10 Key Area's of Attention For Your Business

This week I was blessed to be in Charlotte on a SWOT team with Jonathan Warrey and Tom Polk. We came to town at the request of The Network Essentials team – led by Kyle Elworthy and Nathan Sanders. We discovered a number of the normal issues – communication, service delivery consistency, sales and sales management, employee benefits and on the list goes. Here are some ideas that have come out of the last few SWOT’s that may fit your situation. Thanks to the SWOT teams for their insight (and particularly Jonathan Warrey for putting some of this on paper). We didn’t see all these this week – but over the past months I certainly have (some by looking at my own company) and these seem to be key areas that need owner attention.

1. Consistent company communication from owners to employees about what the vision of the company is and how it is doing financially. Employees are too often in the dark and wondering about the future. You have to be open book enough to help them be comfortable with your direction and the sustainability of their job.

2. Set and communicate goals—set a realistic goal, make it public, measure results against it, and communicate it consistently. Too often employees are unsure what the targets are and how they are doing at achieving them. People want to know they are doing a good job – that can’t happen if they are unsure of the goal and the status.

3. Explain why growth is important—often employees don’t see the need for it. Growth matters because fixed costs keep rising and growth creates further opportunities for good people in your company. If they don’t have opportunities for growth, many good people leave. Are you creating a culture where people feel like they have a career, or just a job.

4. Define and lead culture. This is definitely more caught than taught. Each company has its own culture – but far too often it isn’t really planned – it is just allowed to happen and then the owners look back and wonder what happened. Accidental culture never turns out the way you desire.

5. Create clear roles and expectations and confirm results—from service performance and efficiency results, to sales performance in various categories, to customer satisfaction metrics—how are you doing. Do each of your people know where to go when they don’t have an answer? Clarity in job definition is critical for satisfied team members.

6. Make sure everyone understands the mission of the company as well as the vision and company values. There should be no question about where you are heading and how people are expected to act along the journey. These things give us the boundaries that we will operate within. Without a clear definition – people will wander aimlessly unsure how to act. Throw in your BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) as well – so they know you have a big picture around the future.

7. Create Raving Clients. Client satisfaction should be at 95% or higher so you can build referrals to grow your business and maintain a strong client set to continue to work with. Referrals are still an important way to grow our companies. Too often we don’t want to go the extra step to make our clients raving fans. We are content to be “good enough”. It is the little things that make the difference – and a sincere thank you goes a long way.

8. Deliver what you promise. If you say you are going to perform something (i.e. periodic business or account reviews, preventative maintenance checks, etc.) you better deliver on it. Too often you commit to monthly reports, quarterly visits, and annual planning meetings and delivered on about 10% of those commitments. You need to make sure that you are delivering on our commitments. You owe clients the value they are paying for. Period.

9. Remember that compensation modifies behavior, but not personalities. People work on things that maximize their compensation, but it won’t drive people to do things that requires a change in their personality. You spend hours working on compensation plans that target higher compensation for important company initiatives. You certainly don’t always get it right. It’s a reason compensation plans change every year with at least some tweaks. It’s because the market keeps shifting and so do costs to deliver your products and services. You need to spend time understanding personalities as well as managing behavior with compensation. It takes work to understand the different personalities and how they interact and are motivated. Getting those two right at the same time really makes things click!

10. Change is a constant. Some companies have cultivated a culture that is open to change – while some certainly have not. This week in Asheville I ran across these words:

• Life is change
• Growth is optional
• Choose wisely

What is your tolerance toward change? Change is led, not taught. It is not preached into existence – it is caught. Are you a change leader in your company?

So there you have it – ten areas that each of us need to take a look at and consider. If you are normal – five of these are direct hits – a couple more are too close for comfort – and the other three are in need of some work. Unless you are a very unusual small business – these are key areas that need your attention. The upcoming HTG Summit will address many of these areas. There also will be other business owners among the attendees who have these things nailed. You don’t have to go it alone. Get with others – listen and learn – and then get after making some changes. Vision without execution is only hallucination!

The Importance of Legacy

Warren Buffet is a very successful business person. While I can’t say I always agree with his politics or policy leanings – you can’t argue with his wisdom. This year in his letter to stockholders he makes some important comments that we all should take as a cue for what to do. Check out page 26 of the PDF and read his two-page Memo to all Berkshire Managers. In this biennial memo, he reemphasizes his number 1 priority and asks for letters outlining who each manager has chosen to replace themselves if something happens to them. Here is the excerpt:

“I need your help in respect to the question of succession. I’m not looking for any of you to retire and I hope you all live to 100. (In Charlie’s case, 110.) But just in case you don’t, please send me a letter (at home if you wish) giving your recommendation as who should take over tomorrow if you should become incapacitated overnight. These letters will be seen by no one but me unless I’m no longer CEO, in which case my successor will need the information. Please summarize the strengths and weaknesses of your primary candidate as well as any possible alternates you may wish to include. Most of you have participated in this exercise in the past and others have offered your ideas verbally. However, it’s important to me to get a periodic update, and now that we have added so many businesses, I need to have your thoughts in writing rather than trying to carry them around in my memory. Of course, there are a few operations that are run by two or more of you – such as the Blumkins, the Merschmans, the pair at Applied Underwriters, etc. – and in these cases, just forget about this item. Your note can be short, informal, handwritten, etc. Just mark it “Personal for Warren.””

So what is the lesson? If Warren Buffet is concerned about succession planning – my advice is that we sure better be too. It is a key part of legacy planning. It is a key part of business continuity planning. It is central to planning in general. So many of us believe we are invincible. It will never happen to us. But it does, and I guarantee it will, so now is the time to put plans in place – on paper just like Warren says – so there is clarity about how things should proceed without you. That is legacy – what happens after you are no longer in the picture. Have you made those decisions? If so, have you written it down and actually shared it with anyone, particularly the one who is listed? Amazingly people will put guardians in their will to take care of their kids if something happens without ever telling the people they are listed. Now that would be a very rude awakening. But the same would be true for your business. You need a plan – you need it now – it is time to take this step.

I can’t encourage you enough to create your legacy plan today. It is one thing you can’t do after the fact. If you don’t do it – someone will do it for you. My suggestion is that a decision this important is something that you want to handle. Don’t leave it to chance or be late to the party.

The Power of the HTG SWOT

I was blessed last week to spend a few days with Michael Cocanower and the team at itSynergy. We were invited to come in as part of the HTG SWOT process and take a look under the covers and give some ideas to the team on ways to break through the barrier they are facing – revenue around the $1M level. I see this happening quite often as companies grow – it seems to be the step that happens when a company has leveraged all their personal relationships and client referrals and are up against the need to build a true sales organization. It is so frustrating and Michael was no different than many IT owners – he is ready to break through this challenge and move on to the next level. There are numerous ceilings that we need to break through along the path of growth – which is why being involved in a peer group with others who have been there before can be so helpful.

We met with the team as a group and individually. MSPtv was on hand to video our interaction, and will be creating the second TV show in our series of SWOT makeovers in the near future. You can catch it on MSPtv in the next month or so. We discovered exactly what Michael was experiencing – he had self-diagnosed a major part of the barrier. The team at itSynergy is technically talented, and while they have been working to build a sales organization – they haven’t cracked the code on that one quite yet. So HTG team members Steve Riat and Lyf Wildenberg (who accompanied me on this SWOT) were busy creating a plan to help drive sales to the next level.

Michael’s approach has been to focus one of his sales guys on the medical vertical, and have the second doing general SMB sales. But the culture at itSynergy was very much technically driven and controlled. It is the way many IT companies operate today – they come from a technical perspective and the sales culture is controlled by and actually stymied by that approach. You can’t build a culture of sales excellence if everything is created by and driven by technology. Sales is about people and finding pain and solving that. Technology is a tool for sales people to use – but it is not the first response – and it can’t control how clients are served. That is where many companies fail. They allow the technical side of their business to have a strangle hold on what happens in the sales process.

Where does that show up? Consider who determines what solutions you will take to market. My bet is that it is the engineering team – not the sales folks who actually are listening to customers. Why should a sales motion be controlled by what engineers want to sell or support? That is backward to the way a true sales culture operates. Sales determines the need and finds solutions to address those needs that can be sold to the customer. Of course the engineering team needs to evaluate things to be sure they actually work and will solve the issue. But most companies never consider how solutions get created, or supported, or tested, or priced, or marketed – from a sales perspective. It always has engineering overtones. That is how most companies think.

If you want to succeed in building a sales culture – you have to change the approach. You have to come at things from a sales perspective first – not as an afterthought. You should never be asking the question “can we sell this”. If you approach it with a sales mentality – you are creating an environment that allows your team to succeed. The transition is easier to talk about than to do. Habits are difficult to break – and engineering has been king a very long time in most organizations. But in the new world – that has to change and reverse completely. It isn’t going to be about what you can implement or fix – it will be about what you can sell.

In the case at itSynergy, we recommended some pretty basic things:
1. Train the team in effective sales
2. Create an effective sales management program

Basically there is a need to create a sales organization driven by a sales culture. This is true for 80% plus percent of HTG member companies. It is our Achilles heel. It has been an aggravating problem to this point since most of us have been able to stay successful serving our current clients and growing slightly using relationship based selling. In the new world – the cloud world – that is not going to be enough. We are moving quickly to a much more transactional based sales motion – we have to be able to find and add new clients. We have to be able to grow our client base and sell new products to new people. It is a very different landscape than we are used to farming. Basically we need to learn to hunt. That is uncomfortable and challenging. But it is essential for our long term survival. Are you in process of transitioning your company? If not, now is the time to get started down that path.

Two Big Opportunities for Microsoft Partners

In the next few weeks there are two very important opportunities for Microsoft partners to participate with key executives in Redmond and get first hand information about the direction and strategy of the company. I encourage you to make this investment of time and join one or both of these events. It is not often that we can interact directly in this manner - so don't let it pass without your attention. Far too often partners complain they have no part in the discussion, or are not informed of what is happening. You can't use either excuse if you don't get involved and participate.

Microsoft Partner Network Interactive Leadership Forum

March 10, 2011 - 7:00-8:30 am Pacific Time

Presented By: Eric Ligman - Microsoft Director of Partner Experience

Jon Roskill - Corporate Vice-President, Worldwide Partner Group

Julie Bennani - General Manager, Microsoft Partner Network

Ross Brown - Vice-President, Worldwide Partner Sales

Karl Noakes - General Manager, Microsoft Partner Strategy & Programs

Join the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group leadership team for an interactive partner forum webcast on the Microsoft Partner Network. During this session, we will be discussing topics, questions, concerns, misconceptions and more that we have heard from partners around the world regarding the Microsoft Partner Network to help address and answer these for you, the Microsoft partners. This session will also include an open forum Q&A session where you will be able to ask questions of the leadership team regarding the Microsoft Partner Network.
This session will be moderated by Eric Ligman.

A sample of some topics included:
• Small business focused partners in Microsoft Partner Network
• Which is right for you: Action Pack, silver competency, or gold competency?
• Microsoft Partner Network and market awareness
• Revenue requirements in Microsoft Partner Network
• Partners, cloud, and Microsoft Partner Network
• And more…

Register for the event here.

Join the Conference at this attendee URL:
• Toll-Free (Within US & Canada): (877) 505-6621
• Audio Pin: 7912


Session #2 - Meet the US Partner Team for HTG members only

We heard your feedback and wanted to introduce you to a few people at Microsoft who live and think about Microsoft partners each and every day.

Why? Because our relationship with our partners matters. We know that we can’t meet all of you individually, so we’re going to put technology to work and invite you to join us on a Meet the US Partner team held via Live Meeting on Monday, 4/4 from 2:00 -3:00 pm cst. We want you to know that we value the relationship we have with our partners and want to make sure you know who to contact and when. Some of the team members who are eager to meet you include:

• To Partner Communications Lead – Diane Golshan
• Microsoft Partner Network Lead – Sharon Collins
• Compete Lead – Alistair Cloke
• Incentives and Solutions Incentive Program (SIP) Lead – Hany Adeeb
• Partner Capacity Lead – Michael Pearson

And a few more of our key partner leads who care about the success of our partners.

Check with your Microsoft HTG Champ or watch the newsletter or portal for the live meeting logon information. I would be glad to send you the invite as well if you drop me an email.

Two great opportunities to connect with the people who make things happen at the largest vendor for most of us. Don't let this slip between your fingers! See you on the calls!!

A Great Opportunity to Expand Your Options to SMB Customers

I don’t normally write about specific technology products, but last week Microsoft released to manufacturing a great new product called Windows MultiPoint Server 2011. This product has been revved from the previous version and I think has a great application for those of us serving small businesses. The previous version was only designed for education users – but this version – while still designed with education in mind – has a significant play for us in SMB.

With Windows MultiPoint Server 2011, the licensing and purchase model has been simplified. There are still two versions as before, with similar restrictions:

• Windows MultiPoint 2011 Standard – still cannot join a domain and still has a max of 10 work stations
• Windows MultiPoint 2011 Premium – CAN join a domain as before and can have up to 20 workstations

The most important piece of information to note in the SMB space, is that BOTH of these MultiPoint editions are offered in multiple Microsoft licensing channels. So now you don’t have to be a large school to actually purchase the more useful edition of MultiPoint. And that is where our opportunity comes in.

Imagine going to your small business customer with this solution. You walk in the door and are told they don’t have any money to upgrade their network. Their equipment is 5-7 years old and you have been holding things together with baling wire for the last couple years. They have a dozen XP workstations and a server that has run out of space so it is eating you alive on your managed service program as you have to clean files weekly just to keep it up and running.

The way that conversation normally goes is trying to coax enough funds out of them to replace the server and maybe a critical workstation or two. With Windows MultiPoint 2011 Premium – we now have some real options to help these businesses refresh in a less expensive but very impactful way. We still need to get a new server to do the work – but rather than also have the battle over replacing workstations – we can extend their life with MultiPoint. They become end terminals that don’t need to be upgraded from XP to Win 7. That happens as a MultiPoint client.

But wait, there’s more. The 2011 version of Windows MultiPoint Server has support for thin clients. Here is where I think the big win for Small Business can occur. If you have 12 XP workstations, you can simply obtain 1 copy of MultiPoint Premium and now each of those XP workstations have another 5 years of life but yet, they get a full Windows 7 experience when used as a MultiPoint workstation over the network. And when they finally begin to die – you can replace them with thin client devices rather than buying a new PC. It all runs over the current Ethernet network you have in place. And the real deal – it runs in a virtual session on a Windows server too.

We have been testing Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 in one of our education clients for the past few months. Our engineer has four virtual servers running WMS 2011 and serving thin clients and older desktops and notebooks alike. It has great management features for the teacher or business owner – the ability to shadow users – block activity – really keep track of productivity on the network.

It is essentially a turnkey TS server on steroids. Just show the business owner the console where you can get a thumbnail of each individual workstation. Business owners will love that they can now watch their employees desktops for use of Facebook or selling something on EBay, or other non-productive time wasting tasks on work time.

You owe it to your customers to take a serious look at Windows MultiPoint Server 2011. Combined with the new SBS product line – this will be a killer opportunity for us in the SMB space to refresh our clients to a level of productivity where they can use all the current technology without having to battle with them to buy all new hardware. It is a win for all of us in the mix. Check it out, and let me know what creative ways you come up with to deliver this technology to the marketplace!

Here are some resources for those of you interested in more:

1. The main website just went live today with WMS 2011 content. http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint
2. WMS 2011 Premium Eval is on the download center. This is a 180 day eval. It can convert to full product by entering a key. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3188a587-3542-4dda-99b3-551cdabe581f
3. WMS 2011 Premium full product is also on technet for technet subscribers. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/securedownloads/default.aspx?PV=42%3a433%3a---%3aen%3ax64
4. And it’s also on MSDN for MSDN subscribers. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/securedownloads/default.aspx?PV=42:433:---:en:x64

A Bit More On Sales

One of the benefits of being part of HTG is the unbelievable resources that exist in our membership. I certainly don't claim to be an expert on every aspect of running an IT company today. There have been plenty of learnings over the years which I try and share continually, but when it comes to expertise - there are some folks in almost every area that are way ahead of me.

I got an expanded view of sales from one of the guys I respect immensely as a sales expert - Jonathan Warrey who is Regional Sales Director at HTG member Marco and runs a large sales team and drives millions of dollars of business each year. Jonathan is always ready to help out with sales information - many of you were part of his session at our last HTG Summit along with Steve Riat on sales management.

He shared these words in response to my last blog post on sales. Rather than interpret them for you - I am just going to share what he wrote as it nails the whole sales culture far better than I can describe it. He responded to my paragraph that said:

“Once the owner gets his attitude right there is at least a fighting chance to begin doing some of the right things that will lead to sales success. It is not just hiring a sales person. That will not do it. You don't have to look far to see the past performance of most VAR's littered with sales people they hired and fired because they didn't meet expectations. That is the place to start - realistic expectations. Since you have no clue what to expect - you obviously should not be setting them. Find someone who has a clue to help you create a sales plan and methodology so the sales person has some hope of success. Most VAR's hire and set them up to fail - no support - no direction - no tools - no nothing - just a wish of good luck and a threat that "I'll be watching the KPI's". Here is a news flash. Most sales people can't spell KPI and could care less. They have only one that matters - that is the number of dollars in their paycheck.”

Here comes Jonathan's brilliance - read it and ponder it carefully:
"The one difference I see in your last statement and what we experience at Marco is that there is something that transcends the pursuit of a paycheck. And that’s the pursuit of sales achievement and sales excellence. I truly believe that creating and fostering an environment of sales achievement is even more important that creating an environment that celebrates a sales rep earning a lot of money. Then when you wrap it around client satisfaction and retention results to show how our best reps also have happy customers, it becomes really powerful. Yes, those reps earn the most money as well, but it’s the pursuit of sales excellence that drives them the most. We continue to change what has the most sales impact within our company. You’ve probably seen that managed services has become a bigger deal within our company. In fact, our reps don’t get 15% of their paycheck (through a commission hold back) if they don’t achieve their managed services annual revenue goal. The pay is a big deal, but the fact that they would miss the sales incentive trip if they don’t hit their managed services target is a bigger deal to most of our reps."

Did you catch that? Not only do we need to build a sales organization - we need to build a sales culture that applauds achievement and excellence. That is the foundation of a really great sales organization. When you have a sales team that is focused on excelling, serving their clients and retaining them - you have a winning combination. The Marco folks have proven that over the years as the largest member in HTG several times over. They understand that the culture of their organization is critical to building long term success. Having had the priviledge of spending time in their office - they do things right all day every day. Have you built a sales culture that drives excellence and achievement? The rest takes care of itself if we get that culture part right!

PS - if you try and get hold of Jonathan this week - he is off to sunny Mexico with his bride and 30 other Marco couples to enjoy the sales team incentive trip. While it’s not as encompassing as a whole company retreat, it builds incredible camaraderie amongst the troops. It can be done my friends. I won't say it is easy - but it is possible!

The Disconnect With Sales

As I participated in the HTG vendor peer group this week - a lightbulb went on as to a major reason there is such a disconnect between VAR's and Solution Providers and their vendors. It has to do with a four letter word - SALES. The agenda for this quarter's meeting focused heavily on sales and marketing efforts that key HTG vendors are making significant investments into - and trying to figure out ways to get a better ROI on those efforts.

At first glance it seems so easy. Vendors build programs and resources. Partners should take those and use them to drive sales. Everyone wins. That is the end game for both groups - partners and vendors - we all want the same thing - to sell more stuff to end clients. But somehow there is a disconnect. For some reason the millions of dollars - and in reality it is billions of dollars - that are spent continues to provide lackluster results. Hundreds of millions of dollars go unused and unclaimed. It is actually pathetic.

Why does this happen? I am convinced there is a short circuit in the brains of many VAR's when it comes to sales. Most owners grew up on the technical side of the business. That word does not compute. Those who have a sales background did most of their selling through personal relationship and the reality of a sales organization still doesn't compute. In other words - we are very sales illiterate.

That doesn't mean it can't change. It has to. If it doesn't many of us will be looking for a new job. The market is changing as the wave moves us to cloud computing. That is a sales dominated transaction oriented marketplace. It doesn't matter that you can fix any technical issue under the sun - often before it is even invented. It doesn't matter how many letters there are after your name and what certifications you can post on your website. If you can't sell you will be toast. So it is time we figure this out my friends. And I am preaching to myself on this one too.

The major hurdle it seems to me is owner attitude. Many just don't want to deal with sales and particularly sales people. I hear words like 'they're wierd' or 'they think differently'. Duh! That is the whole point. The reason we as technical owners can't sell our way out of a paper bag is that we think like technicians and engineers. Sales oriented folks succeed BECAUSE they think different. That is not a curse - it is a blessing. It has to be and we need to get over the differences and embrace them. I struggled with this for many years but it can happen. Find a 12 step program to recover from hating sales and sales people - you have to do a 180 on that attitude.

Once the owner gets his attitude right there is at least a fighting chance to begin doing some of the right things that will lead to sales success. It is not just hiring a sales person. That will not do it. You don't have to look far to see the past performance of most VAR's littered with sales people they hired and fired because they didn't meet expectations. That is the place to start - realistic expectations. Since you have no clue what to expect - you obviously should not be setting them. Find someone who has a clue to help you create a sales plan and methodology so the sales person has some hope of success. Most VAR's hire and set them up to fail - no support - no direction - no tools - no nothing - just a wish of good luck and a threat that "I'll be watching the KPI's". Here is a news flash. Most sales people can't spell KPI and could care less. They have only one that matters - that is the number of dollars in their paycheck.

Yes that is very different than the way you think. But it is reality. Get over it. And get over the fact that a really good sales person will make more money than you. In fact, don't just get over it, root for it. When they do that you are making more money than ever before if you have your compensation plan right. If you don't - they could take you to the poor farm - so another reason to find someone who has been there and done it before to help you. There is help available. HTG has worked with TruMethods, Kendra Lee, Service Leadership, and a number of our own HTG members to bring you great content on how to really build a sales organization. If you were sleeping - time to wake up and reach out for help. It is available.

So back to my opening discussion. Our vendor partners are trying hard to help us learn to become sales organizations. They are investing tons of money and people resources to help us. But if we don't get our attitudes right - and embrace that transition - it is all for naught. If we don't join their efforts and leverage their work - we are screwed. I can't put it any more clearly. Get over the temptation to treat your vendor like the enemy. They absolutely are the best ally you have in your camp. And right now - we all need them more than ever. You see - they are not built as technical organizations that don't know how to sell. Those companies went out of business long ago. Our vendors are sales organizations who really know how to sell - and know that without sales they are simply not going to last long at all. We can learn an aweful lot from them if we just pay attention and work closely. They really do know what they are doing. That is how they become multi billion or multi million dollar orgs. It isn't because they can turn a screwdriver. It is because they understand how to sell and market and succeed. We have to get there if we want to remain relevant in the years ahead.

There are some great programs in the channel today that most of us fail to use. Free money and resources to help us grow our companies - but we are too busy doing things that don't matter to do those that do. Make time to sit down with your top five vendors and find out how you can leverage every program, resource, MDF dollar and plan they have to offer. If you do that - and pay attention - and make it a priority to leverage those things - you will be far ahead from where you are today. If you don't - might want to get your resume up to date - you'll probably need it sooner than later. Make it your goal to transition towards becoming a sales and marketing organization in 2011. Your future depends on it.

This Wednesday at 2 PM EST I will be joining Gary Pica, CEO of TruMethods, to discuss this topic and others that are critical to success in 2011 and beyond. If you aren't registered yet you can get the registration link on the HTG portal. It really matters that we tackle this head on. I hope you will join me for the discussion!

CEO Forum III

This past week HTG hosted our CEO Forum III in sunny Tampa Florida. We had 20 company principals join us for a day and a half of lively discussion about what it means to become a CEO in an SMB IT company today. We are grateful to ConnectWise for hosting our first day, and enabling us to have a discussion around what the role is, and how to create a structure around the CEO in the form of a leadership team. We discussed selection, compensation, evaluation and all things leadership team.

One of our featured sessions involved Arnie Bellini, CEO at ConnectWise, sharing his vision around what role a CEO fulfills. You can catch the presentation on ConnectWise University, but he really simplified it into two key areas (which I believe are right on the money):

• Strategy/Vision/Dreaming
• People/Counseling/Leading

When we take a deeper look - one of these areas involves the future and setting direction. A CEO is responsible to provide the general movement a company will take. They are not focused on the details - the how - but they are to provide the where and the why. Strategy does not just happen. It is intentional and takes effort. Arnie challenged the group to make the time to dream and be very clear about where we will lead our company.

The second area is all about the people. We will go nowhere that our people don't go. It is the role of the CEO to lead people down that path. We have to focus on helping them work at the level they are capable which is often more than they believe possible. At times we need to help them play nicely together in the sandbox. But always we have to remember that people are the main job of all we do - at every level. My experience is that every minute invested in meaningful relationships will always be a good investment.

Day two was focused on people and how we interact with each other. Dr Larry Little was with us - author of the book "Make a Difference" (which is available on LuLu.com) - and he led us through great learnings on how we are wired and more importantly how different personalities relate to each other. We learned that each of us are some combination of lion, monkey, camel or turtle - each with unique qualities and characteristics that make us who we are. The magic was not so much in the animal labels as in the communication it enabled. We were able to relate the different personality types to each other and talk freely about things that occur between them. It truly was an eye opening experience for the group.

This year HTG is focused on the fourth pillar in our trek toward excellence as IT companies. We are working on the top of the pyramid - the most challenging area - people. We identified this as a core area of competency we all need to achieve to be able to truly lead best in class organizations. We will be continuing our quest to learn more about leadership, management and people skills this year. Dr Little gave us a great starting point - it is essential we understand what makes people tick - and then learn to manage the interactions that will occur between folks who are not wired quite the same - or maybe are wired too much the same - or maybe are just plain wired. We have a ways to go - so let the journey begin.......

Tale of Two Customer Experiences

In January 2011 we experienced a very different set of experiences regarding our hotel stays in China. We arrived in Shanghai on January 6, 2011 and were taken by taxi to the Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel. We were greeted and checked in for a delightful two days in the city. We were located conveniently close to the Metro for the Science and Technology Museum and found the service and the staff to be very helpful. We stayed at this property using our Marriott Rewards Platinum Premier points.

After two days in Shanghai, we took the train to Hangzhou where we were scheduled to stay 10 days at a different hotel chain. This was a fairly new hotel and we were booked using points through our hotel membership program. Upon arrival at the Hangzhou train station, we secured a taxi to take us to the hotel for check-in. Upon arrival we discovered some major problems with the reservation that was offered under our Platinum membership. The website had indicated the room was capable of up to three people – so the assumption was a room with two queen beds would be available. However there was only an option of a king bed, or two single beds available. We were offered, after some strong displeasure with the finding, to put a rollaway bed into the room for 200 RNB per night. The room was barely large enough to put the bed into and left no room for moving around – it really was an unworkable solution. We also were told that there was no breakfast included with the room, nor access to the executive lounge. Having stayed in dozens of this chain's properties over the past years – this was quite a shock since the website only shows three available room types and all include items we were not offered nor being allowed access to. Our normal experience is to be upgraded to the next level as a club member – not downgraded because we were using points for our stay to a room offer that is not even listed on the hotel website. (Web shot below)

The description on the website for even the lowest end room indicated it would be more than adequate. Upon a return trip to the front desk to again express displeasure, the night clerk called a manager to see if we could be upgraded to a family suite so we could at least all sleep comfortably. After waiting in the lobby for 15 minutes or so, the message came back that no upgrades would be made available and if we wanted to stay in the property we would indeed have to pay the 200 RNB per night cost for the rollaway and no breakfast or lounge privilege would be provided. At that point I indicated we would be checking out in the morning and moving to a Marriott property. I will give credit to the manager that they did refund the unused points for the other 10 days of our stay, but to be honest, my faith in this chain and particularly the value of their club membership program have been badly damaged. The total unwillingness to seek a satisfactory resolution for a member of Platinum status was quite unbelievable.

We moved to the JW Marriott which was just opening a few miles away. At the time we booked our trip, there were no Marriott properties available to make reservations at. This property was in soft opening mode – so we expected some slight glitches as they were training and putting things into operations. I realize that the level of the JW Marriott is not exactly par with the hotel we had left – it is a couple levels higher in terms of the quality of the property – but the true differentiator has been in the customer service area. We arrived at the hotel at 8 AM – as we checked out of the very uncomfortable environment at the other hotel and moved to the JW Marriott first thing in the morning. We were greeted and immediately checked in – upgraded as well – which is the common Marriott practice for Platinum members. We had two guest service representatives who escorted us to our room and explained all the benefits we would receive while staying in our room – also paid for with points as we had planned to do at the other property. (Interestingly, the points needed at the other place were 15K per night while the JW Marriott was only 12K per night for a much nicer property). We had a slight elevator issue on the way up to our room but our guest service representatives resolved the issue and got us safely to our room. They then escorted us to the executive lounge for breakfast, even though we hadn’t spent the night before. That was service beyond our expectations. We had full executive lounge privileges for our entire stay which was a significant value for us.

We stayed at this property for 10 nights and it is with joy that we highly commend the Marriott brand for customer service the way it should be expressed. From the moment we walked in to the property, we were treated exceptionally well. From Simon and the team in the executive lounge who greeted us daily and are sure we got a hearty breakfast and evening meal, to Tony and Andy who helped us as concierge’s extraordinaire and printed us maps, directions and helped us secure train tickets for our return trip to Shanghai, to the bellmen, desk staff and every other member of the Marriott team, we experienced superb customer service. The omelets which were prepared for us by the executive lounge chefs were perfect, our room was kept clean and tidy with care, taxis were secured as needed, and we were greeted by name and with a smile every time we walked back into the hotel. The differences between our experiences with the two hotel chains there were staggering. Marriott has trained their staff extremely well and taught me the importance of creating raving fans. They have done exactly that with us on this trip. As we return now to the US, and plan meetings and travel for the dozens of events and trips that will occur over the next 12 months, Marriott properties will be the clear choice when available. They have earned the right and mostly our hearts as fans of their customer service.

So what’s the lesson here? Quite honestly there are several that I want to be sure you understand clearly:
1. Always listen to the customer. It was obvious that we were not being listened to and understood. It is impossible to deal with problem resolution without a clear understanding of what the issues are.
2. Check out the facts. I requested multiple times that the clerk look at the website to see exactly what we saw as the facts in the matter. We were told that it didn’t really matter what the website said – this is the way it is. If there is misinformation, it is important to know that and correct it.
3. Understand what needs to be done to satisfy the customer. We were never asked what would be required to resolve the situation. There was no understanding nor apparent concerns with what our expectations were.
4. Know the impact. At HTG we book well over $750,000 worth of hotel meetings each year covering thousands of room nights all over the country. The impact of the treatment we received will result in a significant opportunity cost to the other hotel brand over the coming months and years. It is critical to understand the long term impact of customer service decisions.
5. Remember that the customer has to be treated as if they are always right – even when they are not. The end result of customer service has to be coming to a satisfactory resolution to the issue.

As is always the case, things happen for a reason. There is little doubt that our experience here in China was significantly enhanced because we stayed at the JW Marriott. The location was better, the service superior and we were pleased in every way. Had we actually received our expectations at the other hotel, it would not have measured up to what we were blessed to experience. So while the experience was definitely frustrating for 12 hours or so, the outcome was magnificent as we made the move and enjoyed a time beyond our dreams or expectations. Thanks to the JW Marriott staff in Hangzhou for creating a memory that will last a lifetime. We are grateful for your service and are raving fans!

Relationships Matter

This is the tenth and final blog post regarding the 10 Things I Accidentally Learned on the Path to Growth. I saved the biggest and best until last. There is no question that the single biggest thing I have learned in how to grow a business comes down to this: it is all about relationships. There is no other single factor that comes anywhere close to driving growth as this one - a firm understanding and competency in creating, maintaining and growing relationships. From these interactions all sorts of powerful things happen. There are relationships needed in many areas - with your team, your vendors, your distribution partners, your customers, your strategic partners, media and PR folks and on the list goes. If you want to truly grow your company, or you life for that matter, you have to get this part right!

Community
Relationships for me all started with and continue heavily to focus around community. First Ingram's VTN, now HTG - but meeting with like minded folks is so very important. There is so much to learn from others in the industry, but in order to do that you have to spend time together. So being part of community is a critical component to the relationship area. What groups are you part of? For me:

•Community has provided perspective
Without it you don’t know what “good” is
•Community has provided relationships
With distribution, vendors, peers, subject matter experts and media
•Community has provided guidance
Without it the ability to stay relevant is more difficult
•Community has provided growth
6 M&A’s resulted from the relationships in communities
•Community has provided success
Without it we would still be a little technology company in the middle of a cornfield


Power of Peers
The bottom line is that there is extreme power when you become intimate with a set of peers. Here are some of the foundational things that define HTG:

•We engage other companies in the channel
•We share and give openly
•We ask for help when we need it
•We share our financials openly
•We plan together around business and life
•We execute together
•We are accountable

Not only do you learn from others, but as community goes deep, relationships become so much more. It quickly gets down to accountability and life and making sure we are doing what we intend. That is the power of true relationship - it causes us to be more than we were without it.

From where I sit

I have been blessed to be part of this industry for the last 25 years. Lots of things have happened during that time. The Internet has become main stream. Cell phones went from small suitcases to the palm of your hand. Portable pc's went from 40 pound luggables down to a few pounds. Change happens - it has been but even bigger change is coming….

The rate will accelerate as we move more and more to the cloud. And how IT impacts businesses will continue to morph and become more deeply integrated. However there remains one constant…and that is the fact that people are still at the end of the wire running things.

At the end of the day

We are in the people business. That is what we do. We sell technology and services but our job is really managing change and helping those we serve adapt to it. It won't be easy. All of us resist change at some level. But to truly have a handle on relationship we have to realize our opportunity to help people handle change. There are lots of places for us to do that:

•Ourselves
•In our business
•For our customers
•With our employees

Our success will be directly tied to how well we help people adapt to change. It really is that simple. Relationship will always win over technology because it is about people, not the bits and bytes. We must never lose sight of that fact.

The final reality and lesson is this: PEOPLE ARE THE ONLY THING THAT TRULY MATTERS. If you get this one thing right - most everything else takes care of itself. That means knowing how to build and maintain relationships. It is THE most important thing!

Customers Matter

This is the ninth blog post regarding the 10 Things I Accidentally Learned on the Path to Growth. Ther reality is that we must always keep our eye on the customer. It seems so simple and almost foolish to include - but I am amazed at how many of us lose connection with what customers truly want and we miss the boat completely in our solution and service offerings. We have to be willing to get back to basics and listen carefully to what customers are asking for. It isn't about them buying what we want to sell. It is about us offering what they want to buy. We tend to get it backwards sometimes. After all, we are the experts aren't we. We know best what they need. And we go to events where we hear the formulas for how to build the right cloud offer or managed services program so they should just line up.

Customers control the wallet
But that is not exactly how it works from my experience. We can have the greatest services and solutions and never sell any of them if we miss the customer expectations and needs. When we lose sight of this reality - we can set ourselves up for some difficult days at the least. Customers decide when to write checks and for what. So it is critical we listen and listen well. That means we need to spend time with customers - in their offices - observing their pain points. It means we need to pay attention to their requests and study their service utilization. We can learn a lot by just perking up our attention to their needs.

So what are they asking
I don't know about you, but here are some common things we hear from customers in our patch. See if your's are different:

•Reduce my costs
•Use my data
•Get more from my investment
•Help me communicate better
•Prove an ROI
•Just make it work – reliably
•Help my workers be productive anywhere
•What is this cloud thing anyway?

There are some pretty basic requests that continue to come, along with some new things as well. In HTG we see the future this way:


The cloud is causing some confusion and uncertainty in exactly what is needed or wanted as it gets defined and matures - but the basic requests are the same. What may change is how we meet those needs - but customers are pretty consistent. They want to spend less, get more, and have it work all the time.

How are you paying attention
So just what are you doing to hear the voice of the customer. We use surveys and roundtables and face to face discussions. It is important to have ongoing interaction constantly so you are current in meeting their requirements. Don't ignore the need here. If you serve your customers well, they will come. But if you fail to meet or exceed their needs - they quickly vanish. Don't make that mistake. Listen, respone, serve and execute.

So What About The Economy

Each year I write some thoughts on my perspective around the economy. I am not an economist - so take this with a grain of salt. It is just an Iowa farmboy's opinion as to what lies ahead. As I look at 2011 and the next few years, there are some realities that underlay the current market conditions that are a bit troubling. I am not usually a pessimist by nature – I consider myself to be an optimist but over time have migrated to more of being a realist. And the reality is that here in the US, and worldwide for that matter, the issues that caused the economic meltdown have not been truly dealt with. A significant amount of money has been spent – billions here and there thrown at the surface issues – but underneath it all remains the root causes which have not been addressed. We have been somewhat effective in putting a Band-Aid on things but definitely not effective in truly solving the core issues.

As I talk with folks in the financial industry, I hear over and over how the more obvious and simpler issues have been or are being corrected. But everyone is quick to point out that there are a significant number of big rocks left on the path that will take several years to correct at best. There are still billions of dollars of bad loans being carried by banks that have not been addressed. There are billions of dollars of bad credit card personal debt that is currently just being ignored as to not upset the apple cart during this apparent recovery. While every part of me wants to believe we truly are in recovery mode, I can’t make that step, because the fundamentals have not been fixed. There must still come a day of reckoning. The only question in my mind is – will it be in 2011?

A lot depends on the way the new Congress approaches the issue. If they take the hard line approach – we have to stop the spending and fix the problem – correction will happen sooner than later. Should they continue the path of pushing the hard decisions to some future year – it could drag on a year or two giving us short term relief. I can’t predict legislators any better than I can outguess the weather in Iowa. So I am cautiously optimistic about the economy this year because I tend to believe they will not make any short term moves in 2011 to upset things. I do think 2012 will be a different story.

One industry I am rather familiar with is the agriculture sector. We have seen record grain prices and the result has been skyrocketing land values and input costs. For those who don’t recall history – the last time we saw these dynamics was back in the late 70’s and early 80’s – you may recall it being called the “Farm Crisis”. Many farmers lost all they had because of a significant drop in value of their crop inventory and land values. I see those days coming again for agriculture in the not too distant future. The reality is that the current pricing situation is not sustainable. And throw in the reality that no politician will ever be elected for having high food prices for the general consumer and something has to give. There will be a correction – I believe a very strong one – and it will happen in the next couple years. That will spill over to the general economy rather quickly which is just another reason why I see trouble ahead.

Please don’t take this as a doom and gloom message. That is not the intent. But it is my desire to balance the excitement that is being driven by the media around a recovery that is only skin deep. Be cautious, take advantage of all the goodness you can right now, but save for a rainy day because there are clouds in the sky. Conserve cash and make sure you are ready to go through some rough days in the not too distant future. As we say on the farm “make hay while the sun shines”. There are some very positive opportunities right now we should definitely pursue. But don’t get too far away from the barn because when the rain comes you will need to get inside and have a place of safety.

Life Matters

This is the eighth blog post regarding the 10 Things I Accidentally Learned on the Path to Growth. Without a doubt this is the most important of the ten items - that success without balance in your life is empty. Some of the most successful people alive are also the most unhappy. The reality is that success does not equal happiness. Success does not equal fulfillment. Success by itself, and certainly alone, means nothing. So before you go chasing success - having the biggest company or the most profitable EBITDA or the most customers or employees - know why you are doing it and how you will make it meaningful so it brings happiness along with it. Otherwise you are wasting your time, and ultimately your life, pursuing a dream to nowhere!

The Problem
The world is full of the results of folks who fail to keep balance in their lives. Here is a short list of things I see every day:

• Marriages crumble
• Families are destroyed
• Friendships become distant
• Businesses crash and burn
• People self destruct

As small business owners we seem to think that working hard will cover a multitude of sins. It doesn't - it might take care of the bills and put some money into the retirement account - but money never buys happiness. It will not ever make up for the lost hours with your spouse, kids, family or friends. Money can't buy the important things in life - it bandaids the real problem most of us have - how we use and prioritize our time. Working hard is not the answer. Being intentional and disciplined is.

Hard Reality
Here are the cold hard facts. Every human being on this planet gets 168 hours every week. No more, no less. The biggest responsibility we have is how we will use those precious hours to make the most significant impact. There are some jobs that only you can do. No one can really replace you as spouse and father. Oh we certainly try to do that a lot - but divorce is messy and painful and not a solution to failure to put people first. The facts are that you are not indispensible at work. There are plenty of people capable of filling the roles at the office. Maybe not exactly the way you would do it. But those tasks will get done. But no one can truly fill your role as husband/wife or dad/mom. We try to offload it - but it doesn't work. Figure out the things that only you can do - and do them first.

Why we work all the time
I know what drives most of you to work too many hours. You get validated more easily there than at home. Let's be honest - it is pretty easy to be validated by people who don't really know you. You can become the hero pretty quickly at work. There are a lot less messy things to deal with - and you normally have help to deal with a lot of areas at work that fall only on your shoulders at home. It is tough to sometimes recieve validation from our spouse and kids. We can get into a negative cycle and just want to run to work to avoid feeling incompetent. But we have to understand the dynamics of home life. Living with people 24/7/365 is a whole lot different than the 8-10 hours or so we are together at work. We don't do holidays with our co-workers. We don't go on vacations together. It isn't a fair comparison so we just need to realize that it often "feels better" at work than home. BUT that is no excuse to spend every waking hour there or run back to the office if things at home get a bit tough. Nothing is more important than taking care of business at home first. That is where our first use of the 168 hours we are blessed with each week need to be spent.

Balance is a hard thing
Balance is a challenging target to aim for. There are so many things pulling us in so many ways that it is difficult to achieve. But I know no one in their retirement or on their death bed who ever said they wished they had worked more hours. I have heard many people say they wish they had spent more time with those they loved. We only get to use our precious 168 hours once - we can't bank them - we get no do-overs - we have to do it right the first time. It is critical we truly spend time planning how we do that.

Do it well
It is important to know what success really is so we don't get to the end of our career and decide we totally missed it. Have you defined success? Do you know what it means to truly achieve? Life matters far more that success by itself. If we blend success with a solid plan for what matters in life - which always involves people - we can have the best of both worlds. If we don't - we will miss one or the other and end up frustrated and unfulfilled. Don't miss the mark. Get some balance and a plan for what it means to truly be successful in your life. It is much more than work. A life plan is a critical part of that process. Don't wait another year - get started now!

Some Misconceptions about Microsoft's MPN

As we approach the new year - there are a number of things on the plate for all of us. We need to close 2010 and finish the current year strong. We need to plan and put on paper our goals for 2011 - to have SMART goals that can be measured and watched over time so we can be accountable to execute them consistently and completely. We need to celebrate our blessings and be grateful for all the good things we have experienced. A new year is a time of new opportunity.

Unfortunately I have been watching with some amazement the reaction, or lack there of, to the new Microsoft MPN partner program. I wrote about this back in August and encouraged partners to begin planning and putting their strategy in place. It seems many have ignored or failed to take any action, and now as we move into the key season of partner renewals, there is panic and frustration that partners are not ready for the transition. This program has definitely raised the bar - but that is not news either. In fact, it has been the plan and came at the request of partners from around the world. This has been in planning stages for some time, and was covered in my blog post back in April as well as dozens of communications from Redmond as well.

The landscape has changed and it is time for true Microsoft partners to jump on board and embrace MPN. Diane Golshan wrote a great blog post last week addressing some of the key misconceptions. Putting things off is not the right answer. Just living under the grandfathering of benefits is not the same thing as embracing the program and putting your strategic plan in place and becoming fully engaged with MPN. Take a read of Diane's post - check out some of Eric Ligman's posts as well. This transition is a change - none of us like change - but it is the future and we need to get on board - embrace it and take advantage of the differentiation that all of us desire. Don't miss the boat on this important opportunity. Spend some time - leverage the resources available - and put your company in a place that will be different than most of your competitors who are just sitting back and waiting. We don't see a lot of chances like this in the channel to really be different. My advice is to get after it and do it quickly.

Vendors Matter

This is the seventh blog post regarding the 10 Things I Accidentally Learned on the Path to Growth. There is little question that many folks in our industry seem to feel that the vendors are the enemy. Why - I am not exactly sure. But I can tell you without question that an attitude like that is 180 degrees the wrong way. Not only are vendors necessary and important - if you really want to grow - they are one of the most important factors I have seen and experienced.


So before you tune me out - listen a bit. Unless you are some super giant company - you do not have everything you need in order to serve your clients. Even Microsoft and HP use vendors - lots of them - to bring together things needed to serve their end clients. So what makes us as IT owners believe we are self sufficient and can run our business without any vendor relationships? I know the answer and it is in one word - stupidity! I know because I used to think that way a long time ago. I thought my job for the day was to beat vendors and distributors up on pricing and accuse them of trying to take my customers or take advantage of me through one of their programs somehow. Is that how you see your vendor relationships? Wrong approach - way wrong. Here are the facts as I have seen them over the years:


Vendors and Distributors exist to sell stuff

At the core of our attitude toward vendors is the failure to understand what they are in business for. Just like us - they exist to make a profit - and serve their customers. We tend to want to cut that first part out. If you want to succeed in this area - you have to understand that they are in business to sell things. And the way you embrace that is pretty obvious - you buy them. But not based on where you can find the lowest deal of the day or beat down the last penny of profit. You consolidate your purchasing and become a loyal buyer. Nothing says relationship like those two words. Get over finding the cheapest place to source products. Pick a distributor and a few key vendors and buy their products the same way from the same companies every day. I am often amazed at discussions where someone saved $10 a product by shopping. They wasted two hours of valuable time that could be used on productive work - but they got the best deal. Until they look a little more and find out that had they spend the whole day they could have saved $12. How ludicrous. We are in the value business. We sell our solutions and services based on value - not cost. We should buy the same way and quit worrying about getting every last dime out of someone. You will never grow or succeed as long as you are focused on spending your time here rather than building value for the customer.


Learn who your reps are and how they get paid

Relationships happen between two people. Every vendor has people resources that we can leverage to help drive our collective business. Your assignment is to find out who they are and build a relationship with them. It starts by buying as described in the previous paragraph. Most vendor reps are not crazy about working with companies that don't buy anything. But assuming you figure that one out and become a loyal partner - then it is time to begin the treasure hunt to find out where the people resources are. This takes determination and hard work - but is very much worth the effort. Once you build a relationship by consistently executing - you will find that these folks offer to bring resources to the table to help you grow. After all - they are paid on selling stuff. You need to ask that question and understand their compensation model - but inevitably it will have some component of sales in the mix. So find them and help them succeed. No one in their right mind won't partner with you to sell more if you are helping them earn more. This is key - building a win - win relationship. It is so powerful and I have seen significant results from learning to partner closely with vendor reps.


Participate in their programs

Vendors spend millions and millions of dollars on our behalf. The sad reality is that most of us don't take advantage of those investments. We don't like what they are offering for this reason or that - so we just ignore them. Bad decision. We need to not only understand what our key vendors are doing to support the channel - we need to participate in every possible way whether it is exactly how we would like it or not. It is their money after all. They are spending it on our behalf. We don't get to decide how. But they do care about our participation. They very much care about how involved we are in taking advantage of their investments. And they do keep score. Not getting much attention from your vendors? Begin by looking at your support and participation in their programs. More often than not you are getting what you deserve based on your committment.


Provide customer evidence

Vendors really love customer success stories. And in our IT channel two tier distribution model they have a difficult time getting those because we are in the middle. If you want to win some big points with both field reps and folks at corporate offices of your key vendors - capture and write success stories on how their technology delivered by you made a difference. That is like gold to reps and gives them some great evidence to bring back to their company. You can use it with your customers too - so it is something we should all be doing anyway. Just be sure to include your vendor reps and help them look good with their managers.

Get your team trained

It amazes me at how many partners complain about having to invest in training to get attention from vendors. Is it really that difficult to understand. It not only prepares us to actually sell their products as designed, to install them the best possible way, to succeed with their programs and use their references - but it also shows loyalty and our willingness to put skin in the game. Do I ever think some of the training is a little worthless? Yep. Do I think most training could be done better? Yep. Do we participate and get our people trained? Absolutely. Why? Because it shows that we are committed to the technology and company we are representing. It is part of learning how they intend to help us succeed. We need to bite the bullet and get our people trained, and then use what we learned to sell and implement more solutions.

Plan and be accountable to them

One of the most important things you can do to take vendor relationships to a whole different level is to truly plan together. Each year in the last quarter we hold our annual vendor planning session. We invite our top 4 or 5 vendor partners and our disty partner to the table - all at the same time - with our management team to strategize for the coming year. This has turned into one of the most important things we do to drive relationship with our vendors. It is a day and a half to two days focused on how we collectively grow each others business. There are competitors in the room - but we are clear that our approach to the market is solution selling and we sell products from a few vendors to build our solutions so they have to learn to play together in the sandbox. It opened some eyes the first time we did it. Some were pretty quiet and careful - but over the years it has become a true collaborative time and vendors leave knowing our collective approach. We also make committments to them, and they to us, that both sides are accountable for. We do quarterly reviews to make sure we are on track through the year. You have to be transparent and accountable if you truly want to make vendor relationships work.

There are lots of ways to engage vendors. Here are a few ideas we have utilized:

•Marketing Development Funds (MDF) - come in a variety of shapes and sizes
•Technology adoption programs
•Rapid deployment programs
•Beta programs
•Case studies – video and print
•Advisory councils
•Technical and sales training
•On site visits where we have corporate folks in our office to see what really happens

The bottom line

If you want to truly grow your company - you have to get this area right. I have seen NO company of any size do it alone. There always is a very strong and deep strategy to leverage vendors as part of the growth. You just aren't going to get there if you don't embrace them. They truly are a great resource and ally if you build deep relationships. It is work. It takes time. But it is very much worth it. Get after it and don't listen to the majority who will never figure this out. Go deep and find out just how far great vendor relationships can take you on your path of growth!

Teach The True Meaning of Christmas

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out next to the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement . . ."TEACH THE CHILDREN!" I was puzzled. What did he mean?

He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said, "Teach the children!Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten. "Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. "Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven."

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. "Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. "Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness."

Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."

He then pulled from his bag an ORNAMENT of himself. "Teach the children that I, Santa Claus, symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December."

He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by Him.

Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave his begotten son." Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. "Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men."

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL,. "Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.

Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship him, our LORD, our GOD."

(reposted from http://llerrah.com/)

I too, hope to be found a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship him, our LORD, our GOD. - Merry Christmas!

Arlin

Sales Matter

This is the sixth blog post regarding the 10 Things I Accidentally Learned on the Path to Growth. There is little question that many small business owners really dislike the whole sales process or anything that is related to it - particularly in the IT industry. But sales is not a four letter word - well it is - but it isn't a bad one. And there is little question that sales really do matter. That could be the understatement of the century actually.

Why is there such an aversion to sales by so many IT firms? Well for many of us, we came up to leading our company via the technical side of the business. We were engineers that were good at what we did and then decided to hire a few more like us and form a company. That works for a while but soon we hit the wall because we don't sell - we can fix anything under the sun - but we don't sell. I use don't rather than can't here intentionally. Anyone can sell - maybe not equally well - but it isn't that IT owners can't sell - it is because they almost despise the idea and certainly the notion of what being a salesperson is all about. Time to get over it!

Nothing happens until something gets sold. Let me say it again - nothing happens until something gets sold. OK - I have admitted it in public. We need to sell if we want to have a business. And sales is not a matter of luck. It happens when we build a sales process and system that makes sales happen regularly. We have to make the investment to put the right system and tools in place to make it happen. It can't be a hope and a prayer. That is not a sales strategy. Sales happen when we build the right foundation, hire the right people and execute the plan consistently. It really is not magic - it just takes consistent hard work doing the right things every day.

Most sales people fail because of a lack of support and management. It is common in the IT small business space to have a revolving door of sales people. We hire a person, let them flounder around on their own for 3-4 months and then fire them because they haven't sold much or anything at all. We blame them. Here is a newsflash - they likely are NOT the problem. You are. We set most new sales hires up for failure. We don't give them the right tools. We don't have a system in place. We don't manage or support them. We wish them well and sit back waiting to count the money. It just doesn't work like that. Owner attitude and support will make or break the sales engine in any company. Take a good look in the mirror and you will likely find the problem with your sales people.

When we do find that super human who is able to defy the odds of our lack of support and systems and actually sell something - it only lasts for a while. That is because without marketing support - every sales person will eventually run out of opportunities and people they know to sell to. It is our job to create leads for our sales people to follow up on. That is called marketing. It is hard work. It costs lots of money. It is somewhat luck - often more magic than science from my experience. But without marketing support - without aircover and other supporting tools to help drive leads and open doors - even a veteran sales person with many years of success will stub their toe. It is necessary to spend money on marketing to have consistent sales performance.

The pendulum is rapidly swinging toward sales. I see some major changes that are already in motion and will change the landscape as we know it for IT for many years to come. The cloud will force us to become sales organizations. You can resist, hide you head in the sand, and wake up one day wondering what has happened to your customer base. Or you can accept the fact that change is coming and make some changes. Some of these changes have been in motion for a while. Others are more a result of the current market and the move toward the cloud. But no matter the reason - they are coming. Here are some observations:

•From technical to sales focus
•From answering the phone to creating demand
•From selling products to selling solutions
•From T&E to flat rate services
•From on premise to the cloud

No longer will the company with the most technical genius necessarily win. I predict that those with most mature sales approach will actually come out on top. This new reality is that the IT business is moving toward a transactional relationship and those who can sell will win in that landscape. The reality is that companies must become sales organizations. We have to deal with these realities:

•Sales people are not the enemy
•It requires new thinking and management
•It requires new compensation models

Along with that we must become marketing organizations:

•Referrals are great but go only so far
•Most companies have just continued to sell new solutions to their current base
•We must become lead generators for the sales team
• Lead generation is not the vendors responsibility

Here is the reality as I see it. If you don’t embrace sales, growth will be stagnant and you will be frustrated. That is - if you survive. There will be plenty of companies that fail completely because they refuse to adopt the notion of becoming sales organizations. You don't have to like it - but it does work better if you do. You do have to do it and the time to begin is immediately. You can't afford to wait on this one. Begin now to learn to sell. Put the right systems in place. Hire someone and invest in them. Manage them closely and carefully. And begin to see the results - the sooner you begin - the sooner you will reap some of the goodness that comes with selling something. Remember - nothing happens until you sell something. Get after that today!

Growth is Hard Work

This is the fifth blog post regarding the 10 Things I Accidentally Learned on the Path to Growth. There is little question that many small business owners really don’t understand just how difficult the growth process really is. The common misconception is that if you show up every day and work hard – it just happens. That has not been my experience. There are many steps along the path to growing a business, and it must be done intentionally and executed continually to keep moving forward.

It all starts with you. You started your business because you wanted to be your own boss. You wanted to call the shots. There is a likelihood that you worked for someone else and decided you could do it better. But when you make the decision to grow – it can’t be about you anymore. Growth means you have to involve others – inside and outside your company. And that is the first step. You have to hire someone.

I remember those days well. It was a scary proposition. All of a sudden I was responsible for payroll which meant we had to be generating revenue. I sort of convinced myself it was ok to work some of the time and not pay myself – after all it was my company. But when you bring on that first employee they typically don’t quite see it that way. They come to work with the expectation they will get a paycheck and they should. So we have to know how we will generate enough revenue and keep them busy so we can pay them.

This is usually when the first lesson of growth occurs. It isn’t a straight line up. We have steps – take a few forward and then one backward. It looks something like this for many:

Seldom do companies grow with the green line – just up and to the right continually with no hiccups. Nor do companies maintain their situation like the red line – stagnant without change. I am a believer that if you are not growing – you are shrinking because I seldom if ever see a company just stay the same. But growth is a series of ups and downs and that is normal. It isn’t a mistake – and there isn’t anything wrong with you when it happens – it is the reality of how growth occurs.

There are a half dozen key stages I see in the growth cycle. The following chart shows some of them and areas where they may show up in your growth pattern.

You won’t necessarily experience all of these in the same order or at the same level as the chart describes, but as you grow your IT firm you are likely to experience all of them along the way.

That takes us to the second step – which is the need to become a sales organization. To be totally honest – this is the one where many companies get hung up. It may happen with 2-3 employees or you may make it to 7-8, but at some point sales will be your blocker to growth. Why? Nothing happens until someone sells something. I will go into much more detail on sales in a future blog post. It is essential, so embrace it and accept the fact it has to happen if you want to grow.

This is the first of what I consider to be the five key areas to growth:
1. Become a sales organization
2. Learn how to market
3. Put in place and execute process
4. Develop leadership
5. Understand the power of strategic relationships

My experience is that if you understand and work through these key blockers – you will grow and grow significantly. But each one can plateau you for years or for life. You can’t skip any step – the order may change – but all are essential to continually growing your company.

Realize that your business should serve you – not the other way around. If the business controls your life – you have a job. You probably left a job to start your business so don’t just trade one for the other. Dreams should be coming true. You should have more freedom – not less. It has to function without your presence – if you are required to make it work – you have a job with a different title on it. It should be predictable in meeting your goals and needs. It should not require you – or the 4 P’s from you:
· Your presence
· Your personality
· Your problem solving
· Your persperation

As you build your sales organization you begin to feel like you are losing control. Not everything goes through you anymore. You have to trust others. It is a huge step. But if everything flows through you – then you are the bottleneck to growth and not only will you restrict that – you restrict profit potential as well. You cannot be the center of your company forever. The only way you escape the problem is to keep growing and putting others in places you once were responsible. That is called delegation – not something many entrepreneurs are comfortable with – because no one does it quite like we do. But we have to get over that and let others do the work.

So you have began to build a sales team and hired a sales person or two. They are selling and then hit the wall. They run out of people they know and places to call on. That is when marketing has to kick in. Marketing is key to keeping a sales team productive. They don’t manufacture sales – they close leads and turn them into sales. Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking that just hiring a sales person fixes all the sales issues. In fact it just creates more needs. They have to be closely managed and there has to be a consistent lead generation system to keep them productive. They can’t just make this stuff up. It has to be fed to them so they can do what they do – go build relationships and close deals. That is what we hire them to do so now we have to equip them with the tools they need for success.

Next comes the need for some sanity in the midst of chaos. Many companies go for years without any process, procedures or policies in place. And then as they have some success and grow – things quickly get out of control because you can’t scale without processes. So in the teens for number of employees you have to get things written down and folks trained to follow them. It is hard work. We never have time for it. And changing behavior to follow is a difficult task because we are upsetting their world. Why do we need this all of a sudden? It is far easier to do this step early with few employees than wait for the chaos to require it. But most of us don’t make the time until it is mission critical. And that is driven as we grow to a certain point. Take it from me – it is far easier to write a process for two than for twelve. Do it early – do it well – and set the example to follow them.

After some more growth and success we begin to run into a leadership void. We typically expect our people to learn by osmosis and just being around us. Unfortunately it doesn’t quite work that way from my experience. So we have to make investments and train folks on leadership. That is essential as we will need to grow practices around key technologies, vertical markets or opportunities. Many companies don’t have nearly the leadership they need to continue growing. It is a sad reality. It happens because we have been too cheap to invest and too busy to notice than no one else is really stepping up to lead. This costs money and takes time – intentional and significant time – which far too many small business owners never take. We seldom invest in our own skill building let alone that of others. But if we want to keep growing we have to build leadership and a team that can help make that happen.

At some point along the curve we grow past our ability to drive continued growth on our own. That is when the value of strategic relationships kicks in gear. I find it happens somewhere past 50 employees and it becomes essential to learn to leverage the investment other partners in the ecosystem are making. We need to use their marketing, lead generations, services and tools to help to continue drive the business. But it is all about building and maintaining strong relationships. It won’t happen accidentally and I find this one area to be a key blocker for many companies that are trying to grow. More on this topic in a future blog post as well.

Growth has many steps. They don’t all move upward and to the right. It is hard work and requires determination, dedication and a very big desire. But you can grow if you truly want to and commit to it. We have experienced it even on the farm in Iowa where our business is operated. It isn’t magic – it is hard work and execution day after day to work toward a strategic objective. Plan for growth and then execute to achieve it. Realize it means change often along the way. But you can achieve it if you want to!