-- -- --
|
|
The April News video is linked to the right.
Remember, we have meetings every Thursday on Zoom.
. . .
Also: Just added this week. We have a new Group/Forum for offers, events, and discounts. Join that and tick the box so you receive an email whenever something is added to the discussion.
And, of course, you should check out the other forums and discussions as well.
See you Thursday at 9AM Pacific time!
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
|
|
We got bots!
I'm having fun seeking robots to employ in our web pages. If I find the right one, it might even become the mascot for our brand. I got these three from an artist on Fiverr.com.
If you have any thoughts, Let me know.
:-)
|
|
What's Here?
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.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
Of course: Everything here is subject to change based on Covid. Click the links for the latest details. Please send updates so we can post them.
|
|
April
If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
|
|
May
Robin Robins Big Seminar 2021
May 11 - May 14
Orlando, FL
ASCII Success Summit
May 19 & 20
Houston, TX
|
|
June
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
June 9, 2021
Dallas, Tx
ASCII Success Summit
June 16 & 17
Cincinnati, OH
IT Nation Secure
June 21-23
Orlando, FL
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
Omaha, NE
June 24-25th
Channel Sec Europe
June 24th
London
|
|
July
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
July 8, 2021
Raleigh, NC
ASCII Success Summit
July 21 & 22
Chicago, IL
Black Hat USA
July 31-August 5
Las Vegas, NV
|
|
August
SMB Roadshow - Manchester, UK
August 10th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Cardiff, UK
August 12th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - London, UK
August 17th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
August 18 & 19
Raleigh, NC
|
|
September
CEDIA Expo
Sept 1-3
Indianapolis, IN
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Sept 2, 2021
Boston, MA
ITBOG (Business Owners Group) Cruise Conference
Sept. 3-6
Departs Miami
SMB Roadshow - Vancouver
Sept 7th
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Toronto
Sept 9th
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Montreal
Sept 14th
Join me Live!
Managed Services Summit Live
Sept 15th
London
SMB Roadshow - Providence, RI
Sept. 16th
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
Channel Live
Sept 21-22
Birmingham, UK
ASCII Success Summit
September 22 & 23
NY / NJ area
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
San Diego, CA
Sept 23-24th
IT Partners
Sept. 29-30
Disneyland, Paris
|
|
October
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Oct 6, 2021
Atlanta, GA
DTX 2021 (Digital Transformation)
Oct. 6-7
London, UK
DattoCon 2021
Oct 11-13
Seattle, WA (I think)
SMB IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Oct 15-16
Surfer's Paradise
Join me Live. I'm going to do my best to be there!
Sherweb Accelerate
Oct 18-20
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://info.sherweb.com/accelerate.html
Kaseya Connect IT
Oct 19-22
Las Vegas
ASCII Success Summit
October 27 & 28
Orlando, FL
I'm hoping there's a trip to the Gold Coast in my future. Stay tuned.
|
|
November
Channel Partners Evolution
Nov. 1-4
Las Vegas, NV
Managed Services Summit Live
November 2nd
Amsterdam
ASCII Success Summit
November 3 & 4
Houston, TX
Managed Services Summit North
November 16th
Manchester, UK
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Hybrid Event
Nov 16, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
December
ASCII Success Summit
Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
Dallas, TX
Dec 9-10th
-- -- --
If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
|
|
January
Send us your updates!
|
|
February
Send us your updates!
|
|
March
Cloud Expo Europe
March 2-3, 2022
London, UK
|
|
April
Send us your updates!
|
|
May
Send us your updates!
|
|
June
Send us your updates!
|
|
Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com.
|
|
Check out all my "Channels"
|
|
Share on YOUR Social Media:
|
|
Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|