Humanize IT

Ever wonder what the future of MSPs look like? In this episode get practical advice as to what the next 5-10 years look like for IT Service Providers. Learn from Sunny Kaila and Bill Smeizer as they talk through what they are preparing for and what the future looks like for forward-thinking MSPs.

How do you build a successful MSP? In this episode, Sunny Kaila and Bill Smelzer talk about the experience and give advice. What is important? What should be a priority? As well as advice for MSPs just starting out.

Engineers are nerds and business analysis are beer drinking flunkies right? Many people have this view of us vs them when it comes to engineering. Heck we even have a joke "My tech would work great if it werent for all the users".In this episode Skip and Adam talk through the importance of joining forces with business minds to create a better world. That business is just as complex if not more so than advanced engineering designs. It is just a different set of knowledge completely.

One of our favorite topics revisited. In February we talked about putting the B back in QBR. This time we talk through HOW to accomplish a proper QBR as we walk through a meeting agenda for a QBR as well as WHY it is important to run your meetings this way. It will free up 6 hours of your time as well as provide more value for your client and increase buyin.

We often get asked how to find clients as an MSP. In this episode, Skip and Adam talk through lessons learned on how to find clients that fit your culture. There are critical mistakes we make when finding clients such as looking too broad or assuming every client is going to be a culture match. Tune in to help define who your clients are so you can find them where they are.

A certainty in life is that we can unknowingly be toxic while having great intentions. In the case of MSPs we can set up client relationships for failure unknowingly with great intentions. One of these is not trusting our clients in ways that matter. In this episode, Skip and Adam talk through a hard topic regarding admin access and who really owns technical assets at a business. A simple mentality shift will reduce risk, build relationships and help reduce toxicity.

We tend to push our to-do list off until later or sometime thinking we will get to it then. However, when it comes to annual planning the year is deceptive since the last 2 months of every year are full of holidays, weather, and other people waiting until last minute to get their stuff done. This makes things stressful and there is a better way that you have to do now. Tune in to this episode to find out what you need to do to avoid the trap of the last half of the year.

Many MSPs are simply seen as a reseller of technology and a service/maintenance organization. You need to re-define how your clients see you so that they can include you on the right conversations. Then when they have a business problem they will bring in their favorite advisors and ask their opinion on how to solve the problem. In this episode Richard Bauer talks with Adam Walter about how he redefined client expectations in a simple way to make a larger impact.

As professionals, there are things you know in certain contexts. A desktop admin may be able to patch a cable in seconds from memory while a Server admin may have to look up the wire mapping. We tend to forget skills to make room for new skills This is not a bad thing, and is to be embraced. In this episode, Richard Skip and Adam discuss the necessity of losing some knowledge to gain relevant knowledge...even when it was hard-earned.

Too often we get lost in good intentions. We fail not because we are being lazy, rather that we are not focusing on the right areas. You can spend a hundred hours working on the right thing when 1 hour on the right thing will bring improved client relationships. In this episode, Skip and Adam talk about how to keep the focus on the Main Thing.