The IT Experts Podcast

And in today's episode, I share with you 5 key business growth strategy elements that you can easily adapt in your IT & MSP business.

We cover the model that we use here at IT Experts, and that is the IT Experts MSP Profit Builder System. This system is broken down into the five elements that we cover today. They are:

1. The Profit Builder Blueprint

2. The 5 P's Sales System

3. People Performance Programme

4. MSP Profit Maximiser

5. The Powerful Performance Plan

I hope that this episode helps you in your journey to taking your business to YOUR next level.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, come and join our community in our own IT Experts App – you can check it out here – https://bit.ly/ITE-COMM

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube, and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com.

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Until next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

As an IT & MSP business, closing a deal and conversion is key in keeping the business going. Cold calling allows you to reach out to your dream client and the best way to engage with them, get to know what needs they have and how exactly can you help them.

John shares with us that as an IT & MSP business owner, you can sit down and wait for the phone to ring, or up your game and make that call.

John also talked about the cold calling process; how important it is that you know how to approach the call.

We also discussed the importance of knowing your message. What do you want to tell your prospects? What is it that your providing? How are you providing that to them?

John also covered three main fundamentals in cold calling. They are:

1. Be Prepared - Know who you want to talk to.

2. Be Polite - Especially to the gatekeeper as they are the ones who can help you reach the right person.

3. Be Consistent - Set a time aside for cold calling, and put consistent effort into it.

We also covered some effective tips that you should consider doing before, during, and after the call. These include:

1. Before the Call

• Who do you want to call? Make a list of your prospects, and narrow down to your ideal customers.
• Know your prospects. What does their company do? Who are the people that you need to speak with?
• Plan a call flow.

2. During the Call

• Be polite to the gatekeeper.
• Apply your call structure.

3. After the Call

• Maintain good CRM practices.
• Set alerts for follow up actions.

I hope that this episode helps you make use of a fool-proof lead generation tactic in your IT & MSP business.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, come and join our community in our own IT Experts App – you can check it out here – https://bit.ly/ITE-COMM

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube, and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com.

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Until next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

We all agree that the current world situation (even when this is too far from ideal) has opened opportunities to the IT & MSP industry.

Yes, you might have added a few clients, you needed to recruit new people, and the cashflow is doing good.

However, the biggest challenge for you as the head of the organisation is making sure that you can maintain and improve the good things happening in your organisation right now.

More than ever, you need to step down from being a manager, and step up and become a better leader in your IT & MSP business.

In order to do that, there are five key steps that we use at IT Experts - they are all integrated as part of our MSP Profit Builder System in our leadership section called People Performance Programme.

The 5 steps are:

1. UNDERSTAND YOU AS A BUSINESS:

• Have a clarity of where your business is going.
• Know your Vision, Mission, and Values.

2. UNDERSTAND YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL:

• Learn the art of "The Shadow of the Leader", and lead by example.
• Understand the difference between being a manager and being a leader.

3. COMMUNICATION:

• Understand the importance of communicating with your team.
• This includes expectation exchange and having 'that difficult conversation'.

4. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:

• Ask your team what went right, and what could have done better.
• Seeing things from their perspective could be refreshing.

5. TOTAL LEADERSHIP PROCESS:

• How often are you meeting with your team?
• How often are you getting their feedback, and giving them your feedback?

I hope that this episode helps you to better understand the things that you can do as an effective leader in your IT & MSP business.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, come and join our community in our own IT Experts App – you can check it out here – https://bit.ly/ITE-COMM

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube, and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com.

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Until next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

Ben shared with us how even with the current world situation, roles in the IT & MSP space are still highly in demand, and it would be a challenge to attract a good candidate especially when you think that the market is depressed, and you can under offer.

Jon pointed out that with the skill scarcity in the IT & MSP space now, if you are looking at hiring a high-calibre talent, it is important that you adapt a mentality of "We need to work harder than before to attract the right talent".

We also discussed the two (2) types of talents in the IT & MSP space, they are:

1. Active Job Seekers - they are actively searching for jobs to apply to

2. Passive Job Seekers - relatively happy with their current jobs, and generally someone who fits your need, as they are most likely already doing the job that you need to be done.

Ben talked about the cost of a bad hire being three times of that hire's basic salary, so it is important that you nail the job description and specifications before recruiting someone.

Ben also shared the top key points of recruitment in the IT & MSP space, which includes the clarity of your hiring process, as there are times when a good candidate walks away because of a bad experience during the interview process.

Jon discussed about the difference between the recruitment process within the IT & MSP space and in the general corporate world.

We also covered the different recruitment methods for IT & MSP businesses and their pros and cons, i.e., working with recruitment agencies, job boards, LinkedIn.

I hope that this podcast has given you a better idea on how to recruit the next talent for your IT & MSP business.

If you need a hand in your next recruitment, feel free to contact the guys at JLA Resourcing Ltd, you can get in touch with them through LinkedIn:

Ben Leeds - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benleedsrecruitmentdirector/

Jon Martin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmartintechnologyrecruiter/

If you enjoyed this podcast, it would be great to see you in our IT Experts Community. This is where we help you build that profitable IT/MSP Businesses you desire. You can access it by downloading our amazing free App by clicking here – https://bit.ly/ITE-COMM

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Till next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

We all agree that 2020 had been a challenging year and not only for us but for our business. Many had to endure through struggles and challenges and had to adapt into the NEW normal, which heavily relies on the digital world.

This shift was an amazing opportunity for IT & MSP businesses, especially if you have a plan figured out on how to capitalise on your growth planning.

Today, I'm going to share with you the four (4) pillars that you can use in your IT & MSP business which can definitely help you conquer 2021.

They are:

1. Growth Planning – Setting out your structure and your growth foundation, otherwise you will never build and scale a great business.

2. Team Building and Leadership - Make sure that you find, recruit, and retain the right people. Remember your people are your most valuable asset. The right team will help you scales your successful business much easier.

3. Marketing - Be on point with your marketing plan, keep up with the trends and adapt.

4. Business Performance Reporting - as I always say at IT Experts, what gets measured, gets done! If you don't understand where you're coming from and going to, how will you know what you need to do?

I hope that this show helps you to STOP for a minute and reflect on what matters to you,

so you can take the best course of action to take your IT & MSP business to YOUR next level this year!

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, come and join our community in our own IT Experts App – you can check it out here – https://bit.ly/ITE-COMM

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com.

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Until next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

Helga shares the importance of a leader's impact and influencing skills and that if you don't have INFLUENCE, then you can't LEAD.

We talked about the difference between corporate and personal branding, the power of PERSONAL BRAND, and how useful it is for you as an IT/MSP business leader.

We also discussed how being self-aware you are of your own personal brand can help you in your business.

Helga also talked about the three purposes that a good brand serve. They are:

1. Authentic to You

2. Your brand should reflect the business you're serving.

3. Your brand should be of service to your clients.

She also shares how your personal brand should reflect in your behaviours, specifically in your VVV (VISUAL, VOCAL, and VERBAL)

It is so important that you are able to control your brand by choice rather than by chance as this will enable you to have a brand that honours you rather than dilutes the impression and the impact that you want to have.

Helga also shares how your brand will ultimately feed into your reputation and your legacy.

She says, "Without influence there is no leadership, as it's through influencing that leader's lead."

I hope you start implementing these tips and you'll find how these can help you become a better leader in your IT/MSP business.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you enjoyed this podcast, it would be great to see you in our IT Experts Community. This is where we build profitable IT/MSP Businesses. You can access it by downloading our amazing free App by clicking here – https://bit.ly/ITE-APP

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Till next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

Most IT and MSP business owners find the topic of business performance less than exciting, BUT, if you want to take your business to YOUR next level, you need to take this bull by the horns and you'll soon realise the power of this exercise and how important and interesting this can be.

We run this exercise in our IT Experts Mastermind and I encourage members to do the same every 3 months. It really makes you think about what has happened and also get ready for the next period.

Today, we will dissect your business according to three metrics, the 3 Ps: Business Performance, Business Process, and People Planning.

Business Performance - you need to know your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), KRAs (Key Results Areas), and see how your business is doing.

In this area, we cover 8 easy steps, which are:

Step 1: List Down Your Biggest Successes in the Last 3 Months

Step 2: What Did You Learn in the Past 3 Months?

Step 3: What are Your Biggest Internal Strengths?

Step 4: What are Your Biggest Internal Weaknesses?

Step 5: What are Your Biggest External Opportunities?

Step 6: List Down Your External Threats

Step 7: What are Your Priorities for the Next 3 Months?

Step 8: Assign Accountabilities.

Next, you need to review your processes. You need a tangible and measurable way of doing things in your organisation. To better understand and see whether you have your processes in place, you need to think of the following:

Step 1: Are they documented? If you weren't there, would people have a reference guide on what to do?

Step 2: Who owns each process? You will have to delegate these processes.

Step 3: How do you know it works? How are you reporting on your processes?

Step 4: How does your escalation process looks like? What do you do when things go wrong?

Step 5: Review Process Regularly

Lastly, you need to look at your people's performance. Is your people adding value to your business? In this section, let's take a look at these steps:

Step 1: Align your objectives and targets to your KPIs.

Step 2: Departmental objectives. Set a target for each department.

Step 3: Review your leadership team's performance.

Step 4: Measure your team's performance, i.e.. appraisal system.

Step 5: Peer Review. When you're doing your appraisal schemes, involve the team, and the other departments.

I hope you start implementing these steps and you'll find how these can help you improve your overall business performance.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, go and check out our App and take the IT Experts Test you can download by clicking here – https://bit.ly/ITE-APP

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Till next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

Shiny Ball Syndrome happens when you lose focus on the tasks that matter because you find something else more exciting and interesting, you get distracted and fall off your plan. Next thing you know, you've abandoned your original plan altogether and are back to square one.

So, today we will talk about 7 important tips and tricks that would help you ensure that you don't fall victim to the 'Shiny Ball Syndrome' and simply get more of what matters done!

Step 1:

Set up a Plan - Make sure it is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, realistic, and Time-bound, ). Also, have it reviewed by your management team.

Step 2:

Break Down Plan into Monthly and Weekly Targets - Break your plan down into bite-size chunks of activities.

Step 3:

Assign Accountability - Hold the right people accountable. Make sure that you are assigning tasks to the people who have the capacity to do it.

Step 4:

Block Time in Calendar - Book a meeting with yourself to make sure you have the time to work ON your business rather than IN your business.

Step 5:

Turn Off Distractions - Whether it is your phone, email, or apps, when you are in your meeting with yourself or with your team, make sure to avoid all kinds of distractions.

Step 6:

Give Yourself a Reward - When you are achieving your goals, don't forget to reward yourself and your team.

Step 7:

Get Yourself Some Accountability - There is no better way to get something done in your week than holding yourself accountable.

I hope you start implementing these steps and you'll find how these can help you improve your overall productivity and results.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, go and check out our App and take the IT Experts Test you can download by clicking here – https://bit.ly/ITE-APP

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Till next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

Many IT, MSP and Tech businesses don't pay much attention to their website's SEO, especially when they're generating clients offline and through referrals. However, Dave shares with us how supercharging your SEO can help you take your business to the next level, beat your competitors and stand out in a crowded market place.

Dave also shares with us how important it is that businesses keep up with the ever-changing search engine algorithms. These are sometimes seen as a dark art and that's why it is important that we connect and have people like David in our networks.

We talked about the importance of rankings and keyword optimisation, as well as curating your content around your industry keywords.

Dave also talked about how Google My Business (GMB) can help you build a better presence online and in driving traffic into your website, as this links to many other channels, like YouTube, your CRM, Facebook and other social media etc.

He also shared with us some effective tactics, and tips that you can use on your website right now, i.e. right images, adding a phone number, PDFs, etc. He says, don't be afraid to give out information and add value on your website.

To learn more about how Dave and his business Loud Crowd Agency can help your website perform better you can visit his website https://loudcrowd.agency/ or call them at 01302 965482 for a FREE audit.

That's it from me today, hope you enjoy this show!

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here – https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, go and check out our App and take the IT Experts Test you can download by clicking here – https://bit.ly/ITE-APP

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Till next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!

Today, I share with you the steps that I take with my clients to help them understand, create and share their own company values with their teams.

Once you have identified your own values, then it will help you to create and build your own company culture and this will also help build employee engagement and performance. In addition to this, it also helps your prospects and clients identify what type of organisation.

Probably the most powerful part of identifying your values is that you can then measure and call out individual team members' performance against each value and. This could be for rewarding good behaviour and also addressing when things aren't going quite right.

Years ago, no one really talked about Company Values, but as we develop through the latter years, people are starting to understand how our values help to create a culture and strengthen our people strategy.

Amongst other things on the show that I've talked about

• (H2H) Human to Human Communication
• The IT Experts Company Values
• Steps to create the Company Values

These steps are :

Step 1 - Create Between 3-7 Core Values

Step 2 – Understanding your own values

Step 3 - What are the Company values

Step 4 - Cloning Employees

Step 5 – Select the ones that suits better for your Business

Step 6 – Define the Company Values

Step 7 – Involve your Team

Step 8 - Chat with your team and ask if we have missed anything out

Once you have mastered your Company Values, you can use these to help support the vision that you are aiming for in your business in the future.

This can impart to your team to help your people perform more for your Business and making sure that whatever it is that you are doing it should align to what the company stands for.

So that's pretty much it for me today.

You can access the other IT Experts Podcasts here - https://innovatetosuccess.com/itega-podcast/

If you haven't seen it yet, go and check out our App and take the IT Experts Test you can download by clicking here - https://bit.ly/ITE-APP

If we're not connected already, let's connect on LinkedIn, YouTube and over our website at innovatetosuccess.com

Alternatively, you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Till next time, you look after yourself and I'll catch up with you soon!