Take short survey to get free 60-minute video about using LinkedIn & book discount. I did it. Quality content. http://bit.ly/LinkedInVideo
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Take Survey, Get Free 60-Minute Video LinkedIn Seminar & Book Discount
Take short survey to get free 60-minute video about using LinkedIn & book discount. I did it. Quality content. http://bit.ly/LinkedInVideo
Monday, February 1, 2010
Good Source of Inexpensive Refurbished Business PCs Found
Check it out the complete post at TA's MSP blog at http://bit.ly/GoodUsedComputers
Free Web Marketing Advice from Business Pro
Web marketing pro gives free advice to "challenged" entrepreneurs.
Recommended by TA. Read the detailed post at our Sales & Marketing blog here:
http://bit.ly/FreeWebMarketingTutorial
Monday, January 11, 2010
Learn What IT VARs Think About
Want to learn how IT VARs think as a way to get them to share telecom leads with you? Check out this free webinar http://bit.ly/GaryPica
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Good End-User Office Move Checklist from TouchTone
Every agent should be using this moving checklist with their customers and prospects. Check it out at http://bit.ly/movelist
Monday, November 23, 2009
Video Week-in-Review 11/23/9
This is Dan Baldwin, Telecom Association Executive Director and this is your Week-in-Review video blog for Monday, November 23rd 2009.
It's a short three day week, but TA's working all three of them and here's what we're doing for our vendors and members this week.
As many of you know, TA's spent the past couple weeks learning what there is to know about managed services providers or "MSPs".
What's an MSP? MSP's are the guys that our customers call on to keep their computers working but instead of charging by the hour for "break fix" work they now charge a flat monthly rate - a residual revenue stream - sound familiar? Why do we care about MSPs? Because they're the "computer guys" that our customers call on to see if our VoIP phone proposals and broadband data proposals make any sense.
If the MSPs like our customer proposals, great - we get to sell our stuff. If the MSPs don't like our customers proposals - they are in a position to shoot them down. MSP's can be great friends to telecom agents if we gain their trust and big deal killers if we don't gain their trust.
TA has officially taken up the cause of figuring out just exactly what we have to do to gain their trust. How are we doing that?
Well, the week before last we went out to Las Vegas for the "MSP World" event which is the semi-annual get-together for the MSP Alliance, a 10-year old membership organization for 8,000+ MSPs. TA was actually a media sponsor of the event thanks to Mike Burns of A+ Conferencing, Jerry Tedino of PAETEC and Patrick Oborn of Telarus.
Then last week we were in Los Angeles at a "MSP Business Simulation Experience" sponsored by CompTIA & MSPSN.
What have we learned about MSPs so far? Mostly that this doesn't work - waving cash in their faces.
Ever since telecom agents figured out that our customer's computer consultants can be a friend or an enemy we've been waiving cash at them. While it may work on some IT VARs, the vast majority of MSPs are simply put off by it - it makes them think that carrier sales guys don't really care about the customer - just the cash.
This cash brochure by the way was inserted into the MSP World show bag by a telecom master agent. Not a TA master agent.
Here's what we put in the bag on behalf of our three sponsoring vendors. This is TA's brand new monthly MSP newsletter. You can download & print a copy of it from TA's new MSP website at www.MSPTEL.com.
On the back you see the Telarus ad - "Add a carrier specialist to your sales staff".
Here's the PAETEC ad - it tells about their new "IP Simple" solution that shows MSPs how they can practically get a new free phone system for their IT clients.
Here a page that show's how A+ Conferencing can help the MSP's easily profit from the one-third of their customers that are buying conferencing from someone else.
On the cover of the newsletter you can see how TA is soft-selling telecom carrier services through our "3 Quick Questions". I won't read it all to you as you can go to www.MSPTEL.com and read it for yourself. If you want to get in front of TA's new MSP audience by sponsoring our MSPTEL.com monthly newsletter be sure and give me a call.
This week, TA's following up with many of the MSP friends we've made over the past several weeks to learn what it really takes to partner with MSPs and IT VARs in a serious way in 2010. We think we've got it half figured out but we're going to be testing our theories to be sure.
Next week we'll tell you where we are with all our MSP meetings and let you know how TA members and vendors will be able to finally get in good with their local MSPs and IT VARs to make 2010 our best year ever.
So anyway, it is Thanksgiving week and while it's been a tough year with the recession and all we've still got an awful lot to be thankful for. We're all still in business and the continued convergence of business technology puts us in high demand with business owners so long as we stay on the cutting edge of technology.
While I think 2010 will be better than 2009 it still won't be easy by any stretch - for us or our customers. Fortunately, by getting to know and by earning the trust of our MSP brothers we'll be positioned in 2010 to offer even better technology solutions to our customers and continue to earn an honest living - by helping our customers.
That's it for me. Be sure and check out all the TA vendor email blast headlines, there's lots of great information that will help you out.
And have a great Thanksgiving with your family!
As many of you know, TA's spent the past couple weeks learning what there is to know about managed services providers or "MSPs".
What's an MSP? MSP's are the guys that our customers call on to keep their computers working but instead of charging by the hour for "break fix" work they now charge a flat monthly rate - a residual revenue stream - sound familiar? Why do we care about MSPs? Because they're the "computer guys" that our customers call on to see if our VoIP phone proposals and broadband data proposals make any sense.
If the MSPs like our customer proposals, great - we get to sell our stuff. If the MSPs don't like our customers proposals - they are in a position to shoot them down. MSP's can be great friends to telecom agents if we gain their trust and big deal killers if we don't gain their trust.
TA has officially taken up the cause of figuring out just exactly what we have to do to gain their trust. How are we doing that?
Well, the week before last we went out to Las Vegas for the "MSP World" event which is the semi-annual get-together for the MSP Alliance, a 10-year old membership organization for 8,000+ MSPs. TA was actually a media sponsor of the event thanks to Mike Burns of A+ Conferencing, Jerry Tedino of PAETEC and Patrick Oborn of Telarus.
Then last week we were in Los Angeles at a "MSP Business Simulation Experience" sponsored by CompTIA & MSPSN.
What have we learned about MSPs so far? Mostly that this doesn't work - waving cash in their faces.
Ever since telecom agents figured out that our customer's computer consultants can be a friend or an enemy we've been waiving cash at them. While it may work on some IT VARs, the vast majority of MSPs are simply put off by it - it makes them think that carrier sales guys don't really care about the customer - just the cash.
This cash brochure by the way was inserted into the MSP World show bag by a telecom master agent. Not a TA master agent.
Here's what we put in the bag on behalf of our three sponsoring vendors. This is TA's brand new monthly MSP newsletter. You can download & print a copy of it from TA's new MSP website at www.MSPTEL.com.
On the back you see the Telarus ad - "Add a carrier specialist to your sales staff".
Here's the PAETEC ad - it tells about their new "IP Simple" solution that shows MSPs how they can practically get a new free phone system for their IT clients.
Here a page that show's how A+ Conferencing can help the MSP's easily profit from the one-third of their customers that are buying conferencing from someone else.
On the cover of the newsletter you can see how TA is soft-selling telecom carrier services through our "3 Quick Questions". I won't read it all to you as you can go to www.MSPTEL.com and read it for yourself. If you want to get in front of TA's new MSP audience by sponsoring our MSPTEL.com monthly newsletter be sure and give me a call.
This week, TA's following up with many of the MSP friends we've made over the past several weeks to learn what it really takes to partner with MSPs and IT VARs in a serious way in 2010. We think we've got it half figured out but we're going to be testing our theories to be sure.
Next week we'll tell you where we are with all our MSP meetings and let you know how TA members and vendors will be able to finally get in good with their local MSPs and IT VARs to make 2010 our best year ever.
So anyway, it is Thanksgiving week and while it's been a tough year with the recession and all we've still got an awful lot to be thankful for. We're all still in business and the continued convergence of business technology puts us in high demand with business owners so long as we stay on the cutting edge of technology.
While I think 2010 will be better than 2009 it still won't be easy by any stretch - for us or our customers. Fortunately, by getting to know and by earning the trust of our MSP brothers we'll be positioned in 2010 to offer even better technology solutions to our customers and continue to earn an honest living - by helping our customers.
That's it for me. Be sure and check out all the TA vendor email blast headlines, there's lots of great information that will help you out.
And have a great Thanksgiving with your family!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Attend MSP World with TA to Meet 200+ Managed Service Providers
Join TA at the MSP World show in Las Vegas Nov. 12 - 13th to meet hot managed services providers who could be your best carrier services partners in 2010. more...
If you're looking for carrier service agents and partners who are not looking to beat you down on every last dime then you need to check out this hot mix and mingle opportunity just posted at TA's MSP Blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)