Workflows
The majority of my job is talking with partners and I do that everyday. Some, I talk with multiple times a week. Suffice to say, I have come to know a lot about your businesses and how they operate. With that said, this may sound familiar to you.
You are not operating your business correctly.
By that, I mean you have no workflow established. Many of you provide your clients with multiple ways of contacting you directly anytime they wish—this includes calling your cell phone and home phone! While I can go into a list of reasons why that is wrong on so many levels, let us just stay on point for a moment.
Let’s talk about your Support Department for a moment. Say as an example, Client A calls you with a email problem in the middle of you working on Client B’s issue. You take the call, confirm that they cannot send or receive email, and tell them you will handle it as soon as possible. After Client B’s issue takes longer than expected, Client C sends you an email stating they need to set up an appointment for you to address BSoD error on their Accountant’s workstation. After reading Client C’s email, you immediately receive a call from Client B stating that the malware you thought you just removed from their workstation has returned and they can not access network resources, including the Internet. I am writing this and I am already confused!
All the while, you are subscribed to the “simplest and most effective IT Management Platform and customer relationship management system—unifying support, services, management, reporting, accounting, and sales activity under a completely free branded experience.” Shameless plug, I know. 
What is my point? Create a proper workflow for your support department. In fact, create workflows for all your departments within your business. I don’t care if you are a one-person shop either. If you have not clued in yet, your company (however small or big) still has the same major keystone that every business is comprised of: Marketing, Sales, Service/Support, Accounting, and Human Resources.
Creating workflows allows your departments to run efficiently. More importantly, share these workflows with your clients. After all, you have no right to complain if you have not established a set of rules for them to follow.
Michael D. Alligood
Partner Sales & Support, ExchangeDefender & Shockey Monkey
michael@ownwebnow.com
(877) 546-0316 x707
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Don’t forget to take advantage of our Valentine’s Day promotion this month!
Please take advantage of this promotion because Hosted Exchange pricing will be going up when we make the switch to Exchange 2013. The promotion will be valid on any new account signed up within the promotional period. The promotional period for this promotion will be February 1st – February 28th. So don’t hesitate! Simply use the coupon code that received in the mail or write me an email at stephanie@ownwebnow.com to receive the code. If you have any questions just let us know!
Stephanie Hasenour
VP Marketing, ExchangeDefender
stephanie@ownwebnow.com
Carving out a Niche
Sometimes IT companies can get caught up in all of the technology on the market. This latest solution, that latest service, this up and coming trend, and that gotta have device. Though diversifying your solution stack and providing many solutions appears to be the wave of the future, it is still in the best interest of IT providers to carve out a specific niche.
A niche or expertise in a specific solution, product, or vertical can help to provide an edge over competition and create demand for your company. True IT generalists may have a harder time finding prospects and clients that just need general work. This is where a niche comes into play.
Finding a niche can be as easy as doing what comes naturally. If you are naturally good at a specific piece of software, device, or service it is easy to transition to an expert status and exploit that expertise.
If there is a vertical that you have gained trust in, utilize that niche to drive more customers to your business. The key is in marketing your specific niche. Find the need, and market to that segment. As you gain customers looking for your specific expertise, ask them where they would advertise or who they would get involved with. It is easiest to find someone in the know and get information from them to formulate a good marketing strategy.
As you build your client base, make sure to get testimonials about the specific expertise you are building. This will add to the trust factor and help you to gain a reputation for your particular niche.
Building a niche can be an easy endeavor if you have a place to start. If you don’t have a specific function that stands out, look at your previous clients and find something that has interested you in the past. Find something that you can become passionate about and build your expertise around that.
Frank Gurnee
VP, Channel Services, ExchangeDefender
(877) 546-0316 x4777
frank@ownwebnow.com
ExchangeDefender Billing Change
As many of our partners may have noticed, there have been some recent changes to the normal ExchangeDefender billing system. This month was the first month we ran billing through the new system and some things were a little different. For one, you will now receive a receipt confirmation of the charge that has been processed. We did experience some issues with invoices going out, but we have resolved that and everyone will receive their invoice for March as usual on the first. So moving forward, beginning in March, you will receive two emails, one being the invoice and the other, the receipt of a successful charge.
The invoices may always be accessed from the support portal and now you can choose to view the invoice, or print the invoice. We have also changed the way that ExchangeDefender accounts are listed on the invoices. Previously, the domain would be listed and the price per account. We have now changed it so that it lists the domain name, the number of accounts, and the price per user. Lastly, when you click on the Invoice tab in the portal, you will see a status beside the invoice. The status will either be, paid, past due, or processing. If the invoice is listed as processing, please give us a call because there may be an issue with your account.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Billing Department directly at: 877-546-0316 x 739.
-ExchangeDefender Billing Department
Why Industry Awards Are Important for IT Solution Providers
There are many industry awards throughout the year for IT Solution Providers to get involved with. Some IT Solution Providers may look at awards as pretentious or self-promoting, but the reality is awards can help to drive a business to the next level.
There are several ways awards help business growth.
Recognition
Awards can help bring a spotlight on an IT company. With recognition comes easier access to vendors, media outlets, and distributors. Recognition can also lead to event participation, speaking engagements, and even lead to being recognized as an industry expert.
Validation
Industry awards can help validate or give credibility to IT companies. By listing industry awards on materials and the company website, potential customers are able to easily see involvement and participation, providing them with more information to make an easier decision.
Promotion
Awards provide an easy outlet for promoting the company. It is easy to get local or national attention through industry awards. Press releases are a good way to promote through the web and many local newspapers and TV stations will jump at the chance to run a local interest story.
Receiving industry awards can easily boost company moral and can spark new interest from customers.
Award season is currently underway and there are many awards for IT companies to seek out. One to check out is the Looks Cloudy Channel Choice Awards. Nominations are open until February 28th, 2013 and the award provides a great opportunity for IT industry personnel to get involved.
Most industry awards have an easy nomination process and taking the time to get involved can really pay off in the end…
Frank Gurnee
VP, Channel Services, ExchangeDefender
(877) 546-0316 x4777
frank@ownwebnow.com
Face-to-Face Communication
I am going to forgo my normal blog post today and talk about an article I read recently. Over the weekend while cleaning up my office, I was thumbing thru last year’s magazines and came across an article titled, “The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication at Work” by Chuck Martin. Mr. Martin cited a survey that shows “67% of senior executives and managers say their organization would be more productive if their superiors communicated more often by personal discussion.” With the advent of technology in the work place, email has proven to be the leader in communication.
However, further reading uncovered that many respondents to the survey stated that, “Personal discussion is the foundation of communication.” While Mr. Martin states that the majority of business leaders say their organization would be more productive with more personal discussion, most slip back into the easy, and sometimes impersonal, technology communication such as email, instant messaging, and texting. The article did then go on to state that technology communication is not all evil – it just has a place. It explained that if personal discussion is not warranted, then electronic forms of communication can be used as a choice. The article closes with stating that in the long-term, face-to-face communication assures a clear and concise message coming across.
While sitting at my desk, reading this article, I personally think this article deals straight to the point of what I believe is lacking in small to medium businesses today: Proper Communication. I also think that it is up to upper management to establish proper forms of communication within their organization and to make sure that their employees know these acceptable forms. Every organization should have an outlet for both managers and employees to engage in open and honest face-to-face communication. And while the article primarily discusses the communication relationship between management and the employees; it is important to expand this further into the role of partner and client.
Technological communication such as email, IMs, and texting all require that the technology is working properly when you press the send button. However, this is not always the case. And many people shirk situations when they have to talk to another person directly. This is because they have lost their basic communication skills. I am not saying we should frown upon using technology as a form of communication. What I am stating, or rather agreeing with, is the premise of this article: Know when to use technological communication and know when to use face-to-face communication to mutually benefit both parties.
Michael D. Alligood
Partner Sales & Support, ExchangeDefender & Shockey Monkey
michael@ownwebnow.com
(877) 546-0316 x707
Balancing the Controlled Burn vs. the Forest Fire
This week I have had bouts with managing my time between scheduled items that are improvements to our infrastructure and the “Hey, this is the single most important thing in the world to me” items. I know it’s the nature of the beast. So, I guess I have to figure out how to balance the politely ignore unimportant request versus putting a DND sign on my door.
So this balancing act gets extra tedious in non-ownership management roles. Because in this case, you have items falling on you from above, sideways, upwards, and diagonally. They will come in all levels of importance and from seventy different directions. They will come far and wide, from your boss, from employees, from clients, from vendors, from fellow managers. All while in the middle of a fire. How do you say? “Not now”. That part is easy, but how to say it without sounding like a complete subhuman species of ill manners.
Here’s my concern, folks will appear to be ok with pushback but most deep down feel like they are getting blown off merely because you don’t want to do what they ask. When in reality, however big you perceive your problem to be, the one I am working on instead, is just ever so slightly bigger. And not only that, I find myself in this pattern: If I stop what I am doing, then my controlled burn can quickly turn into a forest fire that I then have to put out myself!
How do you handle this?
Carlos Lascano
VP Support Services, ExchangeDefender
carlos@ownwebnow.com
(877) 546-0316 x737
It’s That Time Again!
It’s that time again…Promo Time!!! Check your mailboxes! We are running a promotion for Valentine’s Day that will be active throughout the entire month of February!
We love our partners so we are going to “Spread the Love” and offer our wonderful partners yet another great discount this month!
We are quickly approaching the switch to Exchange 2013 so this promotion will reflect the LAST chance to get our Hosted Exchange platform at this great price. Each account that is created within this promotional period will be grandfathered in at that price for the duration of the account.
The promotion will be valid from February 1st – February 28th! Get the coupon code from the promo card that you will be receiving or contact me directly and I will give you the code! Always stay tuned to the ExchangeDefender Promotions page for the latest promotional offerings.
DON’T MISS THIS PROMOTION!!!
Stephanie Hasenour
VP Marketing, ExchangeDefender
stephanie@ownwebnow.com
The Disillusion of Business
Let’s start out with a very simple question: By observing the image below, which line is longer?
Most of you recognize this as the Müller-Lyer illusion and know through education that both lines are the same length. However, you would be wrong. If you notice in the image below, you will see that I changed the length of one of the lines.
I would venture to guess that the majority of you didn’t notice the change and proceeded to answer the question they way you were indoctrinated. You did not stop to think that a change could, or would, or should be made. You saw what you thought was the Müller-Lyer illustration and answered accordingly. However, if you would have stopped and preformed a quick calculation, you would have noticed the change in line length. This leads me to my second, and more important, question: Are you making the same uncalculated decisions in your business?
Business, technology, and education are all constantly changing. It is important for you to realize these changes and adapt to them in order to maintain relevance in today’s market. By going on what you have always believed to be correct, you will inevitably be incorrect. Although from a fictional movie, a line from Men In Black can easily sum this up: “1500 years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you knew that people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you’ll know tomorrow.” The business world will change the rules on you every time—and at any time. Learn to recognize these changes and adjust your business accordingly. Retrain your mind into performing quick calculations on items it already believes to be evident. Because if you don’t, you could go from reading a blog about measuring lines to standing in the unemployment line.
Michael D. Alligood
Partner Sales & Support, ExchangeDefender & Shockey Monkey
michael@ownwebnow.com
(877) 546-0316 x707
Rescaling & Redesigning Services
Sucks! <end of blog>
I touched very lightly on the fact that we are making a lot of backend changes in the coming weeks and months. Things are moving in an excellent direction. But every time we step back and look at what we have and find glaring holes here and there. Holes that don’t cause problems but if they are not changed one day they may. These things pile up. Think of it as important Windows Updates piling up at the same as you “fixing” your registry, but in a much a grander scale.
So this makes you reassess everything in front of you. And it gives you the a moment of clarity. Before you become an engineer, you should really put in some time as a janitor. The root cause? We love our customers and as long as what they’re asking for doesn’t break our entire platform, we will try to squeeze in their requests. So what’s left? A trail of crumbs that somehow turned into a feature, but now these features should probably get a good face lift for the sake managing the entire platform with ease. Otherwise you get stuck with the old “I know this code in here …. SOMEWHERE.. “.
We will continue to push hard to ensure that we’re ready to deliver quality services to your current clients and scalable enough to service your future clients.
Carlos Lascano
VP Support Services, ExchangeDefender
carlos@ownwebnow.com
(877) 546-0316 x737