Virtual COO Consulting Engagement

Erick SimpsonVice President & CIO, SPC International Online

One of the most prolific, recognized and sought-after IT, Cloud and Managed Services business improvement and transformation experts, consultants, authors and speakers in the industry, Erick has contributed to numerous industry publications and events and has authored 40 business improvement best practice guides and 4 best-selling books including "The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice", the definitive book on Managed Services, and the follow-ups in his Managed Services Series “The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!” and “The Best I.T. Service Delivery BOOK EVER!” and “The Best NOC and Service Desk Operations BOOK EVER!”.

Erick leverages over 20 years of experience in the IT industry as an Enterprise CIO, VAR, MSP, Vendor, Educator, Advisor and Consultant; and hundreds of successful strategic vendor, manufacturer, distributor and IT solution provider, MSP and Cloud practice business improvement consulting engagements to deliver successful business improvement and transformation outcomes for his clients.

ErickSimpson

Vice President & CIOSPC International Online

www.spc-intl.com

• Over 20 years experience in the IT industry

• Microsoft MCP, SBSC• Built Call Centers and Service Desks for

Fortune 1000 Organizations• Worked with hundreds of IT Service

Providers to improve their businesses

Your Host

An IT executive, advisor, author, speaker and consultant specializing in strategic business growth and improvement.

www.linkedin.com/in/ericksimpson

SPC’s Experience and Expertise

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Your Strategic Challenges1. Unsatisfactory Operational Performance

• Inconsistent Talent Recruiting, On-Boarding, Career Planning, Compensation Development, Performance Measurement and Evaluation Processes

• Inability to Measure True Cost and Margin for All Services• Ineffective Organizational Chart for Growth• Failure to “Run the Business By the Numbers”• Inability to Hold Leadership, Management and Staff Accountable to

Performance• Lack of Clear Vision and Strategy for Growth• Lack of Leadership Training for Leadership, Management, Staff

2. Ineffective Marketing Program• Lack of Consistent Appointments• Lack of Effective Marketing Collateral• Lack of Marketing KPI Visibility• Horizontal - Not Vertically Targeted• No CMO Leadership and Knowledge on Staff

3. Ineffective Consulting Sales Professionals• Sales Professionals Can’t Close Sales• Lack of Training for Sales Professionals• Ineffective Compensation Plans and Quotas• Poor Management and Support for Sales Professionals• Sales Professionals Not held Accountable for Not Closing• Lack of Sales Professionals That Can Lead• Lack of KPI Visibility on Sales Activities• CRM Not Being Used to measure Sales & Sales Activity • Sales Professionals Don’t Understand Solutions or Target Verticals

4. Ineffective Service Program• Lack of Effective Service Delivery Process• Ineffective Hiring, Comp Plans, Training & Retention Program• Lack of PSA and RMM Tool Optimization• Underperforming Solution Stack• Ineffective Bundling & Pricing Strategy• Lack of Effective New Client On-Boarding Process• Undocumented NOC and Service Desk Incident Management Process• Agreements and Proposals Lack Effectiveness• Difficult to Measure and Meet SLAs• Onsite Service Delivery Processes Not Standardized• Service Dispatch and Scheduling Process Undefined• Sales Engineering & Proposal Development Processes Not Optimized for

Sales Velocity Acceleration• Unsatisfactory Project and Change Management Processes• Service KPIs and Reporting Procedures Not Objective• Difficulty in Identifying True Costs and Margins • Conducting QBRs Effectively to Uncover New Opportunities is Not Being

Executed Properly• Partnering with the Right Vendors & Partners is Not a Continual

Improvement Process• Processes to Measure and Improve Client Satisfaction Lacking• Overall Service Management Playbook Undefined

5. Ineffective Training and Leadership Development Program• Leadership, Management and Staff• Operations, Marketing, Sales, Service Management, Project Managers,

Coordinators and Implementers, Service Dispatchers, Remote NOC and Service Desk, Onsite Technicians and Engineers, Sales Engineers4

Engagement Goals

• Develop Operational Performance Benchmarks• Develop Organizational Growth and Exit Strategy (Organic, M&A, etc.)• Develop Marketing Strategy• Develop Sales Growth Strategy• Develop Solution Stack, Bundling and Pricing and Positioning Strategy• Develop Service Delivery Strategy• Develop Service Management Strategy• Develop Service Organization• Conduct Talent Acquisition, On-Boarding Training and Leadership Development Strategy• Manage Expectations• Develop and Realize Strategic Objectives, Approach, Methodology, Outcomes, Timelines

3 Keys to a Profitable IT Service Organization

• People• Processes• Products

People Challenges

• Communication• Execution• Accountability• Clear Understanding of Job Roles• Sales and Engineering Teamwork• Training• Developing Leaders

Process and Procedure Challenges

• Lack of documented operational, marketing, sales and service delivery procedures

• Lack of consistency in marketing and lead generation activities• Lack of consistency in sales activities, tactics and techniques within sales team• Lack of consistency in remote and onsite service delivery among technical team• Lack of consistency in on-boarding clients• Lack of established incident management, escalation and alerting processes• Lack of established project management, change management and

phase/project acceptance procedures• Lack of established KPIs for performance measurement and accountability• Lack of documented service management procedures

Tools and Technology Challenges• PSA not optimized to leverage automation to reduce labor costs• RMM not optimized to maximize efficiencies in Service Delivery and eliminate the noise of unnecessary alerts• Automated Workflow Rules, Alerts and Escalations in PSA not optimized to ensure adherence to your

published SLAs• Agreements not set up properly in PSA for financial and SLA management• PSA Project Module not set up properly to guard against scope creep/seep and manage risk and change

effectively to preserve margins• Lack of Effective Marketing Automation Solution, Appointment-Setting Dialing Solution to maximize

appointment-setting outcomes• Website solution-centric and ineffective in generating interest and curiosity, does not accurately reflect all

products and services, fail to reflect a consultative image and lack cohesion with marketing collateral• PSA Sales Module not customized to help accelerate sales velocity and shorten sales cycles• Lack of Effective Security, Network Assessment Auditing and Quoting Tools• Lack of Suitable Infrastructure for Service Delivery• Challenges with operational, marketing, sales and service reporting and analysis• Difficult to determine true cost of service delivery and margins for each revenue stream

Product Challenges

• Difficulty Transitioning to Recurring Revenue Services Model• Majority of Revenue Derived from Transactional Sales• Non-Competitive Solution Stack or outdated product and service

catalog• Products and Services not bundled properly to increase buying

temperature and accelerate sales velocity• Difficulty in pricing and positioning services for maximum margin• Lack of effective vendor support• Ineffective MSP and Cloud Agreements and Professional Services

Proposals

Leadership Challenges

• Understanding and promoting the CEO’s vision• Understanding operating costs and profitability and managing and directing

company operations to meet budget and other financial goals• Developing, establishing, and directing the execution of operating policies to

support overall company objectives• Overseeing all administrative functions, ensuring smooth daily operations• Holding team accountable to perform and meet goals and objectives• Developing the leadership of the entire team• Managing the human resource function, including professional training and

development and annual performance reviews for continued team member career path growth and development

1. Develop People Strategy1. LMS Training for All Staff

• Leadership Team• Marketing Team• Account Managers, Sales Professionals,

Appointment Setters, Sales Admins• Service Managers, Project Managers, Coordinators

and Implementers, Service Dispatchers, Remote NOC and Service Desk, Onsite Technicians and Engineers, Sales Engineers

• Administrative Team2. Individual KPI Dashboards

• CEO, COO• Marketing• Sales• Account Managers, Sales Professionals,

Appointment Setters, Sales Admins• Service Managers, Project Managers, Coordinators

and Implementers, Service Dispatchers, Remote NOC and Service Desk, Onsite Technicians and Engineers, Sales Engineers

• Administrative Team

4. Role-Based Coaching and Development• Leadership Team• Marketing Team• Account Managers, Sales Professionals,

Appointment Setters, Sales Admins• Service Managers, Project Managers,

Coordinators and Implementers, Service Dispatchers, Remote NOC and Service Desk, Onsite Technicians and Engineers, Sales Engineers

• Administrative Team

5. Leadership Training• Leadership Team• Marketing Team• Account Managers, Sales Professionals,

Appointment Setters, Sales Admins• Service Managers, Project Managers,

Coordinators and Implementers, Service Dispatchers, Remote NOC and Service Desk, Onsite Technicians and Engineers, Sales Engineers

• Administrative Team 12

2. Develop Process Strategy

1. Talent Management Process• Talent Identification, Acquisition, On-

Boarding• Compensation and Commission Plan (and

Sales Team Quota) Development• Roles and Responsibilities, Career Path

Development• Training, Leadership Development, Goals,

KPIs and Performance Review Development• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

2. Financial Management Process• P&L and Chart of Account normalization to

determine true operating and service delivery costs, revenues and margins for each line of revenue

• Loans, Flooring Accounts and Lines of Credit Review

• EBITDA Improvement Strategy• Certified Financials Strategy Development• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

4. Organizational Growth Process• Organizational Chart for Growth Development• Leadership, Management and Staff Capacity

Management Strategy Development• Leadership Development Strategy Development • Organic Growth, Growth by Acquisition and Exit

Strategy Development• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

5. Marketing and Sales Process• Marketing, Branding and Lead Generation Strategy

Development• Website and Marketing Collateral Review for

cohesion, effectiveness and consultative image• Individual Sales Team Performance Review and

Improvement Strategy Development for Consultative Sales

• Consultative Sales Training to Become a True Trusted Advisor Strategy

• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting 13

2. Develop Process Strategy Cont.6. Sales Engineering Process

• Sales & Sales Engineering Team Selling• Onsite Job Walks, Network and Security Audits and

Assessments• Sales Engineering & Project Management

Collaboration• Quoting and Proposal Generation• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

7. Project Management Process• Sales & Project Management Collaboration• Project Plan Development• Project Kickoff Meeting Agenda and Plan Acceptance

• Success Criteria | Phasing | Resource Allocation & Scheduling | Change, Communication & Risk Management | Phase Review & Acceptance | Final Project Completion Acceptance

• Timeline, Resource, Risk, Change, Communication, Individual Phase and Overall Project Acceptance

• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

8. NOC and Service Desk Process• NOC and Service Desk Resource Staffing• NOC and Service Desk Tiering• People Skills and Customer Service• Incident and Problem Management and Escalation• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

9. Dispatch Process• Incident Creation, Identification, Documentation,

Prioritization, Assignment and Lifecycle Management• Resource Scheduling, Routing and Management• Service Board Management – Load Balancing and

Escalation• Client Communication and Expectations Management• SLA Management• KPIs, Meetings and Reporting

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3. Develop Product Strategy

1. Evaluate Solution Stack Based On Verticals• Vertical or Horizontal?• Low-Hanging Fruit Opportunities by

Vertical2. Bundles

• Security• Managed Services• Cloud• Other

3. Evaluate Vendors• Technical Support• Training Support• MDF Support• Event Support

4. Pricing• Costs Including On-Boarding, Ongoing

Support Costs and Subscription Fees• Tiers Based On Value• Security Only Tier• Monitoring Only Tier

5. Proposals• Projects• Security, MSP, Cloud Services, Other

6. Agreements• Master Services Agreement• Security SOW Addendum• MSP SOW Addendum• Cloud SOW Addendum• Other SOWs 15

4. Develop Sales Organization Strategy

1. Consulting Sales Professional Compensation Plan• 100K Plus for Successful Consulting Sales

Professionals• Gross Margin – Based Salary Formula,

Commissions, Residuals• 5 Month Transition to Success, 0%,

33%,66%, 100% Margin Quota Attainment• Employment Agreements, Offer Letters,

Non-Competes, RBI Accountability2. Vertical-Based Consulting Sales

Professionals• Daily Client Visits and Presentations,

Managed• Proposals Generated and Presented,

Managed• Sales Gross Margins Established, Managed• KPI Results Determine Required Training to

Succeed

3. LMS and Onsite Training: Consulting Sales Professionals• Sales 101 Training, DISC, SSI, PIAV, Leadership

Assessments and Training• Role Play All Solutions with Sales Manager,

Approved• PowerPoint Presentation Proficiency for All

Solutions• Vertical Business Analysis Process Training• Clearly Defined Sales Process Training• Sales and Automation – CRM Training• Clear Pipeline Visibility Training - We Close

Opportunities• Monthly Education Requirement, Question Based

Selling, Million Dollar Consulting, 5 Levels of Leadership, etc.

• Sales Professional Leader, Must Fit Culture

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5. Develop Service Management Strategy

1. Operations Management –NOC, Service Desk, Projects• Ongoing Incident, Problem, Event

Trend Analysis and Improvement• Ongoing Technical Resource

Performance Measurement and Efficiency Improvement

• Ongoing Service Agreement Performance Evaluation and Margin Improvement

• Ongoing Project Review, Analysis and Evaluation for Performance Improvement

• Ongoing Client Satisfaction Measurement and Improvement

2. Portfolio Management• Service Catalog Evaluation• Service Level Achievement• Availability Improvement• Capacity Planning• Service Continuity Planning• Security Hardening• Vendor/Supplier Evaluation• Risk, Change, Configuration and

Deployment Management• New Product, Service, Vendor and

R&D Evaluation

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3. Talent Management• Hiring, Motivating, Mentoring,

Goal Development, Discipline, Discharge

• Compensation Guidelines• Employee Review and Career Path

Advancement Development• Ongoing Technical Resource

Training and Certification Program Development

• Leadership Development• Organization Chart Development

4. Reporting Management• Capabilities and Qualities of Service• NOC and Service Desk SLA and

Financial Performance • Project Financial Performance• Agreement Financial Performance• Human Resource Efficiency and

Financial Performance• Human Resource Training and

Certification, and Capacity Planning

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5. Develop Service Management Strategy Cont.

5. Manage Expectations• CEO KPI Dashboards

• Operations KPI Dashboards

• Marketing, Sales KPI Dashboards

• Service Manager, NOC, Help Desk, Onsite Support, Project Management, Sales Engineering KPI Dashboards

We build and manage your project in our online project management platform, which includes:

• Tasks and to-do’s• Files and templates• Writeboards and links• Messaging and collaboration

5. Manage Expectations Cont.

Step 1: Strategic Planning Call

Once your project is provisioned, we schedule and conduct a strategic call to On-Board you and set expectations and timelines for next steps.

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Step 2: Preparation for Onsite Engagement

• Receive links to have your staff complete your:• DISC Profiles• Motivators (PIAV) Profiles• Sales Skills Index (SSI) Evaluations• Leadership Self-Assessments• Team Member Surveys

Step 3: Onsite Strategic VisitOnce we have completed your provisioning and On-Boarding call, we schedule our first On-Site Strategic Meeting with your entire team• Financial Performance Review• Hiring, Comp Plans, Training & Retention• Marketing, Sales and Service Delivery

Process Development• PSA and RMM Tool Optimization• Developing the Right Solution Stack• Bundling & Pricing Services for Maximum

Profit• New Client On-Boarding• NOC and Service Desk Incident

Management• Establishing & Meeting SLAs

• Leadership and Team Building• Onsite Service Delivery• Service Dispatch and Scheduling• Sales Engineering & Proposal Development• Project and Change Management• KPIs and Reporting• Identifying True Costs and Margins• Conducting QBRs Effectively to Uncover

New Professional Services• Partnering with the Right Vendors &

Fulfillment Partners• Improving Client Satisfaction

Step 4: Training Plan Development

• We build out each member of your team’s Training Programs in our online Business Improvement Training Platform for ongoing improvement

Step 5: Ongoing Remote and Onsite Strategic Sessions

• We continue to work with your team to realize your strategic plan for improvement

Goals

• Increase efficiencies and net profits• Standardize on improved processes and procedures• Increase teamwork and communication• Transform internal and external image perception and improve

employee and client satisfaction - and retention• Fuel controlled, sustainable growth through accelerated, increased

sales• Eliminate the reactive noise to focus more strategically on business

growth• Establish a baseline for a culture of Leadership