The Channel Voice Podcast

EPISODES

No. 17: Jim Roddy, RSPA

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Topics discussed: Momentum at the RSPA and why content and education are a marketer’s best tools, how community shapes a business leader’s worldview, bouncing back from bad decisions, why publishers and VARs are still in business, hiring slow and failing fast, a POS provider’s greatest challenge and how it’s overcome, the legalities of running your business into the ground, and much more.  Continue Reading..

• Episode 16: Erick Simpson

  Topics Discussed: The easy math MSP leaders refuse to do, why cyber security is bigger than managed services and how to get in on the action, how to let the math tell you when it’s right to hire your next sales person, engineer, or admin, how many independent consultants can the channel handle, what makes them all work together in unison, and much more.

• Episode 15: Nick Streaker & Matt Solomon, ID Agent

  Topics Discussed: Bitcoin, silk road, and the darkening of the dark Web, why credentials are such a hot criminal commodity, sextortion specialists and Nigerian princes—how to spot them both and how to teach others to do the same, what the hell does a cryptologic linguist do, whether MSPs are capable of cyber security or whether they need the third S, whether we’ll ever take the offensive against cyber criminals, and much, much more.

• Episode 14: Brynne Tillman & Sally Jo LaMont, Social Sales Link

  Topics Discussed: Why LinkedIn is likely the most underutilized tool in your sales and marketing toolbox, how professional social networks are particularly valuable to channel businesses, the differences between leveraging social media as an individual versus as an organization, teaming up with colleagues to divide and conquer sales leads, a handful of steps you can take before 5:00 today to strengthen your profile, build your network, and empower your sales organization, and much more.

• Episode 13: Carrie Simpson, Managed Sales Pros

  Topics Discussed: How a kickboxer, yoga instructor, and stay-at-home mom turned into an IT services sales & marketing dynamo, why VAR and MSP leaders are terrible telemarketers, why telemarketing sucks as a job, yet remains a requisite prospecting tool and how long that might remain the case, how Simpson's company spun up a one-of-a-kind call center in under two weeks, what IT service provider execs must do to embrace telemarketing and win with it, and much more.

• Episode 12: Jerry Koutavas, The ASCII Group

  Topics Discussed: The value of industry associations and peer groups, the IT business leader’s persona and where it falls short, what solutions are hot in 2019 and how to avoid “shiny object” syndrome, the ill-effecof vendor dependency in marketing and the IT service provider’s responsibility there, why business development hires are more important than techs, the legacy of Alan Weinberger, and a whole lot more.

• Episode 11: Jay McBain, Forrester Research

  Topics Discussed: Personal and professional reflections on 2018, balancing career, a large and busy family, and channel guru status while pursuing an advanced degree, why 96 percent of IT service providers never grow beyond ten employees, why 70 percent of IT services business owners are seeking to sell out and what it means for the channel, and Jay McBain’s five predictions for 2019 (and slightly beyond).

• Episode 10: Tim Conkle & Crystal McFerran, The 20

  Topics Discussed: Building tribes of clients and building tribes of MSPs, scalability and national footprints, an MSP marketing retrospective, why 94 percent of MSPs never see a million dollars, self-awareness and corrective action, what if you don’t get anything back for your marketing? What if you do? Education as the ROI on failure, everything’s easier with a set of plans.

• Episode 09: Channel/Vendor Relations, Live From Brooklyn

  Topics Discussed: Tom Clancy (Valiant Technology), Paul DeMore (Force Management) Mark Haskelson (Compliancy Group), and Butch Langlois (Vend) engage in a transparent conversation about what's right and what's wrong with channel/vendor partnerships from the perspectives of VAR/MSP, software company, and consultancy. 

• Episode 08: Bradley Gross, The Law Office Of Bradley Gross

  Topics Discussed: Why most MSPs don’t treat their business like a business, the dangers of ambiguous contract language, the business, financial, and personal repercussions of legal action, how to avoid sales-slogging contract language yet remain protected, best practices for legal risk mitigation.

• Episode 07: Peter Kujawa, EO Johnson Business Technologies - Locknet Managed IT Services

  Topics Discussed: The value of a legal background in managed services business leadership, merger and acquisition strategy and law, change management among personnel, salespersons' egos, transparency and altruism in the IT channel.

• Episode 6: Dennis O'Connell, Taylor Business Group

  Topics Discussed: An unlikely path to managed services, sleepwalking in the Air Force, why peer groups matter, surviving tornadoes (literally), keeping reliable peers, building a financial cushion, KPIs, business performance benchmarking, the discomfort of accountability and transparency, and more.

• Episode 5: Arlin Sorensen, HTG Peer Groups/ Connectwise

  Topics discussed: From farmer to IT advisor, the birth of a peer group, the evolution of HTG, the definition of legacy, what legacy means to MSPs versus individuals, the unfair stigma around “lifestyle” service businesses, intentionality and the importance of a “why statement,” habits that make business and personal legacy real.

• Episode 4: Robin Robins, Technology Marketing Toolkit (Part 2)

  Topics Discussed: The glamour of the MSP industry, the beginnings of the technology marketing toolkit, whether or not it's hard to fly a rocket ship, inspiring leaders, the power of industry knowledge, the channel’s cyber security services opportunity, big box IT threats.

• Episode 3: Robin Robins, Technology Marketing Toolkit (Part 1)

  Topics Discussed: Building personal brands and professional legacies; overcoming hardship and developing grit; religious cults and faith healing; Zig Ziglar; learning and mastering sales; quitting excuses; accepting responsibility and making good choices.

• Episode 2: John Kirk And Kathy Meader, RSPA

  Topics Discussed: Football and the channel; elevating the RSPA brand; payment security and QIR standards, RetailNOW 2018; RSPA educational calendar 2019.

• Episode 1: Paul Dippell, Service Leadership Inc.

  Topics Discussed: The birth of SLI; measuring financial performance; the chronic undervaluation of IT service offerings; raising rates in a savvy way; stepping up sales; the rapaciousness of the storage unit rental business; the specialization and verticalization of managed services; where the channel goes from here.