Every now and then the IT business owners need to step out of their realm and examine what they are doing and why they are doing it. There have been numerous conversations lately on the subject of compensation as well as the difficulty selling managed services. Why are some of the most successful, most honest people in this business struggling to sell a peace of IT mind and why are they trying so hard to do it?
Ladies and gentleman, you’ve heard it here first (in case you’ve been under a rock for the past 10 years): We are no longer an industrial nation. What little time we enjoyed as a vapor-ware pushing nation is coming to an end as well with globalization. We are now in the information/knowledge-worker age where your worth is not defined by your willingness, work ethic, your physical power.. but your knowledge.
So here is my day. Started it by chatting with Amy about her new hire and how and where she is investing in her businesses. Followed that up with a conversation with Scott and his attempts to promote managed services. Allow me to paraphrase a little:
“Vlad, there are some that just do not see the value. You see, I installed his SBS before SMB Nation and I did a great job. The system updates itself and has scheduled automatic maintenance tasks. It automatically updates itself, even down to the antivirus definitions. It has been running absolutely trouble-free for over a year and I cannot convince them to go with a managed plan.”
Yesterday I had a talk with Sean from ECS Hosting and Chris from Coastal Networks. We talked about a joint proposal for an SBS replacement box and the conversation went a little like this:
“Vlad, I don’t think they’ll go for your lease deal. You see, they bought their NT4 server 12 years ago and they expect to buy another system for the next 12 years. They do not want proactive management, they just want to buy a new box.”
This afternoon I had lunch with Bob from Orlando IT Pro and the chat on managed services continued:
“Some just do not get it. They gamble that nothing will ever break and that they can get cheaper and cheaper labor to come in and fix it. This customer wanted me to give them a server for under $2,400 for the entire office! Everyone has a tight budget.”
Now why are all these successful and honest IT business owners pushing into this managed services era where they align their IT knowledge with their clients IT needs? Why are they done with break-fix? Why are these guys not shaking in their boots about Best Buy Geek Squad putting them out of business? You can say these folks know who the real enemy is, but in case you’re not up to speed let me clue you in:
Microsoft is not aiming to or going to put you out of business – but their innovations will. You see there is this entire cottage industry that simply exists to keep IT systems together. The untrained glue of corporate America working from $10-30 an hour just barely chucking the productive parts of the company along. Microsoft makes mature products. For the most part, Microsoft makes some relatively self-managing software out there that reduces the amount of time, energy and effort required to operate it. So where does that army of geeks end up when the budget gets slashed? Consulting.
Folks, break-fix is dead. Your Potential, Our Passion. The message behind that tagline is innovation. The more mature the software gets, the better the platform is the less maintenance it will require. This is a consequence of innovation. How many people do you know still hunt and gather their food to support their families? Not a whole lot, you see a few hundred years ago they got displaced by the farming industry. How many farmers do you know? Not a whole lot, you see a century ago the start of industrial revolution wiped them off the face of the earth to the tune that only 3% of USA population is involved in farming. Today we are at a turn again. Look around – when you think about industry and manufacturing do you think Michigan or do you think Made in China, Made in Taiwan? You’ve got it.
They Took ‘R Jobs!
Unless you’re an ingorant redneck worthy of South Park you have to stop saying that when refering to Best Buy / Geek Squad / Microsoft / India / etc. Really, you come off as a complete and utter fool. Again, Microsoft Tagline: Your potential. If your potential is to be a break-fix guy/gal that can be destroyed by a $10/hour Geek Squad employee then you really are not worthy of anything more than $10/hour.
You see, even if you’re doing great now as a break-fixer you are soon to find yourself in a neighborhood of people that lost their corporate IT jobs. The more saturated the market becomes, the lower the price for your service will go. It’s simple economics. If you cannot show your clients the value you provide now you are likely not providing any value to them at all – and they see it too. They want a cheap solution now thinking that if it breaks the price to repair it go be lower and lower over time.
Welcome to the knowledge worker age.
Welcome to the opportunity to be valued for what you know and learn how to show your clients why that is important. Thats not a $10/hour job, thats an appreciation of a business partner beyond what money can buy.
So, what is your passion? What is your potential? What do you KNOW!
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