One of the most common reason that are cited by couples that lead to a break up of their marriage, is the lack of communication.  While this can be the kiss of death to a healthy marriage, it can also be one of the factors that could destroy a partnership between a telemarketing firm and an it services provider.  When one partner is in the dark about what the other one is doing or thinking, then it can lead to confusion and blunders.  Lets look at a few examples of situations that have lead to minor problems and others that have had disastrous consequences for computer business marketing owners.

Communication is key!

One of the first issues that can arise with regard to communication between an it call center and a managed services provider can happen right at the start of the relationship.  If the liaison from the telesales company fails to do an introductory interview to find out exactly what their client is offering in clear terms, then this could lead to a disconnect in the marketing efforts.  Vice versus, if the computer consultant fails to clearly state what their model is or level of services to be offered; then this could setup the wrong expectations in the prospects minds. (more…)

This blog is about one of my favorite stories from Aesop titled “The Bees And Wasp, And The Hornet”.  I have always found the wisdom in this story profound and will try to show how this applies to technology sales leads.  I have reprinted the story below for your enjoyment and will discuss it’s ramifications to the IT industry afterward.

AESOP’S FABLE THE BEES AND WASP, AND THE HORNET

One day some worker bees made a honeycomb in the hollow trunk of an oak. They settled nearby to rest. Then, the drones from their hive flew by. The drones said, “We made that honeycomb. It belongs to us.” (more…)

“On this list there might only be one prospect that will say YES!” This is what one of my telemarketers told me when I was questioning why he hadn’t set very many IT sales leads that day.  I thought about his statement for a few minutes about and realized that what he was actually saying is that he thought that every one he called was already either not interested or was just waiting for him to call to say they were ready for a computer consultant to come up and give them a proposal for managed services.

As I was considering how I could respond in such a way so that I wouldn’t criticize him but be able to get him to realize that life is in ‘flux’ and that nothing is predetermined, especially in the IT lead generation game.  I realized that it wasn’t just my technology telemarketing agent that saw the glass half empty but that probably many of the computer services sales reps out there see the  marketing leads we give them in the exact same way, that they don’t have any influence on the outcome of their sales calls. (more…)

I feel like a mad scientist  whose creation has just come alive after ages of preparation and tireless effort!  Like Dr. Frankenstein, when the electric bolts shot through his creation, bringing it to life!  I have been telemarketing for managed services for over 10 years, but only in the last 5 years have I been able to expand and recruit a suitable team of  telesales reps.

Just as we have said to anyone trying to bring IT telemarketing in-house, there is a huge learning curve!   However, I’ve paid my dues and we now have the perfect IT lead generation machine and “It’s Alive!”

The Birth

I will tell you about the struggles that I faced, as well as how I faced these obstacles and overcame them.  The first problem is staffing; finding talented and skilled people. (more…)

Over the last 10 years I have realized that we’ve been setting appointments by using great techniques at a 10,000 feet level, but most of the computer consultants have only been able to sell with techniques at a low 1,000 feet level.  So there has been a huge gap between the type of appointments we can set and what the sales people were able pitch.

Why? The only sales that most IT firms are closing are with prospects that have obvious needs.  The marketing gap that we’re discussing has to do with the ability to persuade a firm that’s lukewarm in their overall happiness with their current IT support, a firm without obvious needs.  Most IT providers are only trained to sell to companies based on finding out what their ‘needs’ are, so if they don’t have obvious needs, then these calls end up at a dead end. (more…)

MSP Telemarketing is Proud to announce sponsorship of the CompTIA Breakaway 2010 Channel Event.  We ran into some of the CompTIA employees at the MSPU Boot camp in Dallas, TX. After reviewing what CompTIA offers their members and the breakdown of who attends their Breakaway meetings, we couldn’t resist attending and sponsoring this event.

According to their stats 38% of the attendees will be the President, Owner or Partner of their firm.  So if you’re a vendor or are trying to get some good networking opportunities, then this will be a great event .  Also if you’re looking to get info on the latest IT services offerings then keep in mind that most of the Top IT vendors will be there. (more…)

Many computer business owners who had discussed their marketing plans with me in the past, have always gotten around to asking me which of the several sales marketing and sales coaching plans they should sign up with.  As you probably know there are several out there from the  www.TechnologyMarketingToolKit.com with Robin Robins, MSPU’s website for sales training or TruMethods sales coaching by Gary Pica.  These are just a few of the Top ones but there are even more out there that can make choosing very difficult.

I will begin answering this question by telling a story about a computer consultant I recently had this conversation with.  It started out with him telling me how he had used every one of the services that MSPU offers; but that he started to wonder if all the money he was spending  was worth it.  He seemed to be convincing himself to cancel his services with MSPU.  I really had nothing to say and was trying to listen and learn a thing or two. (more…)

MSP Telemarketing is proud to host a FREE Event in March for computer business owners in Houston, TX.  The key speaker will be Brian Freistat from CharTec who will be talking about the new and exciting services offering called HAAS or Hardware as a service.  John Black with MSP Telemarketing will be addressing the group on Telemarketing Strategies that can help computer consultants get more success from telemarketing by avoiding some pitfall that most IT services marketing firms make. (more…)

In our last Blog we went over the numbers and showed why a computer business could afford to pay more for marketing calls to generate more IT appointments.  However, the big Question is why in the world would they want to pay more for it services marketing if they didn’t have to?

We were recently approached by a computer consultant who was using another telemarketing firm that was generating leads for a lower cost than what msp telemarketing was proposing.  My question to this technology services provider was, “ if you already getting sales leads  from the other firm at a lower cost, then why would you be contacting us?”

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When you show up to most technology sales leads meetings that were generated by IT telemarketing, then you are already up against a competitor that has a huge advantage.

The computer consultants that is already taking care of your prospect’s  technology is entrenched .  You have a sliver of a chance to unseat them.  One marketing computer services client that we have, calls their IT sales meetings  ’wedge’  marketing meetings.   The goal is to wedge yourself in and continue to widen the gap in your competitors weakness in the eyes of your prospect  (more…)