MSP Business Transformation Newsletter October 2020
In fact I’ve been delivering a recent webinar series with my great vendor sponsors focused on how to grow by conducting QBRs, sales to new clients and managing IT teams completely virtually. In fact, this topic is so hot that it has been breaking recent registration records by a huge margin – so I thought I’d deliver one especially for you – my own channel partners.
In this 45 minute webinar, I cover not only the top 10 best tips for selling virtually in the new normal, and growing your business without setting foot in a prospect’s office, but also how important it is to use the right equipment in order to make these meetings as normal as possible. I also share with you what makes up my virtual “rig”, and why it is so important to upgrade your gear beyond your laptop’s built-in webcam in order to be successful.
Bonus: Download my entire “Virtual Meeting and Webinar Rig” Equipment List and Links to get it all – just click the button below to check it out now, and send me your feedback!
The best time to truly safeguard your business’ future is now. Join me, your peers and other industry experts to make sure you know how to ensure your business continues to grow by joining the Sherweb Accelerate fast-track MBA for MSPs!
Attendees will come away with a complete business plan for their MSP businesses, and I’ll be delivering the following tracks:
- Do you have the right resources? Strategies to overcome the capacity gap
- Improving operations and margins – build a more repeatable, scalable, and profitable MSP business.
- All about the money – building to scale, acquire or sell
For more about my Accelerate sessions and how partners are coping with the “new normal”, check out my interview with Sherweb’s amazing Taylor Poelman here.
Click the register now button below to see the entire Accelerate 2020 agenda, and I look forward to your participating in my sessions!
This Month's Partner Q&A
Starting this month, I’ll be selecting a question I’ve been asked the most in the last 30 days by a partner, and posting my feedback. This is just another way for me to help partners overcome bottlenecks, avoid costly mistakes and succeed in their role in the organization – whether it be technical, sales, operational, marketing, support or more. I’d appreciate your feedback and keep your questions coming!
This month’s Partner Q&A question is:
Who should I hire first – a dedicated Sales Engineer/Project Manager or an engineer?
My answer:
This is a question I get asked a lot, and one I struggled with in my own MSP practice years ago. If I were making that decision, I would first appreciate that a project manager and a sales engineer are both cost-centers to the organization until an opportunity is sold.
This is one of the main reasons that dedicated project managers and sales engineers are typically hired much later in a company’s growth cycle, when it has really hit a consistent stride in sales pipeline growth and project bookings. It also explains why partners typically utilize engineers to wear these hats until they can justify dedicating a resource to these roles.
The negative side to leveraging billable technicians for sales engineering duties is that during those engagements, the technician or engineer isn’t delivering billable work, so it’s a double-edged sword.
All that said, I would hire a dedicated project manager or sales engineer when they could become a profit center for the organization, not before. This would mean that there is a consistent flow of sales opportunities for a sales engineer to really by highly utilized, and that the sales team is closing a high percentage of these sales to justify the investment in a dedicated project manager.
I hope you find value in this month’s Partner Q&A, and are able to benefit from it in your business role.
Until next month…
I’ll be leading a workshop titled “The New Way the Service Provider Community Can Sell Security to Enterprises. at the second annual Acronis Global Cyber Summit.
My Workshop Agenda is:
- Building your Cybersecurity solution stack
- Bundling and pricing your offering
- 5 Factors that impact ultimate pricing and profit
- Building your sales plan
- Selling as a Team
- Selling to the SMB vs. the Enterprise
- Plus 2 live exercises to help you build your Cybersecurity bundles and define your Cybersecurity Sales Plan!
This year, the event is completely free and virtual and (in addition to my session) the agenda is packed with more than 60 workshops, panels, and keynotes all designed to help service providers like you improve business operations, automation processes, and profits.
If you haven’t yet, consider this my personal invitation to register and attend. The Summit is going to be a can’t miss opportunity to learn from some of the best in the community, network with MSPs from around the world, and get the insights you need to grow your business and reduce your risk.
I Look forward to seeing you there!
Consider my new MSP Mastered® Coaching Program!
There’s something to the old adage “it’s lonely at the top”, and that’s because many business owners seeking guidance on how to grow their company have a scarce amount of resources to turn to for help.
And this is especially true in the IT industry. There simply aren’t that many experts and thought leaders that have “been there and done that” – built and sold successful IT and MSP practices and helped hundreds of other IT business owners achieve dramatic, positive business transformation.
My new MSP Mastered® Coaching programs are designed for IT Business Owners looking for help and accountability to get to the next level of growth but aren’t yet ready for a dedicated consulting engagement.
Space is extremely limited for my first launch of this valuable service, so if you’re interested, click below for more information and schedule a free call with me.
Erick Simpson
Founder & Chief Strategist
ErickSimpson.com
[email protected]
2271 W. Malvern Ave., #169
Fullerton CA 92833
