Managed Services in a Month - Part Five

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1 Managed Services in a Month 59 Managed Services in a Month - Part Five Where we've been: Topic One: Start making a plan Topic Two: Create a three-tiered pricing structure Topic Three: Weed your client garden Topic Four: Finish the plan Topic Five: Write a service agreement and have it reviewed by an attorney Topic Six: Print up your new pricing plan And now (perhaps the most important topic of all): Client Sit-Downs If you're not a Soprano's fan, don't visit Satriale's Pork Store. That's one of the places Tony would go to have a sit-down. He'd draw a line and after that the relationship was refreshed and re-defined going forward. Here's the lowdown. You have to have a sit-down with your clients. That means face to face. That means in person. That means you and not an employee. You started this relationship. You're the contact, and the personality, and the company. You're the beginning and then end of the business.

2 Managed Services in a Month 60 If you want to lose a client for sure, your new pricing sheet and wait for an answer. [Insert slow hold music here.] Here's an overview of the sit-down process: Gather your data. Prep your binders. You'll meet with each of your clients. You'll have them pick one of the new plans. You'll drop any client who does not sign a new agreement. Stop: I'm serious. You honestly and sincerely, deep in your heart have to be ready to walk away. Look at what you've been through already: You've defined your ideal client, and your pricing structure, and your service agreement. You've got an awesome 3-tiered price sheet. You know what you want and you've defined it quantitatively. You've listed services and put a price on them. You're 100% ready to go. Now you just have to have the guts to walk away. Important negotiation tip: If you're not willing to walk away, you will lose (or pay too much, or get too little). So, we're going to help you get to the point where you have the self-confidence, experience, and gumption to walk away. Sort Your Clients You already did this: In Part Three you made three sets of lists. We'll call them Platinum, Gold, and Silver. Now try to guess which agreement each client will sign, based on past performance.

3 Managed Services in a Month 61 The result is: a new list with three columns. The columns are "Most Likely to Sign Silver," "Most Likely to Sign Gold," and "Most Likely to Sign Platinum." Gather Data, Prep Your Binders For each client, you're going to show up with a nice presentation folder. If you already have them, great. If not, scoot over to Staples and get some. I wouldn't have any printed just for this. But whatever you want to do is fine. At a minimum, show up with a nice presentation binder with your business name on the front and your card inside. Remember that report on labor sales per client? You're going to run that report for the last 12 full months. Print up two copies so you can go over this with the client. The report shows all the money this client has paid you for labor over the last 12 full months. Note: If the client basically spends nothing, skip this report. We went to one client who had spent about $1,000 over the last year. We believed 99% that they would drop, but we wanted to let them make the decision. They signed for $500/month. That's $6,000/year. We re happy to have them onboard! Also in this binder, you will put two copies of your newlyminted Service Agreement, two copies of the price list, and one copy of your credit card agreement for recurring billing. You'll need this if they pay by credit card. That's it. No marketing material (they know who you are). Clean and simple.

4 Managed Services in a Month 62 Make Appointments The order in which you talk to your clients is extremely important. You've got your three tiers: Most Likely Platinum, ML Gold, ML Silver. You're going to start at the low end (most likely Silver) for several reasons. First, you believe many of these people won't sign at all. Second, these people are really the least likely to sign. Third, if they sign, they'll probably sign Silver. Here's the strategy: You haven't pitched your awesome new plan before. So you're going to start with the least likely clients. You're going to explain your model, and the features of each level. And you're going to say the words "We think Platinum is best for you." And you're going to listen. You're going to write down every question, every objection, and every time they say "That's a good point." In other words, the strategy is that these silver suspects are going to teach you how to sell this product to the next level of clients. You'll learn all the sticking points and questions. And you'll develop answers. Along the way, you'll develop absolute confidence in your new system. In justifying it to everyone else, you'll justify it to yourself. You'll drink as much kool-aid as you serve up to others. For now, only make appointments with Silver Suspects. You'll schedule Gold Suspects after you're about half done with the Silver.

5 Managed Services in a Month 63 Important safety tip: You have to make these appointments!!! They cannot be over the phone. You cannot the price list. This is a sit-down. Your business will come to a stop for minutes while you sit across the table from your client and talk about how your refreshed relationship is going to work. Similarly, your client's business will come to a stop for minutes. You'll force them to stop, sit down, and go over this. Don't get discouraged if clients don't jump at the opportunity to meet with you. They're busy and you're just another vendor. Plus, they might suspect bad news or a price increase. But mostly they're just busy. Don't meet with the office manager or your primary contact unless that person has the ability to sign a contract. Lots of people can say no. But only one or two people can say yes. Part of redefining this relationship is that you have to have an owner-to-owner discussion. You're going to tell them what the new system is and they're going to pick a plan. If you give your pitch to anyone who can't say yes, they're going to interpret your offering, and your pricing, and your past relationship. And even if they're an advocate, they may not convince "the powers that be" to sign your deal. If you show up and the person who can say yes is not there, be polite and ask to reschedule. Don't go through your pitch.