April 8, 2021
Ask Me Anything with MSP Legend Karl Palachuk
with Karl Palachuk, Speaker | Author | Consultant
Don't miss your chance to hear game-changing advice from an MSP great.
To say Karl Palachuk has played a role in the growth of managed services would be a massive understatement. His books and trainings have influenced thousands of IT business owners and helped them successfully make the leap from break-fix to more scalable and profitable operations. Our own Channel Chief Advisor Tom Watson credits Karl for setting him on the right path to growing and selling his business.
And he stopped by MSP Live Chat to answer all questions!
Watch the recording to see Karl give his takes on everything from pricing and packaging to hiring to the key things he'd do differently if he was starting out now.
Materials
March 25, 2021
Creating Better DIY Marketing Collateral: Live Workshop
Have ideas for marketing your MSP business, but short on time and skills to execute?
In this MSP Live Chat we were joined by three channel marketing experts who shared the tools and processes they each use to crank out consistently great marketing content.
- J.P. Roe, Your Sales Energy
- Kevin Clune, MSP Growth Hacks
- James Hatzell, Director of Marketing at Skout Cybersecurity
We also revealed some extremely valuable shortcuts you can use to make the task of creating content far more efficient and repeatable.
Materials
- Chat resources doc including our big list of marketing tools plus additional tips
- The content library of free templates from Your Sales Energy (registration required)
- List of even more free / low-cost marketing tools from MSP Growth Hacks
- Weekly MSP sales and marketing resources from Skout Cybersecurity
March 11, 2021
Virtual Selling: Best Video Setups & Tactics
Are you making the right impression on your video calls? Want to seriously level-up your quality?
Then you don't want to miss this chat! We were joined by four huge names who make some of the best-looking videos in the channel, and they shared exactly what they use in their home studios.
- Georg Dauterman, President of Valiant Technology (see their Live Streams)
- Heather Harlos, Global Marketing Manager at Bitdefender (see her Beyond Awesome series)
- Wes Spencer, CISO at Perch Security (see him on The CyberCall)
- Ray Orsini, CEO at OITVOIP (see his Technical Deficit series)
Of course, upgrading your call quality is just the first step. We also be shared sales tips you can use to quickly establish a personal connection and boost your close rates.
Materials
- Chat resources doc (with each of the guests' equipment lists plus additional tips and tools)
February 25, 2021
Driving Retention and Referrals: Client Satisfaction Hacks
Everyone says their differentiator is customer service, but what truly sets the best-of-the-best apart?
Keeping clients happy and under contract is always important, but in this market it's more critical than ever. Join us as we team up with LifeCycle Insights founder Alex Farling and m3 Networks Technical Director Mark Lamb as we discuss the following and more:
- Top causes of client churn and ways to preempt them
- How Mark and his team were able to achieve an average 99% CSAT score
- How to exceed client expectations without over-extending yourself or losing profitability
- Keys to improving service delivery and killer mistakes to avoid
- How to leverage customer satisfaction into more concrete referral and up-sell opportunities
Materials
- Chat resources doc (with list of books, tools, and videos to help with improving customer satisfaction)
February 11, 2021
Breaking Up with Bad Clients
It's not you. It's definitely them.
At some point, everyone has had that client. The one who you honestly can’t stand dealing with; who sucks up way too much support time; whose name is synonymous with heart palpitations and burnt profits.
Or maybe you’ve had a few.
In this special “anti-Valentine’s Day” MSP Live Chat we gave audience members the chance to share their best (worst) client break-up stories, and hear advice from other MSP owners on the following and more:
- Why that terrible client you keep tolerating may be costing you more than you think
- How to know when a bad client relationship isn’t salvageable
- What to say to end things on good terms (or at least not awful terms)
- Red flags that can tip you off to trouble clients before you sign them
- How to show clients you do like the love
Materials
- Chat resources doc (with list of client deal-breakers; links to break-up scripts, one MSP's in-depth story, and more)
- Client Scorecard template (PDF download)
January 28, 2021
MSP Security Summit 2021
Elevate your security and your clients' peace of mind.
We invited the MSP community back for our second annual MSP Security Summit, a one-day virtual event geared toward helping everyone in the channel improve their defenses, adapt their businesses, and thrive.
The event is over, but you can still go back and watch the actionable discussions we had with some of your favorite security experts, covering these topics and more::
- Practical threat intel from recent ransomware campaigns — with an emphasis on specific prevention and detection opportunities
- Mistakes to avoid and first-hand lessons learned from incidents involving MSPs
- Key ways managed security offerings are evolving + how you can get more out of Microsoft tools you already have access to
- The most important trends to watch + recommendations to stay ahead in 2021
January 7, 2021
Beating Burnout with Better Self-Care
with Heather Johnson, COO at Gozynta
After 2020, does it feel like you and your team are running on empty?
We're kicking off our 2021 MSP Live Chats with a special rallying call. This industry isn't exactly known for prioritizing self-care, but if you want to grow professionally and perform at a higher level in 2021 then it needs to be the year you start taking time for you.
Join us and Gozynta COO Heather Johnson as we discuss:
- Warning signs you or team members might be on the verge of crashing
- Tactics for building short, energizing pauses into your day
- Processes that can improve your productivity and your health (both mental and physical)
- Ideas for how owners can create a culture of personal development and better self-care
Materials
- Chat Agenda (with links to a ton of self-care resources)
- 5-minute self-care exercises from Heather + Gozynta's terrific Self-Care Guide for MSPs
December 17, 2020
2020 Wrap-up: Most Helpful Tools + Lessons Learned
Grab a seat by the virtual fire and join us for a look back at the people and tools that got us through a year like no other.
It's a special holiday MSP Live Chat! We're inviting some of our favorite guests from previous episodes back on to talk about their most important lessons learned and key recommendations for starting 2021 right. We'll also be subjecting them to feats of strength AND giving away some truly fantastic gifts, so be sure to join and make your Thursday merry and bright!
- Key 2020 takeaways from OIT's Ray Orsini, LifeCycle Insights' Alex Farling, and more
- The tools that MSPs were most grateful to have this year
- Virtual "Yankee Swap" with cool gifts going to lucky attendees
- Predictions and what to focus on to get a jump-start on 2021
December 3, 2020
Building a Client-Winning MSP Brand
with Matthew F. Fox, Creative Director at Valiant Technology
What sets you apart as an MSP? What makes you uniquely “you” – and why should clients choose that over the competition?
Watch the replay of one of our most active and popular Live Chats yet. We were joined by Matthew F. Fox, Creative Director at Valiant Technology, and learned in detail how his company has managed to differentiate itself in one of the most competitive markets in the country.
Don’t miss:
- How to define your positioning and core messaging + turn them into competitive advantages
- Concrete examples of how Matthew and Valiant have leveraged their brand to win deals and retain customers
- Live analysis and reviews of real MSP websites
Every MSP has a brand. The only question is who defined it. Find inspiration and get a jump-start on elevating your own winning brand by watching the replay!
Materials
- Chat Agenda (with links to websites we reviewed plus a TON of free design tools)
- Tearing Down the Best MSP Websites of 2019 (previous blog post mentioned during the chat)
November 18, 2020
What to (and NOT to) Give Away for Free
with Chris Wiser, CEO of The Wiser Agency
Are you leaving money on the table?
This year more than any other, MSPs are facing pressures to be flexible with clients and adjust to economic uncertainty. But the line between being customer friendly and doing yourself a disservice can get blurry in a hurry, and all too often MSPs find themselves giving away too much.
Join us and MSP growth expert Chris Wiser as we dive into the trends he's seen this year and the key things that have separated those MSPs that have been booming from those who aren't.
Here are just a few of the topics we'll be diving into:
- How are successful MSPs removing barriers to entry and lowering up-front costs to sign more clients?
- What's the consensus on free assessments?
- What are the biggest bad habits that MSPs need to break?
- When are specific costs actually okay to eat?
- How can you shift client focus away from cost and onto value and risk?
- And more...
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