LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
HAS YOUR GROOVE BECOME A GRAVE ?
Happy Halloween ! Here ’ s a good question that has nothing to do with haunted houses or creepy clowns : How often do you say yes to things that scare you ?
When you ’ re growing a business , you don ’ t need to wait until Halloween to be terrified . Most days are made up of a series of “ You ’ ve got to be sh * tting me ” experiences that would give anyone nightmares . I routinely make decisions that make me slightly anxious : The new six-figure hire , the new product or service we ’ re rolling out , the purchase of a new building , the new vendor we ’ re buying into , the BIG public initiative we ’ re betting on , or the new commission or bonus plan we ’ re putting in place . It ’ s good to be cautiously frightened . As Andrew Grove , former CEO of Intel , famously said , “ Only the paranoid survive .” All of these decisions have the potential to go really , really wrong , but they are all necessary . They are a fear to be overcome IF you are going to move your company forward . Even kids know you have to go out into the dark of night and knock on strangers ’ doors to get a bag full of candy on Halloween .
Conversely , a lot of MSPs are scared for all the wrong reasons . They ’ re not doing all that much to grow or expand , and they ' re not doing anything new . Their fear is rooted in the inevitable coming of the next recession , the next bad hire , the next bad month , or the next lost contract . These things scare the hell out of them because they ’ re barely hanging on to what they ’ ve got . A pothole in the road becomes a total disaster if the wheels on your car are just barely held in place with bubblegum and a prayer .
That ’ s why strategic growth is important , as is going on the offense to defend against the inevitable problems and setbacks . If you need someone for sales , it ’ s best to hire two people and keep your ad running . That way , when one ( inevitably ) goes lame , you have the other to fall back on and a stack of good people to reach out to for replacement . If you don ’ t have a productive , reliable marketing system in place , GET ONE , and don ’ t let yourself rest until you do . That way , you have the ability to lose a good client without having to go into debt to make payroll . Better yet , you can proactively fire the cheapskates and problem accounts and replace them with higher-paying , more appreciative , better-behaved clients . You can ’ t do that if you don ’ t have a marketing OFFENSE . Once you have a working marketing system , keep it going , even when you ’ re overloaded with work . Raise your prices and get pickier , but don ’ t cut off the lead flow . It ’ s much more difficult to start momentum than it is to keep it going , and there WILL be a recession , a cheaper or more aggressive competitor , a rogue tech , or a breakthrough technology that will erode and threaten your client base . Get ahead of that loss ; don ’ t quiver in the closet .
Founder and CEO , Technology Marketing Toolkit , Inc .
During an interview , Jack Welch passionately stated that you can ’ t win in business with just a good defense . You need to have a strong , steady offense — a force constantly moving your business forward to add new clients , new products and services , new leaders on the team , and new profit centers . You need new goals to hit . All of this is “ risky ” and chaotic , which is why so many people don ’ t do it . They take comfort in staying small with what they know they can easily do . Their groove becomes their grave because they ’ ve been in it for too long .
But you must take these risks and move forward . So , my “ treat ” to you after this last month of tricks is to remind you to seek change and new ways to improve and to encourage you to be harder on yourself about taking action and implementing the good ideas you have . If you ’ ve been a “ zombie ” for too long , meandering and fumbling around lost , it ’ s time to get serious about being an entrepreneur . Now , in this publication , I have a whole bag of goodies for you that won ’ t give you cavities or make you fat . n
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