| If you are attending trade shows or reading technology | | | | monitoring functions, while also addressing security. In a |
| news, you know that managed services in the SMB | | | | recent workshop I conducted at the Level Platforms |
| market is a hot topic right now. There are a number of | | | | Headquarters in Ottawa, Peter Sandiford, CEO of |
| solutions out there that offer a platform for building | | | | Level Platforms made the comment that, Solution |
| managed and monitoring services; with an emphasis | | | | providers need to stay on top of not only performance |
| on the SMB market. This is important because many | | | | issues but also the exploding number of critical threats |
| are asking "How do I improve my financial stability, | | | | that can cripple their entire operations. The distinction |
| maintain market share, and increase the company's | | | | between an MSP (Managed Service Provider) and an |
| valuation"? | | | | MSSP (Managed Security Services Provider) has |
| If you have already started selling managed services | | | | disappeared." In response, Peter's organization has put |
| of some type, you know that there is more to it than | | | | together one complete integrated solution using a |
| buying a monitoring tool, installing it in your office, and | | | | monthly subscription price; a pricing model that should |
| getting a junior sales person to make thousands of | | | | help all of us begin the process without a large cash |
| phone calls. There has to be a value proposition that is | | | | outlay. |
| compelling to what has been called, "The post chasm | | | | 3. Who will sell it? |
| buyer". It has to actually meet a business need, provide | | | | This might be the number one question being asked |
| a return on investment, or move a customer closer to | | | | right now. Selling technology to "post chasm buyers" is |
| some federal security requirement. Before you move | | | | not an easy thing to do. In my seminars I always ask |
| forward, there are four key questions you need to | | | | the group to help me measure the percentage of |
| ask: | | | | successful sales people. In addition, I am looking for the |
| 1. What will you offer? | | | | average time it takes a new sales person to get up to |
| You know how most SMB companies don't have time | | | | speed. In some cases I have found companies who |
| to keep up with their IT environment? Patches are | | | | have gone through dozens of sales people over the |
| often out of date, security is very weak, main business | | | | last three years, trying to find someone who can bring |
| systems are not highly-available, backups have never | | | | in enough gross profit to pay for themselves and offer |
| been checked, and there is either one or just a part | | | | a sound return on investment for the company. |
| time person dedicated to keeping everything going (a | | | | Bringing in a cold caller to find new customers that |
| major security risk in itself). Now you need a program | | | | want their systems monitored may not be the best |
| that solves the problem. Its not monitoring, its much | | | | approach. |
| more. | | | | Michael Bosworth, in his book, Customer Centric Selling |
| You need a program. Your program consists of the | | | | calls for Marketing to get involved here (or perhaps the |
| everything you can do to help a manager or business | | | | person doing the marketing function - that might be |
| owner forget about IT. Systems have to be assessed | | | | you). The message needs to be built; He calls this |
| for areas of risk (security holes, points of failure, | | | | "Sales ready messaging". Michael Gerber, in his book |
| inadequate procedures and personnel, etc.). Then, your | | | | eMyth Revisited, urges his readers to prototype the |
| client's infrastructure needs to be repaired, optimized, | | | | message - don't leave it to each person's interpretation |
| stabilized, and cleaned up from spyware, RATs | | | | and style. Once we have a proven message, there is |
| (remote access trojans), and other security/availability | | | | a process to systematize it. In other words, create the |
| problems. Finally, a program to keep things going must | | | | message, get it right, and then use it as long as it |
| be put into place. This might include periodic planning | | | | works. |
| meetings, reports that forecast disk space and | | | | Once we have a message, we need to find every |
| bandwidth constraints, quarterly or monthly onsite | | | | channel that can be used to sell the solution. At this |
| proactive maintenance (some of this might be done | | | | point I recommend finding teachable people within your |
| remotely or through automated systems), and of | | | | organization that will go out with you to learn the |
| course, 7 by 24 monitoring. The bottom line is, post | | | | message. If there is a value to the service, and we are |
| chasm buyers are not going to buy monitoring; they | | | | convinced the customers we deal with need it, then |
| are going to buy uptime. | | | | our task is to show them the need in a way that is so |
| 2. How will you build it? | | | | compelling that it will lead to a sale. Bosworth says, 3% |
| You might have something in place right now - | | | | of the people know they need something, 97% don't |
| perhaps you do it all yourself. But as Mack Hanan | | | | but can be shown. Your engineers may be your best |
| pointed out in his book "Consultative Selling", a book | | | | candidates at this point. |
| written in 1972 on selling profit improvement, selling | | | | 4. Will it be profitable? |
| hours for dollars is always a commodity and will not | | | | It will be profitable if we price it right. Managed services |
| build a long term profitable business. You need | | | | is a different kind of solution because, depending on |
| leverage. | | | | how it is built, we may not know the cost of goods |
| Start by listing everything you could do for a company | | | | sold (COGS) before we sell it. One way to approach |
| on a periodic basis and categorize it by system. You | | | | this is by having a system in place to measure |
| might have servers, workstations, network | | | | engineering time (others may involve pricing out certain |
| components, etc. Then you have administrative tasks | | | | types of reactive services outside of the contract until |
| that parallel these devices; Helpdesk services, planning | | | | the cost model is developed). Some companies offer |
| and strategy, user awareness training, etc. I | | | | unlimited helpdesk support to the end-user customer, |
| recommend that you add security as a separate | | | | others offer a certain number of incidents. Some offer |
| section where we will list higher level security options in | | | | patches in the contract, troubleshooting onsite, etc. If |
| addition to items that will fall under each component. | | | | you don't track your costs you won't know what the |
| Now figure out what you can automate through tools | | | | profit looks like. At the end of the day, you are looking |
| that are out on the market today. | | | | for high margins on managed services. If you are not |
| Once you have the offerings list, you will want to begin | | | | seeing three times your burden rate over the year, |
| building on a platform that has many of these functions | | | | your margins are too thin on this offering. |
| built right into it. Your core offering should include the | | | | |