Effectively using Social Networking to build your IT Support business

Richard Tubb Independent Consultant

Chris Martin GFI MAX – MSP Consultant

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Introducing

Chris Martin GFI MAX – MSP Consultant

Richard TubbIndependent Consultant

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Webinar Agenda

» The principles for using Social Networking

» The ROI of Social Networking

» Social Networking vs Social Media

» Tips for Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

» Why Blog?

» Content Loops

» The Tools to use

» Social Networking vs traditional Business Networking

» Question and Answer

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The Principles of Social Networking

» Do not sell!

» Use to educate

» Add Value, not noise

» It’s a two-way conversation

» It’s about quality, not quantity

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The ROI of Social Networking

» Establishes you as a subject matter expert

» Begins process of building trust in you

» Gives you visibility

» Typically used as a conversation starter

» Business can be won thanks to Social Networking!

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All about conversations

Social Networking vs. Social Media

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Social Media

» Primarily about content

» There are still opportunity for conversations though!

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Content Loops

» Create a video on YouTube –link to your web-site

» Create a blog post talking about the video

» Tweet about the blog post

» Create a LinkedIn status update about the blog post

» Add photos to Flickr about how you made the video

» Your web-site has a link to your blog

» Different people consume information through different channels. Help them to find you!

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The tools to use

» Tweetdeck

» Outlook Social Connector

» SocialOomph

» Google Alerts

» Bit.ly – Shorten and track the links you share

» Read my blog article – “The Tools I use” (link TBA)

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» 140 Characters – micro-blogging!

» What you say will be open for the world to see!

» Share links that share your viewpoint – add your thoughts

» Follow like minded individuals, start conversations

» Use Groups to categorise those you follow – Business, Friends, Local, Vendors, Prospects, etc.

» Getting started? Re-Tweet (RT) some articles, ask and answer questions

» Use Hash-Tags (#) to discuss specific subjects

Tips for Twitter

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Tips for LinkedIn

» Solely business focus

» Offers status updates like Twitter– but use sparingly.

» Use as part of your process for managingbusiness cards

» Scan the Weekly LinkedIn update e-mail for opportunities to re-connect with people

» Use LinkedIn Groups to engage with peers and prospects

» If cross-posting to Twitter, don’t use Hash-tags (#) on LinkedIn!

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» Facebook primarily for personal relationships,but is used extensively for business too

» The line between personal friendshipsand business friendships is blurring

» People do business with people they like– don’t be afraid to be yourself on-line!

» Use Facebook Privacy settings to separate your friends and colleagues where necessary

» Use @ sign to tag other people – in status updates, in photos

Tips for Facebook

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Why Blog?

» Blogging is free – it doesn’t matter if anyone reads it!

» It teaches you to effectively articulate your thoughts and points – it’ll make you a better salesmen, a better speaker, a better party guest!

» Be consistent with your message and your frequency

» If you’re good at it, people will read. If you’re no good at it, you’ll get good at it.

» Effectively builds trust in you and your brand

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Social Networking Etiquette

» When in doubt, treat like “real world” networking

» Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to be quoted on

» But do be yourself!

» Don’t “Friend Collect” – *always* write personalised introductions within connection requests

» Read my blog post – “Thanks for your Friend Request, but who are you?” http://bit.ly/tubblog-friendrequest

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Social Networking vs. traditional Business Networking

» Social Networking compliments traditional networking, and visa versa!

» Putting all your energy into just one or the other will only get you so far

» Use a balanced “linked up” approach to networking both on-line and off-line – Face-to-Face, Telephone Calls, E-Mails, Social Networking

» Always try to “Be The Connector”

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Any questions?

» Blog – www.tubblog.co.uk

» Twitter – www.twitter.com/tubblog

» LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/richardtubb

» E-Mail – richard@tubblog.co.uk

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GFI MAX Building Blocks

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» A series of discrete, pre-packaged services that the customer can easily grasp the value of

» That you can sell easily

» That generate recurring profits for you

» Bind that customer to you

» Learn about their systems

» Begin changing the nature of the relationship

» And migrate them to full Managed Services

How the Building Blocks can help you get started

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» All the information, tools and collateral needed to sell and implement a set of Managed Services

» You can use to:

□ Attract new customers or strengthen relationships with existing customers

□ Easily sell a profitable service

□ Ease customers from break-fix to Managed Services

» With NO major changes to your company□ And no expensive training

What’s a Building Block?

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Building Blocks Program – Do it your way!

Server & Network Workstation Email

Server & network management

Workstation management

Email archiving

Email hosting

Delivery verification

Real-time server & network monitoring

Proactive workstation maintenance Email Continuity

Daily ServerHealth Check

Real-time workstation monitoring Anti-virus & anti-spam

Daily Server Safety Check

Daily Workstation Health Check

Email infrastructure monitoring

Lucrative but

complex

Lower value but

simple

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What’s contained in each Building Block?

Each Building Block Contains:

Information about the service, context in which it sits in Building Blocks

Financials (pricing & profit) calculators

Promotional material (flyers, letters, web site text, etc.), value proposition, marketing and sales strategy

Implementation documents (contracts, SLAs)

Implementation considerations: Integration, billing, scaling, etc.

Example: Server Blocks – all you need to price and sell

Server & Network Management

Real-time Server & Network Monitoring

Daily Server Health Check

Daily Server Safety Check1

2

3

4

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Your Logo Here

All the self-branded information and material you need

Sample flyer

Your strap line here

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Sample website copy

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Sample sales letters and telephone scripts

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Pricing calculators, sample contracts, statements of work...

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» All the info and collateral.

» To easily sell straightforward services that the customer grasps.

» That bind the customer to you.

» That truffle hunt and brings more incidents to the surface.

» That you can make good recurring revenues and profits.

» That require no changes to your business system. No training and travel and time.

» That can be used to attract new customers with a straightforward service.

» That start the progression to full Managed Services.

GFI Max and Building Blocks are…Easy!

GFI MAX Building Blocks summary

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» You get the full system

» Set up in less than 10 minutes!

» No commitment

» No hard sell

» Or contact us for more information:gfimax@gfi.com

Thank you

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» Online resource to help you:

» Grow your IT support company

» Run your company more profitably

» Deliver fast IT support and increase uptime

» Minimize threats to your business

MSP Business Management website

www.mspbusinessmanagement.com