RSPA Inspire Day #2 Education: 140 Characters At A Time

By Jim Roddy, president, Business Solutions magazine and Jameson Publishing

Business owner, consultant, and author Brett Harward, the featured speaker at the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) Inspire 2012 winter conference, discussed Key Performance Indicators For Resellers on Day #2 of the event. His presentation was chockfull of business wisdom applicable to VARs, so I took to my @Jim_Roddy Twitter feed to share his insight. Here are some of Harward's best quotes – 140 characters at a time:

When people are aware of their deficiencies, they tend to self-correct. @bharward #RSPAinspire

Managing By The Numbers: Use the numbers as a primary measurement for organizational accountability. @bharward #RSPAinspire

Numbers are a language of comparison. They only mean something compared w/ another number. Trends tell the best tale. @bharward #RSPAinspire

Frequency: If you're measuring on a monthly basis now start measuring on a weekly basis to attain the outcome faster. @bharward #RSPAinspire

Right before I hire someone, we agree in advance their terms of being fired. @bharward #RSPAinspire

"Launch canoes, not warships." Test unproven theories in small increments. Easier to implement & less costly. @bharward #RSPAinspire

The single best behavior you can get from an employee: attempting to solve problems. @bharward #RSPAinspire

When a sales rep is struggling, measure their top-of-funnel activities: # of phone calls, # of leads, # of demos. @bharward #RSPAinspire

VARs should measure billable time in minutes, not hours. You'll have clearer targets + avoid rounding down (& losing $). #RSPAinspire

VARs can install a bonus system where employees earn a higher pay rate for billable hours they work vs. non-billable hours. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller spends $31k a year on marketing. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller spends $156k a year on rent. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller spends $139k a year on employee bonuses (1.54% of rev). #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller earns $179k net profit (3.02% of rev). #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller has 7.05 salespeople who generate $1.74 in sales. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller employs 23 service tech & 6.9 admin employees. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Avg reseller ratio -- 3 service techs for every salesperson and admin employee. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller revenue -- 37% equip sales, 15% hardware maintenance contracts. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller revenue -- 8% software sales, 11% software maintenance contracts. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Average reseller revenue -- 11% non break/fix service, 4.4%% break/fix svc. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Avg reseller revenue -- only 1.78% credit card processing, 0.96% SaaS. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Avg reseller revenue -- 35% grocery, 33% hospitality, 19% retail. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: The top 25% most profitable resellers have a high % of service contracts. #RSPAinspire

KPI Survey of @InsideRSPA Members: Top 25% most profitable resellers have a high % of service contracts & higher service rates. #RSPAinspire

The reseller behind me just said, "I'm raising my rates right now!" #RSPAinspire

"If you want significant growth in your business, you need significant investment in marketing." @bharward #RSPAinspire Amen brother!

I wasn't the only one tweeting about RSPA Inspire 2012. Here are some other nuggets you might find interesting:

@CRS4POS: Day 2 at #RSPAinspire is about to begin. Yesterdays session was full of good info on managing a process funnel and not just a sales funnel

@InsideRSPA: #RSPAinspire video blog: Provide End-To-End Solutions ht.ly/8MCvl via @bsminfo @InsideRSPA @Jim_Roddy

@cshergi: RT @Jim_Roddy: #RSPAinspire Day 1 Recap: Editor's Video Blog by Mike Monocello ow.ly/8MCi3 via @bsminfo @InsideRSPA

@BSMinfo: Education brief from #RSPAinspire: "Rules for Increasing Organizational & Individual Frequency" - ow.ly/8MJGj

The Los Suenos Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort in Herradura, Costa Rica is hosting RSPA Inspire 2012. For the Top Tweets from RSPA Inspire Day #1 (Jan. 30), click here: http://bsminfo.com/article/Top-Tweets-from-RSPA-Inspire-2012-Day-1-0001

For complete coverage of RSPA Inspire, go to www.BSMinfo.com/POS.