Bandspeed (www.bandspeed.com) - a fantastic WLAN solution that can lead to huge profitability for MSPs who want to deploy and sell managed WLAN solutions for customers.  Once I learned of them and asked other partners if they’ve heard of Bandspeed, I received one of two answers 1) “never heard of them” or 2) “Bandspeed ROCKS!”

Symantec - during our boardroom appointment, someone introduced the “elephant in the room” by asking the exec presenting about Syamntec’s recent partner/channel policy changes notably the practice of going direct to customers cutting out partners on renewals.  The exec tried to play the good cop bad cop routine but was unsuccessful at delivering any feelings that were warm or fuzzy.  At one point he even blamed the new practice on partners (or at least he tried) by stating that “30% of licenses don’t renew”  - my colleagues and I gently pointed out that the reason for the 30% is more likely due to VARs switching solutions for the customers rather than simply forgetting to sell the renewal. 

Overall, many vendors were trying very hard to position themselves as a one stop shop for a VAR.  “we have this product/software, but we’ll also train you, help you grow your business, etc…”  While all of that sounds great, many miss the mark in delivering what VARs are truly looking for - a PARTNERSHIP.  In an era where VARs need partnerships to diversify offerings, “commitment to our channel” has got to be real.  Of course, some vendors get this and others don’t even come close.

Happy hunting…

Matt Makowicz

Join us at the next TS2 event in your area, where we will focus on exciting Microsoft technologies that will broaden your portfolio of customer offerings and boost your ongoing revenues.

Our TS2 team will offer sales tips to help you promote the following products:

·         Small Business Server 2008 & Essential Business Server 2008

·         Response Point VoIP Phone System

·         Software + Services

Register now! Make sure you www.MicrosoftTS2.com to meet the team, view educational webcasts, and more!

 More info coming soon!

1. My good friend Stuart Crawford will be a speaker at the conference!  Stuart is an expert in leveraging PR and blogging to grow a business.  You’ll definitely want to check out his session.
2. The biggest thing to look for is Microsoft’s S+S (Software plus Services) play.  Many IT providers are not happy, confused, or not sure about S+S.  Look for this to be the main undercurrent of the conference 
3. This is one of the best conferences to network with Microsoft people (see suggestions below) 
4. Sara and I are attending - you’ll usually FIND ME IN THE YELLOW LOUNGE or just look around for “the guy in the suit” its probably me
5. The ISV party will be “the party” but it was invite only and already at capacity - don’t worry there will be PLENTY to do.

This is a small excerpt from my upcoming 2nd book - A Guide to MARKETING Managed Services - faster, easier, & for greater profit (See full table of contents here) - I have an entire Chapter dedicated to Leveraging Microsoft.

Constructively complaining:A Partner’s first interaction with a Microsoft employee is pretty interesting.  It usually involves the Partner complaining and the Microsoft employee smiling and nodding.  When meeting a Microsoft employee, it is important to know that unless he/she is on the development team of the product you’re complaining about – chances are he/she can’t do anything to help you, other than of course to smile and nod and wait for you to stop talking.  FYI – most product team developers and managers are not out and about meeting Partners.   Partners

When meeting a Microsoft employee, ask what they do for Microsoft within the first 15 seconds of introducing yourself. 

Partners

The sooner it is realized what a person does for Microsoft and what that person’s goals are this year, the quicker it can be determined how to best leverage that contact at Microsoft.  Also be sure to offer a solution to any problem that may exist.  So hold that complaint about whatever until:

Partners

1)      You’re communicating with someone in the department that is responsible for those issues

Partners

2)      You have an idea for a solution that you can offer 

Partners

I continue to see Partners find a Microsoft person at a conference or other event and insist on venting about all ways in which he feels Microsoft has not done a good job.  It seems the goal of these folks is to complain to as many Microsoft people as possible.  Perhaps the thinking is that sooner or later, someone will care. 

PartnersSince the chances of meeting the exact right person or manager to vent your complaint to is actually small, why not seek out something positive?  Decide how Microsoft can best help your company’s growth and ask for it.  The more thought out and specific the better.  Not only will you eventually get what you’re looking for (assuming it’s a reasonable request), you’re likely to build a great database of Microsoft employees along the way. 

Happy hunting at WPC!

I can’t wait to do it again with him and also my other kids. 

anyone else do something like this?  I welcome any other suggestions on how to include my kids in my professional life.  So far, this enhanced “take your child to work day” was all I have really done and now that I have a taste of what it is like, I want to do more!

suggestions, comments, questions, welcome!

 On the topic of work/life balance, there is always some good thought and discussion.  Well, in this regard I have been contemplating often as of late and recently discovered something.  Something that is too important not to share.

If you don’t know Jeff Middleton, he is, by his own definition “a contrarian.”  Therefore, I am fine with the fact that this post is not a conference summary or recap.  Rather, it is my attempt to share a recent attitude adjustment I experienced as result of an excellent conversation with Jeff (over a Pina Colada with a splash of Myers Rum).   The other reason behind this adjustment was also the fact that I was ready to hear it and to a certain degree, already thinking about it.

–

So, like numerous others in the IT community, I work a lot.  I work weekends.  I work nights.  I bring my laptop on vacation and even when I am not working, my attention is never too far away.  I have been the sole practitioner juggling the tasks of servicing customers while growing the business and trying not to appear small.  I experienced the joy of having people I trusted to run my company so that I could take a “real” vacation (real vacation means no calls/emails to/from the office or customers).  I worked from home, from a real office, and have done the traveling bit.  I’ve been a W2, a 1099, a Contractor, Consultant, Project Manager, Owner, Salesperson, Office Manager, Trainer, Technician, Author, Coach, and more! 

The point is that whenever it came to my professional life, I have always been focused, goal oriented, and driven.   I still am very ambitious (no pun intended). 

There is always a trade off because one’s business can take every ounce of energy one can put into it.  There can never be too much.  (think of RAM in a PC/Server as an analogy).  Sure we know (just like with RAM), that after a certain point the advantage of the “extra” is marginal if noticeable at all, but most business owners are extremists and do it anyway!

It is easy (or easier) to make a choice between a 16 hour day and getting home so the kids can see you before bedtime than to spending money to do the right thing.

The point is that with all the money we spend (a.k.a. “invest”) in our businesses, how much does each of us invest in family time?  Do we have a more difficult time putting our hands in our pockets when the result is ‘family time’ than when the result is ‘a better server’ for the business? 

For me, this hit me like a ton of bricks.  When it comes to making decisions that would cost actual greenbacks and create family time, they have typically been brushed off as “not good for the business.”  Well, what I came to realize this past week is it is OK to spend money on my family too!  After all, ‘family time’ is a large part of why I do what I do in the first place.

So the next time you’re faced with a similar dilemma, analyze the costs on both sides.  Here’s an example -

—

Do you need that office admin that will cost the business another $3,500/month or can you simply work more hours to pick up the slack?  Do the latter, and you’re are undoubtedly focused upon the financial health of your business.  If you can do it, you’re most likely doing what is in the best interest of your business – then again, is the business growth the ONLY thing you care about?

What if hiring that admin will decrease your average work week from 55-60 hours closer to 45?  Compare that to the likelihood that your average week will increase to 65 or 75 without the addition of an Admin.  So, given this example, is 20-30 extra hours with your family EACH WEEK worth $3,500/month to you? 

If you’ve thought about this before then congratulations, you’re more in tune that I have been.  If this hits you like a ton of bricks as it did for me, well then I’ve done my good deed for the day!

—

I’ll close this post with an example that illustrates this point for me.  I have been traveling so extensively lately that I have only seen my kids in quick ½ day spurts a couple of times of the last 6 weeks.  I have been toying with the idea of taking one of my kids (I have 4 in case you didn’t know) on one of my trips as sort of an extreme case of “take your child to work day.”  Of course I never had for numerous reasons, but the largest was the added cost b/c there is zero business value ROI on that expenditure.

Given my recent attitude adjustment, I balanced what it would actually cost against the benefits to my family, my relationship with my son, and his growth and development.

So for those of you attending the “Making the Transition to Managed Services” event at the Microsoft San Francisco office this Tuesday 5/20 at 1:00 PM, you’ll not only get some great content to grow and transform your business, but you’ll get a chance to meet my oldest son, Grantham, who at age 7 will be on his first business trip with his dad.

Paraphrased from my favorite Successories print – “In the end it will not matter how much money you had in the bank or the kind of car you drove, but the world may be a better place because you made a difference in the life of a child.”

-         Matt Makowicz

The way I see it is Microsoft USED to (like with XP) just hold the party line, i.e. it was difficult to get “real” information from them and therefore the Partners complained.

I see that Microsoft employees that work with or present to Partners are being more empathetic.  They are still defending their product (Vista), but acknowledging issues and providing that feedback up and/or down within Microsoft.  This is a good thing!  The folks from Microsoft and Partners are now engaging in real conversations.  Much better than the “party line” of old in my opinion.

Here is a recent article on the subject:  http://www.crn.com/software/207402573

Happy Hunting,

 Matt Makowicz

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I am not usually the one who usually finds better value in spending less, but every once in a while, something comes across my desk that changes everything.  I recommend any small business looking for a branding makeover to look at www.99designs.com

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On this site, one can start a “contest” for a new logo, company stationary, web design layout, etc… There is a modest fee to run a contest ($30-$50) and a monetary prize that is offered to the winner - if a winner is ever chosen.  Minimum prize amounts exist, but are low - such as $150 for a logo and $200 for a website design.  Once the contest begins, which last between 1 and 10 days, freelance designers from all over the world (mostly Europe and Asia) submit entries which the contest holder rates and provides feedback upon.  This feedback encourages designers to try again, make changes to have a better chance of winning the contest, etc…

-

When all is said and done and the contest is over, there may have been over 50 different unique and professional designs to choose from and an entire branding makeover design could be obtained for under $500!

• More choices
• More direct and immediate feedback with designers
• complete freedom (don’t have to pick a winner if you don’t like any designs)
• Very professional designs

A win win!   

Happy Hunting,  

Matt Makowicz

He is giving his downloadable audio book for FREE to anyone who registers for his upcoming webinar THIS Wednesday!  The webinar itself is a good one as it focuses upon AuthAnvil - a fantastic security product from Scorpian software designed for the SMB IT provider.

 So there it is - a great webinar that can help your business, and a free audio book that will help your business.  You have to register for the webinar and complete a survey to get the audio book, ($59 value) and to qualify for a raffle (done during the webinar) for $875 worth of AuthAnvil products.  Register here today!

 Happy hunting!

The Not So Great -  

·         No call accounting

·         No provision for any messages or music on hold other than what came with the system

·         No LDAP for Active Directory – must key in all employee names

·         No intercom/paging within phone system (unless use other installed speaker system)

·         1100 contact maximum per user

·         All phones must be on same subnet – i.e. no branch offices

·         No soft phones for telecommuters

·         100 MB mailbox limit (for all user’s mailboxes)

·         Doesn’t integrate outbound with Outlook or CRM (i.e. cannot bring up a contact and click dial)

·         Cannot record a conversation

·         Limited to 2 person (3 party) conference call

While that was an earfull - I also recieved some positive comments from this partner:

·         Seen as SBS 4.0 - i.e. an entry level product not quite there yet with a TON OF POTENTIAL

·         No one else has something like this at this price point (other than maybe Linksys)

·         If MS stays committed to this product, expect great things to come

Here’s what I think -

MS Response Point is NOT a robust, feature heavy, universally applicable phone system for small business - not yet anyway.  If you’re familiar with products such as Avaya IP Office, don’t try to compare head to head the two.  Also, if you know the IP office system, you know that a 5-10 person company will likely spend between $12,000 and $15,000 for it, while response Point will be between $2,000 - $3,000. 

The Good news is that Response Point is a great entry level product that will allow most smaller small business customers to get 80%-100% of what they are looking for in a phone system.  It is also an additional revenue stream for you as a Partner to be more of a one stop shop for your customers.

The Better news is that Microsoft also has a higher end software based solution with Live Communications Server which is very powerful.  It is only a matter of time and version releases before these two products get closer and Microsoft (and more importantly, you as a Partner) will have a robust telephone solution for any small business with any level of need.

The Best news is that we’ve seen what Microsoft does when it wants to enter a market.  They enter with a solution that sounds fantastic but when you look under the hood (or look with hindsight) is all one may have hoped for.  (SBS 4.0).  But the deed is done - Microsoft has entered the market and the product just keeps getting better, and Partners have continually increasing revenue opportunities around the product.

So my advice is to begin.  MS Reponse Point may not be perfect, but it is good enough for millions of customers out there who have a need.  You can keep a potential competitor on the outside by offering your customers a solution.  Then, years from now, when Microsoft’s phone system solutions are like SBS 2003 (unbeatable in the Small Biz market), you’ll proudly state that you have been working with the product from the beginning!  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    Also consider that almost every phone system provider needs to get into the network support business to survive in the years ahead.  It is a harder road for them to learn network support than for us to learn phone system technologies - so don’t waste the head start you already have.

Happy hunting! 

Matt Makowicz