Steve’s Tribal Dispatches #3 – July 2023
In the short series “Steve’s Tribal Dispatches”, I, Stephen McCormick, will be taking a look at some of the resources available inside The Tech Tribe.
My mission: To report back on the best the membership has to offer. So that you can see what’s available to you, should you decide to become a member.
The Tech Tribe is a paid, members-only, online community for managed service providers (MSPs) that is filled with great resources for its members.
In this month’s dispatches, I highlight a couple of great courses: The LinkedIn Advantage and MSP Marketing Foundations. And from the Tribal Library, I showcase the Lunch & Learn blueprint checklist and the expert workshop: Sales is a Process not an Event.
Featured Resource: On-Demand Marketing Courses
Great content is regularly uploaded to the Tribe, to be used as and when you need it.
This month, I discovered two great on-demand courses for members to work through at their own pace.
The first is designed as a marketing primer for MSPs called MSP Marketing Foundations.
The second, The LinkedIn Advantage, demonstrates how the LinkedIn platform can be a powerful marketing tool for MSPs.
MSP Marketing Foundations
This is a short course is aimed at giving you the fundamentals of MSP marketing.
The course will take you between and hour and 90 minutes to complete, and will prepare you for what to expect when you undertake a marketing campaign.
In the course, Nigel Moore describes the jargon advertising agencies use, what to avoid and what the important metrics are.
Also highlighted are:
- The methods and tactics that work
- Marketing agency vendors listed in the tribal directory
- Books for further reading
It’s an ideal primer if you’re unsure where to start. Marketing campaigns can be expensive, so it’s worth taking the time to do this course before you spend your marketing budget.
The LinkedIn Advantage
The Linked Advantage is a half-day online course led by one of the Tribal Elders, Andrew Moon, aka The Orange Nomad.
The course itself provides you with a framework, which will help you get the most out of LinkedIn. It covers:
- How to spruce up your profile and company page
- How to build an audience
- How to produce engaging authoritative content
- How to hold the no-sales coffee meetings, follow-up and move prospects into your sales funnel
It’s all broken down over five phases, and explains the whys as well as the hows.
Linkedin is a great platform for connecting with your peers and potential clients. And so starting off with the right mindset and strategy is critical to success.
From the Tribal Library
The Tribal Library is an area of the Tribe where you can quickly access templates, videos, reviews and other tools.
This month, I took a closer look at the Lunch & Learn Blueprint Checklist and the Expert Workshop: Sales is a Process not an Event
The Lunch & Learn Blueprint Checklist
One of the ways to successfully attract new clients, educate existing clients, or indeed, build authority in your marketplace, is through lunch & learns.
A lunch & learn is an event that you host about a particular topic of interest to your audience, where you invite attendees to register for a session that usually takes no longer than an hour, at most. The idea is that you teach them something of value in an informal setting, such as over lunch.
It’s a highly-effective marketing strategy, which helps your clients and prospects see what your MSP business is all about. So, this checklist is perfect if you want to run your own lunch & learns, in order to build on existing relationships and win new clients.
Expert Workshop: Sales is a Process not an Event
Paul Lloyd of Sellery shows our own Richard Tubb his system for a straight-forward, easy-to-follow sales process.
Paul describes his process as one he’s built on over many years, and if followed consistently, can lead to increased sales for your business.
The workshop also includes a downloadable copy of his 90-day lifecycle spreadsheet to help you manage your own sales enquiries, leads and proposals.
“Sales is nothing more than a controlled and managed conversation”, says Paul. “People buy at a moment in time, and we just want to be there at that moment.”
The workshop reframes sales in terms of a managed project, which makes it much easier for technically-minded people to follow.
For example, Paul breaks down the qualifying stages in the sales process:
- Enquiry
- Leads
- Initial Discussion
- Analyse Needs
- Presentation
- Negotiate
- Close
This workshop is full of useful insights for anyone who thinks sales might not be their forte.
And as this workshop was originally recorded live, to conclude the workshop, Richard asked Paul questions from the audience.
Tribal Dispatch Hot Topics
Steve’s Tribal Dispatches are designed to help you quickly identify the most helpful parts of The Tech Tribe, so you can get up and running as soon as you join.
The Community Forums are where members of the tribe can post and comment on topics that are relevant to them.
They’re where members may openly ask any questions they have, whilst helping others who are seeking answers.
This can be anything from advice on how to cultivate a prospects list, to help in choosing an insurance provider.
Some of this months featured Hot Topics were:
- How to create career advancement for service desk engineers?
- Advice on asking the awkward budget questions of new prospects
- Topic ideas and templates for lunch ‘n’ learn events
- Whether you use response or resolution SLAs in your MSP
- Advice on targeting smaller clients with only 1-5 endpoints
- Has anyone played around with local LLMs (Large Language Models) yet?
Local Gatherings of The Tech Tribe
Each month there are regular local gatherings of The Tech Tribe. And you don’t even have to be a member to attend them!
In fact, Paul Lloyd, mentioned above, runs the South England Tribal Meetup based in Southampton on the third Wednesday of every month.
You can find out where your local Tech Tribe gathering is, and how to register your attendance here.
These are great peer groups that are free to attend, and are well worth your time.
Thinking of Becoming a Member?
Was there anything in Steve’s Tribal Dispatches this month that has piqued your interest, and made you want to find out more?
Click for more information and discounts up to a 49%!
Tribal Dispatches Final Word
When it comes to sales, it’s no different from any other workflow engine. You’ve got to keep following it to get the most of out of it.
Building an audience involves you presenting your knowledge and authority, building trust and getting your brand out there.
There are lots of tools and systems out there, plus a lot of knowledge in the Tech Tribe community forums.
Look out for final instalment of Steve’s Tribal Dispatches, where I’ll be reporting on some of the cybersecurity resources available to members.
Are you already a member of the Tribe? What do you think is the best thing about being part of the community? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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I'm a small business owner, technical writer and blogger, with 15 years experience in corporate IT. I frequently attend MSP peer groups and create content relevant to IT service providers and business owners.
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