Forget political parties for a moment – I lived in Alaska for 20-years before moving to Seattle to do technology. Do you know what happened today?!?!
harrybbbbb
August 29, 2008
SMB Technology Franchises (Reprint from Issue 1-2)
Happy holiday wekend everyone – here is a reprint from days of olde! I was really excited to write this article two years ago on small business technology franchises and I really need to update it since much has change over the past two year. For example – CMIT and Expetec, two franchises not even discussed in this article – are both proud sponsors at our SMB Nation fall conference in early october! CMIT is giving away a totally cool prize that I can not announce until late next week! (check back). Last year Expetec gave away a complete franchise!
enjoy…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford, CEO at smb nation www.smbnation.com
Microsoft Small Business Specialist SBSC, MBA, MCSE, MCT, MCP, CNE, CLSE, CNP
PS – did u know I host an annual conference in Seattle each october for SBSers and SMB consultants? This year we help launch SBS 2008 and Essential Business Server (EBS) between October 4-6!
###
Holy shifting supply curves! The SMB consulting
marketplace is growing up and maturing. You and
I are chronologically aging and many of us have
joined the “no hair or gray hair” class of SMB consultants.
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 is merely
weeks away from starting its tenth year of life. At the same
time, the SMB consulting field is growing rapidly with new
entrants who encounter little or low barriers to entry in this
profession. Microsoft’s capable Small Business Specialist
Community is driving many of the fundamental factors
spurring SMB consulting growth.
Something easily realized and recognized by business
professionals is the concept of maturity matching;
investment durations are “matched.” For example, longterm
debt is used for long-term capital investments. And
you would never use a second home mortgage to finance a
frivolous vacation. You likely get the point, but how does
this relate to a consulting practice operated by a Small
Business Specialist? Because the SBS 2003 product is mature,
there is an important need to align your business practices
as a Small Business Specialist. Mature software = mature
solutions mindset. Read On.
Winging It: Startup Phase
Typically, when you first start out in small business
technology consulting, you will do anything for any
customer to keep the doors open and the lights on. But
because your practice is immature, perhaps you are caught
up in an endless installation cycle, going from one customer
to the next. But these green business practices lead to an
experience base that allows you to build an ongoing concern
that is ultimately viable (or else you are likely not reading
this magazine). But you are still relatively “immature” in
your ways.
So you can naturally and organically go and grow to the
next stage (foundation) and create your own policies,
procedures and standardization. Now we’re talking
increased business maturity and likely increased
profitability. But you could have taken a shorter path to get
to the same location – that of being a franchisee.
That begs the question – so why would you consider a
franchise in the world of SMB technology consulting? To
find out, we visited with a franchise expert in Castle Rock,
Colorado USA. “For one thing, a franchise is a safety net.”
shared Tamyra Wallace, a franchise consultant with
FranChoice. “Franchises have a much higher success rate
than simple startups.” Wallace also observed that the
franchise construct provides the ability to grow quickly and
open offices in different locations – the business model can
easily be replicated.
Electronic E-mything
What do Dean, Dana and Michael have in common? The
answer is a love for pie shops! What? Notable SMB
consultants and Microsoft MVPs Dean Calvert (Small
Business Specialist, Australia) and Dana Epp (Canada) have
passionately embraced Michael Gerber’s “The E-Myth
Revisited” book that profiles an overworked pie shop owner
who needs to “re-boot” her professional life to achieve
increased profitability and pride. Gerber’s book takes the
pie shop owner through the world of franchise thinking,
resulting in a mature, sustainable business with a happy
owner. The lessons learned are simple yet can be applied to
any form of small business, including the Small Business
Specialist serving small business customers.
Dana Epp shared that E-myth “…taught me to work ON
my business, and not IN it. To make the business serve me,
rather than me being a slave to it. And it finally made me
realize that to receive the WINs I want in life to meet my
primary aim, I have to look at my business as the product,
not the commodity I am selling.” Okay – so do you “buy
into” the franchise thinking? “Yes – I buy into the Business
Franchise Prototyping method. That building measurable
systems and reproducible workflow serve a purpose to
allow ordinary people to create extraordinary results, each
and every time. And that is extremely valuable. However, in
my business, I do not believe I can, or want, to franchise the
business. But that doesn’t mean I can’t benefit from the
Business Franchise Prototyping that most successful
franchises use in their own business model.” Epp
passionately proffered.
When asked whether the franchise concept was right for
each and every Small Business Specialist – Epp hedged with
the following response. “Depends. Most Small Business
Specialist community members really are not business owners.
They are JOB owners. They are “technicians” who are slaves to
their business, and not really ‘entrepreneurs.’ They have
settled on the fact that they can make a living in a break/fix
world, when that world is passing them by. Some are very
successful at that. Yet I believe Small Business Specialist
Community members want more out of their relationships and
their business. If they were to apply E-myth principles and
build systems to create reproducible results each and every
time someone from the company went on site …they would
finally have the chance to get more out of their business.” We
left Dana on his Vancouver BC house deck savoring a bottle of
Gewürztraminer, he must be doing something right.
What Do You Get With A Franchise?
A“franchise” means different things to different people.
For some, it’s a legal concept where one is the franchisee and
the other party is the franchisor. For others, it’s a way of
thinking. For everyone involved, it’s a “business model.”
So exactly what do you get with a franchise?
•Home office support. Having a corporate headquarters
to support you is certainly a franchise benefit.
Affiliating with an organization allows you, the small
business technology consultant, to enjoy the
efficiencies of larger organizations (without having to
belong to a large organization yourself!). Two examples
of home office support include business and technical
support. Perhaps you have a perplexing business
situation and you’re interested in receiving business
advice – this is a reasonable support expectation. Or
possibly you are stuck with an “I can’t print” on a new
USB printer and need home office technical support.
•Training. Something nearly all franchises provide is
training. In the SMB technology world, this training
would typically be technical but can also include
business education.
•Advertising. So why wouldn’t you just go it alone and
avoid the fees associated with a franchise (See chart on
page 8). Because a franchise organization can
accomplish something that is difficult for the
individual to effectively achieve: image advertising.
Think of it this way. If you owned a Subway sandwich
franchise, you would look to the home office to run
advertising during the Super Bowl football game to
promote your individual store.
•Branding. The power of branding is not to be
underestimated. Trying to create a recognizable brand
identity as an individual is exceedingly difficult.
A franchise organization can do this with much
greater ease.
•Quality Assurance. In theory, the SBS2003 deployment
in San Diego should be exactly the “same” high
quality as one in Singapore. That’s what customers
expect from a franchise (e.g. fast food). The good news
is that the SBS 2003 product, along with other mature
SMB applications, lends itself to successful setups
irrespective of geographic locations.
SDIEBAR:
Patents, Copyrights and Protected Territory!
Investors like irrefutable rights that protect their financial
investments. In the USA legal system, this takes the form
of, but is not limited to:
•Patents on inventions
•Copyrights on works
•Protected territory for your business
•Deeds on real property
It’s long been widely considered that much of the USA’s
historic economic success relates to its protections for
private business from pirating, takeover and theft.
Emerging countries, where this magazine has many
readers, are trying to implement such protections
END SIDE BAR
•Instant Business Model. Time for the good stuff – the real
reason a Small Business Specialist would consider
joining a franchise organization. It concerns risk
reduction by employing an instant business model.
Theoretically, a franchise should be a “de-bugged”
business model that allows you to avoid the pitfalls and
bumps of starting your own business. Practically
speaking – folks who take the franchise approach have a
much greater success rate than standalone counterparts.
•Standardization and Replication. The lay person
considering a franchise organization is typically
looking towards the “best practices” developed by the
franchise founders that allow the business model to
“leverage up” standard procedures and a proven
replication. I’ve personally also felt the 42 steps in the
SBS 2003 setup process (Standard Edition) was handin-
glove with the franchise concept.
•Peer-to-peer interaction. A hidden jewel in the
franchise model is the business and professional
friendships that develop and foster positive peer-topeer
interaction. Here is what I mean. Our surveys at
SMB Nation show that you, the Small Business
Specialist reading this article, are a sole proprietor
with roughly two dozen small business customers.
You are lonely because you work alone and you’re
seeking some sort of affiliation group of peers to
celebrate the highs and mourn the lows with. Some
find this in taverns, pubs and bars. Others in user
groups and franchise organizations.
•Protected Geography. Your mileage will vary here
depending on the type of franchise organization you
connect with. But the concept
is simple. You purchase a
franchise that includes a
territory that affords you
some protective borders.
Think of this as a moat
surrounding your business
customers from other
competitors. I am exaggerating
to make a point but
don’t forget that protected
geography could very well be
one of the primary benefits to
holding a franchise.
•Requirements. Traditionally
a franchise requires an
individual to meet certain
net worth requirements or
otherwise be a “sophisticated
investor.” The idea is that
an already accomplished
individual from one industry (e.g. dentist) will be
successful as a restaurant owner (pick any popular
fast food franchise to complete your mental image).
SMB technology franchises, which are profiled below,
are not as strict in financial screening but can very
well insist you meet other quality bars such as being
a Small Business Specialist!
•Cost Sharing. During the course of my worldwide
workshops last year, several attendees brought forth a
franchise concept worth noting. When you belong to
an organization such as a franchise group, you can
save on your costs with bulk purchases, vendor
discounts and the like. Think of this as a 1960s food coop
frequented by hippies and you’ve got the concept
accurately visioned. At some level, this is one of the
qualities of organizations such as ASCII and SMBTN
which secure price breaks from hardware and
software vendors in the SMB space.
Having purposefully painted a rosy picture of
franchises, it’s now time for journalistic balance. Are
franchises a free good without cost? (No.) So what does a
franchise cost? Different franchise organizations charge
differing fee amounts and in different ways. Essentially two
cost components are at play: down payment and ongoing
fees. You might expect to pay something like $20,000 USD to
purchase a SMB franchise for your home town plus pay the
franchisor 15 percent of gross revenues as an ongoing fee.
Your mileage (kilometers) may vary here.
Tamyra Wallace, the franchising expert, created the
following table that sums up the franchise opportunity:
Ownership
Comparisons
Potential Risk Factor
Cost
Training
Proven Operating System
Ongoing Support
Royalty Payments
Up-front Fee
Brand Name Recognition
National Marketing Fund
Marketing Help
Group Buying Power
Your Own SMB
Technology Consulting
Business
High
Whatever You
Want to Spend
None
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Business
Opportunity
(purchasing an
existing SMB
consultancy)
Moderate
Usually
Moderate
Possibly
Yes
No
No
Yes
Maybe
No
Maybe
Maybe
SMB Technology
Franchise
Lower
Moderate to
High
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Source: Tamyra Wallace, FranChoice
Objections
When delivering worldwide Small Business Specialist
workshops and discussing the franchise concept, the
following attendee objections were noted:
•I don’t want to be a sandwich making robot. Some
small business technology consultants took offence to
being replicators and pride themselves on being
creative innovators.
•You can’t “franchise” computer troubleshooting
scenarios. This objection correctly observes that
technology maladies are often solved with thought
and decision tree analysis\branching and aren’t the
same every time. See Resources at the end of this
article for the URL to SMB Nation TV where a Portland
Oregon workshop attendee objected to the franchise
concept on these grounds.
•I want my own identity. This independent maverick
entrepreneur spirit is fundamentally at odds with the
affinity group affiliation and identification assets
inherent in franchise organizations.
Small Business Specialist Community
friendly franchises
Private Sectorisms
SMB PC magazine interviewed several leading SMB
computer franchise organizations that embrace the Small
Business Specialist Community.
Q: When we chatted recently – you spoke of “mega
trends” affecting small business technology service
providers and, in the future, these people will align
themselves with some type of affinity groups like
franchises….can you expand on that?
A: In the SOHO market, which is where most of the independent
self-startups focus, there are some fundamental shifts happening
that’s making it harder to compete. For the last six to seven years
there has been a substantial amount of “easy money”(relatively
speaking) in this market from things like virus & spyware
cleanup and basic hardware repair, but we’re seeing this part of
our market starting to shrink. It’s still substantial, but the
improvements in virus/spyware defense plus the incredibly low
price of replacement computers nowadays means that this side of
the business will continue to decrease. On top of that we’re
seeing increased competition from both national chains (Best
Buy’s Geek Squad primarily) and from online services such as
Windows Live One Care.
The key to surviving and thriving in today’s SOHO market
is in giving customers what they want – fewer problems and more
productivity from their technology. Many of the strategies for
doing this are new to today’s technology service providers, so this
is where the combined group expertise of a franchise or
association can really help. For example, a consultant might
decide that Voice-over-IP is an area that their customers can
benefit from. If they are part of a franchise or association they can
leverage their group of “partners”to research the best solution and
then negotiate a group buying deal that can save them a
considerable amount on their costs from the chosen vendor(s).
Q: What is your take on Gerber’s e-myth…how is it
playing out at ComputerTroubleshooters?
A: Like a lot of good ideas, I first heard about the E-Myth from
some other Computer Troubleshooters talking about it on our
forums.They were so positive about it that I bought my own copy
from Amazon.com that same day. After reading it I ordered two
cases of the books from a local book shop, and started passing
them out to any Computer Troubleshooter who asked. Since then
we’ve also partnered with E-Myth worldwide to provide training
at our annual conferences as well as some other materials.
The E-Myth concepts have been incredibly well received
within Computer Troubleshooters, I think because they are a
direct antidote for a problem in our industry we call “Nice Guy
Syndrome.” The challenge with our industry is that most folks
who start a technology service business are coming from a
corporate IT environment, and they start their own business
because they enjoy working for themselves and helping others.
But business operations is not usually our (speaking as a
technician) strongpoint, and so often the “helping others” part
results in not charging for all your time and just generally not
taking the time to structure your business to make money. In
essence they’ve built a job, not a business, and often not a great
paying job, so the typical lifespan of an independent technology
service provider is less than three years. The E-Myth principles
teach us how to work ON our business as much (or more) than
working IN our business – how to structure what we do so that we
are fairly compensated, the customer gets great service, and the
whole business is sustainable long-term. This not only benefits
the tech, it benefits their customers too since they aren’t going to
have to find a new service provider every three to four years.
Q: Today – where does most of the business come from for
your franchisees? Home office? Small office?
A: According to our last surveys, over 60% of our overall
business comes from home offices, with about 30% from small
business and 10% from our national accounts program. Some
locations are 90% small business, others are 90% home office,
but those are the national averages. Even though many of our
most profitable franchisees are making a surprising amount of
money from the home market, our main focus is on attracting
more small business customers as we see these as more
sustainable and profitable in the long term.
Q: What is your take on Microsoft’s Small Business
Specialist program?
A: I like it – to be honest it’s the first Microsoft program that
addresses the needs of the SOHO market. Previously the MCSE
was too enterprise-oriented, and the MCP was too vague (too
many areas an MCP could be focused on). The System Builder
program was popular with many of our franchisees, but since we
sell Dell or other systems more often than we build our own it
doesn’t really fit us. The SBSC program comes closest to
providing tools and training that fit with what we do.
Q: For those who don’t know about CMIT, please
introduce yourself properly!
A: CM IT Solutions is a franchise providing IT services and
support to small and mid-size businesses. Currently we have 100
locations in 32 states. Our customers depend on us for ongoing
technology advice and look to us to recommend strategies that
will increase security, enhance productivity, maximize efficiency
and most importantly – boost revenue!
Q; Sources in the industry brought to our attention your
commitment to Microsoft’s Small Business Specialist
Community. Why?
A: CMIT is taking the unusual step as each franchise is working to
become Microsoft Small Business Specialist certified.We believe
the certification will be a key success ingredient for our system.
Q: You sound like a “learning and earning” organization.
A: It is very important that each CMIT team continuously builds
their knowledge and skills so they can provide businesses with
the best possible technology services and information, which in
turn helps their business get better results. CM IT Solutions is
dedicated to meeting a business’s every IT need. Earning the
Microsoft Small Business Specialist certification allows us to
accomplish this goal.
Q: What small and medium technology niches does
Concerto Networks, Inc. serve as a franchise organization?
A: Any business, small or large, needs technology in order to
achieve business goals and obtain operational efficiency.
However, small businesses are often unable to employ their own
internal technology staff or aren’t sure where to turn for help
despite their ever growing technology needs. That’s where a
technology partner like Concerto Networks, who can provide
solutions for all of their client’s business technology needs, is
invaluable to SMBs. And SMBs are indeed spending money on
technology. Current SMB technology spending is a multi-billion
dollar industry worldwide and it represents nearly all types of
SMB industries. Our franchise owners have clients ranging from
a one-person office to larger enterprises of 50 employees or more,
and in a variety of industries from medical and real estate to
advertising and manufacturing. We seek to create the simple
office for every type of client we service, so they can focus on
their business and not their technology worries.
Q: Is the franchise concept for everyone in the small
business technology consulting space? Why\why not?
A: The exploding demand for nationally-branded, expertoutsourced
support provides an exciting business opportunity for
seasoned professionals ready to run their own technology
franchises. Concerto Networks is not the ordinary “computer
service” franchise. Concerto Networks is a business technology
solutions franchise that provides its franchisees the benefits of
multi-national branding, state-of-the-art systems and processes,
and the collaboration and support of an international network of
Concerto Networks franchisees, area developers and master
franchise owners. Despite the advantages of owning a franchise,
however, it may not be for everyone. When awarding franchises
we seek candidates that desire to provide professional, proactive
solutions to their customers and who are interested in
participating in an “entrepreneurial teamwork” environment in
which processes are followed in order to support the growth of
our international brand. By building consistency across our
franchise network we all grow the brand together.
When it comes to deciding whether to join a franchise or go
it alone, we encourage our franchise candidates to do their due
diligence and to evaluate their own goals. There are certainly
plenty of businesses in need of support out there; the question is
where are you today and where do you want to be tomorrow?
The power of the franchise brand can represent great growth
potential, support and equity in your business. Since our initial
franchise offering in January 2004, already Concerto Networks
has established the foundation to build and support an
international franchise network to provide services beyond
computer repair for the small-medium sized business
marketplace. Concerto Networks orchestrates the different
technologies for our customers, creating the Simple Office™.
Q: Why are SMBs looking for more than just hourly rates
for computer repair and how is Concerto Networks, Inc.
answering that need?
A: Concerto Networks goes well beyond traditional
troubleshooting and repair of computers and networks,
providing a comprehensive solution designed to help SMBs
plan, manage and optimize their technology to get the maximum
benefit from their investment. Instead of reacting to technology
when problems arise, which could mean downtime or increased
costs, we seek to provide a more proactive solution for our
clients, for several reasons. We use a holistic and proactive
approach to IT support and management, including integrating
computers, voice and data, wired and wireless communications,
Website services, Internet connectivity, security safeguards and
other hardware and software to create the optimal solution for
each individual business’ needs. This holistic approach
maximizes return on investment, minimizes downtime, and
boosts productivity, providing savings and value to customers far
beyond the typical “break/fix” approach. Now, not only do the
solutions that our providers bring to business make their clients’
lives easier, they also make good financial sense for the bottom
line and for business resource management.
And then there is Geeks On Call
with its solutions approach. “We are
completely committed to deleting
customer downtime.” CEO Richard
Cole passionately shares. “We
accomplish this in a couple of ways.
First, we have a very high-quality bar
with our franchises. Technicians are
certified, trained and tested before ever going to a customer
site in the field. Second, our solutions focus is a customer
focus. Technicians are made to understand that it’s all about
making the customer productive and profitable with IT.”
Keep up the good work Richard!
This firm, with 13 offices and plans for 60+, views IT service
delivery as a craft. In fact, its name means IT craftsman. With
over 3,000 SOHO customers, this firm enjoys organizational
economies of scale that allow it to charge customers a
significantly lower rate (we heard around 35 Euros or 1/3
the going rate) for services. Very cute company cars. More
on this firm in a future issue.
Summary
Asub-theme running across this article is the need to elevate
yourself as a professional holding the Small Business
Specialist title. Often we immerse ourselves so profoundly
in the-day-to-day operations that we literally get tunnel
vision. While being caught up in running the business, it is
easy to lose sight of
original goals. Taking a
step back and
entertaining different
business models that
you might not have
previously considered
will allow you to better
chart your course across
the small business
technology consulting
map. Good luck!
RESOURCES
Visit SMB Nation TV
(www.smbnation.tv) for
video blog (VLOG)
interviews related to
this article.
n
ershi
p
Compar
ison
s
Po
tential
Circulation 32,000 copies – in your hands next week!
Hey loyal readers – we hit 32,000 readers of our bi-monthly journal – whoa – that was some work getting there but it looks good from this side. Our magazine will be distributed this next week at the Microsoft Australia TechEd SMB Pre-day event, the 14-city MS SBS tour and some other fun non-sense.
Anyways – it is a holiday friday – and I am outta here
enjoy…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford, CEO at smb nation www.smbnation.com
Microsoft Small Business Specialist SBSC, MBA, MCSE, MCT, MCP, CNE, CLSE, CNP
PS – did u know I host an annual conference in Seattle each october for SBSers and SMB consultants? This year we help launch SBS 2008 and Essential Business Server (EBS) between October 4-6!
August 27, 2008
Issue 1-1: Our original calendar!
Hi gang – another blast form the past. The first issue of the magazine and the first calendar!Enjoy…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford, CEO at smb nation www.smbnation.com
Microsoft Small Business Specialist SBSC, MBA, MCSE, MCT, MCP, CNE, CLSE, CNP
PS – did u know I host an annual conference in Seattle each october for SBSers and SMB consultants? This year we help launch SBS 2008 and Essential Business Server (EBS) between October 4-6!
###
Mark your Calendar!
System Center Essentials (SCE) beta to be released this fall.
If you haven’t heard it yet, Microsoft is going to build server management into Small Business Server 2007 and Centro (mid-market server). SCE is intended for environments of 50 to 500 desktops. SCE will offer summary views, drill-down views, server status reports and asset tracking.
SMB Nation 2006 Conference, Redmond Washington
September 08-10, 2006
Wake up and Smell the New SMB Opportunities!
Now in it’s fourth year, this popular SMB conference will feature 4 tracks this year:
Business, Technology, Medium Space and Solutions. Attend, Elevate and Profit! http://www.smbnation.com
Die Wiesn
Don’t miss going to Die Wiesn, September 16 to October 03, 2006, and have the original Munich Octoberfest experience. Try to find the executive editor on the 19th in the Hacker-Festzelt (Tent #4, seats 9,300). More information at www.oktoberfest.de
Re-print: Original Perceptions column (Issue 1-1)
Good evening folks – here is the final article from the original issue of SMb PC magazine (Issue 1-1) in July 2006. I write the regular PERCEPTIONS column to this day that focuses on surveys. I love it!
Enjoy the past blast…or is it blast from the past!
cheers…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford
CEO at smb nation www.smbnation.com and Microsoft Small Business Specialist SBSC
ps – our magazine holds a raging fall conference in Seattle – early October for the SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 launch party!
###
PERCEPTIONS
Each month, Perceptions will fulfill your need for data and information that typifies our beloved SMB partner community! This month, we asked small business technology consultants around the globe for opinions on our new magazine: what articles would you like to read?
Past polling and survey results have been very revealing. For example, in the spring of 2006, SMB Nation newsletter readers (prior to this magazine) were surveyed about mobility. While the individual consultant was using a SmartPhone and the GSM communication standard, this same consultant was NOT assisting customers in implementing mobility solutions on top of Windows Small Business Server 2003! True story – over 80 percent of the small business technology consultants had not implemented any form off mobility solution at SBS customer sites. We calculated at least ten billable hours lost at each site from this ignored opportunity!
Methodology
We have two community survey methods that we use each month: in-person polling and online survey. The in-person polling is a “person on the street” approach conducted at numerous workshops. The online survey allows anyone to participate, something we greatly encourage. The results from both methods are presented here.
Results
INSERT PHOTO
Gabriella Bergantini, Tech Trainer – Zurich, Switzerland
I am concerned about seeing the education quotient. I would be very interested in learning about new training and preparation tools that are available to me that open up new possibilities as a small business consultant.
INSERT PHOTO
Irshad Khan, Brussels, Belgium
Would I read the magazine? Of course I would, I think there is a need for that and I think it’s a good idea. Regarding articles, I would like to see mostly technical articles, since I am a technical person.
INSERT PHOTO
Marc Vandenbonne, Brussels, Belgium
I think [there] will be the advantage to read about the best practices, not the commercial stuff. Let the end user talk to another end user, let them tell the other user the best practices, what are the advantages and give details. Like what is the difference between the last version, and besides the technical side, I’d like to see the nutshell on how to sell it.
INSERT PHOTO
Mitch Garvis, Montreal, Canada
I would probably want to add a third category in there beyond business and technical –> community. However I personally prefer technical over business!
INSERT PHOTO
Steven Teiger (left), Rueven Steinberg, both in Isreal
[Steven Teiger] I would like to see a “business section” customer story on his relationship with the Consultant/Partner and a “technical section” on tips and tricks with the platform(s) that improved customer efficiency.[Reuven Steinberg] I like seeing content focused on sales. I, like many others in the tech professions, am technically oriented and need help dealing with how to sell to clients. Needless to say, how to’s and problem discussions are very enjoyable. Lastly, discussion about how to extend SBS to make it more compelling to current and future clients. This includes things like integration of Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC/phones and Exchange.
Our on-line survey revealed the following replies. Full results are accessible from www.smbnation.com.
Establishing relations with distributors, vendors, Microsoft, etc. as a one-man shop. Building your client base: Marketing Strategies Generating Repeat Business.
How to position CRM 3.0 for small businesses; Best tools for one-man-shops.
Data, data, data – on-site backup, off-site backup, online backup, replication, archiving, disaster recovery, retention compliance, where to store it, how long to store it, what to store it on, how to get it back if you need it. What else is there but data?
Tips and tricks for how to configure SBS: Like what settings are others doing on all of your installs. ie- Exchange “tar pitting” and IMF, tuning SQL to not take too much memory, turn on bits caching after installing SP2.
Effective marketing techniques and NEW lead generation. How to build effective case studies with your clients on SBS.
How To’s – Highlighting “best practices.” Especially: Recovery (not just disaster, but all recovery functions). Anti-virus/spyware/spam. Hardware configurations & price points. Monitoring tools (NOT more managed services approaches, just the tools). Apps, apps, apps. Financial (QuickBooks & Great Plains). Staff scheduling, appointment scheduling, dispatching. Manufacturing. Focus on “broad verticals” (i.e., sub-industries).
August 2006 Online Survey
Visit www.smbnation.com and click through to our monthly online survey regarding computer consulting franchises! Also – have you read Gerber’s e-myth book?
Reprint: Maria Huwe at Microsoft Small Business Specialist Community (SBSC) [Issue 1-1]
Hello folks – as you know – I am reprinting past magazine articles – a blast form the past if you will. Here is an early Insider column on MAria Huwe at Microsoft Redmond!
cheers…harrybbb
Harry Brelsford
CEO at smb nation www.smbnation.com
PS – we are sponsoring a SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 launch in Seattle in early October!
July 2006
Microsoft Insider
Marie Huwe
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Microsoft Insider. Each month – we’ll highlight someone on the “inside” of Microsoft’s small and medium business efforts[ar1] including the Microsoft Small Business Specialist (SBSC) program and the Microsoft Small Business Server product.
Meet Marie Huwe!
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Title: General Manager, Worldwide Partner Marketing Group. Has held this job for just over six months.
Location: Redmond, Washington.
Responsibilities: Partner marketing responsibilities including small business. Reports to Allison Watson.
Education: Double-major from Northwestern University. One of the majors was Political Science, which gives Marie a well-rounded, liberal arts background. Northwestern is well-respected college known for its business and marketing graduates.
Age: We didn’t ask. J
Philosophy: Pursues new frontiers. Willing to take on new assignments and master new areas of responsibility. “Customer service is paramount to any technology company – no longer build and they will come.”
Work experience: Worked for Borland for six years in developer tools marketing and product management. Joined Microsoft in 1997 on the Visual C++ team. Was the long-time director of marketing for SQL Server 2000 and she launched Visual Studio 2005 which she described as the “most customer-focused release ever.”
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***Production: Insert Marie Photo***
We caught up with Marie on a very pleasant but busy spring day in Building 121 of Microsoft’s Redmond campus. Located just down the hall from Microsoft Partner leader Allison Watson, Marie proved herself to be surprisingly well-versed in Microsoft small business partner initiatives. Besides that, she is a pleasant individual.
Specific to the Microsoft Small Business Specialist Community, Marie shared:
- Pent-up demand. “There is huge excitement surrounding the SBSC and we’re responding in-kind. The feedback we’re receiving from customers and partners is crafting how we refine the program.”
- Microsoft intends to expand the SBSC into more of the small business product stack so that these products can successfully be introduced into small businesses[ar2] . Moving forward – the SBSC won’t just be about SBS 2003!
- Low-hanging fruit. Microsoft intends to integrate the MBS (Dynamics) partners into the SBSC program. Details to be finalized at a future date. “We need to expand SBSC beyond the Microsoft classic partners.”
- Biggest[ar3] challenge – the biggest SBSC challenge has been the certification exam. Microsoft Learning (MSL) is working on a one-day exam preparation workshop that will include on-site testing.
- Lessons learned: “We are learning what it takes to serve small business partners. One of the interesting ‘learnings’ is that we have a tendency to focus on sophisticated marketing campaigns…but when it comes to SBSC members, the basic sales tools, perhaps extracted from our sophisticated campaigns, are what partners are asking for.”
- Next steps. “We’re focusing over the next year on mining our internal partner ecosystem to grow SBSC. And you can also look forward to more soft-skill training content from the SBSC team that will be less technical and more business skills focused.”
The final word? “SBSC success is CRITICAL to Microsoft’s success in the small business space.”
Follow-up: See Marie’s views on Microsoft’s commitment to training and workforce retraining at www.smbnation.tv.
August 25, 2008
Reprint: Original TechnologyWatch Column from Issue 1-1
HappyMonday folks – here is the original techwatch column from july 2006! My how times change 
enjoy the blast from the past…harrybbbb
Harry Brlesford | CEO at SMB Nation | www.smbnation.com
Microsoft Small Business Specialist SBSC, MBA, MCSE, MCT, CNE, CLSE, CNP and MCP
PS – did u know we are sponsorsing a SBS 2008 launch party at our fall confernece in early October in Seattle? YEP!
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Technology Watch
QLOGIC tour
There are a few new SMB technology trends that are emerging, one of which is storage area networks (SANs) in the small and medium business space (SMB). This is great stuff because it’s an opportunity to get ahead of the wave. QLogic has created the SAN Express Kit for implementing SAN technology on SBS networks and other SMB platforms. This amazing functionality has been priced right making it “right-sized” for the right client.
Here is the tour schedule for this COMPLIMENTARY one-day workshop being held at five-star hotels! Learn more and register at www.smbnation.com.
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QLogic Tour Dates |
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San Jose, CA |
July 19, 2006 |
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Los Angeles, CA |
July 20, 2006 |
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Irvine, CA |
July 21, 2006 |
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Portland, OR |
July 25, 2006 |
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Seattle, WA |
July 27, 2006 |
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Denver, CO |
August 01, 2006 |
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Minneapolis, MN |
August 03, 2006 |
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Atlanta, GA |
August 10, 2006 |
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Washington, DC |
August 11, 2006 |
Best Buy for Business
Our friends at Redmond Channel Partner Magazine reported on retail giant Best Buy, and it’s plans for SMB this year. Now that Best Buy is a Gold Certified Partner, will the retail chain become competition or opportunities for the VAR? Going ahead at full speed, Best Buy for Business will be deployed at roughly 230 stores this year. Find out more about Best Buy’s vision and ambition at http://rcpmag.com/features/article.aspx?editorialsid=591
Partnering is a beautiful thing!
Check out the Tidewater Community College’s Division of Workforce Development that partnered with a Small Business Development Center, a computer store and a training company to offer free non-technical seminars on Small Business Server 2003 for business owners and managers. The college (TCC) will be offering the seminars at its four Virginia campuses, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach (respectively from 07/25 to 07/28) and will have the Microsoft Across America Truck at each one day campus seminar. HyperLearning Technologies, a technology training company will offer a technical seminar at their facility on 07/28. Click on over to
http://www.tcc.edu/wd/sbs.htm to find out more about the Small Business Server 2003 information seminars, or go straight to www.clicktoattend.com. Hats off to you guys – what a great initiative!
Download Aug\Sept issue now of magazine
hey gang – just a lazt summer sunday post-up.
You can now download next week’s SMB Partner Community magazine.
The cover story from Robert Cohen really fits this group with the TBA discussion in SMB….selling the business services\consulting instead of being a box pusher.
there is also extensive WPC Houston coverage including a tell all photo essay….see Jeff Middleton standing next to a short MS RP product manager….man Jeff is tall!
Download now: http://www.smbnation.com/products_listpage.asp?Category=Publications&Category2=Magazine
(most of you will receive in the mail next week = if you want printed version – you must JOIN THE TRIBE at www.smbnation.com)
cheers…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford
CEO at SMB Nation
www.smbnation.com
Microsoft Small Business Specialist SBSC, MBA, etc.
August 23, 2008
Magazine Reprint (Issue 1-1): How Can You Expect To Sell Anything (Robin Robins)
My dear friend Robin Robins contributed much to the early editions of our magazine and I reprint her very first excellent article here. Robin wrote for us for about a year as a Contributing Editor until we re-orged the magazine with some new writers (no offense Robin )
cheers…harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford, ceo at smb nation www.smbnation.com
Microsoft Small Business Specialist, SBSC, MBA, CNE, CLSE, CNP, MCSE, MCP, MCT
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do u know I host a raging fall confernece in seattle in early october? This year it is focused on SBS 2008 and EBS 2008
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How Can You Possibly Expect To Sell Anything
When You Don’t Know THIS…
B y Robin Robins
There is an old saying that says you can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. This is a great saying to live by, especially if you are a business owner or sales person whose bank account, lifestyle and financial security is dependant on your ability to sell something. As sales people, we know we’re supposed to listen to our customers and ask questions so we can fully understand their wants and needs. Nothing new there; but, how many people actually do?
As a marketing consultant and sales copywriter, one of the most important things I have to do before writing any type of promotion is truly understand the target customer. In order to effectively persuade someone to take action, I have to know what they want most, what they hate, what they think about, what motivates them, and what their priorities are. This is the art of true listening; the ability to understand the way your customer thinks without filtering or altering it with your own beliefs, agenda or opinions.
This is not difficult, but it takes practice. Hearing what someone said and truly understanding what they meant or where their opinion came from is as different as night and day. But if you want to become a great salesperson or marketer, this is a skill you must master. Let me give you an example…
IT managers have a much different agenda than a business owner. The IT manager wants to protect his turf. In most cases, he is very ego-driven and doesn’t want to look bad to the boss or anyone else for that matter. He is a bit of a control freak (which, in truth, is not a bad trait for someone responsible for protecting a company’s data and operations). He needs to feel assured that you aren’t going to make him obsolete. This may be completely illogical from your point of view, but he’s the one writing the check.
You may think it’s obvious that you are there to make their job easier and to make them more productive. However, people don’t think logically, they think emotionally. Plus, the IT manager who feels this way is not going to verbalize this to you or anyone else. He’ll shoot a million holes in your proposal before he’ll admit he feels threatened by you. That being the case, you have to communicate in advance (through your marketing) how you are going to make him a hero in his organization, and then you have to be able to prove that through testimonials, guarantees, and other proof positive to your claim.
On the other hand, the business owner doesn’t have a clue about all the options, acronyms, and technical terms you are spouting off. As a matter of fact, it makes him a fearful buyer because he doesn’t know enough to determine whether or not you are giving him a good recommendation or not. Just the opposite of the IT manager–the buisinss owner wants you to take control so he doesn’t have to concern himself with anything technical. He doesn’t want to know the technical details. He simply is trying to figure out if he can trust you to do a good job, alleviate his problems, simplify his life, improve his business, and not overcharge him. His biggest concerns are making money, cash flow, customers and avoiding business disasters.
Can you see how you would need a different marketing message to both of these individuals, even if they are in the same company? Most business owners don’t spend enough time truly looking at the world through their customers’ eyes and end up paying the price of this ignorance: starvation.
Years ago I did some work for an MRI imaging center. They wanted to find out how they could persuade more people to choose their state-of-the-art open MRI center over some of the older, better-established facilities. They told me how new the facility was, how caring the staff was, how accurate the reports were, and how they would even come and pick up the patients at their homes. They had tried running several full-page, very expensive ads in local magazines in an effort to get the word out about their new facility and the various benefits I just mentioned.
However, these ads were full of the reasons why they thought someone should be interested in their facility. Plus, they didn’t facilitate the natural buying process of their customers. After studying and understanding how patients choose MRI centers, I quickly discovered two things: first, most patients do not even realize they have a choice of MRI centers (they typically go where the doctor tells them to), and second, patients had a fear of being in a very small, closed space. This is why their ads had zero pulling power…they didn’t educate the end buyer (the patient) that they had a choice of imaging centers, and they didn’t drive home hard enough the fact that they had an open MRI, which meant no more small, scary, claustrophobic tunnels to crawl in. But it doesn’t end there…
Upon even further study of where they were getting their best patients, I discovered that chiropractors treating accident victims were their best source of new business. After talking with several of their chiropractor customers (make a note of this; I actually picked up the phone and interviewed several chiropractors about why they were using this particular imaging center), I came to discover that they used this MRI imaging center because the reads (meaning the actual images and diagnosis) were more detailed than the ones they received from other MRI imaging centers, and therefore gave them a much better chance of getting their patients’ insurance company to pay for the treatment. Apparently, many insurance companies deny payment for chiropractic care unless it is deemed necessary based on the reads from the imaging center. One of the biggest frustrations for chiropractors is not being able to deliver a full treatment plan to their patients because some insurance adjuster in a cubicle with no medical experience is making the decision that chiropractic care is not necessary.
Now, without knowing the rest of the story, can you guess who I recommended they target and what the core message should be? For the slow group, here it is:
We targeted chiropractors with the following headline:
“Finally, a Proven Way to Stop IMEs from Interfering With Your Practice and Denying Payment for the Complete Treatment Plans Your Patients Need”
We built an entire campaign around a premise that included partnering with personal injury attorneys and using seminars and free reports to educate the doctors as to how they can best help their patients by sending them to this particular imaging center. Instant success. One of the first seminars they conducted brought in over 20 chiropractors–all good, viable customers for their center. Can you see that once you truly understand the customer, the message, and the benefits, the USP (unique selling proposition) becomes obvious?
So now, here’s your homework. Below are 12 questions you need the answers to about your target market before you start marketing to them. These questions will vary with the individual (business owners, IT manager, office managers, etc.) and the vertical market. Without the answers to these questions, you’re flying blind and will only get customers by chance or luck.
1. What are your customers’ biggest frustrations, pains, and aggravations?
2. What are they afraid of?
3. Who (or what) are they currently using or buying from now?
4. What do they like about this situation? What don’t they like?
5. What do they secretly want?
6. Who (or what) are they mad at?
7. What trends are happening in their industry?
8. What’s most important to them when looking for your product or service? In other words, what are the buying criteria for your product or service?
9. What problems or frustrations have they had with other companies in your industry? Hint: they are going to expect you to be the same unless you can prove otherwise in your marketing.
10. What events, situations, regulations or dilemmas occur to prompt them to seek out your services? (Example: most companies installing a practice management or new accounting software package need to upgrade their network).
11. What other companies are selling similar products and services to them successfully, and how are they doing it?
And finally, question 12 is a question you should already know the answer to, but probably don’t: What originally prompted your current customers to buy from you?
Once you know what your customer desires most (or wants to avoid most) your job is to make a good argument in your marketing materials as to how your product or service will help them get exactly that.
SBS 2008 BETA certification exam – take complimentary until September 12th
Tell em Harryb sent ya!
http://msmvps.com/blogs/herlesonpontes/archive/2008/08/22/1645564.aspx
cheers….harrybbbb
Harry Brelsford CEO at smb nation www.smbnation.com
PS – great to see SBS 2008 stuff starting to happen!
