Using Direct Mail For Massive Marketing Success

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Robert Peretson

In the many years I’ve operated my own IT support business, I’ve used many different marketing strategies to generate new clients. You name it, I’ve probably tried it… cold-calling, business networking, yellow page ads, trade shows, flyers, post-card campaigns and more.

Some things have definitely been more effective than others, but nothing I’ve ever tried has come remotely close to the effectiveness I’ve had when I sent out a professionally written sales letter as part of a direct mail marketing campaign.

Yeah, I know what you’re probably saying… “When I get junk mail in the mailbox, it goes straight in the trash. No one reads that stuff.” Continue reading →

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Ethical Issues MSPs Face

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Deb Shinder

Managed service providers, like other companies, frequently face issues that involve tough decision-making. While maximizing profit is the (or at least a) goal for all businesses that are in business to make money, there are times when the course of action that’s the most financially lucrative isn’t necessarily the right one. The inability to discern between right and wrong (or worse, the conscious disregard for the difference) has led many businesses of all sizes into moral failure – which frequently ultimately also leads to financial failure as well. The Enron fiasco is perhaps the most famous case in point. Continue reading →

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Learning from Masterchef

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Mathew Dickerson

I was a little desperate for entertainment tonight. I wouldn’t normally admit it but it is all for a good cause. I watched MasterChef with the family. Normally reality shows are about as enjoyable as fingernails on a chalkboard – and cooking reality shows are even harder to take – but the challenge last night tweaked my interest.

The challenge for the four teams was to set up a stall at the famous Salamanca markets in Hobart, Tasmania. My wife was at these markets recently and they have been running for 40 years and they attract over 300 stallholders each week.

The interesting part of this challenge was that to win the challenge you firstly had to be in the top two in terms of income and then the winner was decided from those two by the judges who based their final decision on the quality of the food. Continue reading →

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Using Direct Mail For Massive Marketing Success

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Robert Peretson

In the many years I’ve operated my own IT support business, I’ve used many different marketing strategies to generate new clients. You name it, I’ve probably tried it… cold-calling, business networking, yellow page ads, trade shows, flyers, post-card campaigns and more.

Some things have definitely been more effective than others, but nothing I’ve ever tried has come remotely close to the effectiveness I’ve had when I sent out a professionally written sales letter as part of a direct mail marketing campaign. Continue reading →

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Managing the Money (Part 3) – Dealing with your Bank

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Deb Shinder

In Part 2 of this multi-part series on managing your MSP’s money, we discussed some tips for selecting the right bank (or banks) to safeguard your funds. In this article, we’ll talk about how to deal with banks as a small to mid-size business, especially when it comes to how to better prepare and present your case to persuade the bank to finance the growth of your MSP.

It’s the economy

Banks have stereotypically been portrayed as powerful institutions with all the advantages (after all, as bank robber Willie Sutton might or might not have said, “that’s where the money is”). In recent times, however, many banks themselves have been struggling to survive. Unfortunately, this seemingly humbling experience hasn’t made them any easier to deal with. If anything, it’s been just the opposite, as those banks have dramatically dropped interest rates paid on savings, increased fees on all kinds of accounts and transactions, and tightened their criteria for granting a loan. Continue reading →

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Go the extra step – use their name

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Mathew Dickerson

In my last article I wrote about an example of terrible customer service. I hate to focus too much on the negative so I want to give you an example of exemplary customer service.

I was in China recently and I spent a few days at a hotel in Shanghai. It was a hotel that offered an ‘Executive Lounge’ for guests staying in certain rooms. This is a fairly standard arrangement in many hotels around the world. You pay a little extra and you receive a few little benefits – such as access to the lounge; free drinks in the lounge; snacks throughout the day; access to meeting rooms; etc. I am sure you are familiar with the type of arrangement. Continue reading →

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Deliver Your Elevator Pitch Like A Pro

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Robert Peretson

As an IT consultant, you have a lot of potential opportunities out there for growing your business.

Whenever you meet someone new – whether through networking, at a local coffee shop, in the supermarket, or yes, even in an elevator… there’s a very good chance they use a computer in their daily work routine.

Which also means they probably experience frustration often enough when their computer doesn’t work properly. They may or may not currently have a solution in place for getting their computer problems fixed, but there’s always a good possibility that they would like to find someone just like you to keep their systems running and help them to be more productive. Continue reading →

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Managing the Money (Part 2) – Selecting the Right Bank

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Deb Shinder

In part 1 of this “Managing Your MSP’s Money” series, I discussed the importance of understanding cash flow and provided some tips for calculating cash flow, correcting negative cash flow, and putting your cash to work. In Part 2, we’ll talk about how a small or mid-size MSP should go about selecting the right bank. Continue reading →

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The real world is different to a textbook

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Mathew Dickerson

I almost feel silly writing an article about customer service. It seems obvious to me that every business is aware of how important it is to deliver exceptional customer service. Every business textbook and every piece of business advice mentions exceptional customer service as a core part of any business model. Continue reading →

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Five Ways to Beat the Competition

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Robert Peretson

One of the questions I get more often that most is, “What is my USP?”

Consultants I work with seem very concerned with finding some magic ingredient that sets them apart from the competitors in their area. “What can I add to my services to make me different, to stand apart from the crowd?”

This is a very valid concern – one that must be addressed and answered if you expect to have your prospects choose you over the other IT firms they might be meeting with when selecting someone new to take care of their computer systems. Continue reading →

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