Managed Services In A Month
by Karl W. Palachuk
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PUBLISHED BY:
Great Little Book
Publishing Co., Inc.
Sacramento, CA
www.greatlittlebook.com
Managed Services In
a Month by Karl W. Palachuk
Copyright © 2008 by Karl W.
Palachuk
All rights reserved.
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Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
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Table of Contents
Introduction: Managed Services Doesn't Work For Me
Managed Services in a Month: Part One
Managed Services in a Month - Part Two
Create A Three-Tiered Pricing Structure
Managed Services in a Month - Part Three
Weed Your Client Garden and Finish The Plan
Managed Services in a Month - Part Four
Write a Service Agreement; Have It Reviewed By An Attorney
Print Up Your New Pricing Plan
Desktops and Managed Service Revisited
Managed Services in a Month - Part Five
Managed Services in a Month - Part Six
Managed Services in a Month - Part Seven
Sub Topic One: Practical Little Stuff
Sub Topic Two: Revisiting Weeding Your Garden
Managed Services in a Month - Part Eight
Final Thoughts: Managed Services In a Month
One Final Note: Self Interest Properly Understood
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This little work evolved over time from a series of blog posts I wrote in my Small Biz Thoughts blog (http://smallbizthoughts.blogspot.com). It started with a response to some comments that Managed Services doesn't work. That inspired me to say "Look. Let me boil down this whole Managed Services discussion to its bare essentials."
That, in turn, led to a series of articles about how you can move to a managed service model in a month. I got a lot of positive feedback on that series, and a lot of hits. But blogs are really not intended for larger publications. For one thing, the posts appear in reverse-chronological order. So I scooped up the blog posts, put them in chronological order, added a table of contents, and reposted the whole thing over at my primary web site - GreatLittleBook.com. That also got a lot of hits. It still does.
But then I started getting requests from people who wanted this information on tape. Or CD. Or MP3. Or something. Basically, people like books. And people like audio. A book is good because it is truly random access. Audio is good because you can gather the primary information while you're driving, or gardening, or cooking dinner.
I decided to give everyone what they wanted. So in the Spring of 2008 I put out this book on Managed Services in a Month, and I put out an audio book of the exact same material. Now you can have whatever you want!
If you want it for free on the web, go get it. If you want a book, buy a book. If you want the audio, buy the audio.
And why, exactly, am I giving away so much key information for little or nothing? Because I honestly want you to be successful. And why do I want that? To find out, you need to wait 'til the end!
Please do yourself a favor. Take this process very seriously. You might, when it's all over, decide that you don't want to be a Managed Service Provider. But my guess is that you'll at least want to give it a try. And I firmly believe that the process we'll go through will be good for your business whether you become an MSP or not.
I welcome your feedback. Send me an email at karlp@GreatLittleBook.com. Let me know how you're doing.
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Introduction: Managed Services Doesn't Work For Me
From time to time I talk to someone who says "Managed Services isn't working for me." In general, they mean that they tried something and that thing didn't work.
So let me ask you a few questions.
First, what does managed services mean to you?
Second, what have you tried? More importantly, did you jump in with both feet, or just try a thing or two?
Third, how long have you tried the new plan?
Now let's look at those three questions.
First, what does managed services mean to you?
I define managed services as Technical Support delivered under a service agreement that provides specified rates and guarantees the consultant a specific minimum income. In other words, if you have service agreements, and clients agree to purchase at least X hours per year, you become their outsourced I.T. department. You run the client's "I.T. Department."
How you do that is a separate question.
Monitoring and patch management are separate questions.
Flat fee services are one payment method, but not the only one.
Remote support is a separate question.
Having said that, I've appeared on stage many times with Amy Luby and Erick Simpson. They define managed services a little differently. To them, managed services consists of any services that are delivered remotely for a flat monthly fee.
These are, in a sense the two ends of the spectrum. What they have in common is:
In reality, the services we provide look very much alike. What has been thrown under the tent of "managed services" is really modern consulting practices and tools for the SMB space.
We all run our business with a professional services administration program (ConnectWise or AutoTask). We all use monitoring, patching and reporting tools (Kaseya, Zenith, Level Platforms). We all get the bulk of our revenue from flat fee services. We all do as much work as we can remotely.
We all leverage "automated" processes to reduce labor costs and provide a higher level of service.
So, what does Managed Services mean to you?
And that leads us to . . .
Second, what have you tried?
More importantly, did you jump in with both feet, or just try a thing or two?
Be honest with yourself. What have you tried?
Many people tell me they've bought Erick Simpson's book, but haven't implemented any of it. They've bought my book but haven't written a service agreement. They read all Vlad's stuff but they haven't invested in Shockey Monkey.
So I ask what have you done? Some have bought Kaseya but bought too many licenses and can't figure out how to sell it. Some have looked at all the management tools (like ConnectWise), but haven't made a commitment. Some are pre-selling commitments for X hours per month.
A few have started working on pricing plans of flat fee services. But 99% of their business activity looks exactly as it did six months or a year ago.
You can't take one piano lesson, say "I suck," and then say that you've given piano a chance.
Which brings us to . . .
Third, how long have you tried the new plan?
If you're stuck and don't know how to proceed STOP NOW.
This is very serious business. This is your livelihood. Take it seriously and don't screw around.
Stop making changes to your business until you know what you're doing.
Here are the basic steps you need to go through:
I'm not saying any of this is easy, but LOTS of people have done it and you can, too.
One of my user group members flew to Anaheim to attend the Managed Services Provider University. He loved it, but one thing pissed him off:
He has been in business as long as he can remember. But he ran into a guy who got into the technology field this year and has sold a million dollars worth of services using Erick's techniques (see http://www.mspu.us/). His response was, "We have to do this as quickly as possible."
You can do this.
Robin Robins' monthly member newsletter always seems to have another story of someone who sold a million dollars worth of services using her techniques.
You can do this.
The tools and help are out there.
To make managed services work, you need to commit to it.
There's nothing particularly complicated here. You just have to make a plan and make it happen.
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My last post got me thinking.
I always tell people: You can totally change your business around and become an MSP in a month.
So let's test that.
The next several posts are going to cover the down-and-dirty checklists you'll need.
If you've been thinking about becoming a Managed Service Provider, I honestly want you to try this.
And make me a promise: Send me an email when you sign your first managed service agreement.
By next month I want to be inundated with emails!
Many of my posts give pretty generic advice. Buy a book, write a contract, get a tool.
The "Managed Services in a Month" posts are going to take a different approach. Some people just don't want to make choices. They want to be told what to do. So that's what we're going to do.
Remember: you can always re-do it. I used to tell my students: You can't edit a blank page. Write something. Then edit. The same is true with your business.
Fair warning: To make this work you will need to be rigorous about having rules, sticking to them, and making adjustments as fast as possible.
Do Not put out a half-assed effort, drop out in the middle, and tell me the system failed.
Remember. Focus. Your one and only goal for the next 30 days is to sign that first contract.
Don't whine. Don't get side-tracked. Don't give up.
Preparation:
Go to http://www.greatlittlebook.com/products.htm and buy Erick's book (The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice) and my Service Agreements book (Service Agreements for SMB Consultants). If you own one, buy the other. Or you can buy both together for one great price.
No, this is not a ploy to sell more books.
Borrow one from a friend. Ask your library to order it. However you need to get these books, go get them now.
Oh, and start reading.
I know most of you already have one or both of these books. Now we're going to help you get VALUE out of them.
Besides, the first hour you bill next week will pay for it.
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Managed Services in a Month: Part One
Today's topic has three simple sections:
1) Get off your butt. Start making a plan.
2) Rules and Policies
3) Know What You Know About What You Sell