MSP University
IT and Managed Services Newsletter
October 2008 |
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Welcome to MSP University |
Happy Halloween!
Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October
31. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires,
costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving Jack-o'-lanterns,
reading scary stories and watching horror movies.
Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the
nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late
twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the
Western world, most commonly in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto
Rico, Japan, New Zealand, and occasionally in parts of Australia and the
United Kingdom, . In Sweden the All Saints' official holiday takes place on
the first Saturday of November.
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FREE MSP University Membership! |
 Have
you created your FREE MSP University account yet? Just browse over to
www.mspu.us and sign up to receive access to IT and Managed Services
webinars, tools, forms and collateral to help you transform or improve your
IT practice with valuable resources in areas of business operations, HR and
hiring, sales and marketing and service delivery, project management and
help desk operations.
Learn how to:
- Revolutionize your existing business model
- Transition existing break-fix customers to Managed Services clients
- Market to the right prospects and close Managed Services business
- Choose the right tools and technology to maximize your efficiencies as an
MSP
- Build closer relationships with vendors and fulfillment partners
- Grow your revenue month after month, year after year
How much annuity-based revenue is your IT practice currently
generating?
What is your company worth?
What are your plans for improvement?
Evaluate your options as an MSP with our FREE membership offer - why wait
any longer?
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Intel® vPro™ Technology Activation Program |
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Desktop and notebook PCs based on Intel®
vPro™ technology 
are quickly becoming the standard for small- and medium-size businesses. But
to get the full benefit of deploying PCs based on Intel vPro technology, you
need to take advantage of their advanced capabilities. The Self-Administered SMB Intel vPro Technology Activation  Program gives you a step-by-step
approach to realizing the full potential of Intel vPro technology in one of
your current customer accounts. By learning how to fully utilize Intel vPro
technology, you can lower your costs, increase your revenue, and become more
competitive.
The program walks you carefully through a pilot deployment:
- Configuring specific Intel
vPro technology-based PC models.
- Integrating Intel vPro
technology-based PCs with specific lead-
ing management console software
applications.
- Using value-driven "Use Cases"
to deliver better, more efficient
managed services.
The result will be increased skills and a powerful business value story
that you can use to sell more managed services.
And Intel
will select some of the very best pilot stories to promote on
Intel
Web sites and in printed case studies.
Get the program details by visiting msp.intel.com
and
clicking on the Activation Program tab. You'll
be on your way to increasing
the value you deliver
to your managed services customers. |
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Secrets to Improving Your I.T. Services Practice Part 2 |
Last time we discussed the 4 models of service delivery, along with the
three modes: 
Service Delivery Models:
- Resellers/System Builders
- Break-Fix Services Providers
- Professional Services Providers
- Managed Services Providers
Business Operational Modes:
- Maintain
- Maximize
- Migrate
Now, let's discuss the characteristics of each model.
Resellers/System Builders:
Characteristics of a reseller/system builder services delivery model
include delivering a commodity service with the lowest profit margins of the
four service delivery models in our discussion. This requires the "pure"
reseller/system builder to make up for these low margins by selling in high
volume and keeping their overhead, parts and labor costs as low as possible,
in addition to developing a standardized problem management and resolution
process to deliver RMA and warranty services for their equipment in the most
efficient manner.
Break-Fix Service Providers:
Although break-fix services providers experience higher profit margins
than reseller/system builders, characteristics of a break-fix services
delivery model include delivering a commodity service - and as such, it may
be difficult to grow revenues during periods of economic uncertainty, when
prospects and clients are trying to cut costs. And since break-fix
services are based on a time and materials billing model, there exists a
finite amount of service that the provider's individual staff can deliver,
making it difficult to scale without hiring, training and managing
additional resources. As break-fix services are generally reactive in
nature (as the name denotes), the provider is challenged to break free from
firefighter mode, and since reactive, emergency services are always the most
costly for clients, the break-fix services provider may be perceived as
enjoying increased profits when their clients are experiencing the most
pain. Thus it is difficult for the provider in the break-fix services
delivery model to demonstrate close alignment with their prospects' and
clients' business goals and needs.
Read more to find out how a service provider's business model and mode are
used to determine improvements to their service practice... |
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New Advanced MSP University Membership Level Announcement! |
 New
MSP University Membership Level!
We
are very excited to inform you of an
exclusive opportunity.
Starting November 1st, MSP University will announce the release of
our new Corporate MSP University Membership to the
entire service provider community. This
new Corporate Membership is loaded with new webinar
content, tools, forms and collateral requested by our existing members.
Some of these new features include:
- Managed Services Pricing/ROI Calculator
- Marketing Cost/ROI Calculator
- Unlimited Access to Hundreds of different I.T. Solution-Specific Marketing
Collateral
- Unlimited Access to "The Best I.T. Audio Sales Training COURSE EVER!"
- Unlimited Access to HR Tools, Forms and Behavioral Profile Training
- 1-on-1 Access to your Partner Support Manager
- Free Quarterly MSP University Workshops
- Unlimited Access to MSP University's Community Forum (Coming Soon)
- Access to "Live Chat" Support (Coming Soon)
Look for our upcoming announcement on November 1st, 2008! |
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MSP University FREE October Webinar Course Highlight |
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Closing the Deal - How to Make Signing your Managed Services
Agreements Irresistible to your Clients
The value of your services and how well
you deliver them doesn't matter if you can't close your opportunities...
This webinar training course covers how to close Managed Services business
in 3 appointments or less, and walks you through each step of your first
appointment-and your second, and your third, then teaches you to conduct a
client needs analysis that reveals you as the expert and provides you with
key talking points and strategic answers to the most common objections to
Managed Services.
This webinar training course also covers the details of the managed
services sales process and covers the strategic details of a Proposal, Cost
Savings Analysis, and Managed Services Agreement.
Finally, this webinar training course reveals a Managed Services sales
technique so unique, it nearly forces your prospects to sign your Agreement
and empowers you to close the deal!
The associated downloadable collateral for this webinar course
includes:
- A 17-page "Closing the Deal" handout, including a prospect-facing Managed
Services PowerPoint presentation and the most common objections to Managed
Services and how to overcome them
- Managed Services New Client Savings Analysis Example
- Managed Services New Client Savings Analysis Template
After completing this webinar course, you will understand how to
effectively conduct each of a series of 3 prospect appointments, and be able
to utilize MSP University's New Client Cost-Savings Analysis tool to sell on
value and increase your Managed Services profits with the collateral provided.
Every MSP needs to fine-tune their closing techniques in order to
win business - when was the last time you evaluated your sales closing
technique, and how effective is it? |
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Managed Services Mastered Lunch 'n Learn Series |
 Final
date this year!
Spend a half-day with Erick Simpson and a few industry friends for our
Managed Services Mastered Lunch 'n Learn series. Attendance is free, and
space is filling up fast. You can
register here for the final date in Los Angeles, California:
Los Angeles, CA - Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Attendance is
absolutely FREE!
As a special thanks, all attendees
will receive our Managed Services 4-pack bundle, which includes:
Book - "The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice"
Audio Book - "The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice"
Book - "The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!"
Audio Book - "The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!"
PLUS a copy of our newest book -
"The Best I.T. Service Delivery BOOK EVER! - Break-Fix, Hardware Warranty,
Professional and Managed Services..."
A $500 value for attending!
Each Managed Services Mastered Lunch 'n Learn will be held from
9am-1pm and lunch will be served.
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The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER! Promotion through October 31st! |
Finally - a Sales & Marketing Book written by
I.T. Service Providers for I.T. Service Providers!
"The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!" focuses squarely on one of
the most challenging aspects of running a successful I.T. services business:
creating, managing and growing a successful Sales and Marketing program.
This book will reveal to you how to successfully sell and market your
I.T. solutions and become a Trusted Advisor to your clients. These
methodologies have helped thousands of our Managed Services partners,
Workshop and Webinar attendees tremendously increase their revenues.
NEARLY 500 PAGES ON BUILDING YOUR SALES AND
MARKETING DEPARTMENT
OVER 50 FORMS, TOOLS AND COLLATERAL TO
SPEED YOUR SUCCESS!
Save $50! through
October 31st, 2008
This comprehensive resource covers its subject matter head-on. Beginning
with an in-depth discussion of all of the preliminary activity that needs to
be thought-through and completed before a service provider can even begin to
develop a marketing strategy; this valuable resource documents a
step-by-step process that walks the reader through every topic necessary in
order to realize a fully-executed, successful marketing and sales process.
This book will reveal to you how to successfully sell and market your
I.T. solutions and become a Trusted Advisor to your clients. These
methodologies have helped thousands of our Managed Services
partners, Workshop and Webinar attendees tremendously increase their
revenues.
What's Covered in the Book?
Covering every essential process required to increase your consistent
sales growth and success, this publication truly is "The Best I.T. Sales &
Marketing Book Ever!"
No I.T. marketing & sales question has been left unanswered. Drawing
upon MSP University's experience in helping partners across the country
transition to an annuity-based, proactive service delivery model, each phase
of the I.T. marketing and sales process is addressed. Broken down into
logical sections, this book helps the reader choose their target market,
determine their service offerings and develop their marketing message, and
the methods through which it is successfully delivered. Follow-on chapters
address hiring the right sales staff and training, incenting and managing
them for success. Additional areas covered include appointment setting and
conducting the first, second and third appointments - all the way through
closing the deal with the decision-maker.
The over 50 additional downloads contain newly-designed marketing
collateral and case study templates, as well as a complete business-winning
I.T. Solutions and Managed Services website design worth $5,000 (design
only, code not included). Also included are live client appointment
role-play videos designed to help the reader truly experience each phase of
a complete sales cycle, as well as process-specific webinar training.
Chock full of additional new forms, tools and collateral, the included
downloadable material greatly enhances the value of "The Best I.T. Sales &
Marketing Book Ever", and insures that this unique publication lives up to
its name.
Save $50! through
October 31st, 2008 |
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MSP University Industry News |
Here are just a few of the accomplishments MSP University achieved
in the month of September:
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