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Welcome to ChannelWaves, the podcast where channel

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leaders share success strategies, best practices, and emerging

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trends brought to you by StructuredWeb.

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Here's your host, Steven Kellam.

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Hey, welcome, everybody, ChannelWaves.

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We appreciate everyone taking a

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little bit of time today.

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Today we're going to dig into trust and

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we're going to talk about what it takes

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for vendors to build trust with partners.

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I think it's been interesting to talk about what

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partners need to do to build trust with vendors.

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And I think one of the key things

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is what happens if it gets broken?

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Now, I'm an optimist, and I'm going to

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introduce you, Leslie, in just a second.

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I have a feeling she's.

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I know she's an optimist as well, too.

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I would almost say what really cool things can

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happen once trust is built the flip side

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of what happened if trust is broken. So today.

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Joining us in this discussion is Leslie Chiorazzi

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Did I say that correctly?

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Pretty good, Chiorazzi

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Joining us today is Leslie Chiorazzi

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And Leslie is the managing

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partner of CMIT in Manhattan.

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So welcome, Leslie.

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Thank you so much, Steven.

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Thanks for having me.

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The reason I asked Leslie to do a

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podcast is because when I met Leslie, I

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felt like, well, I thought a couple things.

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One is I thought, she's doing what

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I did ten or twelve years ago.

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So I'm slightly jealous maybe 15 years ago,

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because running a managed service business was actually

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sorry to everybody I'm working with today might

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have been the coolest job I ever had. It was.

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It was really cool.

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So when I met Leslie I was like, okay, it's cool.

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She's doing what I used to do.

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And two, I felt like she was very opinionated.

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And I say opinionated in a very good way.

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And look, if you're going to run a managed

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service business in New York, in Manhattan, I think

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you have to have, what we say, strong convictions.

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For sure, for sure, for sure.

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We met at the Baptie conference. Right.

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And you were talking about the ins and

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outs of being a managed service provider. We did.

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And then again at Forrester.

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And one of the things Leslie was

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talking about on stage was about that

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trust relationship and how important that is.

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As a matter of fact, what did

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we end up calling this episode?

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If you break.

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Sorry.

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If you break your trust, you're what?

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Dead to me? Dead to me. Exactly.

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I believe you said that on

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stage, and that caught my attention.

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I thought, look, in today's world, it's

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so important to have that trust.

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So what does that mean?

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And how does that help the relationship?

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So we're going to walk through that today.

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But Leslie, before we jump into it, maybe you can

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tell everybody just a little bit about who you are,

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what you do, a little bit about your managed services.

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Because in today, boy, managed services is a lot

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more, can be a lot more, it can be

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a lot different than what it was when I

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was a managed service provider 15 years ago.

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15 years ago, certainly, but a

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lot's changed, but also nothing's changed.

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So again, I own CMIT solutions in Manhattan.

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My territory is Murray Hill.

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CMIT Solutions is a franchise.

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There are more than 250 locations across the

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country, all providing managed, outsourced it maybe in

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slightly different ways, maybe depending on the community

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or the vertical they serve.

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But I've been here for eight years now, and

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my specialties really healthcare and nonprofit, along with hospitality

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and yeah, we met at that conference.

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And I get asked to speak quite a bit on

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this topic around the vendor relationship to managed service providers

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and how to sell to people like me.

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And I think it's a really great topic.

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I think that there's a lot to be, a lot to

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be learned along with a lot here, because sometimes the people

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who come up with the go to market strategies are very

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far removed from the actual salespeople who are selling.

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No, I agree.

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And even 15 years ago, I ran into that.

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I think as we go through this, we'll talk about

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some of the goods, the bads, the indifference, some of

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the things that change, some of the things that stay

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the same, and I think some of the things that

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we can do on both sides to make it work.

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So before we dig into the trust, maybe

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we can start just your take on the

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relationship between a partner and a vendor.

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Anyways, today, what is that relationship in your mind?

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What does it need to look like?

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What's the value of that?

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How do you view that relationship?

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Vendor, you, customer, sorry.

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You know, it's a, it's a big ecosystem,

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you know, albeit we need each other, the

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customers need me to bring solutions to them,

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to help them run and protect their business.

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The partners that I work with need to bring in sales.

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We need to have those relationships in order

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to sell to my clients, because often they

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do not have that relationship with the customer.

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They're just selling to channel people.

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And I think that that ecosystem

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has to have quite a balance.

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The vendors have to understand what I need, I

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have to let them know what I need, and

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we have to set equal expectations around that.

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I would imagine that if I called the vendor

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all the time for quotes, but never use them.

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Would they rush to answer those quotes for me?

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If I do business with someone who doesn't come through in

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the way they told me, if the expectations they set are

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not met, you know what I'm going to say.

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They're likely dead to me.

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So, you know, but that ecosystem can be very well fed.

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There are times that I learn about something new

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that I'm not even offering yet or that a

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client doesn't have a need for yet.

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I think a lot of vendors sometimes don't understand that

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the SMB market does not ask for specific services.

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They're not asking for things.

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We are making recommendations based on what

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we see in their infrastructure or what

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they need for growth or protection.

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So when they come to me and say, well, when a

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customer asks for this, and I'm like, no, the customer has

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never heard of that, they're not asking for that.

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But it's great for me to get educated by the vendor.

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So then when I see the need

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somewhere, we can then apply it.

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We can then work together.

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But I do think there is a very special

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relationship because know who you're going to go to

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for what in most cases, especially if they are

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doing the right thing by you. Okay.

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And that can mean a lot of things, Steven. Yeah.

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Well, let's start with, so how do you build that trust?

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Right.

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Let's take it all from a

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foundational level, kind of both ways. What do you.

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You've been doing this for a

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little while, I would assume, right? Actually, yeah.

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You've been doing this for this job

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at CMIT for over eight years, right? Correct.

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So it's the same thing a client looks for in me.

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You're going to do business with who you like,

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trust, or think are smart for the most part. Right.

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They understand their product, they are available to you,

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they educate, they give you fair pricing and so

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forth, or they're the only one in the market.

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Because I often ask vendors, especially when I'm in

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a room with seven people selling the same thing.

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What's your differentiator?

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Why you versus the next one?

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As we know, many of these

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services have become a commodity.

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So I can go to multiple people for

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the same exact thing, so why choose them?

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And I think over the years, I

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have relationships with certain people that way.

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Even if they move to other companies, I'm still working with

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them because it's them who I have the relationship with and

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who I know is going to take care of me.

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In some instances, though, it's the product and you have

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to take a chance on the person you work.

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But at the end of the day,

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we're all people working with people.

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It's not like it's just about the service, because you

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can likely get that replicated from many other places.

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Same as I would say to my clients, why choose me?

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You know, I have to make sure that I

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have something to offer that makes them decide to

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do business with me versus the next MSP.

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I like what you said, that people do business with

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people that they like, they trust and think are smart.

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I think that brings it in, that

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brings it into focus pretty narrowly.

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I do a question for you, I've

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got lots of questions for you.

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The first one is, and maybe it's a little bit

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different now, how many key vendors do you work with?

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Back in my day I was managed service provider

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and I sold somewhat similar to you, I sold to

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between 50 and 400 people credits for that mid market.

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And I probably had five key vendors that

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made off my managed service and then I

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had other commodities I could work around.

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I mean, I'm curious what it's,

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what it's like today for you.

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Well, I would say that a bit of a difference,

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being part of a franchise is a little bit more

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power in the marketplace because we have, you know, there's

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a lot of buying power when you have 250 owners

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serving, you know, thousands of customers.

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So I would say there is a vetted portion

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of this that is required as a franchisee.

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But unlike a Starbucks, I can bake and

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sell my own brownies if I choose.

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And also the stack has become that much more diverse.

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MSP's aren't answering just support anymore, we're answering

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connectivity, we're answering cloud movement and migration, we're

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answering licensing along with security, of course, and

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in some cases physical equipment.

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So many I don't know that I can click off how many.

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And sometimes I don't only use one VoIP

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provider, one security provider, one connectivity provider.

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So it's better to be more concise

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and to have and grow those relationships.

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But there is a lot these days that

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we have to make part of our offering.

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So where you might have worked with five

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or eight, probably working with 15 at high

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points, is that better or worse?

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Depends competitively.

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It depends on what?

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Yeah, it depends on what.

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And again, I'm looking for a differentiator in some

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cases, who does this the best or who does

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this the closest or well, because ultimately the trust

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relationship with the client is mine.

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So I have to bring in people that offer

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up the right solutions for me at the right

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price, I think it was easier for me.

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And you can tell me what you think, because actually

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people want to listen to you today and not me.

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But when I only had five, it was easier

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for me to build a trust because it was

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just a smaller, it was just a smaller number. Right.

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And so I was interacting more often with the

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same group and in my size of an organization,

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it was just easier with that number.

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When you start to get to eight to

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15 and building that trust on a regular

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basis, I could see that get somewhat extended.

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Okay, two part question.

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I also think it'd be really cool.

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Those people that you build a great trust with in

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those 15, it's going to be a big differentiator because

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you feel like you can rely on them versus it

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being kind of like wait and see sort of stuff.

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Well, I would say in certain areas, with certain solutions,

259
00:11:10,557 --> 00:11:13,596
it's definitely one or two, but I don't think you

260
00:11:13,597 --> 00:11:17,116
can only have one vendor for each thing.

261
00:11:17,117 --> 00:11:19,772
I think that is sometimes a problem, both

262
00:11:19,773 --> 00:11:23,220
from a cost perspective, from a support perspective.

263
00:11:23,221 --> 00:11:25,764
Same as the reason that people don't have an

264
00:11:25,765 --> 00:11:29,710
IT employee anymore and have a team outsourced, because

265
00:11:29,711 --> 00:11:31,998
you need to have backup to that solution.

266
00:11:31,999 --> 00:11:34,486
If someone leaves, moves, sells, their company

267
00:11:34,487 --> 00:11:37,490
changes hands, you lose your account rep,

268
00:11:38,030 --> 00:11:39,398
it might be time to move on.

269
00:11:39,399 --> 00:11:40,998
And I've seen that happen, certainly even

270
00:11:40,999 --> 00:11:42,582
in my short tenure in this business.

271
00:11:42,583 --> 00:11:46,542
So I think it has its ups and its downs for sure.

272
00:11:46,543 --> 00:11:49,038
But I think because we're a larger entity, we get

273
00:11:49,039 --> 00:11:52,414
a lot more consistent support, too, where I know there

274
00:11:52,415 --> 00:11:55,958
are many MSP's out there who get switched around constantly

275
00:11:55,959 --> 00:11:58,430
depending on the, you know, the size of their business.

276
00:11:59,370 --> 00:12:01,330
Yeah, we're definitely, we're definitely

277
00:12:01,331 --> 00:12:02,194
running in a different world.

278
00:12:02,195 --> 00:12:03,834
I wasn't a franchise world, so

279
00:12:03,835 --> 00:12:06,110
I didn't have that buying power. Yeah.

280
00:12:06,730 --> 00:12:09,474
Okay, so let's talk about this trust.

281
00:12:09,475 --> 00:12:12,210
So what do you look for in a vendor?

282
00:12:12,211 --> 00:12:16,418
What differentiates them, what makes them somebody you

283
00:12:16,419 --> 00:12:19,350
trust and how do they go about it? Right.

284
00:12:20,570 --> 00:12:22,346
Well, I've been fortunate that over the

285
00:12:22,347 --> 00:12:24,098
last couple of years, I've been part

286
00:12:24,099 --> 00:12:26,250
of kind of a women's technical organization.

287
00:12:26,251 --> 00:12:30,312
So I've met a lot of channel partners through there,

288
00:12:30,313 --> 00:12:34,648
and that has led to both referrals from them as

289
00:12:34,649 --> 00:12:38,480
well as business to them, which has been great and

290
00:12:38,481 --> 00:12:42,056
probably unheard of for the most part for women, especially

291
00:12:42,057 --> 00:12:45,024
MSP's, because there's not a lot of female owned MSP's.

292
00:12:45,025 --> 00:12:49,624
But I think I would say the most important thing around

293
00:12:49,625 --> 00:12:52,864
the vendor relationship for me is someone who is going to

294
00:12:52,865 --> 00:12:55,048
take the ball and run with it to completion.

295
00:12:55,049 --> 00:12:57,494
Someone whose job I don't have to explain to them.

296
00:12:57,495 --> 00:12:58,646
I sell a lot of things.

297
00:12:58,647 --> 00:13:01,086
We sell one, typically, I want them to be

298
00:13:01,087 --> 00:13:04,398
the expert in both delivery and support to getting

299
00:13:04,399 --> 00:13:07,694
the client onboarded or educating me or my team

300
00:13:07,695 --> 00:13:09,490
so that we can help support it.

301
00:13:10,030 --> 00:13:14,478
Someone who is responsive, you know, and not like

302
00:13:14,479 --> 00:13:18,094
next day, but really, really responsive and who cares.

303
00:13:18,095 --> 00:13:21,104
I would say it's the most important thing in a client and

304
00:13:21,105 --> 00:13:25,420
a vendor and an employee is you care about it a lot.

305
00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:28,256
So how long does it take

306
00:13:28,257 --> 00:13:29,896
you to build that relationship?

307
00:13:29,897 --> 00:13:33,232
What's the Leslie trust factor, right. On this.

308
00:13:33,233 --> 00:13:35,176
And, you know, it matters, right?

309
00:13:35,177 --> 00:13:36,256
I'm a trust first.

310
00:13:36,257 --> 00:13:38,384
Even I am a trust first.

311
00:13:38,385 --> 00:13:41,960
I am not suspect of people until they make me suspect.

312
00:13:41,961 --> 00:13:43,584
Okay. And maybe that's.

313
00:13:43,585 --> 00:13:45,900
Maybe that's a bad, bad quality. How?

314
00:13:46,690 --> 00:13:48,994
As far as forming a relationship, it's twofold.

315
00:13:48,995 --> 00:13:51,698
I like what they sell and I like what they tell me

316
00:13:51,699 --> 00:13:54,386
about what they sell, and then they have to prove it.

317
00:13:54,387 --> 00:13:56,882
And that's the other thing is leveraging that

318
00:13:56,883 --> 00:13:59,314
not in your largest client sometimes, but in

319
00:13:59,315 --> 00:14:02,746
your first small client, somewhere where we can

320
00:14:02,747 --> 00:14:06,330
make mistakes without a high payment.

321
00:14:06,331 --> 00:14:08,058
And I'm going to find out, too.

322
00:14:08,059 --> 00:14:10,650
From when you're in a franchise and there's multiple

323
00:14:10,651 --> 00:14:13,314
owners, good and bad news travel really fast.

324
00:14:13,315 --> 00:14:14,910
I can tell you what travels faster.

325
00:14:15,550 --> 00:14:16,890
Yes, exactly.

326
00:14:17,670 --> 00:14:19,286
So that's pretty interesting.

327
00:14:19,287 --> 00:14:21,406
So, yeah, if it goes wrong with one of

328
00:14:21,407 --> 00:14:24,870
those 250, I think everybody finds out pretty quickly.

329
00:14:24,871 --> 00:14:26,702
Look, I could tell you the story

330
00:14:26,703 --> 00:14:28,030
if you want to hear it.

331
00:14:28,031 --> 00:14:29,774
And they are definitely dead to me.

332
00:14:29,775 --> 00:14:32,918
I'm not going to mention who it is, of course. Okay.

333
00:14:32,919 --> 00:14:34,910
I was going to say, you tell me your

334
00:14:34,911 --> 00:14:38,130
worst story, I'll tell you my worst story.

335
00:14:39,790 --> 00:14:40,726
Let's. Hold on.

336
00:14:40,727 --> 00:14:43,512
I'm going to go with mine being worse. Okay. Okay.

337
00:14:43,513 --> 00:14:46,024
But before we get into that and we'll come back, I

338
00:14:46,025 --> 00:14:47,872
think we'll sort of wrap up with the stories because we're

339
00:14:47,873 --> 00:14:49,792
going to talk about the good bad and ugly on that.

340
00:14:49,793 --> 00:14:52,000
So what about the other way around?

341
00:14:52,001 --> 00:14:54,784
So, you know, the vendors have to build the trust.

342
00:14:54,785 --> 00:14:56,656
You're in a pretty interesting spot because you've

343
00:14:56,657 --> 00:14:59,872
got 250 brethren in there that you can

344
00:14:59,873 --> 00:15:01,752
go back and forth, not all.

345
00:15:01,753 --> 00:15:03,720
Once again, not everybody has that.

346
00:15:03,721 --> 00:15:05,272
So the vendors have to build the trust.

347
00:15:05,273 --> 00:15:09,840
But what about you building the trust other way?

348
00:15:09,841 --> 00:15:12,896
In your thinking of that perspective, is there a light

349
00:15:12,897 --> 00:15:14,928
bulb that goes off at some point with a vendor

350
00:15:14,929 --> 00:15:19,584
when they realize, hey, this company is really good and

351
00:15:19,585 --> 00:15:23,744
there's huge opportunities, and they've met my criteria there.

352
00:15:23,745 --> 00:15:25,024
So again, you're a little unique in that

353
00:15:25,025 --> 00:15:27,376
you've got 250 people you could work with

354
00:15:27,377 --> 00:15:28,864
on that, but I'm super curious.

355
00:15:28,865 --> 00:15:30,928
So, Leslie, what about the other way around?

356
00:15:30,929 --> 00:15:34,656
What about in today's world, the partner

357
00:15:34,657 --> 00:15:37,400
proving some trust to the vendor?

358
00:15:37,401 --> 00:15:38,608
What does that look like?

359
00:15:38,609 --> 00:15:40,056
Today we talked a little bit about the

360
00:15:40,057 --> 00:15:43,940
vendor needing to be trustworthy to the partner.

361
00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,056
So I think something I mentioned earlier

362
00:15:48,057 --> 00:15:50,936
about not asking 'zillon quotes that never

363
00:15:50,937 --> 00:15:53,384
come through, not taking advantage.

364
00:15:53,385 --> 00:15:56,096
I know that vendors always are asking me to go

365
00:15:56,097 --> 00:15:58,312
out places and go to events and go to things.

366
00:15:58,313 --> 00:16:00,680
And when you're not bringing them business, I think

367
00:16:00,681 --> 00:16:02,936
after a while it gets a little, you know,

368
00:16:02,937 --> 00:16:05,504
like where they either stop inviting you or kind

369
00:16:05,505 --> 00:16:07,496
of looking at you sideways, that you're taking advantage

370
00:16:07,497 --> 00:16:10,180
of something that you shouldn't be.

371
00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:14,288
Years ago, I used to work a lot of conference tables

372
00:16:14,289 --> 00:16:17,168
and, you know, javits and things like that, and we put

373
00:16:17,169 --> 00:16:19,808
things out and some people would come by and just wipe

374
00:16:19,809 --> 00:16:21,880
off the whole table and you'd be like, really?

375
00:16:21,881 --> 00:16:23,456
I think, I'm sure that's what vendors feel

376
00:16:23,457 --> 00:16:24,752
like when you come to their events and

377
00:16:24,753 --> 00:16:26,568
you're not doing business with them.

378
00:16:26,569 --> 00:16:29,688
But then again, it's in their best interest to

379
00:16:29,689 --> 00:16:31,416
be top of mind, to be in front of

380
00:16:31,417 --> 00:16:33,528
you, and to make sure that they're educating you

381
00:16:33,529 --> 00:16:36,220
constantly so you can look for opportunities to partner.

382
00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,928
So in your opinion, this trust between

383
00:16:40,929 --> 00:16:43,624
the vendor and the partner, is it

384
00:16:43,625 --> 00:16:46,688
getting better or is it getting worse? Right.

385
00:16:46,689 --> 00:16:49,620
Is it moving in the right direction where you feel like

386
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,614
in the market that the alignment is getting better on that,

387
00:16:54,615 --> 00:16:58,010
or is it kind of going the other way?

388
00:16:58,550 --> 00:17:00,086
I don't know if it's either.

389
00:17:00,087 --> 00:17:02,126
I would say there's way more competition.

390
00:17:02,127 --> 00:17:06,470
I mean, I know many, many vendors, and probably

391
00:17:06,471 --> 00:17:11,589
each product and service I sell, and do I

392
00:17:11,590 --> 00:17:13,942
choose to just stick with one all the time,

393
00:17:13,943 --> 00:17:15,609
taking care of me a certain way?

394
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,616
I certainly think that there is, like

395
00:17:20,617 --> 00:17:22,127
I said, a great balance there.

396
00:17:22,128 --> 00:17:24,816
Getting a lead from a vendor is

397
00:17:24,817 --> 00:17:26,720
amazing because it almost never happens.

398
00:17:26,721 --> 00:17:29,040
And sometimes I question when I go to certain events,

399
00:17:29,041 --> 00:17:31,104
when it just seems to be very social, and then

400
00:17:31,105 --> 00:17:32,952
all of a sudden I get a lead from a

401
00:17:32,953 --> 00:17:35,272
vendor event, which is always kind of mind blowing.

402
00:17:35,273 --> 00:17:38,064
And I think that's really helpful because

403
00:17:38,065 --> 00:17:40,432
they want MSP's to work with them.

404
00:17:40,433 --> 00:17:41,968
We become your salespeople to

405
00:17:41,969 --> 00:17:43,616
sell these products and services.

406
00:17:43,617 --> 00:17:45,968
We want to make sure that you're feeding us as well.

407
00:17:45,969 --> 00:17:48,544
When you hear either from a customer looking at

408
00:17:48,545 --> 00:17:50,976
your services or from just being out in the

409
00:17:50,977 --> 00:17:53,480
marketplace that someone needs an MSP, you're likely going

410
00:17:53,481 --> 00:17:55,520
to feed the people who feed you.

411
00:17:55,521 --> 00:17:58,736
Yeah, I did read on your LinkedIn profile, and people can check

412
00:17:58,737 --> 00:18:01,088
it out that you do like to get out and about.

413
00:18:01,089 --> 00:18:03,736
I think there are some very happy photographs

414
00:18:03,737 --> 00:18:05,536
that you bring out and about on your

415
00:18:05,537 --> 00:18:07,416
LinkedIn profile, which is a great thing, right?

416
00:18:07,417 --> 00:18:09,680
If I'm a little too social, be a great thing.

417
00:18:09,681 --> 00:18:11,984
Yeah, a little too social for my own good.

418
00:18:11,985 --> 00:18:14,536
But I mean, I think it's led to

419
00:18:14,537 --> 00:18:16,984
the relationships that either I've gotten business from

420
00:18:16,985 --> 00:18:18,992
or do business because of or with.

421
00:18:18,993 --> 00:18:22,560
And I also think, you know, if you get some face time

422
00:18:22,561 --> 00:18:25,696
with different people and learn a little bit about what they do

423
00:18:25,697 --> 00:18:27,840
and who they are, it takes you a long way.

424
00:18:27,841 --> 00:18:30,488
And we've done this both in social events, but

425
00:18:30,489 --> 00:18:35,126
also in charity events, fundraising events, award nights, things

426
00:18:35,127 --> 00:18:37,286
like that, where we come out for the people

427
00:18:37,287 --> 00:18:39,790
that we support and support us.

428
00:18:39,791 --> 00:18:42,398
I think I saw that you were a big soccer fan on that.

429
00:18:42,399 --> 00:18:44,382
I thought I saw a post on that. Right?

430
00:18:44,383 --> 00:18:46,014
I had a great opportunity.

431
00:18:46,015 --> 00:18:47,886
Nothing better than a Yankee fan who gets

432
00:18:47,887 --> 00:18:49,870
to see their brand in Yankee Stadium.

433
00:18:49,871 --> 00:18:51,150
Okay, that's pretty cool.

434
00:18:51,151 --> 00:18:52,518
Do you want to tell me a little bit about that?

435
00:18:52,519 --> 00:18:53,770
What was that all about?

436
00:18:54,750 --> 00:18:58,510
I decided now that if I do not stay working

437
00:18:58,511 --> 00:19:00,686
as an MSP, that I can be a lobbyist.

438
00:19:00,687 --> 00:19:03,872
It took so much work to get a bunch of

439
00:19:03,873 --> 00:19:07,304
tri-state owners to kick in for this opportunity to

440
00:19:07,305 --> 00:19:10,880
advertise with NYCFC and become an associate partner.

441
00:19:10,881 --> 00:19:13,192
This brilliant idea comes out of the UK.

442
00:19:13,193 --> 00:19:16,008
Our company called Eleven and Eleven was

443
00:19:16,009 --> 00:19:19,224
looking for 30 relevant small businesses in

444
00:19:19,225 --> 00:19:21,632
the area for this opportunity.

445
00:19:21,633 --> 00:19:23,056
None to kind of overlap.

446
00:19:23,057 --> 00:19:25,296
And they were everything from construction,

447
00:19:25,297 --> 00:19:27,736
window washing, nursing homes, it.

448
00:19:27,737 --> 00:19:31,306
And with that, we're at every home game, we're

449
00:19:31,307 --> 00:19:33,458
up on the digital signage, on the televisions.

450
00:19:33,459 --> 00:19:35,630
We get to network and socialize with each other.

451
00:19:36,330 --> 00:19:38,026
It's really been a fun opportunity.

452
00:19:38,027 --> 00:19:39,714
And I am a soccer fan.

453
00:19:39,715 --> 00:19:40,850
I am a Yankee fan.

454
00:19:40,851 --> 00:19:42,362
So it was great.

455
00:19:42,363 --> 00:19:44,042
Like the first time it ever came up, I

456
00:19:44,043 --> 00:19:46,858
think it was on Father's Day two years ago.

457
00:19:46,859 --> 00:19:49,842
And their social channels are really.

458
00:19:49,843 --> 00:19:52,218
They've highlighted me, they've done some stuff for me and

459
00:19:52,219 --> 00:19:54,850
for the rest of the northeast, and it's been great.

460
00:19:54,851 --> 00:19:56,124
It was kind of cool.

461
00:19:56,125 --> 00:19:58,908
I would think that the vendors really like that.

462
00:19:58,909 --> 00:19:59,436
You said that.

463
00:19:59,437 --> 00:20:01,468
I would think, you know, if you've got.

464
00:20:01,469 --> 00:20:04,276
If you've got partners who are getting out there

465
00:20:04,277 --> 00:20:06,780
and connecting, I would view that from the vendor

466
00:20:06,781 --> 00:20:09,668
perspective as you know, that's a great opportunity that

467
00:20:09,669 --> 00:20:11,852
someone wants to go out, have connections that's going

468
00:20:11,853 --> 00:20:13,028
to help me get connected.

469
00:20:13,029 --> 00:20:15,604
My ultimate customer, that's a

470
00:20:15,605 --> 00:20:17,220
really, really good thing.

471
00:20:17,221 --> 00:20:20,200
I also think that on the side of it being,

472
00:20:21,370 --> 00:20:24,714
like, fueled by women, you know, a lot of us

473
00:20:24,715 --> 00:20:27,370
have really been able to lift each other up.

474
00:20:27,371 --> 00:20:30,018
I'm of that age where there was only room for one.

475
00:20:30,019 --> 00:20:32,042
And I worked for my mother,

476
00:20:32,043 --> 00:20:34,034
who had a woman owned business.

477
00:20:34,035 --> 00:20:35,138
She was an entrepreneur.

478
00:20:35,139 --> 00:20:36,498
There's a lot of women in my office.

479
00:20:36,499 --> 00:20:37,738
This business does not leverage

480
00:20:37,739 --> 00:20:39,610
itself to that many females.

481
00:20:39,611 --> 00:20:42,402
And I think that there was a

482
00:20:42,403 --> 00:20:44,370
lot of backbiting when I was younger.

483
00:20:44,371 --> 00:20:46,778
So when I see these women mentoring each other

484
00:20:46,779 --> 00:20:50,072
and helping each other and looking for opportunities both

485
00:20:50,073 --> 00:20:52,216
to socialize together, but also to work together and

486
00:20:52,217 --> 00:20:55,640
learn about their products and services, that inspires me.

487
00:20:55,641 --> 00:20:58,656
I also have two daughters, so I look at it for

488
00:20:58,657 --> 00:21:02,360
them as well, that there'll be room for more than one.

489
00:21:02,361 --> 00:21:04,920
Okay, I'm in the two daughter club, so I can have this.

490
00:21:04,921 --> 00:21:06,368
I'm a feminist, and I'm in the two

491
00:21:06,369 --> 00:21:08,220
daughter club, so I can add this.

492
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:11,112
I can have this conversation.

493
00:21:11,113 --> 00:21:13,144
And one of the things that attracted me to you

494
00:21:13,145 --> 00:21:16,626
as well, too, is I just thought, look, if there's

495
00:21:16,627 --> 00:21:20,810
a woman who can run a managed service business in

496
00:21:20,811 --> 00:21:24,314
New York, in Manhattan, that's freaking cool.

497
00:21:24,315 --> 00:21:25,626
That's the first thing I thought about

498
00:21:25,627 --> 00:21:27,082
is, like, how cool is that?

499
00:21:27,083 --> 00:21:29,394
Well, when I was a managed service provider, I'm

500
00:21:29,395 --> 00:21:30,786
not so sure I met a woman that was

501
00:21:30,787 --> 00:21:33,858
running a managed service at that point. I know it.

502
00:21:33,859 --> 00:21:34,954
I know it.

503
00:21:34,955 --> 00:21:39,354
80% were men. I would say I had about 20, and that was, I

504
00:21:39,355 --> 00:21:43,062
thought about 80/20 split male female back to that point.

505
00:21:43,063 --> 00:21:43,534
Right?

506
00:21:43,535 --> 00:21:44,730
Which is pretty good.

507
00:21:45,310 --> 00:21:47,494
But I would, you know, it's like, I complain to some

508
00:21:47,495 --> 00:21:49,654
of the larger vendors, I go to events, and all the

509
00:21:49,655 --> 00:21:52,350
women on the main stage are marketing or HR.

510
00:21:52,351 --> 00:21:55,614
They're never head of tech, they're never

511
00:21:55,615 --> 00:21:57,830
head of engineering, none of that.

512
00:21:57,831 --> 00:21:58,886
I think that'll change.

513
00:21:58,887 --> 00:22:00,326
Here's where I think it's changing this.

514
00:22:00,327 --> 00:22:01,542
We're doing total objective.

515
00:22:01,543 --> 00:22:02,790
It's one thing.

516
00:22:02,791 --> 00:22:07,374
I'm seeing more women in the channel, leading sales,

517
00:22:07,375 --> 00:22:09,578
and it used to be in marketing, and I'm

518
00:22:09,579 --> 00:22:14,426
seeing, like, two of the best sales, just people

519
00:22:14,427 --> 00:22:16,350
I know in the channel right now.

520
00:22:17,250 --> 00:22:18,890
And I don't actually, you know, my

521
00:22:18,891 --> 00:22:21,270
dad made me colorblind, gender blind.

522
00:22:22,290 --> 00:22:23,530
I don't even think about it.

523
00:22:23,531 --> 00:22:25,466
So I'm just like, oh, yeah, you're great at

524
00:22:25,467 --> 00:22:27,794
what you do, but I had to notice because

525
00:22:27,795 --> 00:22:29,978
of my daughters and paying attention to that. Right.

526
00:22:29,979 --> 00:22:32,946
I mean, just, you have to that, you know, how do you

527
00:22:32,947 --> 00:22:35,658
get past, and by the way, it's very cool to do marketing.

528
00:22:35,659 --> 00:22:37,266
It's very cool to do HR.

529
00:22:37,267 --> 00:22:38,546
No doubt, no doubt.

530
00:22:38,547 --> 00:22:42,070
Nice to see it expand out to the sales. Right.

531
00:22:43,050 --> 00:22:46,066
Well, that to me is not surprising

532
00:22:46,067 --> 00:22:47,578
just because I feel like women are

533
00:22:47,579 --> 00:22:49,778
always leveraged in the sales opportunity.

534
00:22:49,779 --> 00:22:51,498
Maybe not in the channel as much as

535
00:22:51,499 --> 00:22:54,858
now, but I would love to see there

536
00:22:54,859 --> 00:22:58,842
be more on the tech side, especially in

537
00:22:58,843 --> 00:23:01,298
the larger companies, a little bit more representation.

538
00:23:01,299 --> 00:23:02,970
You know, it is what it is.

539
00:23:03,750 --> 00:23:05,982
Okay, well, you know, sound like someone who, like,

540
00:23:05,983 --> 00:23:07,790
accepts it is what it is very often.

541
00:23:07,791 --> 00:23:09,810
So you can say that, but I don't actually.

542
00:23:10,350 --> 00:23:11,614
Yeah, it's difficult.

543
00:23:11,615 --> 00:23:14,518
It's difficult to get people to, you know, go down

544
00:23:14,519 --> 00:23:16,902
this track and then they have to be competitive.

545
00:23:16,903 --> 00:23:19,742
So, you know, it's, you know, that's

546
00:23:19,743 --> 00:23:21,406
why it lends itself where it is.

547
00:23:21,407 --> 00:23:23,734
You know, I think it

548
00:23:23,735 --> 00:23:25,678
will get there, especially technology.

549
00:23:25,679 --> 00:23:28,432
I think part of the reason for that is this,

550
00:23:28,433 --> 00:23:31,712
things were larger, heavy to carry, all those things where

551
00:23:31,713 --> 00:23:35,712
now with so much more being tiny and cloud based,

552
00:23:35,713 --> 00:23:38,640
there's a lot less flapping stuff.

553
00:23:38,641 --> 00:23:40,280
Well, actually that changed a lot of things.

554
00:23:40,281 --> 00:23:41,856
I was thinking that changed how MDF

555
00:23:41,857 --> 00:23:44,760
worked, it changed how product got demonstrated.

556
00:23:44,761 --> 00:23:45,752
So that's pretty fast.

557
00:23:45,753 --> 00:23:48,448
Is the first time I thought about that and

558
00:23:48,449 --> 00:23:52,328
how who could actually physically do the role.

559
00:23:52,329 --> 00:23:53,488
That's actually a great point.

560
00:23:53,489 --> 00:23:54,624
I admit I've been doing this for a while.

561
00:23:54,625 --> 00:23:56,020
I never actually thought about that.

562
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:57,464
Okay.

563
00:23:57,465 --> 00:23:59,000
That's actually pretty cool thought.

564
00:23:59,001 --> 00:24:03,648
Okay, so gender aside, you've got the vendor and the

565
00:24:03,649 --> 00:24:06,600
partner relationship, all the good things we talk about.

566
00:24:06,601 --> 00:24:10,224
So what happens when a vendor breaks that and you

567
00:24:10,225 --> 00:24:12,336
can tell your story and I'll tell my horror story.

568
00:24:12,337 --> 00:24:15,296
Let's talk about what it happens when it breaks and

569
00:24:15,297 --> 00:24:17,940
then we tell a story and then I'm interested.

570
00:24:18,810 --> 00:24:21,522
Have any vendors actually won it back

571
00:24:21,523 --> 00:24:23,842
or once it's broken, it's gone?

572
00:24:23,843 --> 00:24:26,778
So that's a three part question.

573
00:24:26,779 --> 00:24:29,074
Well, you know, I will say, in thinking about

574
00:24:29,075 --> 00:24:31,898
our discussion, one of the things that I considered

575
00:24:31,899 --> 00:24:35,042
was how they handle things when they go wrong.

576
00:24:35,043 --> 00:24:38,010
Because as an MSP, as you'd imagine,

577
00:24:38,011 --> 00:24:40,378
I often compare us to an ER. Right?

578
00:24:40,379 --> 00:24:41,970
Some people are going to die.

579
00:24:41,971 --> 00:24:43,946
Some people are going to leave with a limp.

580
00:24:43,947 --> 00:24:46,346
Other people are going to leave perfectly fine.

581
00:24:46,347 --> 00:24:47,418
We are never going to be

582
00:24:47,419 --> 00:24:49,322
perfect, never going to be 100%.

583
00:24:49,323 --> 00:24:52,670
It's not the nature of technology or the work we do.

584
00:24:53,290 --> 00:24:56,570
So we need to set client expectations,

585
00:24:56,571 --> 00:24:58,594
same as vendors need to set hours.

586
00:24:58,595 --> 00:25:00,730
Here's what needs to happen to get the job done right.

587
00:25:00,731 --> 00:25:03,682
We need to empower the vendor to get through the job.

588
00:25:03,683 --> 00:25:07,930
If they screw up, there needs to be

589
00:25:07,931 --> 00:25:10,618
an opening for them to make it right.

590
00:25:10,619 --> 00:25:12,146
And that is the second part to it.

591
00:25:12,147 --> 00:25:13,858
It's not just getting it right 100%

592
00:25:13,859 --> 00:25:15,442
of the time because that's not real.

593
00:25:15,443 --> 00:25:16,984
You know, things are going to happen.

594
00:25:16,985 --> 00:25:19,384
But making sure that when you reach out to

595
00:25:19,385 --> 00:25:21,256
them, whether it be on a Saturday night, when

596
00:25:21,257 --> 00:25:24,640
they're off on their yacht cruise, or they are

597
00:25:24,641 --> 00:25:27,456
at home on a Monday morning working remotely, that

598
00:25:27,457 --> 00:25:31,048
they're responding to what's wrong, that they're answering that

599
00:25:31,049 --> 00:25:34,104
ticket, that they're escalating that issue because the salesperson

600
00:25:34,105 --> 00:25:37,024
often, you know, has no control over the implementation,

601
00:25:37,025 --> 00:25:37,776
just like I don't.

602
00:25:37,777 --> 00:25:39,120
I'm not that technical.

603
00:25:39,121 --> 00:25:41,128
You know, it's on my team to get

604
00:25:41,129 --> 00:25:42,456
that done, and we have to make sure

605
00:25:42,457 --> 00:25:44,592
that we set the expectations of the client.

606
00:25:44,593 --> 00:25:47,390
So I think it's threefold. Right.

607
00:25:47,391 --> 00:25:50,926
It's doing the best job you've represented. Right.

608
00:25:50,927 --> 00:25:53,622
If the vendor tells me the expectation, the report's going

609
00:25:53,623 --> 00:25:56,262
to take 20 days, but it takes 80, I'm going

610
00:25:56,263 --> 00:25:58,094
to be upset and so is the client, and the

611
00:25:58,095 --> 00:25:59,678
client's going to be upset with me.

612
00:25:59,679 --> 00:26:02,718
And if I'm passing on that trust relationship, right.

613
00:26:02,719 --> 00:26:05,702
The client doesn't know who my salesperson is.

614
00:26:05,703 --> 00:26:08,038
The client knows me, so everything comes back to me.

615
00:26:08,039 --> 00:26:09,078
So they have to be an extension

616
00:26:09,079 --> 00:26:10,790
of how I would handle things.

617
00:26:10,791 --> 00:26:12,934
And that's kind of the first part to it.

618
00:26:12,935 --> 00:26:14,078
Getting it right. Yay.

619
00:26:14,079 --> 00:26:16,142
We're all happy. When it goes wrong.

620
00:26:16,143 --> 00:26:17,646
I need to be able to reach out, and

621
00:26:17,647 --> 00:26:20,118
they don't go, well, I don't handle that part.

622
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:22,414
They find the person, they escalate the issue.

623
00:26:22,415 --> 00:26:24,534
They give me the home phone numbers of whoever I

624
00:26:24,535 --> 00:26:27,182
need to call to make sure my client is satisfied

625
00:26:27,183 --> 00:26:30,398
with what we brought in, because if that doesn't happen,

626
00:26:30,399 --> 00:26:32,758
then I won't be using them again for sure.

627
00:26:32,759 --> 00:26:36,766
And if they handle the problem correctly, sometimes the tool

628
00:26:36,767 --> 00:26:39,406
or the service we buy is fantastic, but if the

629
00:26:39,407 --> 00:26:41,190
delivery is not there, you're already put off.

630
00:26:41,191 --> 00:26:42,558
Like, I shouldn't have done this.

631
00:26:42,559 --> 00:26:44,278
Why did we do this? This is not good.

632
00:26:44,279 --> 00:26:45,246
This is not what they told me.

633
00:26:45,247 --> 00:26:47,570
We were selling to the customer and that's happened.

634
00:26:49,630 --> 00:26:52,334
But I think giving them the space to make mistakes

635
00:26:52,335 --> 00:26:54,654
is fine as long as they're going to handle that.

636
00:26:54,655 --> 00:26:57,478
But really the best partner for me is

637
00:26:57,479 --> 00:26:59,710
someone who I hand off the business to.

638
00:26:59,711 --> 00:27:01,310
I tee it up for us to both

639
00:27:01,311 --> 00:27:03,270
be successful and they get it done.

640
00:27:03,271 --> 00:27:05,902
And if there are blips or service needed after,

641
00:27:05,903 --> 00:27:07,670
they're not like, oh, that's not my part, they

642
00:27:07,671 --> 00:27:09,470
actually get the rest of it done.

643
00:27:09,471 --> 00:27:10,782
So it's out of my hands.

644
00:27:10,783 --> 00:27:12,222
They all claim they can do it,

645
00:27:12,223 --> 00:27:13,770
but not all of them will.

646
00:27:16,390 --> 00:27:17,890
So what's your horror story?

647
00:27:18,630 --> 00:27:20,366
Ah, this is good.

648
00:27:20,367 --> 00:27:22,942
You ready for this? I'm ready. All right.

649
00:27:22,943 --> 00:27:25,422
Unnamed VoIP supplier.

650
00:27:25,423 --> 00:27:28,142
So I worked with a customer, a very large

651
00:27:28,143 --> 00:27:33,182
client, for two rounds of demos around this.

652
00:27:33,183 --> 00:27:35,366
And instead of just bringing in one vendor, I

653
00:27:35,367 --> 00:27:37,998
brought in several that acted as the bar. Right.

654
00:27:37,999 --> 00:27:39,630
I wanted to be the value added resource,

655
00:27:39,631 --> 00:27:41,526
come in with a consultative approach and not

656
00:27:41,527 --> 00:27:43,262
just like lead somebody by the hand.

657
00:27:43,263 --> 00:27:45,062
It's this person, right?

658
00:27:45,063 --> 00:27:46,310
So that's what I did.

659
00:27:46,311 --> 00:27:47,646
I did that twice.

660
00:27:47,647 --> 00:27:49,206
Never charged the client to do the

661
00:27:49,207 --> 00:27:51,770
work, just acted as the consultant.

662
00:27:52,870 --> 00:27:57,790
Second round, I spoke to their incumbent, who was charging them

663
00:27:57,791 --> 00:28:00,246
a little bit more money than they should, started to have

664
00:28:00,247 --> 00:28:02,846
a pretty good relationship with them, and talked to them about

665
00:28:02,847 --> 00:28:04,734
what it would take to save the client, what we wanted

666
00:28:04,735 --> 00:28:06,510
it to look like be priced at.

667
00:28:06,511 --> 00:28:07,956
And they came in really well.

668
00:28:07,957 --> 00:28:10,444
So I brought in two vendors to the client and

669
00:28:10,445 --> 00:28:12,740
I said, we can't really pick a bad choice here.

670
00:28:12,741 --> 00:28:15,084
You know, we can, but it is going to be heavier

671
00:28:15,085 --> 00:28:17,244
lifts to move off this one and go to that one

672
00:28:17,245 --> 00:28:19,076
where we can just save money and do all the other

673
00:28:19,077 --> 00:28:21,420
things you want to do with this one.

674
00:28:21,421 --> 00:28:25,480
Now, the other vendor, more famous, much bigger, and

675
00:28:26,260 --> 00:28:29,348
had a lot of good tools, the clients.

676
00:28:29,349 --> 00:28:31,516
So like a couple weeks before they made a

677
00:28:31,517 --> 00:28:36,674
decision, I share this account with another it person.

678
00:28:36,675 --> 00:28:38,170
Walk them in, and I thought, oh,

679
00:28:38,171 --> 00:28:40,138
good, he's supporting me on this. This is great.

680
00:28:40,139 --> 00:28:41,150
We'll do this together.

681
00:28:42,530 --> 00:28:45,250
When it came down to it, they picked the larger

682
00:28:45,251 --> 00:28:49,498
supplier and we started to have a battle over.

683
00:28:49,499 --> 00:28:51,562
And I registered this deal.

684
00:28:51,563 --> 00:28:54,242
I used the section, the vertical that I

685
00:28:54,243 --> 00:28:56,842
needed to for expertise along with enterprise.

686
00:28:56,843 --> 00:28:58,002
Because it was a larger deal.

687
00:28:58,003 --> 00:28:59,940
I did all the right things.

688
00:28:59,941 --> 00:29:02,292
Suddenly my registration was missing.

689
00:29:02,293 --> 00:29:06,908
And they basically, instead of taking the position

690
00:29:06,909 --> 00:29:09,708
that I had, started all paperwork, they said,

691
00:29:09,709 --> 00:29:11,860
we're going to go first to ink.

692
00:29:11,861 --> 00:29:16,108
Well, CEO was with the other person, the COO

693
00:29:16,109 --> 00:29:20,284
was me, and the other person got the deal.

694
00:29:20,285 --> 00:29:22,780
And so I will never sell that vendor

695
00:29:22,781 --> 00:29:24,916
again because they could have taken the position.

696
00:29:24,917 --> 00:29:25,428
They should have.

697
00:29:25,429 --> 00:29:26,564
Why register a deal if you're

698
00:29:26,565 --> 00:29:27,800
not going to hold that registration?

699
00:29:28,580 --> 00:29:30,516
Why bother going through all these steps?

700
00:29:30,517 --> 00:29:31,844
They had all the paperwork, they had all

701
00:29:31,845 --> 00:29:34,460
of the messaging back and forth, and they

702
00:29:34,461 --> 00:29:37,720
still let the customer decide, which is okay.

703
00:29:38,340 --> 00:29:40,708
I understand their position to a certain degree,

704
00:29:40,709 --> 00:29:43,060
and I think there was a lot of

705
00:29:43,061 --> 00:29:45,116
untruths in the middle of that somehow.

706
00:29:45,117 --> 00:29:51,188
But I said, from now on, if I ever do that

707
00:29:51,189 --> 00:29:55,026
much work again, I'm going to charge the client or tell

708
00:29:55,027 --> 00:29:57,490
the client, because the client also then found out, like what?

709
00:29:57,491 --> 00:30:00,258
How the payouts go, which they should never have

710
00:30:00,259 --> 00:30:02,810
known because I never charged them a dime. Nor would I.

711
00:30:02,811 --> 00:30:04,402
But next time I would just say, if I'm going to

712
00:30:04,403 --> 00:30:06,066
put in all this work to the phone system and you

713
00:30:06,067 --> 00:30:08,750
don't use me, there's going to be a charge for it.

714
00:30:11,170 --> 00:30:12,266
It was a lot of money, too.

715
00:30:12,267 --> 00:30:13,550
The SPIF was a lot.

716
00:30:16,090 --> 00:30:19,562
Here's the thing, having run, I've run the technology

717
00:30:19,563 --> 00:30:25,736
side of incentives and deal registrations and all that.

718
00:30:25,737 --> 00:30:27,040
That's what I've been doing for the past

719
00:30:27,041 --> 00:30:30,560
15 years, since I left, being a partner.

720
00:30:30,561 --> 00:30:33,300
People ask me about deal registration all the time.

721
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,768
There's a lot of advantages to both sides on it. Right.

722
00:30:37,769 --> 00:30:40,700
Because the vendor can understand the pipeline and

723
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,896
the partner is supposedly protected on that.

724
00:30:44,897 --> 00:30:46,664
It's so key for everything.

725
00:30:46,665 --> 00:30:48,506
And when it runs well, it runs really well.

726
00:30:48,507 --> 00:30:52,978
But that's just like, that's Cardinal sin number one.

727
00:30:52,979 --> 00:30:53,346
If.

728
00:30:53,347 --> 00:30:55,482
If you don't adhere to that,

729
00:30:55,483 --> 00:30:58,270
you're, you're, you're dead to me.

730
00:31:00,810 --> 00:31:02,274
That was, that was a tough burn, but

731
00:31:02,275 --> 00:31:04,610
that's one of those lessons that you, you

732
00:31:04,611 --> 00:31:06,590
learn hard and you don't do it again.

733
00:31:08,010 --> 00:31:09,826
There's no, my perspective.

734
00:31:09,827 --> 00:31:11,310
There's no coming back from that.

735
00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:13,964
Yeah.

736
00:31:13,965 --> 00:31:16,796
And, you know, again, I think, I don't like

737
00:31:16,797 --> 00:31:18,900
to take a negative approach to these things. Right.

738
00:31:18,901 --> 00:31:21,540
Brush it off. Next. What's new? What's happening?

739
00:31:21,541 --> 00:31:22,860
What are we doing?

740
00:31:22,861 --> 00:31:26,380
Because if you sit yourself in that space, you'll

741
00:31:26,381 --> 00:31:28,908
just think everybody's a crook and everybody lies.

742
00:31:28,909 --> 00:31:31,180
And, you know, I never want to be like that.

743
00:31:31,181 --> 00:31:33,468
I really enjoy learning about

744
00:31:33,469 --> 00:31:34,700
new products and services.

745
00:31:34,701 --> 00:31:37,276
I really enjoy working with different people, especially

746
00:31:37,277 --> 00:31:39,788
great people, because I've worked with many more

747
00:31:39,789 --> 00:31:44,662
fantastic, helpful, educated resources than the opposite.

748
00:31:44,663 --> 00:31:47,334
And, you know, I just, that was

749
00:31:47,335 --> 00:31:50,550
just, you know, not a great day.

750
00:31:50,551 --> 00:31:52,254
Well, now, one of the things that I

751
00:31:52,255 --> 00:31:54,206
thought was interesting and when you were doing

752
00:31:54,207 --> 00:31:56,382
your presentation is I found you very positive

753
00:31:56,383 --> 00:31:58,430
and very upbeat and very enthusiastic.

754
00:31:58,431 --> 00:32:00,926
That's why I reached out to do podcast.

755
00:32:00,927 --> 00:32:04,222
But I also felt like if someone did something like that,

756
00:32:04,223 --> 00:32:07,424
as you said, they were dead to you, which is what

757
00:32:07,425 --> 00:32:12,216
you said on stage, what the audience repeated back to me,

758
00:32:12,217 --> 00:32:15,824
which was the best part of that whole afternoon. Whoa.

759
00:32:15,825 --> 00:32:17,144
Oh, absolutely.

760
00:32:17,145 --> 00:32:19,408
Look, my story, I'll tell it pretty quickly.

761
00:32:19,409 --> 00:32:21,380
It's very similar deal registration.

762
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,744
We took a vendor into a, it

763
00:32:24,745 --> 00:32:26,392
was a city account, city wide account.

764
00:32:26,393 --> 00:32:29,168
It was a pretty big account, and we were mid

765
00:32:29,169 --> 00:32:31,816
sized partner, and we went and did all of it.

766
00:32:31,817 --> 00:32:33,798
You got the whole thing going, and they

767
00:32:33,799 --> 00:32:36,462
turned it over to a regional partner.

768
00:32:36,463 --> 00:32:40,902
And then I found out that the salesperson

769
00:32:40,903 --> 00:32:43,878
ran the deal for the vendor's spouse, worked

770
00:32:43,879 --> 00:32:46,150
for that company that came in and took.

771
00:32:46,151 --> 00:32:50,110
And that was a huge deal for us. Right.

772
00:32:50,111 --> 00:32:53,126
For us in the hundreds and hundreds of thousands.

773
00:32:53,127 --> 00:32:54,910
It was a pretty big annual deal.

774
00:32:54,911 --> 00:32:57,158
And I was shell shocked.

775
00:32:57,159 --> 00:32:58,948
I was like, is this for real? Same thing.

776
00:32:58,949 --> 00:32:59,964
My deal, registration.

777
00:32:59,965 --> 00:33:01,916
I'm not sure where I got lost and

778
00:33:01,917 --> 00:33:03,556
what, and what was I going to do?

779
00:33:03,557 --> 00:33:05,364
There was nothing I could do, but I was

780
00:33:05,365 --> 00:33:08,080
like, you just burned that bridge so, so bad.

781
00:33:08,740 --> 00:33:10,084
I also, you know, I want to put

782
00:33:10,085 --> 00:33:11,140
my head on a pillow at night.

783
00:33:11,141 --> 00:33:12,388
I would never have done the opposite.

784
00:33:12,389 --> 00:33:14,980
The funny thing is, and the other it

785
00:33:14,981 --> 00:33:17,436
person became involved, all I could think about

786
00:33:17,437 --> 00:33:18,532
was, what should I give him?

787
00:33:18,533 --> 00:33:20,628
Like, maybe I should give him a split.

788
00:33:20,629 --> 00:33:23,652
Like, you know, I really wanted to be generous

789
00:33:23,653 --> 00:33:27,100
about it and that, that really, like, burned doubly.

790
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,664
Yeah, yeah, I know.

791
00:33:29,665 --> 00:33:31,016
And I'm the same thing.

792
00:33:31,017 --> 00:33:32,456
That was not self shocking,

793
00:33:32,457 --> 00:33:33,512
but, you know, he's suffering.

794
00:33:33,513 --> 00:33:35,440
He's suffering the consequences of it already.

795
00:33:35,441 --> 00:33:40,328
So, you know, it's like, no, you know, it's no skin.

796
00:33:40,329 --> 00:33:43,152
I've, you know, long gone past it, but I

797
00:33:43,153 --> 00:33:46,480
will never do business with that particular company again.

798
00:33:46,481 --> 00:33:47,936
Even if the client asked, I'd

799
00:33:47,937 --> 00:33:50,816
probably tell them the story. Yeah.

800
00:33:50,817 --> 00:33:52,332
You know, from my perspective, it

801
00:33:52,333 --> 00:33:54,148
just wasn't worth the time anymore. And same thing.

802
00:33:54,149 --> 00:33:55,004
What are you going to do about it?

803
00:33:55,005 --> 00:33:56,604
I just wrote it off and just moved on.

804
00:33:56,605 --> 00:33:59,524
You find an alternative, it just makes the best of it.

805
00:33:59,525 --> 00:34:02,060
Life's too short for that. Yep, yep. 100%.

806
00:34:02,061 --> 00:34:05,252
And like I said, I, you know, I have, one of

807
00:34:05,253 --> 00:34:08,364
the things that I find so interesting about VoIP is, you

808
00:34:08,365 --> 00:34:10,428
know, there are many people who just use one vendor.

809
00:34:10,429 --> 00:34:11,659
It's easier to do that.

810
00:34:11,660 --> 00:34:13,563
You know, same dashboard if you need help.

811
00:34:13,564 --> 00:34:14,308
Same this, same that.

812
00:34:14,309 --> 00:34:17,620
But for me, I love VoIP as a business solution.

813
00:34:17,621 --> 00:34:21,235
I love the idea that customers have certain requirements

814
00:34:21,236 --> 00:34:25,036
that not every carrier can meet, along with the

815
00:34:25,037 --> 00:34:26,835
fact that it's not all their own.

816
00:34:26,836 --> 00:34:28,900
So maybe they have a third party contact center

817
00:34:28,901 --> 00:34:31,004
or they have, and I'm still a fan of

818
00:34:31,005 --> 00:34:33,268
the outsource of that, but there are so many

819
00:34:33,269 --> 00:34:35,524
pieces to put together and really bring somebody something

820
00:34:35,525 --> 00:34:38,652
great with the ability to grow their business because

821
00:34:38,653 --> 00:34:41,540
of it, versus just picking up and saying hello

822
00:34:41,541 --> 00:34:43,812
and setting up a call flow or having IVR.

823
00:34:43,813 --> 00:34:45,628
There's so much more to be gained now.

824
00:34:45,629 --> 00:34:46,788
And that's the part I find

825
00:34:46,789 --> 00:34:48,280
so interesting in that space.

826
00:34:49,860 --> 00:34:52,052
Okay, so let's wrap it up.

827
00:34:52,053 --> 00:34:57,100
Listening to the partner and trusting how they

828
00:34:57,101 --> 00:34:59,532
need to take in that information to be

829
00:34:59,533 --> 00:35:02,172
able to do how to get educated.

830
00:35:02,173 --> 00:35:05,836
It's not like, I think in some semblance, the

831
00:35:05,837 --> 00:35:07,460
world with some of the videos, we've lost the

832
00:35:07,461 --> 00:35:09,860
essence of what are we trying to get across?

833
00:35:09,861 --> 00:35:11,948
Are we trying to just say something glitzy?

834
00:35:11,949 --> 00:35:13,924
Are we actually trying to educate?

835
00:35:13,925 --> 00:35:16,624
And small amounts.

836
00:35:16,625 --> 00:35:18,928
I just want to add something that I was just

837
00:35:18,929 --> 00:35:21,720
on a call the other day and I was working

838
00:35:21,721 --> 00:35:24,888
with a VoIP provider and they have kind of hyper

839
00:35:24,889 --> 00:35:26,776
care in place for the first 90 days.

840
00:35:26,777 --> 00:35:30,400
And I thought a lot about that as an MSP as well.

841
00:35:30,401 --> 00:35:33,336
When you first onboard a client, they need a much

842
00:35:33,337 --> 00:35:36,672
more direct line from you than they do three months,

843
00:35:36,673 --> 00:35:39,624
six months, a year down the road in most cases.

844
00:35:39,625 --> 00:35:42,372
And I think developing that and making sure that

845
00:35:42,373 --> 00:35:47,900
their initial onboard is handheld, especially with VoIP, because

846
00:35:47,901 --> 00:35:50,468
VoIP applies to everything, because it's like if the

847
00:35:50,469 --> 00:35:52,916
connectivity is bad, your computers might work, but your

848
00:35:52,917 --> 00:35:54,300
phones will experience it, right?

849
00:35:54,301 --> 00:35:56,188
They don't take up a lot of bandwidth, but

850
00:35:56,189 --> 00:35:59,028
they're also super important to most people's businesses, even

851
00:35:59,029 --> 00:36:00,852
if they're not using a physical phone.

852
00:36:00,853 --> 00:36:04,300
So I think a bunch of handholding upfront in that kind of

853
00:36:04,301 --> 00:36:07,462
space is something else I look like for in a vendor.

854
00:36:07,463 --> 00:36:09,294
The fact that there's going to be support and that

855
00:36:09,295 --> 00:36:12,334
I hate using that term one throat to choke.

856
00:36:12,335 --> 00:36:13,918
I'd much rather have one back to

857
00:36:13,919 --> 00:36:16,070
pat any day of the week.

858
00:36:16,071 --> 00:36:17,566
So that's interesting that you say that. Right.

859
00:36:17,567 --> 00:36:18,894
So I think a trust thing there and

860
00:36:18,895 --> 00:36:23,470
the vendors is, I love that customer.

861
00:36:23,471 --> 00:36:26,318
In the beginning for me, I looked at it as

862
00:36:26,319 --> 00:36:28,990
like over that first 90 days, they could even make

863
00:36:28,991 --> 00:36:31,590
the renewal for me and my life, for my whole

864
00:36:31,591 --> 00:36:34,556
team really, really great for the next two years, or

865
00:36:34,557 --> 00:36:36,600
they could make it miserable for six months.

866
00:36:37,860 --> 00:36:40,420
That's 100% right. 100% right.

867
00:36:40,421 --> 00:36:41,476
Two options, right.

868
00:36:41,477 --> 00:36:44,636
And I was like, all you have to do is, here's the deal.

869
00:36:44,637 --> 00:36:47,436
The thing that I cared most about in all my

870
00:36:47,437 --> 00:36:51,196
implementations is my project manager had to get a 95%

871
00:36:51,197 --> 00:36:56,724
plus CSAT rating on the setup and the installation.

872
00:36:56,725 --> 00:37:00,012
That was my biggest metric because I knew, by

873
00:37:00,013 --> 00:37:01,828
the way, this is 15 years ago, right?

874
00:37:01,829 --> 00:37:04,236
And I knew that that was

875
00:37:04,237 --> 00:37:05,068
going to make all the difference.

876
00:37:05,069 --> 00:37:06,188
And I had some vendors that really

877
00:37:06,189 --> 00:37:07,788
bought into that and some that didn't.

878
00:37:07,789 --> 00:37:09,196
Once again, the ones that did,

879
00:37:09,197 --> 00:37:10,580
they were the ones I used. Right.

880
00:37:10,581 --> 00:37:15,532
Because I wanted those people to love us. Right? Yep.

881
00:37:15,533 --> 00:37:17,836
You wanted the care, and they wanted the care from you.

882
00:37:17,837 --> 00:37:19,156
But it also, I talk a lot

883
00:37:19,157 --> 00:37:21,364
about what is the client's love language?

884
00:37:21,365 --> 00:37:22,748
You know, do they need follow up?

885
00:37:22,749 --> 00:37:24,188
Do they need details?

886
00:37:24,189 --> 00:37:26,002
Do they need a call right back?

887
00:37:26,003 --> 00:37:27,986
Or do they need you to just communicate? We're on it.

888
00:37:27,987 --> 00:37:29,018
We got you.

889
00:37:29,019 --> 00:37:31,034
So I think paying attention to that,

890
00:37:31,035 --> 00:37:33,498
back to their expectation and their trust,

891
00:37:33,499 --> 00:37:34,874
is, what do they need from you?

892
00:37:34,875 --> 00:37:37,130
If you're not giving it, you're gone.

893
00:37:37,131 --> 00:37:40,106
Well, see, you're dead to me. You're gone.

894
00:37:40,107 --> 00:37:42,106
This is, what if I'm a vendor, this is

895
00:37:42,107 --> 00:37:44,346
what I want to hear from my partner.

896
00:37:44,347 --> 00:37:45,834
That's what's going to help me build trust in

897
00:37:45,835 --> 00:37:48,866
my partner, is because they're actually listening to what

898
00:37:48,867 --> 00:37:51,594
does that client need over that period of time?

899
00:37:51,595 --> 00:37:53,916
Because we all have that same goal over that first

900
00:37:53,917 --> 00:37:57,492
beginning of that 90 days to get the client in

901
00:37:57,493 --> 00:38:00,796
a great space just to add to it.

902
00:38:00,797 --> 00:38:02,868
Steven, part of the Forrester thing that was a big

903
00:38:02,869 --> 00:38:06,156
deal to me was the fact that, again, you have

904
00:38:06,157 --> 00:38:10,220
these big heads of companies at these events.

905
00:38:10,221 --> 00:38:12,988
And what I hope they take from what

906
00:38:12,989 --> 00:38:15,156
they see here is the fact that sometimes

907
00:38:15,157 --> 00:38:19,754
the strategy doesn't match, you know, where, you

908
00:38:19,755 --> 00:38:21,922
know, three layers down what it looks like.

909
00:38:21,923 --> 00:38:24,218
Like we used to always say to my, an older

910
00:38:24,219 --> 00:38:26,906
boss of mine, like, you're not the one in front

911
00:38:26,907 --> 00:38:29,410
of the customer, so you don't get it.

912
00:38:29,411 --> 00:38:31,154
This is what I'm hearing in the marketplace, and I'll

913
00:38:31,155 --> 00:38:33,506
tell you the biggest thing for MSP's, to me, the

914
00:38:33,507 --> 00:38:35,950
biggest shift, we might have to hide this.

915
00:38:36,890 --> 00:38:38,346
You know, back in the day when you were

916
00:38:38,347 --> 00:38:40,578
doing this, right, it was, it was newer.

917
00:38:40,579 --> 00:38:41,954
I mean, it still had been around for a

918
00:38:41,955 --> 00:38:46,052
while, but part of the relationship was the expectation

919
00:38:46,053 --> 00:38:47,228
that you weren't going to be there a lot.

920
00:38:47,229 --> 00:38:49,076
It wasn't a co-manage thing. They were used to.

921
00:38:49,077 --> 00:38:50,916
Larry, who lives up two blocks

922
00:38:50,917 --> 00:38:52,892
away, coming by whenever something broke.

923
00:38:52,893 --> 00:38:54,244
And MSP was a little bit of

924
00:38:54,245 --> 00:38:57,116
a larger engagement with a monthly retainer.

925
00:38:57,117 --> 00:39:00,484
Now, many of the sales opportunities I come across

926
00:39:00,485 --> 00:39:03,860
for requests, for proposals that I'm answering, want to

927
00:39:03,861 --> 00:39:07,388
see somebody, whether it's on a monthly call, whether

928
00:39:07,389 --> 00:39:09,996
it's in a quarterly meeting, whether it's a technician

929
00:39:09,997 --> 00:39:11,796
that comes by, want to leave for 3 hours,

930
00:39:11,797 --> 00:39:14,848
they want more engagement, they want more handholding, more

931
00:39:14,849 --> 00:39:17,504
touchy feely, because everything they do is connect technology.

932
00:39:17,505 --> 00:39:20,992
And even people who think they're technical don't often

933
00:39:20,993 --> 00:39:23,032
want to touch anything or mess with anything.

934
00:39:23,033 --> 00:39:24,384
They want help and.

935
00:39:24,385 --> 00:39:26,144
Or they want a special engagement for the

936
00:39:26,145 --> 00:39:28,008
VIP's in their office, things like that.

937
00:39:28,009 --> 00:39:29,136
And that, to me, is the

938
00:39:29,137 --> 00:39:30,632
current shift of what's happening.

939
00:39:30,633 --> 00:39:31,904
So our vendors are going to have to

940
00:39:31,905 --> 00:39:34,040
shift with us to more handholding, to more

941
00:39:34,041 --> 00:39:35,960
being part of our actual team, in some

942
00:39:35,961 --> 00:39:40,392
cases, to support clients, especially in the beginning.

943
00:39:40,393 --> 00:39:41,538
And I agree.

944
00:39:41,539 --> 00:39:45,362
Okay, my second nightmare story is I worked

945
00:39:45,363 --> 00:39:47,546
in the winery business, and, I mean, I

946
00:39:47,547 --> 00:39:51,642
had, like, really nice wines, and this whole

947
00:39:51,643 --> 00:39:54,434
managed service thing was starting to come around.

948
00:39:54,435 --> 00:39:57,594
And we made all these promises with our vendors, and we

949
00:39:57,595 --> 00:40:00,546
went in there and we basically were telling them, we don't

950
00:40:00,547 --> 00:40:02,746
need to be here to take care of you.

951
00:40:02,747 --> 00:40:05,458
And we sort of missed the point that they

952
00:40:05,459 --> 00:40:08,188
missed, and they expected Larry to come around.

953
00:40:08,189 --> 00:40:10,948
And even though we did a great job, they let us go.

954
00:40:10,949 --> 00:40:12,804
Six months later, I remember sitting in a

955
00:40:12,805 --> 00:40:15,548
bar in Napa, and the general manager came

956
00:40:15,549 --> 00:40:17,268
over and he's got a case of wine.

957
00:40:17,269 --> 00:40:19,764
And it was like 2007 Pritchard Hill.

958
00:40:19,765 --> 00:40:21,580
I mean, it was nice stuff.

959
00:40:21,581 --> 00:40:24,964
And he fired me with a really nice case of wine.

960
00:40:24,965 --> 00:40:26,780
He goes, look, you guys are really good.

961
00:40:26,781 --> 00:40:30,996
But my owner, that's not, what? Not for him.

962
00:40:30,997 --> 00:40:31,644
Not for him.

963
00:40:31,645 --> 00:40:32,740
And that's the thing.

964
00:40:32,741 --> 00:40:33,860
You don't figure that out.

965
00:40:33,861 --> 00:40:36,236
If you don't find out what that is almost right from

966
00:40:36,237 --> 00:40:38,508
the start, you're gonna find it out from a problem.

967
00:40:38,509 --> 00:40:41,236
Usually, you know, I think going over

968
00:40:41,237 --> 00:40:44,388
the expectations is that much more critical. That's.

969
00:40:44,389 --> 00:40:47,372
I mean, RFPs are usually stacked for a specific

970
00:40:47,373 --> 00:40:50,748
vendor, whether it's, you know, something regulated, where they

971
00:40:50,749 --> 00:40:52,476
have to go to RFP every couple of years,

972
00:40:52,477 --> 00:40:54,724
or whether, you know, Larry's daughter now has an

973
00:40:54,725 --> 00:40:56,748
MSP that they know they're gonna give it to.

974
00:40:56,749 --> 00:40:59,220
But you do get the parameters, and if you're

975
00:40:59,221 --> 00:41:01,236
answering to them right, and you're setting a proposal,

976
00:41:01,237 --> 00:41:02,884
and they said, well, you told us we were

977
00:41:02,885 --> 00:41:05,618
gonna have somebody here every Tuesday from nine to

978
00:41:05,619 --> 00:41:07,306
twelve, and you don't need that.

979
00:41:07,307 --> 00:41:10,074
You probably don't. Pretty interesting.

980
00:41:10,075 --> 00:41:12,954
I learned to ask questions a lot better after that,

981
00:41:12,955 --> 00:41:16,210
and to make sure that those questions were funneled up

982
00:41:16,211 --> 00:41:18,010
a lot better after that as well, too.

983
00:41:18,011 --> 00:41:19,322
So that was a big if.

984
00:41:19,323 --> 00:41:23,482
You're not learning from those mistakes. Dead. Yeah.

985
00:41:23,483 --> 00:41:24,498
No, no, absolutely.

986
00:41:24,499 --> 00:41:25,930
And my vendor wasn't very happy.

987
00:41:25,931 --> 00:41:27,826
I wasn't very happy, but I

988
00:41:27,827 --> 00:41:29,660
never made at mistake again.

989
00:41:29,661 --> 00:41:31,356
Hey, I want to go down a track real quickly before

990
00:41:31,357 --> 00:41:33,428
we wrap up that I wasn't even going to go down. Sure.

991
00:41:33,429 --> 00:41:34,988
Because I'm in the platform and I'm in

992
00:41:34,989 --> 00:41:37,428
demand generation business, I thought I would ask,

993
00:41:37,429 --> 00:41:40,116
so how do you view MDF?

994
00:41:40,117 --> 00:41:43,780
How do you view demand generation help

995
00:41:43,781 --> 00:41:50,040
with co-branding of materials and information?

996
00:41:51,340 --> 00:41:52,596
You're part of a big group.

997
00:41:52,597 --> 00:41:54,748
Do you guys get a lot of MDF funding?

998
00:41:54,749 --> 00:41:56,684
Do you get a, you know, a

999
00:41:56,685 --> 00:41:59,140
through channel marketing automation platform or anything

1000
00:41:59,141 --> 00:42:01,120
like that to do demand generation?

1001
00:42:02,260 --> 00:42:04,372
So maybe I'm not

1002
00:42:04,373 --> 00:42:06,508
understanding the question specifically.

1003
00:42:06,509 --> 00:42:08,356
Are you talking about support from

1004
00:42:08,357 --> 00:42:09,920
the vendors that we work with?

1005
00:42:10,460 --> 00:42:12,476
Right, so, yeah, yeah.

1006
00:42:12,477 --> 00:42:15,164
So MDF market development, MDF dollars that

1007
00:42:15,165 --> 00:42:19,860
they give to you for marketing, digital

1008
00:42:19,861 --> 00:42:23,660
advertising, any sort of demand generation activities.

1009
00:42:23,661 --> 00:42:26,806
So the larger vendors that work with us that

1010
00:42:26,807 --> 00:42:29,422
like are vetted and we have to use to

1011
00:42:29,423 --> 00:42:32,846
support the marketing efforts of our home office, I

1012
00:42:32,847 --> 00:42:36,510
believe along with us, depending on our spend.

1013
00:42:36,511 --> 00:42:38,086
So, you know, I have thrown

1014
00:42:38,087 --> 00:42:39,854
like a security awareness breakfast.

1015
00:42:39,855 --> 00:42:41,846
The vendor, you know, that I put in

1016
00:42:41,847 --> 00:42:44,250
paperwork for and the vendor supported the breakfast.

1017
00:42:44,870 --> 00:42:47,510
I don't ask for it all that much, only

1018
00:42:47,511 --> 00:42:49,926
because I don't necessarily go and go down the

1019
00:42:49,927 --> 00:42:52,878
track of educating around one particular product.

1020
00:42:52,879 --> 00:42:55,206
It's usually the whole, not that they necessarily need

1021
00:42:55,207 --> 00:42:57,094
that, they just need to know the parameters in

1022
00:42:57,095 --> 00:42:59,662
order to support you, but I think it's great.

1023
00:42:59,663 --> 00:43:01,230
I think it's helpful.

1024
00:43:01,231 --> 00:43:04,970
I think that even I'm about to do.

1025
00:43:05,790 --> 00:43:09,902
We have our CMIT conference in November and I had asked

1026
00:43:09,903 --> 00:43:11,774
if I could do a session because a lot of the

1027
00:43:11,775 --> 00:43:14,318
time franchisee led sessions are the more popular ones.

1028
00:43:14,319 --> 00:43:17,006
We learned something from you and I think I'm going to

1029
00:43:17,007 --> 00:43:19,860
partner with a vendor in that one to be able to

1030
00:43:19,861 --> 00:43:22,132
benefit what I was going to talk about in the first

1031
00:43:22,133 --> 00:43:25,380
place, which was kind of farming your current client base.

1032
00:43:25,381 --> 00:43:27,924
So we're looking to put together some type

1033
00:43:27,925 --> 00:43:30,276
of template to help not only me, but

1034
00:43:30,277 --> 00:43:33,028
all of the owners across the country.

1035
00:43:33,029 --> 00:43:35,628
So, you know, clients, if you're doing the right

1036
00:43:35,629 --> 00:43:38,332
job, they want more, they're consuming more, not less.

1037
00:43:38,333 --> 00:43:39,652
They're not cutting your engagement.

1038
00:43:39,653 --> 00:43:41,724
They're saying, what else do we need?

1039
00:43:41,725 --> 00:43:43,828
Come in every year, tell us how old our

1040
00:43:43,829 --> 00:43:48,048
machines are, where there might be security gaps, should

1041
00:43:48,049 --> 00:43:50,496
we migrate to cloud, do we need more equipment?

1042
00:43:50,497 --> 00:43:51,376
Whatever it is.

1043
00:43:51,377 --> 00:43:55,872
And I think that lends itself to

1044
00:43:55,873 --> 00:43:57,952
vendors wanting to support that too, obviously.

1045
00:43:57,953 --> 00:43:59,328
So back to your question.

1046
00:43:59,329 --> 00:44:02,624
MDF is important, but a lot of franchise owners, in my

1047
00:44:02,625 --> 00:44:06,220
opinion, don't know it exists as far as for themselves.

1048
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:08,184
Interesting.

1049
00:44:08,185 --> 00:44:09,712
Here's one of the interesting things for me

1050
00:44:09,713 --> 00:44:12,216
is I sold risk mitigation and business continuity.

1051
00:44:12,217 --> 00:44:13,416
I always had vendors coming to

1052
00:44:13,417 --> 00:44:16,054
me, look, this is traditional.

1053
00:44:16,055 --> 00:44:19,270
I had the traditional group of vendors back then.

1054
00:44:19,271 --> 00:44:20,950
It's not hard to figure out.

1055
00:44:20,951 --> 00:44:24,342
servers, laptop security.

1056
00:44:24,343 --> 00:44:26,250
It's pretty straightforward stuff.

1057
00:44:27,070 --> 00:44:28,742
I said I sold risk mitigation

1058
00:44:28,743 --> 00:44:32,054
and business continuity, and I'm back.

1059
00:44:32,055 --> 00:44:33,686
I'm thrilled that I'm a gold

1060
00:44:33,687 --> 00:44:35,718
or a platinum partner for you. And I use a backstop.

1061
00:44:35,719 --> 00:44:37,606
The message I was trying to get up is

1062
00:44:37,607 --> 00:44:39,518
your lights are always on and it's always secure.

1063
00:44:39,519 --> 00:44:40,330
And you could.

1064
00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:43,560
15 years ago, vendors didn't get that and

1065
00:44:43,561 --> 00:44:44,928
all the stuff they would hand me for

1066
00:44:44,929 --> 00:44:48,632
marketing were just about their product, right.

1067
00:44:48,633 --> 00:44:50,936
I do think it's getting better to the

1068
00:44:50,937 --> 00:44:52,024
point where I think some of them are

1069
00:44:52,025 --> 00:44:54,808
starting to understand how to blend that message.

1070
00:44:54,809 --> 00:44:56,792
And there are AI tools and things

1071
00:44:56,793 --> 00:44:57,936
out there that are pretty interesting.

1072
00:44:57,937 --> 00:44:59,384
And I'll show you one of the things that

1073
00:44:59,385 --> 00:45:03,344
we do that allows you to take your message

1074
00:45:03,345 --> 00:45:05,304
and their message and blend it together for a

1075
00:45:05,305 --> 00:45:07,096
quick email campaign, which is great.

1076
00:45:07,097 --> 00:45:08,548
It's really, really cool stuff.

1077
00:45:08,549 --> 00:45:09,964
You got to be able to blend it.

1078
00:45:09,965 --> 00:45:13,796
And it's funny, historically, through channel

1079
00:45:13,797 --> 00:45:16,836
marketing automation, tech platforms didn't get

1080
00:45:16,837 --> 00:45:18,360
a lot of partners coming in.

1081
00:45:19,060 --> 00:45:22,548
Because just putting your logo on

1082
00:45:22,549 --> 00:45:27,548
a vendor's collateral, right, not enough.

1083
00:45:27,549 --> 00:45:31,204
And if you can't speak well to it, like forget it.

1084
00:45:31,205 --> 00:45:33,620
And it's not your value prop anyways.

1085
00:45:33,621 --> 00:45:34,460
I kept thinking about it.

1086
00:45:34,461 --> 00:45:36,716
I was like, why are the vendors missing your

1087
00:45:36,717 --> 00:45:39,384
value prop is your relationship and everything went and

1088
00:45:39,385 --> 00:45:41,744
understand what that client wants, when, where and how.

1089
00:45:41,745 --> 00:45:42,416
Right?

1090
00:45:42,417 --> 00:45:44,432
So help me figure out how to do that.

1091
00:45:44,433 --> 00:45:48,112
And I think AI and where technology is going, pretty soon

1092
00:45:48,113 --> 00:45:52,432
you're going to have like a little, we call it a

1093
00:45:52,433 --> 00:45:54,800
marketing assistant, that you'll just sit there and you could just

1094
00:45:54,801 --> 00:45:58,000
ask it for collateral and it'll have all of your information

1095
00:45:58,001 --> 00:46:01,712
in there and it'll crown email or a landing page or

1096
00:46:01,713 --> 00:46:04,008
anything you want to do collateral for when you go to

1097
00:46:04,009 --> 00:46:06,574
one of those events and it'll blend the message and you

1098
00:46:06,575 --> 00:46:09,022
don't have to spend four days doing it.

1099
00:46:09,023 --> 00:46:09,998
I think that's pretty cool.

1100
00:46:09,999 --> 00:46:12,046
And I think a lot of vendors are going to start sending

1101
00:46:12,047 --> 00:46:15,630
that sort of stuff your way, you know, to circle back.

1102
00:46:15,631 --> 00:46:19,758
I was talking with a particular vendor yesterday

1103
00:46:19,759 --> 00:46:21,494
and they were like, well, when your clients

1104
00:46:21,495 --> 00:46:22,822
asked for and this and that, and I

1105
00:46:22,823 --> 00:46:24,558
was like, my clients don't ask for that.

1106
00:46:24,559 --> 00:46:27,078
They're never going to know what that is. Educate me.

1107
00:46:27,079 --> 00:46:29,038
Where is the opportunity? So I can look for it.

1108
00:46:29,039 --> 00:46:32,464
When I'm talking to clients or prospects, let me know.

1109
00:46:32,465 --> 00:46:35,904
Like, to me, this particular problem, this particular

1110
00:46:35,905 --> 00:46:38,784
company, the opportunity is if I talk to

1111
00:46:38,785 --> 00:46:40,704
a prospect who already has that and I

1112
00:46:40,705 --> 00:46:43,288
need to move it, that makes sense.

1113
00:46:43,289 --> 00:46:46,664
But to initiate that step, most of the customers that

1114
00:46:46,665 --> 00:46:50,624
we work with do not need certain things that, you

1115
00:46:50,625 --> 00:46:52,568
know, I don't know who's buying from them.

1116
00:46:52,569 --> 00:46:54,840
I am pretty sure there are larger customers

1117
00:46:54,841 --> 00:46:57,280
out there that 100% need what they have.

1118
00:46:57,281 --> 00:46:58,408
But I said, educate me.

1119
00:46:58,409 --> 00:47:00,264
Tell me where the opportunity is, and I'll

1120
00:47:00,265 --> 00:47:01,736
let you know if it's something that I

1121
00:47:01,737 --> 00:47:04,688
come across or it's something I'll look for.

1122
00:47:04,689 --> 00:47:08,064
Like, I have a client who doesn't answer phone calls.

1123
00:47:08,065 --> 00:47:09,232
Like, they just don't.

1124
00:47:09,233 --> 00:47:11,080
They get 65% of their calls.

1125
00:47:11,081 --> 00:47:12,128
They're losing a fortune.

1126
00:47:12,129 --> 00:47:15,136
I've been telling them this for the last four years,

1127
00:47:15,137 --> 00:47:20,632
and when I intimated that we should get a inbound,

1128
00:47:20,633 --> 00:47:24,232
outbound call center for them, they were like, no way.

1129
00:47:24,233 --> 00:47:26,096
They're used to this person answering the phone or

1130
00:47:26,097 --> 00:47:28,440
that person answering the phone, I said, okay.

1131
00:47:28,441 --> 00:47:29,760
All of a sudden, they came around.

1132
00:47:29,761 --> 00:47:31,456
Now they've come so far around, they're ready

1133
00:47:31,457 --> 00:47:33,296
for it to be an AI receptionist.

1134
00:47:33,297 --> 00:47:35,656
And I'm like, wait, how did we go from

1135
00:47:35,657 --> 00:47:40,752
Joan answering, not answering the phone to AI?

1136
00:47:40,753 --> 00:47:42,704
So we're still working on the opportunity.

1137
00:47:42,705 --> 00:47:44,344
But it is kind of funny because, you

1138
00:47:44,345 --> 00:47:45,456
know, want to make sure you don't miss

1139
00:47:45,457 --> 00:47:48,008
any calls, and voicemail is not enough.

1140
00:47:48,009 --> 00:47:50,618
And if you are a medical practice and a new

1141
00:47:50,619 --> 00:47:53,562
patient call, you don't pick up, guess what they're doing?

1142
00:47:53,563 --> 00:47:55,122
Calling somebody else right away.

1143
00:47:55,123 --> 00:47:56,666
They are not leaving a voicemail.

1144
00:47:56,667 --> 00:47:58,190
It's a new patient, most likely.

1145
00:47:58,770 --> 00:48:00,826
Okay, I will.

1146
00:48:00,827 --> 00:48:03,578
Look, this has been. This has been great.

1147
00:48:03,579 --> 00:48:05,434
I appreciate you taking all this time

1148
00:48:05,435 --> 00:48:07,510
to talk to me about this.

1149
00:48:08,090 --> 00:48:09,990
I appreciate you having me.

1150
00:48:10,890 --> 00:48:14,258
Last thing, if anybody wants to reach out and pick

1151
00:48:14,259 --> 00:48:17,356
your brain, get to know you a little bit. Oh, lord.

1152
00:48:17,357 --> 00:48:19,092
There's so little in my brain left, Steven.

1153
00:48:19,093 --> 00:48:20,880
I don't know how much they can peck at.

1154
00:48:21,740 --> 00:48:23,220
What's the best way?

1155
00:48:23,221 --> 00:48:25,932
Well, obviously, you found time to go to Forrester.

1156
00:48:25,933 --> 00:48:29,252
You found time to go to Baptie Channel. Focus.

1157
00:48:29,253 --> 00:48:31,012
So, you know, you're. And I did.

1158
00:48:31,013 --> 00:48:33,108
They should reach out on LinkedIn is probably the

1159
00:48:33,109 --> 00:48:35,740
easiest way, or, you know, certainly I can provide

1160
00:48:35,741 --> 00:48:39,380
a slide for Chris that you can post up

1161
00:48:39,381 --> 00:48:42,554
with, you know, my contact information. All right.

1162
00:48:42,555 --> 00:48:43,810
Well, Leslie, thank you for your time.

1163
00:48:43,811 --> 00:48:44,738
I really appreciate it.

1164
00:48:44,739 --> 00:48:46,818
Listeners, viewers, thank you for joining us.

1165
00:48:46,819 --> 00:48:48,442
If you have any questions, please feel reach out

1166
00:48:48,443 --> 00:48:51,162
to me or reach out to Leslie and go

1167
00:48:51,163 --> 00:48:55,274
see a NYFC soccer game next time.

1168
00:48:55,275 --> 00:48:57,346
Well, and more importantly, make sure you do the

1169
00:48:57,347 --> 00:49:00,130
right thing by your partners so that you're not

1170
00:49:00,131 --> 00:49:03,490
dead to them or dead to me. Wow.

1171
00:49:03,491 --> 00:49:05,030
That is a much better.

1172
00:49:08,300 --> 00:49:11,364
All right. Thank you. Appreciate it. Take care, Steven.

1173
00:49:11,365 --> 00:49:11,820
Talk soon.