Ultimate Guide to As a Service 2016

TO
THE
ConnectWise.com
AS-A-SERVICE
STEP-BY-STEP ADVICE FOR EMPOWERING
YOUR TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION BUSINESS

1
4
7
2
5
8
3
6
9
Why Expand
Your Service
Offering?
Managing
Cash Flow
Creating a
Targeted
Marketing
Campaign
Navigating
Cloud Services
As a Practice
Adapting
Your Sales
Strategy
How to
Retain Clients
How to Design
an Agile
Business Plan
Getting Clients
On BoardWith
New Services
Maximizing
Customer
Journey
Efficiency
Adding to your service offering is challenging. We get it. ConnectWise has helped countless
technology solution providers reconfigure their businesses for the future by adding new practice
areas and building monthly recurring revenue. The Ultimate Guide to As-A-Service will
help you navigate these important business expansions with confidence.
This guide covers everything from business planning to client retention.
Read it from cover-to-cover or jump to what interests you by clicking below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AS-A-SERVICE
PART 1
WHY EXPAND
YOUR SERVICE
OFFERING?

4PART 1 WHY EXPAND YOUR SERVICE OFFERING? TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL
ABOUT “AS-A-SERVICE”?
If you sell, service, or support technology, you’ve probably been hearing a lot about the
commoditization of IT and the need to compete with an“as-a-service”approach. And you
realize that creating new practice areas would mean huge changes for your business.
Is it all a bunch of hype?
No, it’s definitely not hype. Affordable technology
is changing the way businesses of all sizes and
industries operate.Your customers are starting
to understand the competitive advantage that
technology can bring, even if they aren’t highly
technical themselves. They need more than a support
tech; they want a trusted advisor who can help them
translate their business objectives into reengineered
processes and new technology solutions.
Think of the as-a-service model in terms of bundling
together the hardware, software, services and
support that your clients need and then
charging them a flat monthly fee
for the entire bundle.
It is not simply selling
clients an extended
maintenance contract.
In fact, as-a-service is
your opportunity to prove
your value to clients and
serve as a trusted subject-
matter expert.

“As-a-service”is probably the most fundamental change to the technology solution provider’s
business model in decades. It’s critical that you get it right—and also that you get right on it.
Your competitors may be expanding their service offering already, so there is no time to lose!
WhatWill Adding New Practice Areas Do for My Business?
Among many other benefits, moving your clients to the cloud with Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) and Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) will help you develop a stream of predictable
revenue that makes your business more competitive and profitable.
Having more practice areas makes
your business more competitive.
With more practice areas, you can count on recurring
revenue month over month and year over year.
Cash flow is finally steady and improving all
the time.You don’t have to stress about
payroll and other expenses, so you can
put your energy toward more strategic
business-building activities. Having a steady
income liberates you to take risks and get more
aggressive with your business plan. Create new
practice areas for new or existing markets in your
customer base. Go after larger, harder-to-land
clients. If you miss a sales target one month,
your cash flow remains unaffected!

In the long run, more practice areas
will make you more money.
Over time, when you add up all of the
payments from your practice areas,
you can expect to make more
money on this model than one-
time projects or installations.You’ll
also raise the lifetime value of your
clients, and because clients stick
with you and pay month after
month, all new sales are additive.
By trading some cash up front for
greater long term profitability,
you’re truly growing your business.
For a more in-depth look at how the
numbers might play out in your business,
read this article by Mike Monocello in
Business Solutions.
Practice Areas with the
As-a-Service Model
reduces customer churn.
An as-a-service business model enables
you to become much“stickier”with your
clients, or more essential to their business.
While the“rip and replace”model of selling
technology encourages customers to shop
around for better pricing or features, the as-a-service
model positions you as an indispensable partner to
your clients’ongoing success. Done right, it will help
make your business too valuable to replace in your
customers’eyes.

Recurring revenue builds a valuable legacy when it’s time
to exit your business.
Increasing the amount of monthly recurring revenue coming into your business raises the
quality of your earnings and the overall value of your business. In business valuation, high
quality revenue—the kind of earnings that investors seek—is defined by three essential
characteristics: predictability, profitability,
and diversity1
. The as-a-service model
builds predictable, recurring revenue.
By expanding and standardizing your
service offering, you can increase
profitability through efficiency
and automation.
Whether your exit plan involves
passing your business to your
children or selling it, more
practice areas and predictable
revenue build a legacy of value
that you can take to the bank!
Some professionals estimate that
a business with recurring revenue
is worth 16 times more than a
one-time revenue model (such
as rip and replace)2
. Another
recent article estimated that an
owner can expect to receive 4 to
6 times EBITDA [earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, and
amortization] for a company on
a one-time sales model, while
owners with recurring revenue
can expect a payday of 6 to 8
times EBITDA3
.
1
Anthony K.Tjan,“What High Quality Revenue Looks Like,”Harvard Business Review blog, February 7, 2013.
2
Mike Monocello (moderator),“Transition to the‘as-a-Service’Model,”RetailNOW panel discussion, 2013.
3
Mike Monocello,“Retail as a Service”Is About Survival, IncreasingTheValue OfYour Business,”Business Solutions blog, March 30, 2013.

Transform capital expenditures into operating expenses for
your clients.
In their personal lives, people are already accustomed to paying for products and services on
a monthly basis. It’s easy for business owners to understand the same model for their business
purchases, and monthly payments might fit better into budget plans. In today’s economic
environment, small business owners may be reticent about large capital expenditures on
new software and hardware. The as-a-service model enables your clients to convert up front
capital expenditures into pay-as-you-go operating expenses4
. Spreading these expenses across
affordable monthly payments may help you close more deals.
Build a business you will truly enjoy.
Remember the dreams you had for your business about living the good life and loving work?
If you’re like most business owners, those dreams faded and running the business took over
your life! Establishing practice areas with the as-a-service model can help you earn more
and stress less, so you can finally enjoy the business and reap the benefits of
your hard work. It gives you the freedom to find a better balance between
work and your personal life. Take more time for what’s important to you—
working on your business, traveling, hobbies, or spending more time
with family and friends.
Techvera, a North Texas IT solution provider, has practice
areas that range from break/fix to managed services. CEO,
Reese Ormand, reflects on the as-a-service model and
how setting up monthly recurring revenue impacts
his business after a full year. He says: “I was able
to replicate that same amount of revenue
with five managed service clients,
four to five times the margin at
the end of the day.”
4
RetailNOW panel discussion

Add Services to MakeYour Business Stickier
Today’s modern businesses use technology to create efficiencies and they need a go-to-person
to help them manage it all. Adding more services to your portfolio can help your business
become that critical point-of-contact for your clients. Plus, it will increase your stickiness with
existing clients and reduce the possibility that competitors can gain a foothold. Increase your
value to your client by becoming a one-stop-shop with each new service you add.
Create multiple touch points with clients by providing at least four of these products
and services:
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for business
applications
• Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) for PCs,
laptops, printers, etc.
• Cloud services
• Remote Monitoring and Management
(RMM) of hardware and networks
• Data backup/disaster recovery
• Mobile services
• Storage and antivirus
• Physical security monitoring systems
• Help desk support or premium 24/7
support services
• Vendor management
• Capacity planning
• Lifecycle management (warranties,
expirations and updates)
• Return Merchandise Authorizations (RMA)
• VoIP and WiFi
• Website development and maintenance
• Email, mobile and social media marketing
If you service the retail industry, you may also consider monthly services such as:
• Digital signage
• Inventory management
• Reservation programs
• Loyalty programs
• Gift cards
“Youdon’thavetoabandonexistingpracticesor
businesses.Instead,youcancontinuetoopennew
businesspracticesthattransformyourbusiness.”
Arnie Bellini, CEO
ConnectWise

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 2
NAVIGATING
CLOUD SERVICES
AS A PRACTICE

11 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 2 NAVIGATING CLOUD SERVICES AS A PRACTICE
HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT
OFFERING CLOUD SERVICES?
When managed services was the hot new practice in the industry, it was easier for technology
solution providers (TSPs) to jump on board despite the challenges of reorienting their
business to take on a new practice area. This was because the benefits were clear from
the beginning: a larger territory meant more clients, and more clients meant
more profit.
Creating a new practice area for cloud services entails the same sort of challenge
for TSPs, except there’s a stigma surrounding the practice that managed
services didn’t have. It’s harder to see the potential for
profit because margins on cloud licenses are
slim. This new environment also brings
new challenges surrounding service
delivery and billing. However,
just because the benefits
of cloud services may
be more difficult to
see, doesn’t mean
they’re not there.
The reality is that TSPs
have the ability to
provide more value
to their clients with
cloud services, and
can still make a profit.

As more of your clients transition to the cloud, now is your chance to evolve your business,
and your position as a trusted advisor, right alongside the industry.
Embrace the Change
We get it. Change is scary. Even with growing client demand for cloud services, it’s easy to
get overwhelmed when you think about the daunting task of managing single tenants in
an invisible and unfamiliar environment. But as frightening as the unknown might be, the
rewards are well worth the risk where cloud services are concerned.
The cloud environment allows you the potential to create a global client base, and you
can offer proactive services that will solidify your value to your clients with the same staff
you currently have. That’s right. You don’t have to change everything about how you
do business, or give up the areas you got into the business for, in order to
accommodate the cloud. And that’s not all.
Major players in the industry have seen this shift to the cloud coming, and have created systems
that will help take the burden out of managing, monitoring, and billing in the cloud for TSPs.
Gaincontrol
Learn how to decrease the stress
cloud.
of your clients’licenses in the
of managing,monitoring,and
billing for cloud services, while increasing
profit with ourdemo.

Sure, things will be different moving forward, but change isn’t always a bad thing. If you’re ready
to take on a new challenge with the potential to yield huge rewards, then follow this advice to
prepare your business to do more than just weather the storm.
IsYour Business Prepared for the Cloud?
Almost a decade ago, most TSPs were busy evolving their break/fix operations into highly
profitable managed service provider businesses. Now the cloud is hovering over the IT
industry landscape, and change is in the air once again.
Your clients have experienced anytime, anywhere ease of access and minimal downtime
on their personal devices, and naturally want the same convenience and security for their
business systems.
So, while this technological phenomenon isn’t new, it’s poised to change the way technology
solution providers do business, the same way managed services did, but on a new level.
Create a Cloud Services Practice Area
In order to be successful in the cloud, create a practice area dedicated to cloud services.
Think of your portfolio as a menu of services for your clients and prospects.You wouldn’t
put just one thing on a menu, so why stop at one service? Don’t limit yourself.
that by
It’s
estimated
of all
2020,
50%SMBs
will have moved their business systems
into the cloud.1
1 David Politis,“Trends in Cloud IT: Dissecting Adoption Across
Thousands of Organizations,”Better Cloud Blog, June 11, 2015.

Instead of thinking of your business in terms of managed services or cloud services exclusively,
think of it as a one-stop-shop for your clients that includes all the technology services they’ll
need to run their businesses.
Who are
your target
customers?
What is their
perspective on
cloud services?
How will they know
you’re offering cloud
services?
AdaptYour Business Model
You don’t have to change your entire business model to cope with cloud services. It’s possible
to maintain your current practice areas, and those clients that aren’t ready to move to the cloud
yet, and still meet demands for prospects that are part of this widening market, before your
competition does.
Want more details?
Check out our 5 Steps to
Cloud Service Provider
Success eBook where
you’ll learn everything
you need to know to start
capitalizing on the cloud.
Creating a cloud services practice area is possible, and can be very worthwhile if
you plan ahead. Consider the following:
GET THE EBOOK

Once you’ve identified your target customer and how to reach them, plot out details of the
customer journey. So, what does your customer’s journey look like?
Spread the word about your new cloud service practice area!
Prepare your sales process for introducing the value of cloud services.
Purchase their cloud licenses from their preferred trusted reseller.
Implement their cloud licenses.
Manage and proactively monitor your clients’cloud licenses.
Automate the billing process with a cloud service solution.
MARKETING
SALES
PURCHASE
IMPLEMENTATION
SUPPORT
BILLING

Keeping their perspective in mind while you develop this practice area is crucial for meeting
current and prospective customer expectations. Remember, don’t leave your prospects hanging
after you’ve cultivated their interest in your cloud services. Make sure you’re able to deliver
on your promises throughout the entire customer lifecycle, because your ability to
deliver efficient, proactive service will directly impact your profit. Put yourself in their
shoes, and walk through each step of the experience from their point of view.
Enabling Profitability in the Cloud
Monitoring and managing an invisible environment presents a brand new set of challenges
for TSPs. And perhaps what’s more stressful is the fact that cloud licenses yield notoriously
slim profit margins. That would make any TSP understandably hesitant about jumping into
this uncharted frontier.
What do you do when the amount of time it
takes to bill a client’s cloud license eats up your
profit? How can you build enough revenue to
make cloud services a worthwhile venture?
Adopt a user-based billing model and
establish monthly recurring revenue.
Automating your billing will help you avoid
eating away at profits by drastically reducing
administrative time. Here are
some more tips to help you
gain control of your
profits in the cloud:
• Tie cloud licenses to your
existing user agreements to
streamline your billing process
• Avoid the hassle of billing by
device and embrace a user-based
billing model
• Capture prorated billing with
ConnectWise® CloudConsole™

TIMEOUT!
Here’s the big question:
Are you willing to get left out of the biggest
industry movement in a decade and let your
competition take center stage, or are you
ready to gain control in the cloud? Set
up your business processes to profit on cloud
services, and seize this opportunity to further
establish your business as a trusted technology
advisor to your clients before your competition does.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 3
HOW TO DESIGN
AN AGILE
BUSINESS PLAN

19 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 3 HOW TO DESIGN AN AGILE BUSINESS PLAN
Never underestimate the power of a good plan. In order to successfully expand
your service portfolio with new practice areas, you’re going to need an agile
business plan to prepare your company to quickly adapt to meet new client
and industry demands.
Use the advice in this guide to create a detailed roadmap so you can successfully navigate
uncharted territory for your business, whether that’s creating a practice area for cloud services,
or developing monthly services like loyalty programs for your retail industry clients.
Here’s what you need to know to get started on enhancing, or creating, a business plan
for service portfolio expansion.
Your Plan NeedsTo Be Agile
You’ve thought about the future, studied the trends, and decided that it’s time to forge ahead
with new practice areas. Congratulations! Expanding your service portfolio will likely be one
of the most important decisions in the history of your business. But your
work is only beginning.You’ll need to enhance (or create) your
business plan to prepare your company to grow along with
the industry. It will take time, but if you start working
on it now, you’ll be ahead of the curve.

First things first:You must have a carefully considered, written, detailed
business plan with specific goals and objectives. When it comes to expanding
your service portfolio, there is simply no other way to attempt such an important growth
effort at your business. It should be at least a three-year plan, but you can take it to five or
ten years for some overarching goals if you want. But you should definitely plan years one,
two and three in some detail.
Think of your business plan as a roadmap. It will serve you
in many ways, including:
• Setting out where you’re taking the business and why.
• Reminding you of how far you’ve come and giving you concrete
goals to measure against.
• Communicating the end objective to employees so they
understand why you’re changing comfortable processes.
• Demonstrating your value and credit-worthiness to
the bank, if you find yourself in need of a loan during
your transition.
Need more help creating
your business plan?A business plan is both an outline
of your plans for the next few years,
as well as a resume (of sorts) to help
gain financial backing if you need it.
Learn what each element of a stellar
business plan entails, so you can create
a truly encompassing roadmap for
your upcoming venture.

Offer New Practice Areas in Stages
Expanding your service portfolio is a big undertaking for your business. It’s not advisable to try
and add multiple practice areas at once. Instead, work out a roadmap that allows you to
expand your service portfolio in manageable stages. Decide how much of your annual
revenue should be coming in from existing services and your new practice area, whether it be
monthly recurring revenue (MRR) or not. Then ease that percentage up year-over-year.
Make a plan that you think is logical and achievable, whether that means adding new services
over two years or five. While you need to feel comfortable with your planned stages, it’s also
For this reason, we recommend considering a
three-year plan.
Your goals for each stage might look something
like this, if you were adding services with
monthly recurring revenue:
25%
of deals
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
40%
MRR
70%
MRR
important that your plan is ambitious
so that your business does not fall
behind competitors in repositioning
your value to customers and prospects.
Once you’ve reached the end of the
first leg of your journey, reexamine
your business plan, and make
reasonable adjustments to ensure
your success in the next stage.
“Change is difficult and, unless
you’re fully invested, those voices
in your head might overcome
your better judgment and
cause you to delay or halt your
transition. Don’t give up.
Offering recurring revenue-
generating services is the key
to longevity and profitability.
Figure out how to make it
work for your company.”
– Mike Monocello, Editor-in-Chief,
Business Solutions Magazine
“

3 Possible Approaches to Adding Practice AreasThat
Generate Recurring Revenue
Now that you know that your business plan will involve expanding your service portfolio in
stages, the question becomes how to execute that plan. These three methods have been
shown to yield success:
1. Create service bundles.
Instead of offering services à la carte, create service bundles that couple your existing
services with complementary ones from your new practice areas. As you plan out each
bundle, consider which services (as a whole) will best solve your clients’current problems.
Carefully calculate your pricing to determine each bundle’s monthly rate. Then get as many
new and existing customers to opt into those bundles as you can. This starts to build recurring
revenue even as you continue to support traditional hardware and software sales, making this
approach a win-win.
2. Prepare your business to sell service bundles.
If you’re not currently offering services that generate recurring revenue, achieving your
overall yearly goals with MRR from your new practice areas will be challenging. Train your
team to present your services in their bundled form, instead of defaulting back to their
former sales presentation. As you roll out new practice areas that introduce more services
that generate MRR, you should accept fewer and fewer deals as traditional sales.
3. Gradually increase your service bundle sales, while
continuing to close larger deals as traditional sales.
When you first start offering services for your new practice area, it’s okay to start small. By only
offering smaller customers the cloud service or managed services options, you’ll layout less
cash to win customers. The bigger deals will pay up front, providing you with large injections
of revenue for cash flow. Over time, adjust the bar you use to distinguish small from large
upward so that as you can afford it, you are closing larger and larger deals with your service
bundles, while building strong recurring revenue stream.
Once you’ve built a steady stream of monthly recurring revenue, you’ll be afforded the
opportunity to try out new practice areas with minimal financial risk.

The Big Question: Should Everything Be As-a-Service?
The answer is: not necessarily.You can take the hybrid model approach and, for example,
continue to offer break/fix services while simultaneously offering cloud services, managed
services, or an array of others. This is another key benefit of developing a transitional business
plan that involves adding to your service portfolio, versus transitioning your business as a whole.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to consider this approach for your business
model is that it allows you to grow your revenue stream with new practice areas,
without forcing you to part ways with clients just because they don’t fit the mold
of your new service offerings.
Ultimately, which practice areas you want to add, and how soon you offer them, is up to you.
Remember, you are making iterative changes to your business over time. Think strategically
about the best competitive model for your business in the long term, design a plan that
encompasses those goals, then stick to it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 4
MANAGING
CASH FLOW

In order to achieve your business objectives, you will have to sacrifice some up front revenue
in order to convert it into monthly recurring revenue (MRR). As you introduce new practice
areas over time, it is extremely important to manage your cash flow carefully. This guide
contains tips to help you improve cash flow—from both an income and expense
perspective—as you begin to offer new services. We’ll explore each tip in more detail,
but here’s a quick summary:
Expenses
• Conserve cash now
• Slash expenses everywhere you can
• Seek better payment terms
Income
• Get tougher about receivables
• Choose the right pricing strategy
• Mitigate risk of nonpayment
• Explore financing options
How much does it
truly cost to perform
one hour of service?
If you need help answering
this question, check out
our eBook A Complete
Guide to PricingYour
IT Services. Learn how
to calculate your billable
labor burden and overhead so you can
price your services accurately.
25 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 4 MANAGING CASH FLOW

Cash FlowTips for Cutting Expenses
When business owners think about adding new practice areas, they tend to focus on the
revenue side of cash flow. However, income isn’t the only thing you should consider when
planning to control cash flow—you’ll need to take another look at expenses.
Conserve Cash
The very first stage in your business plan may be to
simply continue business as usual while conserving
as much cash as possible over a period of months.
Having extra savings in the war chest can help you
finance the rougher spots as you add more practice
areas to your service portfolio.
Slash ExpensesWhereYou Can
Along with conserving cash, you need to reduce
expenses everywhere you can, including real
estate, taxes, transportation, office supplies, and
payroll. If your lease is near renewal then negotiate
aggressively and consider moving locations if
necessary. Service businesses spend more on labor
than any other costs, so you may need to reduce
your staffing levels as well. Are there areas of your
business that you could automate instead of using
human capital?
Jim Stewart, founder of Advanced Data Systems,
completely changed his business model, including
making the difficult choice to cut his staff by 40%,
in order to reduce expenses. He acknowledged,
“whether they know it yet or not, many of my peers
are overstaffed to profitably run the as-a-service
model. The fact is, with this model you don’t
need the same number or type of employees
that you do on the break-fix model.”1
1
Mike Monocello,“Meet the Retail POSVAR of the Future,”Business Solutions, June 18, 2013.

In a blog for Harvard Business Review, Columbia professor
Rita McGrath made suggestions for smart cost cutting:
• Reduce complexity in everyday business
processes wherever possible.
McGrath noted,“not only can it save cost, but it
often results in far greater customer satisfaction…
I’d suggest starting with your payments and
invoicing processes.”
• “Not all customers are good customers.”
That’s a particularly relevant point when you’re
planning to start offering upgraded service bundles.
McGrath suggests that,“sometimes, the best way
to cut costs is to‘fire’the most high-maintenance
and expensive customers that cause you to have
to take on complexity or service activities that
are expensive beyond the value of what the
customer can deliver to you.”
WorkWithYourVendors
Ask your vendors for better payment terms to ease
any potential financial strain. If you have an excellent
payment history with them, remind them of it.
You can usually negotiate a discount for paying
early.You might receive an additional couple
of weeks or a month on your terms for better
flexibility. Ask now before you are ever in a
cash flow crunch.You won’t get better
terms unless you ask, and even if
creditors say no, you’re no worse off.

Business credit card interest rates are one of the easiest
places to work with vendors on better terms. With so
many 0% introductory and low long-term fee cards in
the market, you should be able to talk your vendor into
better rates. If not, consider switching to another card.
Cash FlowTips to Help Improve Income
When you start adding new practice areas to your
service portfolio, the income model undergoes the
most dramatic change. Instead of large up front
software and hardware payments, you’ll be
collecting smaller, monthly service payments
over a longer term. These tips can help you
minimize the disruption to your cash flow
caused by changing revenue.
GetTougher About
Receivables
As you know, slow or non-paying
customers can quickly cause
cash flow troubles. As you
launch into new practice
areas, you’ll need a solid
process for creating,
delivering, and following
up on customer invoices.
A professional services automation (PSA) solution lets you
automate the grueling billing process, and set up workflows
to invoice clients on a recurring basis.
Even small changes, like improving the appearance of your invoices, can
make a big difference when it comes to optimizing your cash flow. Find
out what other billing and invoicing best practices could make a major
impact at your business.

For break/fix customers, send an invoice as soon as work is performed rather than at month-
end. Offer incentives for early payments, and consider accepting credit card payments
for recurring monthly services agreements. Build the cost of these ideas into your pricing
agreements so getting paid doesn’t eat into your profitability.
Create the Right Pricing and Agreements
The most common question that technology solution providers (TSPs) ask when they start
planning to offer new services is exactly how much to charge. Determining the correct
pricing strategy is critical to your long-term success. For instance, suppose you’re asking
clients to sign three-year service level agreements (SLAs). If you make a pricing mistake up front,
it will haunt your profitability until their contracts are up for renewal!
As you build your pricing model, keep these tips in mind:
Determine the level of profitability you want to achieve over the life of the agreement.
Be sure to consider all of your expenses in this calculation.
Review what your competitors are offering. Get feedback from clients about your
value proposition.
Determine your break-even point for each agreement. How many months of client
payments will be required before your agreement becomes profitable?
Consider offering more than one service bundle with different price levels to meet the
budgets and needs of different types of clients. It’s very common for solution providers
to create“bronze, silver, and gold”level service offerings.
Manage agreement prices over time. Track your metrics carefully. Review the profitability
of each client individually, as well as your overall business profitability collectively.
Explore Financing Options
If after careful cash flow management you find that you’re still short of cash, explore financing
options. This is where it will really help that you’ve created a solid, carefully-considered, written
business plan (for more detail, refer to Part 3).You’ll also want to be able to prove to banks and
vendors that you’ve met initial objectives during your early transition stages and made progress
toward your ultimate objective.

There are several possibilities for obtaining financial support during your transition:
• Self-Finance: Reconsider your growth strategy. Would it make more sense to close the
largest hardware deals with a traditional sales model and using those large up-front payments to
finance smaller service bundle deals?
• Lease Hardware: Lower the amount of your total up-front
investment in new sales deals by leasing the hardware that you
will offer“as-a-service”to clients. Companies such as CharTec
offer hardware leasing arrangements for TSPs.
• Apply for a Loan: Explore the
possibilities for a line of credit
from your bank(s).
• Use a Credit Card:
If your cash flow misses are fairly small,
you might also be able to get
a competitive interest rate on
a business credit card.
Mitigate Risk
Most TSPs experience very little customer
churn during the initial hardware payback
period. After break-even, although it’s undesirable,
a client defection doesn’t hurt your cash flow. But
what happens if you lose a customer before the end
of their contract? Minimize the risk of customers keeping
hardware they haven’t fully paid for by structuring your agreements
carefully. Add a payment-in-full clause into each agreement that requires
customers to return the hardware in order to be released from the guarantee to pay.2
For example, if a retailer goes out of business, the company is liable for the cost of the equipment
unless it is returned. Once clients return their hardware, you can recycle it to help mitigate any
potential loss.
2
Mike Monocello (moderator),“Transition to the‘as-a-Service’Model,”RetailNOW panel discussion, 2013.

Billing for the Future
The shift to the cloud introduces a unique set of challenges where income and expenses
are concerned. Cloud licenses only yield between 4 to 5% profit for TSPs, which is all but
spent in the billing process alone. Small margins aside, client demand for this service is
growing. Fortunately, there is a way you can offer these services and still generate MRR
with this practice area.
Transition to a User-Based Billing Model
The days of billing per device are history. The user-based model simplifies the billing process for
TSPs. Instead of sending your client a list of devices, you’ll send them an invoice that ties services
to users they’ll recognize. As more of your clients move their systems into the cloud, having this
model in place will vastly improve your ability to capture all billable time, and present it in a way
your clients will understand and appreciate.
Here are a few more reasons to adopt this model at
your business:
• It saves time by streamlining the billing process.
• It adds value and stickiness to your clients.
• It improves the overall customer experience.
Solidify your value by establishing flat-rate payments for your
services. When all devices are included, and your clients pay a
structured flat rate, you get to establish recurring revenue
and they get more comprehensive service that’s less
confusing when they get your bill.

Implement BillingTools Best Practices
Major cloud vendors like Microsoft have shifted billing responsibilities to TSPs, so it’s imperative
that you prepare your business to generate MRR with your cloud services practice area by
setting solid processes in place. Using an automated billing tool will enable you to easily and
accurately capture revenue, and give you access to a 360° view of your clients’cloud activity.
A cloud billing tool should equip your business to:
• Generate clean invoices with a streamlined billing process.
• Prorate services when users come on mid-cycle.
• Purchase cloud licenses from your client’s vendor of choice.
• Easily access information within
a centralized hub.
Find out how a comprehensive
cloud platform allows you to
proactively manage, efficiently
monitor, and accurately bill your clients’
cloud licenses, while keeping your cloud
service practice area profitable.
Even challenging practice areas, like cloud services, can result in big profit gains for TSPs.
All you have to do is spend the time up front planning for effective billing, invoicing,
and cash flow management, and invest in the tools that will help streamline the process
even further. Before long, you’ll discover the huge rewards that result from your efforts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 5
ADAPTING YOUR
SALES STRATEGY

After you adopt the as-a-service model and begin expanding your service portfolio, you
and your sales professionals will have to start thinking differently about the value
you’re delivering to customers.You’ll need to develop a new approach, and a new
type of conversation with prospective clients. This guide contains some tips for
overhauling your sales plan.
RethinkValue and Differentiation
The simple truth is that your clients have become
savvier about technology and what it can do to
enhance their business. Retailers are comfortable
talking about technology, but they need a
knowledgeable guide to help them navigate
the best tech for their business objectives.
Better yet, they are willing to pay not to
deal with the headache of figuring it out.
For instance, simply offering hardware or software
“as-a-service”is not a compelling reason for a client
to purchase a monthly service bundle from your
company. There are hundreds—maybe thousands
—of apps and tools in the marketplace, plus
numerous competitors in your geographic area.
Understand the“Why”
Before you begin selling bundled
services and systems, rethink
the“why.” Why should clients
buy from your company and
not others? What are the
compelling and unique types
of value you bring to the table?
(Hint: It’s not the bells and
whistles of your latest technology.)
34 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 5 ADAPTING YOUR SALES STRATEGY

If you fail to differentiate your company’s true value, you end up with the same commodities
(SaaS and HaaS) that competitors offer. That’s a quick path to a price war.
The reasons clients should want to buy from you will have everything to do with the value of
your complete package—the bundle of systems and services you offer, and more importantly,
your unique experience, your industry and technology knowledge, and the value of your advice
to clients. Your job is to convince them why you’re worth the investment.
– Mike Monocello, Editor-in-Chief,
Business Solutions Magazine
“Your value proposition can’t just be a monthly
payment. Smart, financially sound customers will
look at the numbers and know that they’re paying
more on the as-a-service model in the long term.
Rather, you must identify, create, and employ
value-added services and know how to
convincingly convey such value-adds to customers
so they understand that the monthly payments are
not just convenient, they’re beneficial.”

FineTuneYour Sales Presentation
After you’ve got a firm sense of what sets your company apart—your value—it becomes easier
to fine tune your sales presentation for the new model. While you can still sell on hardware
specifications, you need to focus on the total value of your systems, services, and knowledge
and how it can solve problems in your client’s business. This technique is known as solution
selling; it’s a highly consultative approach that works best for as-a-service sales.
The best sales professionals have always been good listeners. Selling thoughtfully constructed
service bundles that generate monthly recurring revenue (MRR) will take that to a whole new
level! As you redefine your business’s role as a trusted technology advisor, train your sales
reps to start a conversation, versus give a presentation, about your comprehensive
service offering. Facilitate their ability to ascertain your customer’s pains and challenges, and
then explain how your services are a solution to each problem.
Be sure to have answers ready for these questions from prospects—
they come up more frequently than any others during as-a-service
sales presentations:
Howlongam
Ipayingforthis?
CanIjusttrythisfor6
or12months?
WhendoIown
thehardware?

Carry on this conversational style of selling with your existing clients to get them on board with
your recurring revenue model. Be prepared for their questions about price increases, service
level agreements, and other changes they may notice by creating a frequently asked questions
(FAQ) document, or section on your website, that your sales team can share should they
encounter objections or skepticism about opting in to your new arrangement.
Overcoming Challenges with
Cloud Service Sales
When selling cloud services, you might be met with more
than hesitation; you might find that you’re having to battle
with a prospect’s fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the
necessity or security of the cloud. Don’t back down from
this opportunity to showcase your value as a trusted
technology advisor. Meet their uneasiness with
confidence, and information.
“There’s always
a devil’s advocate
or skeptic in the room.
If you take some time to
genuinely address concerns,
you stand a better chance of
winning clients over to the cloud.”
– Jess Coburn, Founder CEO,
Awesomecloud.com

As you begin to win more deals, you might see the areas of your sales approach that need
to evolve. Leverage tips and examples from vendors and peers to improve your
sales presentation. Some cloud vendors, like Microsoft, will even provide you with sharable
information about the cloud. When you talk to other business owners who have made the
switch to the as-a-service model, you will come away with some good ideas that you can apply
to your sales efforts.You’ll also learn how to avoid some pitfalls!
CompTIA and ConnectWise have excellent communities for this
type of knowledge exchange.You can also ask for sales and
marketing resources, and best practices from your PSA or RMM
vendors.They’ve helped thousands of technology companies
successfully launch new practice areas.You’re not in this alone!
AdjustYour Compensation Plan
Changing your business model will also require developing a new sales compensation plan.
Most sales professionals are accustomed to earning commissions at the front end of a deal,
but that may be too big of a drag on your cash flow now.
Here are some tips for designing a better compensation plan
for as-a-service sales commissions:
• Sales professionals need extra carrots. When you’re overhauling
your business model and assigning your services to specific bundles,
you must design a plan that gives extra incentive for your sales people
to close monthly recurring revenue deals instead of falling back on

traditional sales. This might involve a higher commission level for specific
service bundle sales, or for winning a long term deal with a new client.
• Pay a percentage of gross profits, not gross sales. Protect your
profit margin and cash flow while still incentivizing your sales reps
by paying them a percentage of gross profits, instead of basing their
commissions on the gross sales.
• Get creative to optimize commissions and cash flow.You’ll have
to find the formula that works best for you and your sales reps. Consider
paying a full commission up front on the first year of a long term
agreement, and then providing a residual commission during each of the
following years.
• Highly paid sales people are a win-win. Don’t worry about
your sales people becoming highly compensated over time. High
commissions mean that your business is growing and meeting sales
targets. If your sales professionals are doing well, you’re doing even
BETTER!
• Renewals are not new sales. When a contract automatically renews
at the end of the agreed upon term, it should not count as a new sale
in terms of compensation. If your sales strategy asks sales people to
proactively work out contract renewals ahead of expiration, that should
involve some form of extra compensation.
• Don’t let them rest on their laurels. If sales professionals build up
enough residual commissions to live comfortably, they may be tempted
to slow down on making new sales. To keep motivation high, define
performance levels (quotas) to require new sales in order to meet
expectations.

• Reflect and revise.You may have to adjust the compensation plan as
you add new services to your portfolio. And to further ensure long term
sales success, compare notes with other technology solution providers,
and talk to your sales people.
Investing in tools, training, and incentives will not only lead to winning more deals. By
equipping sales professionals with what they’ll need to successfully broadcast your business’s
major differentiators (your value-added services), you’ll be putting them in a position to grow
recurring revenue by building the case for a long-term partnership between
your customers’businesses and yours.
YEAH!!!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 6
GETTING CLIENTS
ON BOARD WITH
NEW SERVICES

42 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 6 GETTING CLIENTS ON BOARD WITH NEW SERVICES
Monthly
Fees?
Expanding your portfolio
with new practice areas, like
cloud services, won’t just
impact you and the people
you work with; it’ll also
mean big changes (and
opportunities) for your
existing client base.
Still, people can be resistant to change.That’s
especially true when they can’t see the benefit
in it for them. So it’s possible that when
you start offering value-added services
with a recurring monthly fee, you might
encounter some hesitance from your
existing clients about getting on board.
In order to overcome any potential
resistance, be prepared to clearly
communicate the benefits of opting
in to a recurring service agreement,
like proactive service, minimized
downtime, and greater cost-effectiveness
for their business.
Once you’ve got customers singing your praises,
it’s likely they’ll be more receptive to adding other
services from your different practice areas. With the
right approach and strategic positioning, you can
successfully get your current clients on board with
your new services.

INTRODUCE EXISTING
CLIENTS TO YOUR NEW
MODEL SERVICES
Rome wasn’t built in a day, so you shouldn’t expect expanding your service portfolio to be a
quick process either. It’s a long-term project, but fortunately, its processes can be broken down
into manageable steps. With this approach, you won’t be blindsiding your clients with your
new model.
Start with the steps on the next page to make sure you build the strongest case for
monthly services, that way you’ll be able to convince even your most skeptical clients of the
benefits and value of this model of service.

Before you start pitching your new model and services, develop
a goal for the monthly recurring revenue you want to
achieve in the first year, and then build a business plan that will
act as a roadmap to keep you on track in the upcoming years.
Recalibrate your sales presentation to position your
value added services as cures to your clients’pain points. In
short, turn the presentation into a conversation. For instance, ask
them what will happen when something in their business fails?
Then spell out the time-consuming process that leads to
the resolution: they call you after something goes wrong; you
try to pencil them into your schedule, and several frustrating
hours or days later, the problem is resolved.
After painting that grim picture, reveal the as-a-service solution,
which includes proactive monitoring and management, so they can
avoid downtime altogether.
To further ensure that your sales team is aligned with your new
offering, revamp your compensation model. Once these
steps have been completed, you’ll be ready to roll out your new
model and services to your most skeptical clients.

As you work on converting your current clients, be sure that you’re exclusively
pitching service bundles to prospective clients. They can’t miss what
they’ve never had. In addition, by building your monthly
services business organically, you’re creating
opportunities to build customer success stories
around your new model, thereby creating a positive
impression of your service model that people will talk
about, which could result in valuable referrals.
Start with the
Most-Willing Clients
Approach your existing client base strategically.
Don’t start off by asking your most stubborn client,
who took 3 years to onboard, to be your first user.
Measure time spent on service delivery and segment
by service type, and be very selective about who gets
access to it first.
Start with the clients you know are forward thinkers, or
always looking for new ways to grow; people who
you know actually care about putting
effort into their business, and
would easily embrace
the more efficient
approach.
Ready to revamp your sales
strategy? Everything you
need to know to get started is
in Chapter 5 of our Ultimate
Guide to As-a-Service.

Dealing with
Stubborn Legacy
Customers
Listen, we know sometimes you
have to take on tough clients to
keep the lights on. We get it. But
be mindful of the amount of time
you’re spending on these customers.
Track time spent on high-maintenance
clients, and then measure it against the
revenue they’re generating within your
business to determine whether they’re
profitable partnerships or not.
On top of that, think about whether or not
these clients are the right culture-fit for
your business. While culture might seem like a
fleeting corporate buzzword, it’s important to
recognize that it’s real, it’s lasting, and whether
you attentively cultivate it (as you should) or
not, it will impact your business. That includes
both your colleagues, and your clients.
So before you let a toxic client
poison your company culture,
ask these questions:
1. Is your company vision clearly
communicated to your clients? In
addition to your clients, this should
also be top-of-mind for your staff.
Broadcasting a clear message will
keep clients from developing unrealistic
expectations about your partnership
going forward with the new plan.

2. Do they share your thought process for the direction of your company? If you’re a forward-
thinking business (and you are, if you’re adding new practice areas to keep up with industry
demands), look for forward-thinking clients who will support your endeavors to offer proactive
services.
3. Are you willing to fire them if they don’t align with your vision, culture, and process? This
is the difficult part, but it’s a necessary step if you want to maintain your company culture and
keep things running at peak performance.
While it may strike fear into your heart at the thought of it, now is the time to seriously consider
firing legacy customers who won’t come on board with your new model or services.
Treat them the way you’d treat your employees in the same scenario: allow them a set number
of changes to correct behavior before you cut them loose. We know it’s not easy, but wouldn’t
you rather invest your time in more profitable customers?
EvaluateYour Client Base
With a professional services automation tool, you can pull reports to see which customers are
profitable and which ones may actually be costing you money.You should also evaluate how
much time is allocated among each of your clients. If you notice that one of your less than
profitable legacy clients is taking up 15% of your techs’billable time, it may be time to let them go.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 7
CREATING A
TARGETED
MARKETING
CAMPAIGN

49 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 7 CREATING A TARGETED MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Most technology solution providers (TSPs) rely
on word-of-mouth referrals to get new business
through the door. Then managed services
expanded TSP territories from local to regional.
Maybe things didn’t change much then, but now
with the cloud expanding the possibilities to
include international clientele, it’s more important
than ever to start marketing your business to
attract new clients.
We get it. Running a business keeps you busy as
it is, and even more so as you start adding new
practice areas to your service offering. It might
seem easier to let your legacy clients spread the
word about your business for you. But why only
rely on word-of-mouth referrals when you could
be tapping into a global marketplace? Effectively
marketing your business doesn’t have to be
complicated, expensive, or time consuming.
Did you
hear?
Wow! Callingnow...
This guide will show you how to
overcome the time and cost
challenges that might be holding
you back from proactively growing
your profit, and adding to your
recurring revenue
stream.

NarrowYour Focus
It’s a busy digital world we live in. In an email statistics report, The Radicati Group, Inc. estimated
that worldwide email users total around 2.6 billion, with sent and received emails stacking up at
more than 205 billion daily. It seems like taking the time to create an email campaign to attract
prospects wouldn’t be worth it if it’s going to be buried under that avalanche…but there’s
good news.
Would it shock you to know
that successful marketing
is more about exclusion
than inclusion? Gleanster
research indicates
that only 25% of leads
generated by marketing
campaign are at the point
where they’re ready to have
a conversation with sales. So
instead of casting a wide net into the prospect pool and
hoping you catch the attention of your ideal buyer amidst billions
of distractions, focus your marketing efforts on that 25% portion
of your specific market.
If you’re feeling hesitant about marketing without having a dedicated professional (or portion
of your budget), don’t worry.There are a variety of easy, inexpensive, and effective ways to reach
your target market (like email marketing, social media, and blogging) that will help you spread the
word about how awesome your business is. But first, you need to understand your target market.
• Doing Market Research
Investigate industry trends; find out what your competitors are (and aren’t) doing; put your
findings together and figure out what your prospects are looking for from your business. This
information will provide valuable insight into what practice areas are in demand, and what
aspects of service are most desired.
Start by:

• Developing Buyer Personas
This is a semi-fictional depiction of your ideal buyer that’s derived from market research and
information from your existing customer base. Think of it like a social media profile. It’ll have
information about their values, their job role, their business, but takes it into the professional
realm by also including what problems they may be trying to solve (that your services would be
a solution for). Spending time developing this tool will ensure that your advertisements speak
your ideal buyer’s language in a relatable and recognizable way.
• CreatingTargeted Messaging
Are you speaking your ideal buyer’s language? We’re constantly being barraged with messaging
in many forms. The way to make yours stand out is to use the information from your market
research and buyer persona to tell a story that will resonate with your target market. Infuse your
emails, social media updates, ads, and website with phrasing that focuses on how you can solve
their unique problems. And remember, a powerful message doesn’t have to be complicated.
Keep it simple and clear, avoid technical jargon, and you’ll be sure to catch the eye of qualified
prospects.
Creating a targeted marketing strategy can seem counterintuitive because it promotes
exclusivity. However, savvy marketers know that doing more work up front to eliminate wasting
time on unqualified leads later is the best way to drive new business.
We’ll show you how to
turn on the charm so
you can attract the
most qualified leads
with tips from our eBook:
Attract, Capture Close
More Qualified Sales Leads

Where to Start: Outbound vs.
Inbound Marketing
There are a lot of ways to get a buzz going about your business, but they
typically fall under one of two categories: outbound or inbound marketing.
Outbound marketing includes trade shows and conferences, seminar series, cold
calling, advertising, and email blasts to purchased lists. The goal is to send your
message out into the world, hoping it finds your qualified prospects. Inbound
marketing takes the opposite approach. The idea is to help your prospects
find you by harnessing the power of search engine optimization (SEO) with
blogging, social media, and your website.
Inbound marketing is a great place to start for new TSP businesses, or
TSPs that are new to marketing because it’s effective and cost-efficient.
According to research from Hubspot, inbound marketing costs 62% less
per lead than outbound (or traditional) marketing.
BuildYour Online Presence
Start building your online presence with your website. Leverage keywords to improve your
visibility to search engines (like Google), and choose a design that promotes an inviting, user
friendly experience. Avoid too much text, illogical product pairings, and regularly maintain it
to keep up with trends. Don’t overlook social media! This could be the secret weapon in your
inbound marketing arsenal, if you know how to use it.
If your website is the digital
front door to your business, is
it inviting in new business or
turning them away? Find out
how your website measures up
to make sure it’s working for
you, not against you.

When you’re ready to market your practice areas to prospects,
make sure your messaging leads with value.
What does that mean, exactly? Let’s say you’ve built out your cloud services practice
area and are ready to start advertising it. Instead of talking about the features of your
service, reframe the conversation to explain how your services can solve problems
and/or bring value to a prospect’s business. In this case, your cloud services
offer potential clients the advantage of minimized downtime because
you’re offering proactive monitoring
and management.
What to Do withYour Marketing Data
Creating expertly crafted messaging to grab your ideal buyer’s attention is just the beginning.
As new leads find your business, you need to determine their readiness for sales. Organize your
leads within these telling categories: marketing qualified leads (MQLs), sales qualified leads
(SQLs), and sales qualified opportunities (SQOs).
Decode the alphabet soup to learn what your marketing
data is really spelling out. Check out these tips for
gaining more insight out of your leads scores.
Your campaign metrics will help provide you with vital perspective into
how your prospects are engaging with your marketing. Over time, you’ll
be able to recognize patterns, and from there can assess the structure,
content, and success rate of your campaigns based on the number of
new clients you’ve gained from them.
Pro Tip:

Attracting more qualified leads isn’t difficult, it just requires a little more time in the beginning to
pay off big in the end. And however you choose to start marketing your services, it’s important
to set specific goals before you launch your campaigns. For example, aim to get a certain
number of new contacts, sales calls, or subscriptions to your eNewsletter. Track how many
people open your emails, and how many click through to your website from there. Afterwards,
you can calculate your marketing analytics to get a big picture understanding of its success, and
what you can do to improve your results next time.
Want to add more
minutes to your day?
Marketing automation is
the answer. Equip your
tech solutions business
with a powerful tool that
offers robust reporting
features and aligns with
your business management
platform.
No dedicated marketing professional? No problem.
Email marketing is an easy and effective way to start spreading
your message to prospects, and many email marketing platforms will
provide you with analytics attached to each campaign. Learn how to
leverage the information you’ll get after every campaign.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 8
HOW TO
RETAIN CLIENTS

56 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 8 HOW TO RETAIN CLIENTS
Clients are savvier than ever when it comes to technology and their businesses, so it’s not
enough anymore for technology solution providers (TSPs) to offer the most in demand services,
and just leave it at that. If you really want to retain clients, a partnership has to be
created that establishes you as their trusted technology advisor, and an integral
part of their business.
The advice in this guide will provide you with the steps you’ll need to take to create a lasting
relationship with your clients, so that you can help their businesses thrive while establishing a
steady source of recurring revenue for yourself.
Create Service-Delivery Standards
Every interaction with a customer, whether it’s in
person or remotely via automation tools, affects
customer service levels. So it’s important to create
standards for those interactions so your customers
always know what to expect from you.
Start by building a knowledge base; this is a list
of standard solutions to common problems. By
having this, any tech servicing any customer can
quickly find and implement the best way to solve
any of the documented solutions.
Taking the time to educate customers on your service-
delivery standards and processes will set reasonable
expectations from the start. If they know what to expect, they’re less
likely to have lofty expectations you’ll have to dispel later.
Always under-promise and over-deliver.
You can always step it up a notch later, but you can’t blot out a missed deadline. To keep your
team on the same page, build out standard service level agreements (SLAs), and have your
team communicate these to customers. Take it a step further and create goals for relevant
team members to ensure these customer expectations are consistently achieved.

Implement a Record-Keeping Process
Over the life of a contract, your client could have interactions with several members of your
team, which could result in your client having a different experience every time. There is one
element of consistently exceptional service that is often overlooked: detailed documentation.
Having a unified process for documenting client conversations, issues, and configurations can
be the difference between an okay and an exceptional customer experience. Imagine your
client calling about a reoccurring issue, and within the first minute of the conversation your
employee says, “I see you’ve had issues with this in the past. Let’s see if we can try
something different.”You’ve now made your customer feel like the technician knows their
situation, even if it’s the first time this particular employee has spoken to them.
Having a centralized repository for client records, like the
business management platform in the ConnectWise Business
Suite, makes it easy for any employee to become an expert on
your client in a few minutes.
Stay in Front ofYour Clients
While automation tools are great for being efficient, they can get you into a bad habit of going
long periods without touching base with your clients. Remember, this is still a service business
and client retention is highly dependent on human interaction.

Looking for clever ways to keep in touch with clients?
Consider these simple, yet effective, options:
Service Anniversary
Demonstrate how detail-oriented and customer-focused you are by thanking your
clients for their business in the form of a phone call, email, postcard, etc., on the
anniversary of their contract.
Birthday
Unless your customer doesn’t celebrate birthdays, for religious or other reasons,
celebratory greetings on the special day are typically welcomed. Add this detail
into their customer profile in your business management platform. It’s a very simple
gesture, but it can go miles toward creating a solid partnership with your clients
when you show them that they’re more to you than just a contract.
Upcoming Renewals
If you’re tracking service renewal dates, send a friendly reminder of impending
expirations, and the need to renew if they don’t want to experience a gap in
coverage. If you aren’t already doing this, you’re literally letting your hottest
recurring revenue opportunities slip through your fingers.
HelpfulTips
Share the wealth of knowledge you’re apprised of as a TSP in recurring
eNewsletters, email signatures, blog articles, prerecorded messages, or other
vehicles. It will position you as the expert, and educate them on emerging
opportunities and threats.
Complaint Follow-up
This is a great way to see where you stand with your customers, and give them
a proactive opportunity to complain to you before they complain to the Better
Business Bureau, or worse—your other customers. Follow up a week after a
problem is solved to ensure there are no residual issues.Your customers will thank
you with their loyalty.
1
2
3
4
5

You can’t assume that not hearing from
them means everything is okay.
Keep in mind that many people, when satisfied, feel no need to
contact the company, while others will quietly grumble about
flaws in service or products, and swear off a company without
ever seeking redress or voicing their complaints so that the
situation can be remedied.
There’s another problem TSPs commonly run into if they go long enough without
communicating: customers might start to question if they really even need your
services. They don’t realize what goes into making their systems run smoothly day-in and
day-out, so when everything is working and they haven’t heard from you in a while, they might
start wondering what value they’re getting out of their monthly payments. Unfortunately, this
problem rears its ugly head when they decide not to renew their contract.
The Importance of Quarterly Business Reviews
These problems can be avoided by proactively staying in front of your customers on a regular
basis, and proving that you care about their business. Stay front and center with quarterly
business reviews where you discuss reporting, and
show the number of issues you’ve fixed for
them over the previous quarter. If your
customer is a on a managed services
contract, add up all the issues
resolved, multiply by your
hourly rate, and demonstrate
how much money their
contract saves them.
Whether it’s quarterly, semi-
annually, or annually, it doesn’t
matter. Don’t skip this step
– it can solidify a contract
renewal long before it’s time
to resign.

Send Customer Satisfaction Surveys
From your client’s perspective, a big part of your job is to
resolve issues when they arise—and fast! Dissatisfaction
with the resolution to their problem can play a large role
in their overall opinion of your services. Consider building
customer satisfaction surveys into your service delivery
process, and ask them to fill out a quick survey after an
issue has been resolved.
You can set up an automated workflow in ConnectWise’s
business management platform that sends satisfaction
surveys upon ticket closure. This not only gives customers
opportunities to voice concerns, but also allows you to
gauge and document issues with clients that you can
discuss in quarterly reviews.
LEVERAGE AUTOMATION TOOLS
Proactively Monitor for Issues
Designed to keep work flowing, a business management platform (BMP) and remote
monitoring and management (RMM) tool can automatically raise flags when issues surface. For
example, if the RMM can’t deploy a prewritten
script to resolve the problem(s), it will create a
ticket in the BMP that provides basic details, and
notifies your dispatcher that resources need to
be assigned. By automatically pushing all issues
to your dispatch team, you greatly reduce
the opportunity for severe issues to fall
through the cracks.

Set Alerts for Contract Renewals
As you grow your portfolio of service contracts, it can be hard to remember exactly when each
contract is up for renewal. Documenting client configurations in the client’s record can help
you stay on top of new sales opportunities.
If you’ve built a solid relationship where you’ve repeatedly demonstrated your value to your
clients’businesses, they will be impressed with your proactive nature, and you can feel confident
that you’ll secure their business for years to come.
Leveraging your automation tools and the steps in this guide will help you deliver
timely, proactive services that will add value and stickiness to your business.
Remember that no gesture is too small when it comes to showing your clients how invested
you are in their success.
In ConnectWise, you can set
up workflow rules to alert
you when a contract,
warranty, or license is
about to expire, making it
easy to pick up the phone and
ask for the additional business.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 9
MAXIMIZING
CUSTOMER
JOURNEY
EFFICIENCY

63 TABLE OF CONTENTSPART 9 MAXIMIZING CUSTOMER JOURNEY EFFICENCY
MAXIMIZING
EFFECTIVENESS
THROUGHOUT THE
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Think of your business process as a journey. From marketing to billing, and all of the steps in
between, you’re leading your clients down a path that reinforces your value to their business
at every turn. If done successfully, you’ll have the foundation for a legacy relationship with your
client, and you’ll be able to add to your recurring revenue stream for years to come.
Consider this your field guide for navigating the customer journey with the right tools.
The Customer Journey
There are many variations of the customer journey out there because they’re meant to be
tailored for each business, and each industry. Essentially, a customer journey is a framework that
outlines your relationship with your clients through a series of touchpoints. As their guide, your
mission is to exceed (or at least meet) their expectations throughout each of the touchpoints,
starting with the very first interaction they have with your company.

The following 6-step version is perfect for technology solution
providers (TSPs) wanting to provide their prospects and clients with
a more impactful experience from start to finish.
Marketing
Your prospects not only expect to know what services you offer, but more importantly what
value those services will bring to their businesses. Therefore, in this first touchpoint, your goal is
to create and broadcast targeted messaging to attract your ideal buyer to your business.
How do you accomplish this when you’re short of time and on a budget? Use a marketing
automation tool. These solutions are designed to help you easily build and deploy emails and
landing pages, score new leads for sales readiness, and understand your marketing metrics
so you can accurately measure the success of your efforts. The most effective marketing
automation tools will integrate with your Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool to keep
your information centralized, so you can avoid bogging down the sales cycle.
Take unnecessary delays out of the sales cycle and focus on building
your business with ConnectWise® CampaignDirector™.
Remember that this phase isn’t exclusive to your prospects. Make sure you market to your
existing clients to keep them in the loop as you open new practice areas, and add
new offers into your monthly service bundles.
MARKETING PURCHASE
IMPLEMENTATIONSALES
SUPPORT
BILLING

Sales
When you’ve determined which of your prospects have become qualified sales leads, it’s time to
prime them for purchasing.To meet their expectations in this phase, it’s imperative that you follow
up with them in a timely manner, and provide them with a proposal that is easy to understand.
The tool for this job is a quote and proposal automation solution, or
configure, price, quote (CPQ) tool. Their purpose is to bring visibility and
accountability into your sales process, so you can confidently turn your
leads into happy new clients. Think of this tool as a second brain for
your sales team!
Gear up for the sales process with Quosal® by
ConnectWise®. Eliminate sales cycle hassles and
replace them with awesome, crystal clear quotes
and proposals.
Choosing a quote and proposal automation tool that doesn’t work
seamlessly with your PSA and marketing automation tool won’t do you
any good (working with disparate systems never does). Whether you’ve got a sales team, or
you’re playing the roles of business owner, marketing manager, sales rep, and tech, choose a
solution that helps keep your information in one place, so you can maintain peak
performance at all times.
Purchase
In the purchase phase, meeting new client expectations is all about
delivering on your initial promises with speed and accuracy. After the
price is determined and the agreements are signed, it’s time to fill their
order–pronto!
Business management platforms, like ConnectWise®, offer a 360°
view into the sales process and uses automation to eliminatethe
potentialforhumanerror, like ordering the wrong products, or
charging the wrong price.

Rely on your PSA and CPQ tools to work in unison delivering your new client information to the
right place, once the deal is solidified. Congratulations!You’ve successfully brought a brand new
client on board. Now the real work begins.
Implementation
Your clients have bought your services, and now they expect to start seeing the benefits of their
purchase. In this phase, it’s key to deliver consistent, proactive services, and if you really want to
wow them, give them full visibility into the implementation plan.
LabTech by ConnectWise® lets you tap into the benefits of
streamlining your service delivery process with business automation.
Using a PSA and an RMM tool that work in unison is the most effective way to navigate this
phase in the journey. By automating redundant tasks, and working to prevent major downtime
for your clients, you’re fulfilling expectations and solidifying your value as their trusted advisor.
Support
Support is the phase that makes or breaks the legacy client
foundation you’ve cultivated thus far in the journey. Navigating
it successfully will require the use of your PSA to help your team
access, track, and manage issue resolution service tickets.
Capture every detail of a problem resolution conversation with
ConnectWise® ChatAssist™.This tool integrates with the ConnectWise
BPM toensurenothingfallsthroughthecracks.
No one likes feeling stranded. So when an issue arises that’s causing downtime for a client, you
may need to be able to access their machines at a distance. A remote control solution that
works with your other business automation tools is the best way to execute instantaneous
service that will elevate you to hero-status in your clients’eyes.
Want a solution that doesn’t sidestep any industry red
tape, but still lets you deliverinstantremoteaccess
to your clients’devices? Check out ScreenConnect® by
ConnectWise®.

Billing
You’ve reached this customer journey’s final phase! In this last
touchpoint, your business management platform should help you
calculate your charges, and deliver invoices that mirror what you
quoted your client in the second phase of the journey.
There’s no such thing as being too consistent in this final touchpoint! Predictability is a good
thing, so send out your bills at the same time every month, and closely track payments.
If you want a seamless handoff between each phase of the customer
journey, you need tools that are up for the task. Youneedthe
ConnectWise®BusinessSuite™.
CONCLUSION
ConnectWise, Inc. has been helping TSPs
improve and grow their businesses
for over 30 years with industry best
practices, and a powerful family of
solutions called the ConnectWise®
Business Suite™. The four core products
work in harmony together to help
you increase client retention and
recurring revenue at every stage of the
journey. Rely on time-tested industry
expertise and these powerful tools to
help you navigate your path to success.
IT’S ALL UPSIDE, AND IT’S ALL WITHIN YOUR REACH.

ConnectWise® transforms how technology solution providers successfully build, manage and
grow their businesses. Through the ConnectWise® Business Suite™ – a comprehensive set of
award-winning solutions that deliver a seamless, simple user experience – ConnectWise gives
its partners the ability to increase productivity, efficiency and profitability.
Just as importantly, ConnectWise’s relentless commitment to innovation and unparalleled
passion for partner success assures its partners have comprehensive business support through
every step of their journey. Today, more than 100,000 users in over 50 countries take advantage
of the competitive edge that comes from ConnectWise solutions and its powerful network of
ideas and experts.
For more information, visit ConnectWise.com or call 800-671-6898.

Ultimate Guide to As a Service 2016

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