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…)

If you’re starting up a new computer business and marketing to businesses then in many ways your situation parallels that of the early Pioneers.

While the promise of becoming rich from reoccurring revenue in the IT industry is plastered all over the internet, it’s important to be warned of the dangers you may face from savage Indians and a barren land.

The truth is that MSP Pioneers get the Arrows, read this and be prepared!

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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?

Find out the answer and attend the webinar April 26th 10:30 PST for a chance to Win a Free Telemarketing campaign!

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Most managed services providers will run the first appointment and try to set up a network assessment as their next step in the sales process and finally have one last meeting to close.

Unfortunately, the average business is so slow about making changes that these three marketing steps usually fall painfully short.

The only card left to play in the IT sales cycle for most providers is simply calling back and asking if the prospect is ready to switch.  I don’t have to tell you that this gets stale after a while and turns prospects away. (more…)

It’s often said that you can’t judge someone until you first walk a mile in their shoes.

However, I have been standing on my soap box for quite some time judging managed services providers regarding their IT marketing skills and have yet to step into their shoes.

I have sought to rectify this oversight  by starting a computer support company from scratch in San Antonio.  My goal is to walk through all the issues facing a start-up IT firm, using the techniques I have been advocating. (more…)

Most computer repair companies view the technology vendors that provide help desk solutions as anathema.

They are hated even though theses companies could boost their response time dramatically and allow them to add the 24/7  label to their IT marketing collateral.

We are told that prospects simply don’t get excited about having an insanely faster response time!  However, we finally might have some proof to disprove this alibi!

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When Horace Greeley coined the phrase, “Go West Young Man” , it was because the ‘West’ was full of amazing opportunities that would allow a young man to build a new life for himself.

I have coined the phrase, “Go Vertical Young Man” because similar vast opportunities are open to the computer consultant that realizes the power of building a vertical IT marketing campaign.

Now at first glance the computer repair market doesn’t seem to be wide open and rife with opportunity; but rather closed off and unfriendly to any new start up companies… (more…)

When computer business providers start laying out their marketing plans, normally their eyes are bigger than their stomachs when they pick the average size of the companies the will target.

I can see many of them counting their chickens before they hatch as they start drooling over the prospect of signing up two or three large businesses that have at least 50 computers on their network.

However, I think many of them might have forgotten a lesson that should have been learned on a fishing trip.  You have to start small and catch some minnows or bait that you can use to lure in the Larger Fish! (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…)