In speaking with one of my good friends, John Christopherson, we were debating about exit strategies for business owners.  He won the argument.  I said, many of my clients feel like they’d like to build something that can be a cash cow without their involvement.  John replied that the best cash cow he knows of is cash.  I love it.  If your company can be built to a position of providing on going cash flow without your involvement then it is certainly worth quite a bit of CASH.  Cash carries no liability.  Cash today is always better then cash tomorrow.  You need only to a Net Present Value calculation to determine the truth in that statement.

So to quote John Christopherson…cash is the best cash flow.  I think I agree!

Alright job hunters, gold has been struck.  A phenomenal opportunity to work for Fernando Zorilla at Everglades technologies in NYC.  In my opinion this is one of the best IT Solution Providers anywhere.  Amazing offices, amazing leadership, and incredibly creative owner!

So, if you’re looking, this is the gold standard.  Here’s their ad; tell them Josh sent you!

FULL-TIME NETWORK ENGINEER

ABOUT US

Everglades Technologies is a mid-size company specializing in technology solutions including high-end customized networks for small-to medium-sized businesses. Located in Union Square the company has provided office network solutions since 2000. As a “one-stop shop” for clients, Everglades Technologies is known for the high-level quality of IT service rendered and an intense dedication and commitment to customer satisfaction.

THE POSITION

The FULL-TIME NETWORK ENGINEER works in-house and at client locations depending on the task at hand.  Our Network Engineers are tasked with representing our company as a polished technical and customer-centric resource, providing high-level customer service and troubleshooting to our diverse pool of over 500 clients in the metropolitan area.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as account manager for assigned client accounts providing the highest level of customer service while communicating technical information to non-technical audiences
• Develop and manage relationships with new and assigned client accounts

• Review and respond to client service issues in line with contracted SLA
• Design and deployment of Microsoft networks
• Install, configure, and maintain Cisco switches/routers/firewalls and SonicWALL firewalls

THE CANDIDATE

A self-motivated individual, with excellent oral and written communication skills to provide outstanding initial troubleshooting and support to our clients, with an ability to skillfully communicate technical information to non-technical audiences which can include upper-level management, business executives or business owners.

Candidates are punctual with consistent attendance, and proactive in inter-communication skills and self-initiators experienced and skillful at assessment, construction, and the problem solving of IT issues for assigned accounts.

Desired experience for successful candidates are a Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 2 years of hands-on experience working with Cisco routers, switches and/or Cisco/SonicWALL Firewalls, and 2 years of network design and deployment experience with Microsoft client and server OS and Exchange.  Industry certifications should be in line with the Cisco professional level track (CCNP, CCDP) SonicWALL CCSA certification, and passing scores on three or more of the current core exams for the Microsoft MCITP certification track.
Candidates should have a flexible schedule – Our standard office hours are 9am to 5pm and a rotating on-call support schedule is also involved.

FUD…Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. C’mon Managed Services Providers. You guys are too smart to be afraid of the cloud. As we sit here right now on December 23, 2011 at 1:57pm I can tell you the Cloud is nothing but noise. I don’t care about SalesForce, Microsoft, or any other big cloud promoting giant.

One question to your prospect…what happens when you your Internet access is down right now? You can’t get email? You can’t surf facebook? You can’t look at porn? Big deal, pick up the phone and call those folks you need to email, call your friends to see what they’re doing, and walk to 7-11 to get your porn.

Follow up question to your prospect. What do you think happens 6 months from now when your Internet access goes down? Let’s see, still no porn, still no email, still no facebook, but now, no accounting, no CRM, no sales management, no Word, no Excel, no…uhhhhh anything!!

So, Josh, why are you talking about this? You’re no technology expert, you don’t know about redundancy, virtualization, cached versions, document managment, etc. You’re just a guy who talks about management issues. Fair enough! I don’t know a damn thing about that stuff, what I do know is that right at this second I have two Managed Services Provider clients in California and New York whose Internet is down in their offices and they can’t do the work we planned on doing today in building out their ConnectWise. So if two brilliant MSP’s can be left hanging, what about your clients?

Create that FUD, create solutions that work for your clients, and stop crying about cloud, the economy, or about techs that won’t enter their time and just get to selling! Plenty of prospects out there who don’t care about the cloud, go find them and sell to them!

Merry Christmas!

Josh

OK….one last thing to avoid thirty emails from egg heads haters…I know cloud is real, I know it is awesome, I know that’s the direction the world is heading. Just don’t run your business into the ground with a sky is falling (kind of a good pun..get it, sky – cloud, nevermind) mentality just because a new thing is on the horizon.

Sweet holy mother of all things ridiculous.  Please tell me that as a managed services provider you have your contracts ready to go and that EVERY client has a signed contract on file.  Don’t tell me about a credit card authorization form or a signed quote or a signed proposal.  YOU MUST HAVE CONTRACTS.

Let’s go over the basics.  A contract does some of the following:

1. Limits your liability (ie…liability for any provider caused issues will be limited to the amount paid to the provider)

2. Sets forth the payment terms and amount (ie…$2,000 for 36 months due on the 15th of each month)

3.  Describes early termination penalties (ie…client must provide thirty days written notice of intent to cancel.  Remainder of contract value will be prorated

4.  Non-hire/Non-solicitation WITH PENALTIES DESCRIBED (ie…we won’t hire your employees, don’t hire ours.   If you do hire our employees you agree to pay us a penalty equal to one year’s salary of hired employee)

5.  Sets the venue for disputes (ie….requires mediation…disputes will be handled in our state and county)

These are the basics of every contract.  Here are some common contracts you need to have at the ready:

1. Master services agreement (rates, after hours, response times, trip charges, emergency fees)

2. Managed services (what’s covered, what’s not covered, what devices/employees are covered,  service level agreement, response times, etc)

3. Riders to Managed services (anti spam, anti virus, hosted exchange, etc) Continue reading Managed Services Providers Please Tell Me You have Your CONTRACTS!!

Tags: contracts, josh peterson, liablility, managed services, msa

Greetings from Alexandria, Virginia.  This is probably the coolest place I’ve been in a while.  The fact that it’s relatively warm in December doesn’t hurt either.  I’m spending the week working out of the FusionTek East Coast offices and loving the surroundings.

I was visiting with David Spire from United Systems last week when he dropped this bomb on me.  The bomb is Jeffrey Gitomer.  Now, I have to admit that as a consultant I like to fool myself into believing that I know everything about everything.  Clearly this isn’t true but when someone asks me, “have you heard about this guy or that guy?” I am usually skeptical since out industry has an abundance of crap floating around passing itself off as good advice.

When David asked me if I’d heard of Jeffrey Gitomer I applied my usual amount of skepticism and paid little attention.   When I took the time to read his website and excerpts from his books I found myself getting very impressed (despite my best efforts).  This guy is a genius, well spoken, and his experiences are incredible.  Not since I was introduced to the Sandler Selling System have I been this optimistic about great sales training existing out in the world.

So without further introduction, I am presenting you with a snipit of Gitomer’s philosophies.  Do yourself and your sales folks a favor and start devouring what this guy is feeding.

12.5 Values of a Sales Professional

1. The value of creating a difference between you and the competition. The key is perceived value. The biggest difference is the difference they perceive in YOU!

2. The value of knowing the difference between satisfied and loyal. Satisfied customers buy anywhere. Loyal customers stay, fight for you and refer. Will they order again? Will they recommend you to others? That is the measure.

3. The value of your ability to speak and be compelling.  If your sales message is boring, they pass. If it’s compelling, they want to buy. Engage them with great questions and ideas.

4. The (value) of knowing everything or being too busy to learn. Stay a student – every day. All the information you need to succeed already exists. You may not be exposing yourself to it. Continue reading I admit it, I’m impressed with Jeffrey Gitomer

Tags: sales, sales management, selling

Just a quick shout out that the San Dimas, CA company owned by Anthony Chiapetta is beginning the search for a Sales Manager.  AMC is a managed services provider whose performance in the last 12 months has been remarkable.  Under Anthony’s leadership they have grown tremendously in both revenue and profitability.  Anthony has taken the very bold step of creating a top down sales department.  One of the most prevalent hurdles to real growth of managed services providers is the lack of a dedicated sales force.  Typically the owner is the best and only sales person but unfortunately that model does not seem to scale beyond the $1,000,000-$2,000,000 mark.

This is an aggressive move on AMC’s part.  The Sales Manager will be tasked with building the sales infrastructure, recruiting four sales people, training them and getting them all up to quota and beyond.  This is not something that has been attempted by many MSP’s.

Soooooo…if you are a seasoned sales manager who wishes to work in a company with a phenomenally motivated and positive culture, consider contacting AMC.  No bullies, intimidation, or lameness will be considered.  This is the opportunity for high performing sales managers to finally build their dream team from the ground up.  Could not ask for a better scenario.

Visit http://www.amcsolutions.net/articles1-60/HiringSalesManager to find contact information.  You should be able to find the job posting on the Ladders, Craigslist, and Linkedin shortly.

Best of luck to Anthony and all you looking to take on this role!

Tags: amc, growth, managed services, sales, sales management

Dear Josh,

Work has been great!  I haven’t produced anything lately but I still have a high salary so I can maintain my current lifestyle.  I would like to touch on 5 mistakes that managers make on a daily basis:

Not checking in with me during the day.  I have the freedom to do whatever I want.  Am I working?  Sometimes.  In between lunch and visiting with friends, it’s hard to put in an 8 hour day.

1. Making me work from home.  You pay for an office.  You may think you are saving money by not paying for my mileage to go to the office, but think about how much it is costing you in my lack of production.
2. Making me do the old song and dance of “Lunch & Learns.”  This is so played out.  1-2 people including myself get to enjoy a fabulous lunch at $1,800.00.  The people that come have no intention of buying.  This also takes up over half of my day.  How many of you could take 4 hours off to attend a luncheon?
3. I need my manager to make me use my CRM.  I am lost without it, and am all over the place with following up and setting appointments.  If you don’t keep track of it, why would I.
4. You have a scheduled sales call every Friday, but usually it’s canceled or there is no agenda for the meeting.  I have no idea what to expect therefore why do anything.  I know I can BS you over the phone and you will fall for whatever I am saying.  Again, you don’t ever check up on anything so I know you will not question me about it.

I hope this will help managers out there manage their sale people better.  We need you to care about what we are doing.  We love structure and someone that holds us accountable!  It makes us feel like we are accomplishing something and in the end will help both of us succeed.

Salary Surfer out!

Tags: cold calling, results, salary surfer, sales

Josh,

Guess who’s back…you got it!  It’s been a minute and between cruising to theBahamas, hanging with friends, and getting ready for the holidays, I have been very busy.  I have also been traveling a lot for work.  This has allowed me to gather all types of information for thus blog.

The top 5 ways your sales people can tell that you don’t give a S#@! about them:

1. You get your “juvenile marketing coordinator” to book a room for your traveling sales team.  Stick with a chain you dumb dumbs!  Traveling is bad enough, but at least I want to be cozy on my down time.  No time for resting at the Red Roof Inn…what with the murder scene like room, the prostitution raid, and the bed bugs.  This is a number 1 give a way that you care nothing about my well being.  Oh yeah, and it is also a dead give a way when “management” stays at the Hilton down the street…shhhhhhhhh.

2. Not only do you put me in the Red Roof Inn, but just as I am putting on my snow suit to sleep in to prevent the bed bugs from attacking my manicured skin, guess who walks in…another employee.

Betty Lou: “Are you Salary Surfer?”

SS: “Yes, who are you?”

Betty Lou:  “Betty Lou fromDallasTexasdivision, I guess we are roomies, I’m so excited to start with the company.  Tell me all about it!”

Poor Betty Lou, and poor me!  So now in my downtime, I have to share a room with a woman I’ve never met.  Betty Lou was sweet and nice but I don’t want to hear Betty Lou’s fight’s with her boyfriend in the middle of the night, her latest snoring techniques, and I definitely don’t want to have to tell Betty Lou that it’s ok to light a match after you go to the bathroom!!!  Way to go boss!  You once again just proved how you don’t give a S!@# about me!!!

3. You suggest that I drive to the sales training because it’s cheaper.  6.5 hours later you are calling me and yelling because I am late.  Some friendly advice to all of the owners/managers/higher up’s out there:  MY TIME IS JUST AS VALUABLE AS YOURS.  YOU PAID ME MORE IN MILEAGE THAN MY AIRLINE TICKET WAS, MY TIME WAS WASTED FROM PRODUCING, AND I HELD UP YOU AND EVERY OTHER SALES PERSON’S TIME BECAUSE I WAS LATE.  What college are you always bragging about that you went to again?
4. Of course I want to see your office and bond with the Betty’s Lou’s of the company, but spring for a cleaning service.  “Everyone here has the flu.”  As I look down to see the food stains on the board room table that my arms are resting on and the trash piled up in the corner, I can only imagine how long it will take for me and the rest of your sales team to catch it.  Get me out of this petri dish or get a cleaning service!
5. And finally…I know you don’t give a S#@! about me when we sit in a room for 6 hours with no food, and you are boasting about where you are “treating” us for dinner.  Doctors say you should eat 3 meals a day.  I would settle for 2 you uncompassionate egotistical sweetheart and FYI, the Red Roof Inn doesn’t provide a continental breakfast like the Hilton does!!!

Well that’s all for today, Josh.  Hope you can help these people out.  It’s getting bad out there!

Sincerely,

The Salary Surfer

Tags: cold calling, results, salary surfer, sales people

Happy holidays!!  Had a great last few weeks.  Business is great, have been meeting with some phenomenal companies.  One of the most exciting things going on is that a number of  my clients are taking the bull by the horns and pushing all the chips to the middle of the table by building a TOP DOWN SALES organization.  They have hired phenomenal sales managers who are tasked with building a sales force of a least 4 sales reps.  It’s a BIG BIG SCARY investment but folks, you waste more money on garbage RMM tools that you don’t use or throw out after 18 months.  This is an investment that will provide the growth they have been “hoping” for; and to quote the old man “hope is not a strategy!”

So, on to today’s topic.  Weekly sales meeting.  I see this screwed up all the time.

•  The meeting must be a PILLAR in your and your sales folks week.  NO F’N AROUND…you will be in attendance each and every week.
• The meeting must have an objective…review activity and results and pipeline.
•  The meeting must result in praise and corrective action depending on performance.

Hi…well the MSP Score service is taking off and it’s time to find some permanent callers.   Here’s what I’m looking for?

I have a small phone survey service and need someone to make about 200 phone calls. You will be calling my clients asking them one simple question “based on a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our services to your colleagues?”

The calls take about 1 minute at the most. You’ll record your score and move onto the next one. This will be project work four times a year. Once we establish a stronger client base we will need your service more and more frequently.

Must have a phenomenal phone presence
Must be highly energetic
Must be very kind!
English must be your native languate
Must have the ability to use a phone for up to 8 hours a day for up to two days in a row.
Stay at home moms, I want you! this is a fun project and you can make a good extra couple dollars
If you are a strong user of IT, there are areas for growth

This is fun, easy project. Need to start Monday or Friday

Call JP at 630.779.2414 to get started!

Call me at 630.779.2414