We are all familiar with the beloved bedtime story, “The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg”.  Of course most of us cringed when the countryman decided, out of greed, to kill the goose and get all the gold at once.

The reason I am bringing this up is because it was referenced in, “The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People”. It had a very nice twist that could have a bearing on the prism that computer consultants are looking at their IT marketing campaigns through.

Are they in-effect making the same fatal mistake and killing the Production Capabilities ( PC ) by having unrealistic expectation on IT lead generation Production ( P )? (more…)

Imagine that you’ve gone through the entire sales cycle with a managed services prospect and have been given the nod of approval.  You are  in a celebratory mood as you feel all your marketing efforts are about to pay off.

Then there is a surprise call from the prospect and you are told that a ‘dark horse’  IT bid has come in at the last minute with the exact same services but at a  lower price point.

We all know that 9 times out of 10 the other bid is either made up out of whole cloth or it’s not truly apples-to-apples. The question is how can you cautiously navigate between explaining the facts without calling your prospect a Liar?! (more…)

When I first heard the expression that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince, I was a little taken aback.

It was interesting to hear how a civilian thought that tying to find a sale from cold calling was extremely difficult.  However when I took a minute and really thought about that phase then it started to make sense.

Years later I am now starting to wonder if every computer business owner has come to the same realization that you can’t find a prince at every single IT marketing appointment. (more…)

Have you ever been in a sales situation when you needed to dump your alternative identity and transition into a Super Salesman to close a deal but you had lost your special sales powers?

In other words you ran into a phone booth to make a quick change but when you ripped open your shirt there was no  “S” on your chest!

Take heart this is  fairly common as most MSP’s will readily admit they aren’t super salespeople.  However we discussed in our last article how the concept of managed services itself could be like kryptonite!

Here are some tips to recharge your IT marketing powers and get you leaping over tall buildings in a single bound and going faster than a speeding bullet! (more…)

Every managed services provider that starts their business dreams of becoming a millionaire!  However something bizarre seems to happen along the way that kills that dream for the average computer consultant.

Over the years I have observed this trend in some of our clients that still want to grow their computer  business through IT marketing. However, once the campaign started they just didn’t seem to follow through.

Now I believe I have figured out what might be at the heart of this disturbing pattern.

The answers lies at the feet of the very business model itself which seems to be a double-edged sword with both the potential to generate millions or block that from ever happening.

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When most computer business owners first open their doors they don’t often think about the many potential marketing hurdles that might block their path to success.

However when these obstacles do arise most entrepreneurs would roll up their sleeves and go to work trying to devise a way forward.

So what could possibly ever stop these extremely ambitious IT guys right in their tracks?  (more…)

Computer consultants that want to grow their businesses through it services marketing face a serious barrier to achieving that goal.  The problem is that the vast majority of the companies in the market have in-house IT departments.

There are still a cadre of services that can profitably be sold to these firms like server management.  However, none of these proposals usually ever see the light of day because these decisions are pocket vetoed by the IT Director.

Most managed services providers view the IT Director as sort of a Svengali character who controls the CFO and stops them from ever thinking about outsourcing because they’re afraid of losing their job.  Therefore the big question is how can you sell in such a hostel environment? (more…)

In the Greek legends the Titans ruled supreme until Cronus became fearful he would lose power and started making some bad decisions, namely eating his children.  It was foretold through a muse that one of his children would seize power from him and the rest of the Titans.  Perhaps this became a self fulfilling prophecy but either way Zeus lead the Olympians into battle and defeated the Titans, banishing them to Tartarus.  The message here is that if you’re on Top then you have to be very careful because there is always someone gunning for your position from behind.  In the case of the data backup world the current Titan is under attack from the new Olympians on the block, Axcient!

With out naming any names, the current title holder for selling BDRs in the managed services channel has taken some missteps of late.  Whether this has transpired as a result of over confidence by trying to take on too much or just simply because they took their eyes off the IT marketing and operations ball, I can’t say for sure.  What I do know for sure is that no god, country or company can stay on top forever.  The evolution of the markets is inevitable but the question that I propose is if and when a seismic shift might take place leaving the Olympians ruling the data backup world and banishing the Titans? (more…)

I have been watching what the disaster recovery industry has been offering in the market place for over 10 years.  I have seen how the industry has evolved from the early days when computer consultants would fasten together their own data backup solutions with duct tape and bailing wire to the point when the first products were offered by IT Vendors through the channel.   For much of this history there has been relatively little technology advancement as many vendors would simply ‘borrow’ their core technology and the only enhancements they would make was to their sales and marketing.  However, this is all about to change as a new disaster recovery juggernaut has entered the fray and has awakened this sleepy industry from it’s doldrums.  Axcient has literally built a better mouse trap and outdone their competitors at every level but how can this impact your IT marketing? (more…)

I once heard a famous magician explain to someone that was pestering him for his secrets that if did reveal the secrets to his prestidigitation then they would no longer be amazing.  In fact in the very instant the information would be conveyed suddenly the formerly enraptured audience would consider the tricks very common place and believe they could have figured it out on their own.  Recently I was questioned by a computer consultant that wanted to get some of the secrets we use in our process of telemarketing and sales training.  However,  the same is true with the secrets to IT services marketing as with Magic!  Even the most brilliant technique that is used to get past gatekeepers, once revealed, would suddenly be perceived as mundane and ordinary. (more…)