MSP Business School

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/   Guest Name: Greg Sharp https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-sharp-2598713/ Trevor Thoams – https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-thomas-yyc/ Company: ZenContract https://www.zencontract.com/   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   Greg Sharp & Trevor Thomas – Contract Chaos No More    Greg Sharp, a CISSP-qualified IT security engineer, is the Managing Director of ZenContract, a company with team members in New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Canada. With 30 years of experience in the IT industry, he has served on advisory boards for Datto, Autotask, Dropbox, Microsoft, and Cisco in the APAC region. Greg is currently on three MSP advisory boards and has been a director of multiple businesses. He built and sold three MSP businesses, including the latest one sold to a division of the New Zealand government for a record-breaking multiplier. This process and systems led to the creation of ZenContract, which allows MSPs to fully own contract and agreement management. Greg leads a dream team of specialists, forming a culture that automates and enhances MSP contract management for all MSPs.  6:45 – Brian stated that contract management is a key difficulty in MSPs because many contracts become open-ended at the contract point.  9:51 – Tim’s focused on assisting MSPs in growing their sales departments and dealing with the complexity that comes from big clients. They've been talking with a client about how to get the service manager to work and get an accurate picture of their client base. The discussion attempts to assist clients in improving their sales departments and streamlining their contracts. 11:03 – Greg offered a glimpse of AOR over 12, 24, and 36 months, noting that their MSPs will be evaluated using a multiplier of contracted revenue. As they have contracted revenue for one to three years, this technique creates a sense of stability and assurance. The formula may be a combination of these criteria, offering a reliable assessment of the worth of their MSPs. 15:41 – Greg said that ConnectWise and Auto Task are currently quite well integrated with the system. They are now working on Halo, which will be released soon. The system incorporates price, work kinds, inventory, and other data at the client level. Because the solution does not play in CPQ distribution streams, they must include recurring monthly contracts. The PSA believes it is critical to bring this up for discussion. Halo is another price quoting tool, however, it is not specifically designed for managing recurring monthly revenue. 20:26 – Tim noted the ease with which account managers and VCIOs may access QBR, adding that it eliminates concerns regarding signature difficulties. He recalls incidents in the MSP world where a single signature caused problems. 21:38 – Greg mentioned that MSPs are also employing templates for project variation sign-offs, which allows them to deliver scope variations for signatures in the middle of a project. These templates are immediately saved in the PSA against opportunities or contracts, capturing all components of the solution negotiation process. This tool assists MSPs in managing project variances and ensuring the project negotiation process runs smoothly. 24:22 – Trevor expressed interest in working on the channel because he is familiar with several of the characters. He is looking forward to the pitching program and IT Nation Connect, which will focus on webinar strategies.  

1:13 – Abe outlines his plans to discuss three topics in today’s podcast. First is his lunch conversation with an IT Nation member, which he thinks would be very helpful for the listeners. Second, an update on the overall market (acquisition). Lastly, IT Nation on Denver this August 2023. 5:26 – Abe shared a slide of the lunch conversation. He explains that in just 3.5 years, there are already 73 parties now involved and it includes 11 platform investments. 7:46 – The guest talks about the Modes Theory™. Robb does a follow-up to what is the Modes Theory™ about and what it is for. He emphasizes that one best aspect of the Modes Theory is that, you can have your leadership team take the assessment which means you can see and understand where your people are coming from.  12:50 –  “Organic growth is more valuable than M&A growth”, Abe emphasizes. Although he himself is an m&a advisor, he advocates organic growth. The business should have and focus on its secret sauce and grow organically, then later venture into m&a.  He urges that these three should be satisfied: the business core, the best customers, and use m&a to help complement the first two strategies.  17:01 – Brian raises the question about vertical shifting. Abe gives advice and expands on how important having deep expertise in whatever vertical you are in.  20:51– Robb clarifies Abe’s early statement in which the latter says that having 20% growth than a good profit is better. Abe explains further and discusses his previous point. 25:16 – To increase valuation, Abe suggests attending peer groups such as IT Nation every year. Lastly, he emphasized MSPs making a strategy to grow organically.   26:40 – Tim talks about how Sales Maturity helps a lot of MSPs during their pre-peer group stage but in the organic growth phase to get up and make an organic sales model

1:00 – Brian initiated the discussion and provided a brief overview of the Safeguard Rules, highlighting their scope, functionality, and associated regulations. 3:50 – Tim clarified the specific sector to which the rules are applicable, while Brian proceeded to illustrate several prevalent industries that, based on his experience, often struggle with managing sensitive information, such as social security numbers and similar data. 8:10 – Robb inquired about the last industry mentioned in the list and expressed astonishment upon learning that it was a "non-federally insured credit union." Brian explained that certain credit unions are affiliated with specific companies and drew upon his past professional experience working in such an institution. 11:04 – Robb inquired about the implementation timeline for the new rules, to which Brian clarified that they were initially introduced in December 2022 and were granted an additional extension until June 9, 2023. Brian expressed his belief that there would not be any further extensions beyond this point. He proceeded to outline the essential tasks that needed to be undertaken, including the proper handling and encryption of sensitive data, the development of incident response plans, and various other requirements. Brian highlighted that there were a total of 17 items on the list that needed to be addressed. 15:13 – Brian discussed how this new rule will be beneficial for the MSP. Robb pitched in some of his ideas on how he could build a more successful campaign using the new safeguard rule.

We are part of the PitchIT Program! 00:48 Brian provided a summary of the PitchIT program, explaining its nature and purpose. Robb supported Brian's statement and shared his own experience of the program's inaugural class. He expressed his excitement at witnessing the participation of prominent and reputable companies in the program. 03:22 Brian talks about the challenges of starting a new company. 4:30 Tim talks about how awesome it was to be part of the program and just being together with like-minded individuals really sets a different mood.  06:18 Robb expresses his enthusiasm about the business assessment and reveals his surprise at receiving a low score, despite believing that he maintained a reasonably healthy work-life balance. Adding to the conversation, Brian shares that his score was low on the "strategy" aspect. 11:17 Brian urges other vendors who are listening to the podcast to join or perhaps listen to others in the program. He also highlighted that this also a great opportunity to network as well.  12:59 Robb encourages everyone to tune in to the ConnectWise LinkedIn page to learn more about clever business and good ideas related to the program.  

The subject of today's podcast centers on the utilization of ChatGPT as an essential component of one's sales process.  00:54 Robb enthusiastically discusses how AI has the potential to be the next step in the development of the world. He then mentions how ChatGPT has been a valuable resource for him in multiple ways, including coding and stock trading, and expresses his amazement at its helpfulness. 2:47 Tim shares Robb's viewpoint, as he has also noticed that an increasing number of his clients are using AI to develop and construct emails. They have found AI to be a useful resource for generating initial content and creating sustainable emails that can be incorporated into automation sequences. 5:50 Brian discussed his use of AI in conjunction with a virtual assistant (VA). He specifically mentioned using Jasper, an AI tool he believes is more focused on marketing. Brian provided an explanation of Jasper's functions and described how he guides his VA in using it to achieve desired results that align with the company's tone.  9:42 Robb discussed the comparison between ChatGPT and Jasper, and Brian agreed that while the two AI systems share similarities, they have different applications. Brian also touched on the features of machine learning and AI present in both systems. 15:21 Brian expressed concern about the extent to which AI engines can learn and improve upon existing processes, and at what point they become aware that they are not learning for their own benefit. Tim agreed and acknowledged that Brian's worry is valid, citing social media as an example. He mentioned the significant role AI plays in creating posts and generating feeds, which can be overwhelming 17:59 Tim explained his use of AI in marketing and sales, specifically in creating LinkedIn posts, email templates, and content. Robb added that he uses AI as a tool to change the tone of his writing and transform bullet points into readable paragraphs. Brian also chimed in, stating that he employs AI to enhance the quality of his writing and generate effective subject lines for email campaigns.  

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/ Guest Name: Jake Carroll https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-carr... Company: OSR Mange https://www.osrmanage.com/ 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   1:59 – Jake said that there have always been a lot of people who chose to work in sales or as a group of people who work in sales, whether they had a degree or not. Before you could start working, there was no salary and you couldn't just go knocking on doors.  7:19 – Brian asks Jake what is his role as a Virtual Sales Manager. 11:07 – Tim stated he won't even argue that you were recruited as an engineer to protect forever, no matter what it is or how high up the scale it is. The salesperson actually needs more supervision, more oversight, and more training. 15:24 – Robb asks Jake what would you say do you manage a lot of people? Do you manage others or do you manage in salespeople? What would you say is probably what you have to do most during your manager time? Are you coaching, reps up, or are you doing kind of ability, are you being the person in between? What would you say is the most time-consuming of your job? 23:14 – Jake claimed that we currently have some very strong indicators, none of which are more straightforward than the emails you exchange with one another. Email correspondence between the individual you are dealing with at the company and your company is a really excellent indicator. The disadvantage of maintaining the moment is that it has a table and asks if everyone is in agreement if the meeting doesn't start or if this is the agenda.

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/   Document Link: https://tinyurl.com/ywv26e28   Hosts Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylemetathinq/ Robb Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-rogers-07415251/ Tim McNeil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmcneil3/   Sponsors vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com OSR Manage: https://osrmanage.com   0:28 Brian kicks off the podcast by talking about the business canvas model. He talks about its advantages and how it can open great opportunities in the IT industry. 3:04 Brian starts introducing today’s agenda and gives a brief description of what to do to dive into today’s topic effectively. He starts presenting the business canvas model and discusses the different columns.  6:52 Robb shares his understanding of the value proposition. He says that when the company has new products or services, they always make it a priority to ask clients what they are trying to solve or what services they need that you can offer. Robb points out that it starts with stories of successes and failures.  11:39 Tim suggests that revenue size should also be considered under Customer Segments. He mentions that the revenue size of clients you bring in is critical. He also noted that mid-size companies are large enough to understand how technology works for them.  19:22 Robb discusses Channels. He gives emphasis not only on understanding the channels but how it relates to your budget. 26:44 Brian gives voice to the question, “How do we use?” He explains how using a business model could help a company immensely. Robb adds his thoughts on the partnership side. He said that a few years back partnerships were all transactional, however, when covid hit many companies suffered losses yet were saved due to having a close partnership. He ends his discussion with an encouraging note - be a person that has a great relationship with the partners/vendors and not just transactional because there’s gonna come a time when they’ll give you a referral or they’re gonna help you when you are having an issue.  

Show Website: https://mspbusinessschool.com/   Guest Name: Doug Kreitzberg https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougkreitzberg/ Company: SeedPod Cyber https://seedpodcyber.com/   Hosts Brian Doyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandoylemetathinq/ Robb Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-rogers-07415251/ Tim McNeil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmcneil3/   Sponsors vCIOToolbox: https://vciotoolbox.com OSR Manage: https://osrmanage.com   In 2018, Doug founded a cybersecurity and data privacy risk consulting firm. It was through his consulting practice that he learned the value that Managed Service Providers bring to small and medium-sized businesses.   That insight formed the basis for SeedPod Cyber, a cyber insurance managing general agency Kreitzberg founded in 2021 which partners with Managed Service Providers to provide cyber insurance to their clients.   1:49 Doug gives a brief recap on how he started in technology and insurance, then ended up running an organization. He also shares some reasons why Seedpod got created, the company’s goals in providing better insurance coverage with a competitive price, and businesses that use their services. 5:50 Brian asks how to define if a company is over-insuring or under-insuring, in which Doug answers that two areas come into play when figuring out which insurance is better suited 1. Liability and 2.Cost of System Restoration. He also expounded on each point and gives examples of real-life situations. 14:20 How do people best protect themselves against attacks and what does it look like in the insurance industry? Doug answers Brian’s question by saying that when it comes to MSP, it’s always related to aggregation risks. There are several aspects to dealing with these situations, technical standpoints and contractual aspects. He elaborates that the relationship that you have with your client, account management, and trust is very critical when an event occurs.  20:35 Robb expresses his opinion on how smart and how good of an idea Doug’s company does. He explained that usually when there are problems or stressful situations, the first thing we ought to do is to just jump in and fix the problem but now he realized that it’s equally/more important to step back and call the insurance provider to avoid further damage. 22:07 Brian poses his last question about the state regulations impacting the premiums. Doug answers that state regulations are actually favorable however the new privacy regulation is still under heat.