My first question was this : How long had this hot mess been “ live ”? He sheepishly admitted it had been up for at least nine months , possibly longer .
This was my second question : Where ’ d the lead go ( my form fill )? He said it was supposed to be emailed to him , but he hadn ’ t seen it come through yet . We waited . Ten minutes … 15 minutes . I filled out two other forms , including the “ Contact Us ” form . Any leads ? Nope . I had two employees get on the site and complete them . Any leads ? Nada . The call lasted about 45 minutes , and he had finally admitted that something was “ broken ” on his end . Perhaps this is a reason for the zero leads ?
I had one last question : What happens when a prospect calls ? Without a doubt , leads that call in are the hottest and need to be nabbed fast … as in the minute they call in . I Slack-messaged an employee of mine to “ secret-shop ” him while we were talking by calling the number posted on the site . The phone simply rang out , no live answer . When I told him , he casually said , “ Yeah , something ’ s wrong with our phones today . I ’ ve got to look into that .”
This is such a blatant waste of opportunity that I could spit . If you ’ ve ever struggled to pay your rent and had to steal food to survive like I had to at one point in my life , you tend to be more diligent about not letting a single dollar escape , and you ’ d be as incredulous as I was about the complete lack of concern over all of this . It ’ s the epitome of entrepreneurial laziness and sloth . Entitlement .
3 . Double Down On Marketing .
Self-serving ? Perhaps …
But the reality is that competition is thin right now , and nobody seems to be selling anything . Most MSPs are doing nothing , promoting nothing , and selling nothing . Their marketing budgets have been slashed , many of their salespeople lost their jobs , and their leaders are holed up in their closets with their masks on , clutching a bottle of Lysol . Marketing is so pathetic right now that simply making sure people know you ’ re open is a big deal .
Since the shutdowns , there are some businesses that I ’ ve stopped patronizing . You would think they ’ d be coming out of the woodwork to try and get me back , but that ’ s not the case . Sure , I ’ ve gotten the occasional email and have been prospected some . But our phones should be ringing off the hook from vendors and suppliers we are customers of , attempting to drum up additional business . But far too many are slashing marketing budgets and doing nothing .
Here ' s an example : Every Thanksgiving , we send out corporate gifts to over 1,000 clients . Nice gifts . I also routinely send out really nice gifts to a list of family members . You would think that at least a few of the half-dozen vendors I ’ ve ordered from in the past would go out of their way to get ahold of me early to win that big chunk of business . Want to know how many actually did ? Zero . As in none . Not a single one !
The two banks I deal with that could offer loans , lines of credit , and other financial services have not bothered to do a single promotion to me . Nor have our insurance brokers , payroll company , events vendors , etc . I ’ ve bought five BMWs from the local dealer , but I haven ’ t gotten a single call , email , or mail piece trying to get me back in the dealership , even though my car is over three years old ( which makes me a prime candidate versus someone who bought a car recently ). Such neglect ! And there certainly is opportunity to be had in this business ( IT ), particularly with the recent turn of events and shutdowns .
And Now , The BIG Question
What will you do ? Not think about , not talk about , not consider . Do .
Now more than ever , it ’ s critical to focus on what you can control . Clearly , none of us can influence or change the virus , the political agenda woven through all of this , the news , the widespread fear , the economy , the shutdowns , etc . But what you can pour your energy into is controlling your attitude about it all and your response to it .
I ’ m as annoyed as anyone over everything that has happened ; candidly , I have a lot more to be grumpy about than most businesses , given the direct hit our events have taken . We have been prevented and shut down from delivering what we sell due to no fault of our own . But what ' s the point in moping about like a giant sourpuss ? I ' ve got a profit to turn !
Einstein was right when he said that in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity . But finding it will require action and letting go of the belief that nothing can be done . It might require you to do things you had not planned on doing — things you might not necessarily like to do or find interesting and exciting to do . Complicated things that are inconvenient .
Sorry , Charlie , I can ’ t help you with that . That is the naked , harsh truth about all great opportunities in business . They are not found in the convenience store . n
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