Most asked questions at XChange 2016
“Marketing is about creativity, but it’s also about strategy. And without the right strategy, your marketing will not pay off. It’s important to start off with your audience and your budget, and then, to determine what is actually realistic within your limited supply of resources and money. Your marketing needs to be SMARTER: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-Bound, Ethical, and Resourced.” –Michelle Cobb, Marketing Account Manager
–Michelle Cobb, Marketing Account Manager
“As a small to medium-sized business owner, hiring isn’t something you do because you ‘sort of’ have a need. You hire because you desperately need the additional manpower, and you’ve probably needed it for months. But before you hire on a salesperson, you need to make sure you have these five things—a defined product offering, a proven sales process, standard presentation documentation, a training program, and, of course, some money in the bank. Without these five things, your business isn’t ready to take that next step… yet.”
–Nick Points, Business Development Manager
“Marketing takes time, and it involves multiple touches. These touches need to be consistent and measurable. If you’re going to create a monthly newsletter, send it to the same people every month. Don’t send it out whenever you want or to whomever you feel. Create a targeted group and send it to them twelve months out of the year. Make sure you have some way of tracking click rates and open rates. If after six or seven months, your click rate is still low, and your open rate hasn’t changed, you can consider changing your tactics. Maybe you need different content, a different writer, or different headlines, or maybe you don’t need it all.”
–Emalee Sugano, Marketing Director
“This question is ridiculously broad, but it’s a question we get asked all too often. ‘What should my website look like?’ ‘Is it okay to use a template?’ ‘How much detail should I go into about my solutions?’ And, honestly, this is a huge hurdle that IT companies need to overcome; everyone looks the same and says way too much. So, yes, you can use a template, but only if it’s customized to what you offer. Don’t just fill in your company name and call it good. Make it yours and give your consumer something to go off of. And, no, do not go into detail about your solutions. The goal of your website is to pique interest and to get someone to pick up the phone to call you. If you give them everything on the site, why would they call you?”
–Marketing Team
“When you’re networking with potential clients, most of the people you speak to won’t care what you do, and, to be perfectly honest, they probably don’t even want to speak to you. If you throw out the typical elevator pitch, which is really just a 60-second word vomit about how awesome you are, the other person will probably leave in the middle of it. What you need to do is to control the conversation. Ask questions and spin the conversation to be more about them and their business. ‘Tell me about your company’ or, ‘Can I ask you some questions about your business?’ are great ways to steer the dialogue to a more productive place. Use ‘Conversational Layering’ to pique their interest.”
–Manny Martinez, Channel Sales Development Executive
“Take a look at who your best clients are and determine their demographics—what they do, how they operate, and how big they are. Get all the basics. After that, dig a little deeper and uncover psychographics–what kind of culture, common interests, and beliefs they have. Once you’ve figured this out, pair it with data from the U.S. Census. Find the most viable industries in your region and narrow it down to two or three that you can strategically target.”
–Emalee Sugano, Marketing Director
“It really doesn’t matter how you price out your agreements. As long as it makes sense to your bottom line. Obviously there needs to be some sort of equation in the mix, but I know what you’re getting at—should you price your agreements out per user? And the answer is still the same. As long as it makes sense… just don’t let your clients see it because that’ll just cause problems later on. Every time someone quits or gets fired, your client will ask for a rework of their agreement, or they might even ask for a credit. Don’t let them have that power. Just list one price on the invoice. Never itemize.”
–Alex Rogers, CEO
“This isn’t as difficult a question as you think it is. It isn’t about who has the best product or who can fix a server the quickest…no. It’s about treating their business as your own. It’s about becoming a consultant—you want them to succeed, and they know it. Your competition’s claim to fame is “fixing PCs,” so minimize it. Reinforce your value by offering a strategic partnership. Go beyond the technology”
–Alex Rogers, CEO
Why CharTec?
CharTec didn’t just pop up out of nowhere and say, “Hi, we’d like to teach you about selling managed services agreements.” No. CharTec was birthed out of a multi-million dollar MSP that’s been around for more than 20 years. CharTec is overflowing with industry experts and business frontrunners in areas such as Marketing, Sales, and Operations who are dedicated to growing your business 100% of the way, 100% of the time. Why? Because that’s what we’re good at.
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