Wednesday, August 27, 2008

7 Fundamental Truths About Marketing IT Services

On October 3rd, I'm going to hold a full-day marketing workshop in Seattle (this is a pre-SMB Nation event for those of you who are planning on attending Harry Brelsford's annual conference): http://www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com/smbnation

In prepraration for this event, I outlined 7 fundamental truths about marketing IT services that I'm going to cover during the day (among other things) and thought I would start sharing some 'teasers' with you here on this blog.

Fundamental Truth #1: Great marketing is NOT about you, your ego, what you think, what you like, or the image you want to portray - it is purely about what YOUR CUSTOMERS want, need, and will respond to.

I've worked for a few advertising agencies...and the only reason these companies survive is because business owners make decisions about marketing based purely on their own ego. Create an ad, brochure, or web site that makes them feel good about themselves (makes them look like a bigger company, etc.) and they'll continue dumping dollars on wasted "branding" and image ads that generate NO response.

If you want to make sure your marketing pays off, ONLY trust what works...nothing else.

Not YOUR opinion...nor the opinions of your staff, your spouse, your friends, or your peers. Trust ONLY what brings in new business and causes clients to write you checks. Quite often that is VERY different from the image advertising most companies use.


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Thursday, August 14, 2008

If There Is A Recession Going On, These MSPs Aren’t Participating


High Gas Prices, Rising Costs And The Economic Slump Aren’t Slowing These Small MSPs Down!

If you’re worried about the doom and gloom being sold by the media regarding the ‘economic crisis,’ read on…

At the time of writing this I’ve just been on a whirlwind tour, completing two coaching meetings with my Genius League and Producers Club members, two ASCII events and a speaking engagement at the RSPA Retail Now Conference. Wow. Lotsa work but even more reward.

But what impressed me the most from getting out and meeting with the ‘ground troops’ is the fact that so many of my small MSP clients are more than surviving – they’re thriving.

When I posed the question at both my coaching meetings is anyone feeling the pinch of the economy, no hands went up, and only a few said they felt a slight dip—nothing more. Instead we saw presentation after presentation of how these members are securing BIG windfalls, raising prices, securing longer contracts, and growing fast.

At the Genius League meeting in San Diego, John Tate from Xnet Systems, Inc. shared a simple, incredibly CHEAP campaign he used to go from $48,000 to over $243,000 in sales in under 4 weeks targeting medical companies. Pam Viveiros of Think Tech Computers shared a seminar marketing campaign she used to secure $78,840 in managed backup services and $117,600 in project work—something she learned from fellow Genius Leaguer MJ Shoer of Jenaly Technology.

MJ held a BDR seminar where he closed over 12 deals in 60 minutes. Randy Hall Worldland Technology shared how he was able to increase his rates by 10% while simultaneously securing longer-term managed services contracts (3 years vs. 1 year) adding an additional $266,040 in revenue, and closing 5 new clients...all in a 3-week window.

At my Producers Club meeting, the results were every bit as good – sometimes better…

Linda Lynch from KI Technology shared how she used a lunch and learn seminar to introduce a much-needed cash surge. Walt Ely from System Care Inc. shared how he secured a 304% increase this year and a GREAT marketing campaign involving a lottery ticket for following up on prospects that always gets a call back and positive response.

Laura Aaronson of MLANS shared a highly effective, reliable and repeatable sales process to easily closing managed services that does not rely on cheapest price tactics – and to date, she’s never lost a sale to a competitor. Robert Gerace of Computer Resource Center shared how he secured over $350,000 in recurring revenue in just a few months.

There were many more I’m not mentioning to save space – but I can assure you I’m only scratching the surface of what was shared and discussed at both meetings in terms of revenue growth, new sales, and expanding profits.

Compare THAT to the hundreds of other IT businesses owners who are weeping and wailing about the slow economy and rising gas prices. So what are THESE folks doing that everyone else isn’t?

They are simply choosing NOT to participate in the economic slowdown.

While others are drawing back, laying off staff, and cautiously reducing their marketing budgets out of fear, my clients are turning up the heat and aggressively marketing, promoting themselves in new and creative ways, digging in deeper into existing clients, and doing double time on fueling sales.

If you want to check out the marketing systems they are using, you should attend my one-day event where I'm going to reveal my "9-Step Marketing Secret."

As the saying goes, you are either part of the steamroller or part of the pavement – you decide.


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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Killing Sacred Cows

About a week ago I interviewed Garrett Gunderson, author of the new best-selling book, "Killing Sacred Cows."

This is one of the BEST books I've read in a long time about overcoming common myths about money, creating wealth, and being an entrepreneur. If you are NOT as wealthy as you like, or if you are finding it difficult to become financially free, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this book.

As a gift to all my clients and subscribers, I'm making this interview available for free. Just go to the site below and download a copy of the interview now:

http://www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com/freedom

Dedicated to your success,

Robin



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