In this episode of Command Control Power, the hosts reconnect for a public episode featuring casual banter and professional insights. Discussions range from optimal microphone placement for virtual backgrounds, humorously recounting past advertising endeavors, to moving children into college. The main focus, however, addresses IT and consultancy challenges including issues with ISP connections using Unify, effective marketing strategies, customer experience, generating client reviews, and the impact of AI on IT solutions. The hosts share personal anecdotes and valuable tips for both seasoned consultants and newcomers in the field.

 

• The hosts discuss microphone placement and virtual backgrounds, referencing advice from Justin Esgar.
• Reflections on physical advertising: subway-style ads, banners at trade shows, flyers on community boards, and the effectiveness of old-school marketing versus digital targeting.
• Personal stories about getting clients from bulletin board flyers, local fairs, and classified ads.
• The evolution of client acquisition: from random, local encounters to digital, highly-targeted leads and the importance of being listed in the Apple Consultants Network (ACN) locator.
• The changing landscape of referrals: Google search, ACN locator, and even ChatGPT as a source of new clients.
• The role of reviews: how to ask for them, where to post them (Google, Yelp, ACN), and the impact of both positive and negative reviews.
• Anecdotes about difficult client interactions, especially around technical misunderstandings and device resets.
• Technical discussion: using Unifi’s custom SLA (Service Level Agreement) settings to reduce false internet outage alerts, and the value of tools like Uptime Robot.
• Brief mention of AI note-taking and its environmental impact, with a plan to discuss this further in a future episode.

• • Closing thanks to listeners and patrons, with a reminder about Patreon benefits.