Richard Tubb's Blog, page 72
May 24, 2018
How to deal with the dreaded question of “Can I pick your brains?”
If you work within the IT industry, you'll be used to being asked for free advice. In this article, I look at how to deal with the dreaded question of “Can I pick your brains?” politely and helpfully, but without giving away free consultancy time!
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May 23, 2018
How to deal with the dreaded question of “Can I pick your brains?”
As someone who works within the IT industry, you’ll be familiar with the phrase from friends, family and acquaintances of “Can I pick your brains?”.
You’re seen as the IT expert and with everyone using IT nowadays, that expertise will be in demand.
“I’m thinking about buying a new computer. What do you recommend?”
“I’m buying a new Smartphone. Which would you go for?”
… are two common questions.
Then there is the truly dreaded “My computer is running slowly. What do you think I should do?” query.
Because all IT people know how to fix a computer without looking at it, right?
All joking aside, while you are used to these types of questions in your personal life, you’re probably equally familiar with them in your professional life.
When they come from paying clients – that’s part of your job. The client pays you to help them solve their problems.
But what about when they come from prospective clients who aren’t paying you. How do you deal with the “Can I pick your brains?” requests then?
Questions beget Questions
Your first instinct is to try to help. When someone you feel is a prospective client asks “Which new computer should I buy?” you’ll helpfully offer them a couple of choices.
The challenge is, once you’ve offered them free help once – they’ll come back for more free advice.
It’s the same as writing proposals that spell out all the steps a prospect should take. It’s free consultancy. I’ve written before about why I think you should stop writing sales proposals and I think this is a similar situation.
“I’ve looked at the PC’s you recommend and want some advice on the options. Also, I’ve spotted a cheaper PC elsewhere. Is that a good fit for me?” is a common follow-up question to your helpful response.
And so you get drawn into offering more and more help – basically assisting the person in choosing their PC. Will they be grateful? Yes. Will it make them more likely to become a paying client? Absolutely not.
You see, the trouble with giving away free advice of this nature is that it sets an expectation of both your time and your value. If you give something away for free, the next time they come to you for advice and you want to charge for it – how will they react? In my experience, not well. The previous goodwill you’ve built by giving away free Consultancy will be replaced by an irritation that you won’t offer that free Consultancy again, and again, and again.
How to be helpful without giving away free Consultancy
The conundrum remains. You want to be helpful to the person who has asked the question, in the hope they will view you positively and decide to work with you, but you don’t want to give your time away for free or be drawn into a time-sucking spiral of questions.
In this scenario, it pays to have a set of stock answers you can give which helpfully point the person in the right direction and offer a paid alternative.
For instance, when asked “I’m thinking of buying a new PC – what do you recommend” you could offer up the response of “Whenever my paying clients ask me that question, I point them towards the PC Pro A-List. It lists the top reviewed PCs in a number of categories. You’ll find your best choices there. If you need something more specific, let me know – we offer a service for $100 where we help pick the right PC for you. You probably don’t need to pay for our help though – so I think you’ll find the A-List all you need”.
With this type of response you’re doing four things:-
“Whenever my paying clients ask me that question” – you’re clearly stating this is a question that your clients pay you for the privilege of asking.
“I point them towards the A-List” – even though the person isn’t a paying client, you’re giving them valuable advice for free.
“If you need something more specific, let me know – we offer a service for $100 where we will pick the right PC for you” – if the free advice you’ve given them isn’t enough for them, you’re explicitly stating that they can pay you for more.
“You probably don’t need to pay for our help though” – given they were cheeky enough to ask for your advice for free, you are now giving them a huge “out”. You’ve clearly stated you have a paying service, but here you’re stating you don’t expect them to take it.
Conclusion
Make sure you can remain helpful towards prospective clients but don’t give away valuable free Consultancy.
By formulating a stock response to the standard “Can I pick your brains?” questions you are asked, you are able to help the person asking the question to help themselves, giving a positive impression.
You’re also clearly stating that your time is valuable and so if the person wants to “pick your brains” above and beyond these helpful pointers – there will be a cost involved.
Value your time and expertise and your prospective clients will do the same.
Give away free Consultancy at every opportunity, and don’t be surprised if you’re never able to charge for your time!
What would you say is the most common question you’re asked as an IT Professional? What’s your stock answer that saves you time and giving away free consultancy? I’m intrigued to know! Please leave a comment below or get in touch!
You Might Also Be Interested In
Does your MSP keep losing business on price?
Using an MSP Sales System
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May 21, 2018
Webinar – If I were to start an MSP again: The 3 Steps Successful MSPs implement in Operations
A heads-up that my new webinar series with Kaseya kicks off on Tuesday, May 22nd at 1500 BST and you can register now!
It’s a series of three webinars that I’m *really* excited about and I hope you can join me for!
An intriguing question I’ve been asked by a lot of IT Solution Provider and Managed Service Provider (MSP) owners in the past few months is “If you were to start an MSP again, what would you do about…” operations/sales/marketing/working with partners/everything else!
I love answering the question, and so when, Kaseya, a market leader in IT management software, asked me if I’d be interested in joining them for a series of practical, MSP-focused webinars, Kaseya agreed that it would be a great topic to cover!
The 3 Steps Successful MSPs implement in Operations
The first webinar in our series will focus on making your MSP service desk run more efficiently and smoothly, or as I like to say, “How to run your Service Desk while retaining your sanity!”
All three of the webinars will be very interactive presentations containing practical, real-world, applicable tips on how you can run a great MSP business in today’s business environment.
I’m delighted to be joined by Jim Lippie, General Manager of Cloud Computing at Kaseya. Jim has helped hundreds of MSPs worldwide increase their sales and profitability. He’s the perfect host for this webinar!
If you were to start an MSP again, what would you do about Operations?
How to Register for the Webinar
This series of webinars are free to attend, and even if you can’t make the live events, you should register to be sent details of the on-demand recording.
You can register for the webinar “If I were to start an MSP again: 3 Steps to Successful Operations” now.
Our next two webinars will be covering Sales & Marketing, and Building Business Relationships. We’ll be giving details of these webinars to registrants shortly.
What are YOUR current Operations challenges?
The conversation around the question “If you were to start an MSP again tomorrow…” has already kicked off over on Twitter!
What are your current operations challenges? Tweet me your questions now, and register for the webinar to have the opportunity to have me answer your questions live during our broadcast.
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May 17, 2018
The Man Sprouts Man-ifesto – Let’s Talk About Male Mental Health
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
To support Mental Health Awareness week, my Friday Favourite this week is The Man Sprouts Man-ifesto – Reclaim your ‘Man Sprouts,’ your place in life and speak up for your mental well being.
What is it?
The Man Sprouts Mani-festo is a short eBook by David Algeo, a writer, speaker and trainer, specialising in working with individuals and organisations to achieve sustainable success. In other words, success without sacrificing one’s own well-being.
How can it help me?
Most of us have experienced, or know somebody who has experienced, mental health challenges at some point during their life.
Certainly, I have. I wrote a while ago on why I’m rebooting my blog and my business. As a man, I know I’m definitely not alone in struggling from time to time.
As author David Algeo puts it “Thriving as a man in the world today requires a shift in our mindset, development of new skills and a willingness to challenge the existing culture. It can be challenging finding our place amidst the confusing stereotypes and expectations. And, we may not be great at opening up about our feelings, struggles and desires.”
The Man Sprouts Mani-festo sets out to help men with their mental health. It’s a very short, easy to read PDF eBook.
How much does it cost?
The Man Sprouts Man-ifesto is a free download.
How can I get it?
Visit https://www.stressedguru.com/about-man-sprouts to download your free copy of the Man Sprouts Man-ifesto eBook, and to find out more about the Man Sprouts movement.
You can also visit author David Algeo’s Facebook page “The Stress(ed) Guru”, follow @StressedGuru on Twitter, follow StressedGuru on Instagram, or connect with David Algeo on LinkedIn.
Thanks to Presentation Skills Trainer Simon Raybould for the great recommendation!
You Might Also Be Interested In
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May 15, 2018
The IT Glue Summer Roadshow 2018
A heads-up that my friends at IT Glue in the UK have released their summer 2018 Roadshow dates and will be visiting both Reading and Sutton Coldfield:
June 19th: Reading at the Madejski Stadium – includes a tour of the Stadium!
June 21st: Sutton Coldfield at The Belfry – includes a golf pro swing check and tournament!
What is IT Glue?
Long-time readers will know that I’m a big fan of IT Glue as it aligns perfectly with my mantra of “documentation, documentation, documentation” for IT businesses.
IT Glue is a smart documentation platform for IT Solution Providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and is transforming the way MSPs work.
I interviewed IT Glue founder Chris Day back in 2015 on the importance of IT documentation (you can still read that interview now) and since then the IT Glue business has grown from strength to strength.
In 2018, IT Glue opened up a UK office headed up by MSP veteran Phil Sansom and bringing on board a team of full-time UK-based staff that includes experts such as Simon Bell and Melissa Saar — both former MSPs themselves, and both of who will be speaking on the roadshow.
Why Should You Go?
The morning sessions will be dedicated to MSPs who want to find out more about ITGlue and how you can make your MSP leaner, smarter, and ultimately more profitable.
The afternoon sessions are for existing IT Glue partners with exclusive product updates and what they mean to your business.
My good friend Paul Dadge of Cannock-based PC Paramedics will be a guest speaker at the Sutton Coldfield event.
Not to be outdone, IT Glue has also enlisted Matt Riley of Complete IT to speak at the Reading event.
Both Paul and Matt are very well known and respected in the MSP community and neither pulls any punches in sharing their MSP growth experiences! They are both well worth hearing speak.
Register for the IT Glue Roadshow
To register for the IT Glue Roadshow in Reading or Sutton Coldfield, Click here to save your seat!
I’ll be attending the roadshow event on June 21st at The Belfry myself, so if you’re attending that date — let me know as we may be putting together an MSP meetup around the date too!
Whether you’re an expert IT Glue user or just want to know more about how smart documentation is transforming the way MSPs work, the day will be full of relevant and actionable insight.
I hope to see you there!
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May 10, 2018
Brain.fm – Music to improve focus, meditation and sleep
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Brain.fm – Music to improve focus, meditation and sleep.
What is it?
Brain.fm is an app that plays music you can work, study, meditate or nod off to sleep to!
How can it help me?
I’m self admittedly the world’s biggest procrastinator. I can struggle to get started with tasks. One way I deal with this procrastination is by lowering my barrier to getting started. I’ve written on how to end procrastination with the Pomodoro technique — setting a timer for 25 minutes and working for just that period on a single task.
I love to combine Pomodoro with Brain.fm.
Brain.fm plays music that is scientifically proven to help you concentrate. Just fire up the Brain.fm app or website set the timer and then watch as you actually — gasp! — focus on a single task and get it completed.
It may seem like magic, but trust me, this really works for me and it usually works for those I recommend it to as well.
Brain.fm can help you with working, studying, and you can also use it to play music that helps you meditate or even get to sleep.
How much does it cost?
Brain.fm costs $6.99 per month (or $3.99 per month if you pay annually), or you can pay $149.99 for a lifetime subscription.
How can I get it?
Visit the Brain.fm website and sign up for a free trial.
You can download the Brain.fm app for iOS, or download the Brain.fm app for Android.
You can also visit the Brain.fm Facebook page, or follow @BrainfmApp on Twitter.
You Might Also Be Interested In
Focus@Will – Attention Amplifying music
Karl Palachuk’s Relax Focus Succeed
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May 3, 2018
Splitwise – Split Expenses with Friends
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Splitwise – Split Expenses with Friends.
What is it?
Splitwise is an app that allows you to take the trouble out of sharing expenses with friends and colleagues.
How can it help me?
If you’ve ever been to a restaurant with a group of friends and tried to split the bill, you know it can be complicated.
You end up with IOU’s, people promising to pay others later, and everything in between.
Tools such as Qkr! allow you to pay for food and drinks from your Smartphone, but it’s not available to use in every location.
Splitwise allows you to split bills fairly. It also keeps a total of time so you can make sure everyone is paid back fairly.
You can also use Splitwise to split household bills, with email reminders when bills are due.
How much does it cost?
Splitwise is free to download and use.
How can I get it?
Splitwise is available as a mobile app for iOS devices from the Apple App Store and from the Google Play Store for Android devices.
You can find out more by visiting the Splitwise website, by visiting the Splitwise Facebook page, or follow @Splitwise on Twitter.
Thanks to Stephen Rich of CompTIA for sharing Splitwise with me!
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Questions to expect from your clients about using social media safely
With Cyber-Security being front of mind for many IT Solution Providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), I’m handing over this blog article to guest contributor Nat Campbell.
Nat takes a look at the NatWest Safe & Secure survey to offer up a guide on typical questions for Social Media safety.
When anything related to the world of computers hits the news, you can guarantee there will be few questions from your clients and customers.
From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to the worries over how our personal information is being stockpiled, titans of the internet, like Facebook and Google, have been in the media recently over how they handle ‘data’.
The topic of social media is a particularly important one, for both us and our clients. It’s become a huge part of our daily lives and an essential tool for getting results in business. If your clients ask you for your opinion on how to approach social media security, it’s an important opportunity to add value.
How do people feel about social media?
The recent NatWest Safe & Secure survey suggests that people would like to see security on social media platforms enhanced. In fact, 56% of UK adults who took part in the study said they want tighter settings to protect their personal data. At the other end of the spectrum, only 8% didn’t see the need.
The social media platforms that a given client will find useful for their business depends heavily on the market they’re in and the channels their customers like to use. But what remains constant for any business owner is that what we share on our personal channels can impact our company’s reputation and online security – as well as our own.
Advice for our clients
It’s clear most people feel something needs to be done about security measures. What’s not clear for many is just how much of their information they should be sharing to start with. When you look at the most popular social platforms side-by-side, there are at least 31% of users who aren’t strict about what they share, as you can see from the table below.
How restrictive are we with our settings and what we share on social media?
Mikko Hypponen is the Chief Research Officer at F-Secure and an internationally recognised cybersecurity expert. His simple advice encourages us to think twice before we post or message, and it’s a good rule of thumb: “Never post anything online that you wouldn’t mind seeing posted on the cover of a newspaper,” he says. “Even if you think your post is not visible to everyone, it could very well be.”
Other things our clients might ask about online security
To help you anticipate some of the questions you might get from your clients, away from the topic of social media, here are the top three areas where online security habits aren’t up to scratch:
1. Make sure all devices, company and personal, are up to date and have the right security software. 22% of people don’t know what the best security software for their device is.
2. Learn how to make (and use) strong passwords. 41% use one password for more than one account and 53% save their passwords to their browser. From social media to banking, this could put our personal or company accounts at risk.
3. Come up with a fraud action plan. 22% wouldn’t know what to do if they were going through ‘online security problems’.
My thanks to Nat Campbell, for this guest post. Nat is a copywriter in the financial services industry.
Connect with Nat Campbell on LinkedIn
You can find Nat Campbell on Twitter.
Have your clients expressed concern about Social Media security? What are your own thoughts about security on social media platforms? I’d be interested in your feedback! Please post in the comments below.
You might also be interested in:
Using Social Media to Win Local Business
Cyber Security for Small Businesses
Norse Attack Map – Real-Time Cyber-Attack Map
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April 26, 2018
Storj Share – Earn money by sharing your hard drive space
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Storj Share – Earn money by sharing your hard drive space.
What is it?
Storj (pronounced Storage) is based on BlockChain technology and aims to become a cloud platform that cannot be censored or monitored or have downtime.
Storj Share is a desktop application that allows you to securely share your hard drive space with others in exchange for STORJ – a cryptocurrency.
How can it help me?
At the simplest level, Storj Share allows you to earn money by sharing your hard drive space. You are paid in cryptocurrency.
A recent Friday Favourite I shared, Earn.com – Earn Money by Answering Messages and Completing Tasks, pays you in BitCoin. Cryptocurrency payments are becoming more much popular for shared services.
Storj is an open source, cloud storage space shared by the community. You can rent out your extra hard drive space to the community, and earn money for doing so.
Storj uses blockchain features like a transaction ledger, public/private key encryption, and cryptographic hash functions for security.
It’s very easy to set up. The Storj Share application presents a simple user interface where you can check your hard drive space and then allocate how much free space you’d like others to be able to use.
I used Storj Share as an autostarting app on my home server. I’ve got loads of hard disk drive space going spare, so why not share that space and earn a few crypto coins too?
How much does it cost?
Storj Share is free to download and install.
How can I get it?
Visit https://storj.io/share.html to sign up to the community and get started.
If you don’t want to share your hard disk space, but simply use the Storj Cloud, then you can also do that. My referral code https://app.storj.io/signup?referralLink=luminosities-recentness-794 will give you a $10 credit.
You can read more about Storj Share at the Storj FAQ. You can also follow Storj on Twitter, or visit the Storj Facebook page.
Thanks to Blockchain expert Jeremy Epstein of NeverStopMarketing for the heads-up on Storj.
You Might Also Be Interested In
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April 19, 2018
Speed Dial 2 – New tab page for Google Chrome and Firefox
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Speed Dial 2 – New tab page for Google Chrome and Firefox.
What is it?
Speed Dial 2 is an extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox web browsers.
How can it help me?
Speed Dial 2 allows you to customise your new tab page. Every time you open a new tab, you can have access to all of the links that you want to use, instantly. This saves you time and effort.
For instance, I’ve set my new tab page to show the links I regularly use most often. Gmail, Google Drive, the Buffer Dashboard, the Ecosia Search Engine and Google Search.
You can add the links you use quickly, and easily, and Speed Dial 2 has a number of popular links already set up for you.
Just like my recent Friday Favourite OneTab – Save Memory and Reduce Tab Clutter in Google Chrome, Speed Dial 2 is a simple and powerful extension.
How much does it cost?
Speed Dial 2 is free to download and use.
How can I get it?
Visit https://speeddial2.com/ and download the extension for Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Thanks to the team at the Five Minute Journal for bringing Speed Dial 2 to my attention!
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