MSP Business School

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Stuart Selbst joins us in today's episode to discuss the customer experience and steps we can take to have long-term success.  We begin the discussion talking about Stuart's path from corporate IT, to MSP, to MSP Coach, to Vendor, and back to MSP. We talk about the customer journey and how important it is to stay in front of your customers to drive long-term success, but that also requires the right individual to lead the customer relationship.  We talk about a solid customer relationship breeding loyalty and financial reward for the MSP as the relationship becomes the gift that keeps on giving. Stuart discusses how he had a client that he built such a strong relationship with that they asked to increase their fee.  They looked at the value given and the long term need, and quickly realized they were not paying enough to ensure that the MSP (their trusted partner) would be there when called upon. Robb shares how right now the hunters are looking for vulnerable relationships as COVID rages on.  These relationships can be ripe for the picking.  Stuart talks about how you can re-enagage with your clients and change perception. Guest Stuart Selbst https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartselbst/ Hosts Brian Doyle. https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoyl... Robb Rogers. https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-roge... Tim McNeil https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmcneil3/ Sponsors vCIOToolbox https://vciotoolbox.com OSR Manage https://osrmanage.com

Today we discuss the marketplace as the pandemic rages on.  May MSP's are fighting to stay afloat as we head into what looks like it can be a long winter.  Robb starts the discussion sharing that in the peer groups he operates sales pro's are indicating that the race to the bottom is on. We then dive into the difference between building strategic relationships for the long-term vs. solution selling.  The goal of a strategic approach is getting closer to the customer and by leveraging a more aligned approach to client management, margins can be preserved. Brian talks about the fact that the solutions starts through understanding.  We are seeing a trend to solution first selling where solutions are't being fully fleshed out and quotes are hitting the streets. We then discussed how both companies strategies need to be aligned to have a successful relationship and to box out commoditized competitors. Tim and Brin discuss how sales reps can struggle with the strategic discussion as it is a conversation that many reps are not accustomed to holding and as a result their only sales tool is the discount. We then discuss that training and a culture of empowerment can help sales teams to elevate and preserve margin when taking on a small shop delivering only a lower price. Robb then shares practical tactics for how sales people can approach their meetings.

Peter Strahan is the Managing Director for Lantech located Dublin, Ireland.  Peter shares with us a story of a disaster in the form of a fire that hit his customer's building and how in that moment Lantech's unseen value came front and center.

Robert Cioffi is COO & Co-Founder of Progressive Computing located in Yonkers, NY.  Launching in 1993 very early in his and his partner’s careers they learned a lot through the school of hard knocks.  One of the primary drivers of his company’s long-term success was engaging a coach and being part of a peer group. Robert starts the conversation is it takes a certain mindset and ego to start a company, but that can also be one of the biggest blockers to growth.  Coaching helped him learn the things he didn’t know and start changing the business model, launching managed services in the early 00’s. He speaks about his business model and how it differs from the average MSP.  Many speak of the “All you can eat (AYCE)” model, but Progressive has taken that to a very literal stance.  They include all projects within their plans.  They view the relationship as a true partnership with their clients and truly have adopted and internal IT department mindset of we do what the client needs done, no questions asked. A true win-win proposition, eliminating project cost resistance and reduces the overall support cost to Progressive. An EOS practitioner, Robert talks about how it has been a game changer for his company. This structure helped accelerate the growth of the company providing clarity to what it would take to get to the next step.  Robert talks about the future of the cloud and cybersecurity within their business.  He expands on how Microsoft Teams has accelerated cloud use for clients and how the conversations around fully cloud solutions have increased. We also speak about the M&A climate in the space and the ultimate plan for his organization in the long-term. We have a deep discussion on how to be humble and embrace the guidance of those that have been there to support our journey.  Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and open can lead you to some of the best experience and lead you to some of the critical external input that you can leverage to grow.

Carrie Simpson launched Managed Sales Pros in 2013 as a call center serving the MSP market. Starting with a contract in her native country, Canada, the operations quickly grew. A contract opportunity was presented to her and almost overnight she launched operations in the U.S.  Managed Sales Pros hit a market need that is large in the MSP community, customer acquisition through cold calling.  With many of the MSP's being Technologist led  organizations, sales can often be a foreign process. Sometime acquisition comes quickly and without the intention to sell.  Carrie speaks of how she reached out to a company to help her with her strong pipeline and staffing needs.  With more business than people she could hire in the Las Vegas market, she approached EB Quckstart for assistance with overflow.  Their response was how about we just buy your operation, and before you knew it the deal was done. Post-acquisition Carrie still operates Managed Sales Pros in Canada, but has her eye on the next chapter as she shares her plans for the future (hint...a one-stop shop for webinars).

Jeff Grande and Mike Paone launched TBNG Consulting started their company as many MSP's have, bootstrapping the business while working full-time jobs, in their caae from different states.  They accelerated the growth through grit and determination knocking on neighborhood doors and working evenings to kick off the company. One growth hack that they learned was truly engaging the channel and making investments to become the local leader in newer channel entrants and building long term relationships.  Mike shares how he grew those relationships, but does add you "have to sleep with one eye open". n It is also about having clear boundaries with the vendor on what they are willing to sell. In sharing how they grew TBNG Jeff shares that no growth comes without peril.  IT was a constant reinvestment into the business and hiring quality people that they trusted then helping them learn their role. They also talked about understanding where your deficiencies personally are.  In 2012 they reflected on their business growth and while growth has been steady they needed to accelerate growth to make the business what they wanted it to be. They looked into the family and brought Jeff's brother Michael into the team so they could focus on growing the business while Michael who runs the administrative side of the business so Mike and Jeff can continue to build the sales team. It was a big transition and came with swallowing some ego along the way, but it has extremely accelerated growth.        

Today we turn the tables and interview two of MSP Business Schools Co-Hosts, Robb Rogers and Tim McNeil.  Robb and Tim started OSR Manage.  Originally started as an MSP Lead Generation company OSR has morphed into a Virtual Sales Management juggernaut. The OSR Manage team focuses on helping Tech Founders build winning sales teams.  Their approach which is a mix of Executive, and Sales coaching coupled with peer groups for the individual reps has helped 100’s of companies succeed in s

Leigh Wood Owner and Director of Node IT Solutions in Biggleswade, England joins us today and shares a story of persistence in the face of adversity.  We learn how when faced with a crisis that can cause a company to cease operations, Leigh and his team rose up and met the challenge head on.   Leigh starts with a conversation of his companies rise from its roots as an IT consultancy and its ultimate migration into becoming an MSP.  Having formed Node IT Solutions with a co-founder, Leigh initially served as the lead technician.  Soon his partner left the business and Leigh began the transition from technician to the business leader holding the main responsibility for Node IT’s sales. We then moved to a discussion of the biggest challenge that Leigh faced as a small business owner.  Returning from vacation, Leigh stepped off the plane to a text none of us would ever like to receive, a client who owed 50,000 pounds announced that they had gone out of business and that debt will never be collected. Leigh then shares his story of the how this event forced him to look at the weaknesses in the business and his own leadership.  He discusses the steps that he and his team took to get Node IT Solutions back on track and strengthen the operation. He also shared what he did in seeking the help he personally required (and the mentor that came into his life)  so he could become a stronger leader. We close his story with a discussion of the progress that he and his team made in recovering from this loss, and how this event prepared the company to be poised for long-term success.

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.