Ahhh…we’re entering the dawg days of summer here at SMB Nation and in the northern hemisphere. Lots of stuff to report this week in our traditional “Business Speak” format. So let’s start off with a “love tap” from a long-time SMB Nation tribal member. Watch the video below and smile!

Your faithful friend!

Harry Brelsford | CEO | SMB Nation, Inc. | www.smbnation.com

PS – ‘Da SMB Nation Fall Conference is in “game on” mode so sign up at fall.smbnation.com to join us September 30-October 2, 2011. MORE SPEAKERS AND CONTENT JUST ADDED!

Tom Poole, known as the founder of the popular Senior.com portal in the 1990s, has brought his amazing online background to SMB Nation. He joins as our new CEO. Tom and I grew up together in Alaska and we’ve teamed to take SMB Nation to “Stage 2” and launch Cloud Nation. I’ve elevated up to the Chairman title so I can do what I do best and delegate tasks that I am not good at. I blame the “E-Myth” book series for these changes! It is Michael Gerber's fault.

Engineering your marketing

In todays era of marketing it bodes well for those who understand the technical sides of things. This is not to say that aesthetics and design are not important, however understand how computers process and packets are routed give you a leg up. At Cisco we have found that marketing is much like designing a network, where have an access and core layers.

The core of your marketing like the network is where all prospects traverse through on their way to becoming a lead. In the case of marketing it is a centralized landing page or microsite. Landing pages are similar to a page on your website, but focus on the solution you are marketing and calls to actions (request a quote or consultation) are clear. Your main website is designed to cover all that you do and can distract a prospect causing a loss of leads (like dropping a packet due to poor network design.)

The access layer of your marketing are all the individual marketing tactics that you do to drive prospects to your landing page, such as a banner ad, SEM, email, or handing out flyers. All these tactics help funnel prospects and the more you can funnel to the landing page the more likely you are to produce a lead. While I know that is a fairly simplistic view of marketing, the reality is marketing is fairly simple it just takes commitment and consistency.

Here is a base line marketing activity that you can do for a minimal budget.

• Acquire a list of 500 contacts with emails from a company like Jigsaw.
• Email the list with a different message every two to four weeks
• Set up a landing page that emails will drive to
• Call all prospects in the following order
  • That fill out the lead form
  • Clicked on the embedded link in the email
  • Those that opened the email

This will make calling prospects more strategic and less daunting.

Cisco has a full set of email and landing page templates for you to use along with an email tool that will give clicked and open information a www.ciscopartnermarketing.com. Cisco also has several guides that help you create a marketing plan and execute on individual marketing tactics on Cisco Partner Central (http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/sell/smb/integrated_marketing.html).

If you are not a registered Cisco partner and want access to this please visit www.cisco/go/smbnation to found out how to be come a Cisco partner.

YES – Dell is in the SMB Channel

At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in LA this past month, I interviewed two Dell SMB executives: Mary Catherine Wilson and Rich Percaccio. I have all sides covered in this interview: partner program and products.

CMS To The Rescue!

CMS Established in 1983, CMS Products provides SMB Nation members the ideal data backup, encryption and security technology for business users and consumers. The flagship ABSplus automatic backup and restore disaster recovery solution, powered by the BounceBack Ultimate software, has been installed in over four million complete storage solutions.

CMS offers a full suite of data security products for business powered by CE-Secure data encryption software. The data security product line now includes the ABS-Secure encrypted portable backup solution as well as the CE-Secure encrypted flash drives. CMS Products offers an extensive line of laptop hard drive upgrades, RAID systems, backup and disaster recovery software, media management software, and data transfer kits and high capacity desktop hard drives. For more information visit http://www.cmsproducts.com/reseller/Default.htm.

PRODUCTS INCLUDE:

I. Business Continuity- Server/Client- CMS’ 2-Drive BounceBack Server Backup Solutions provide small businesses with powerful Instant Server Recovery and flexible options for rotating backup drives for storage in a secure off-site location. In the event of a server hard drive failure, simply restart your server direction from your external BounceBack Server backup drive. BounceBack enables you to run your business applications, access your databases, & keep things running until you are ready to perform a One Button Restore. This is the perfect solution to minimize client down-time while maximizing productivity!

II. Data Security Solutions- CMS integrates data security software with AES 256-bit encryption from removable media, flash drives and hard disk-based solutions. The user does not need to load software on their system to provide the protected backup, and the data is locked upon device removal, automatic settings or manual lockdown.

III. Laptop Upgrades- CMS provides hard drive upgrades for all major laptop computers & has simple, low-cost solutions for transferring data to the new system hard drive.

CMS DISCOUNTS/SPECIALS

* ONE-TO-SHOW, ONE-TO-GO PROMOTION - 50% off NFR (not-for resale) AND first purchase of either of CMS’ 2TB or 4TB BounceBack Server Products (pn: BBSRVR-2TB & BBSRVR-4TB)!

* INSTANT REBATE of 5% off of all CMS Server products bought through Tech Data (valid through end of September 2011). Products include 2& 4TB BounceBack Server. No paperwork required!

*FREE BounceBack Ultimate Instant Recovery NFR Software—simply click on the link below and register to become a partner: http://www.cmsproducts.com/reseller/Default.htm.

License Requirements – Licensing opportunities are available, please contact Ken Burke at CMS at kburke@cmsproducts.com or (800) 327-5773 x5535.

CMS Contact Information/Support Services:

Ken Burke

kburke@cmsproducts.com
www.cmsproducts.com

(800) 327-5773 x5535

Microsoft OEM Speaks At WPC!

Peter Han provides a timely update on the “local” aspects of the Microsoft OEM business unit. We chatted at WPC in LA earlier this month.

Eddie O’Brien, a Microsoft OEM executive, provides a peek at cool gadgets at WPC with an emphasis on mobility and laptops.

What’s going on with PacketTrap MSP?

We are excited to announce that we have recently changed the PacketTrap MSP licensing model from the restrictive ‘per node’ model to the ‘per customer – site license’ model. Due to the obvious issues associated with ‘shelf-ware’ and MSP’s not managing all of the devices on their customers’ entire networks, we made the decision to overhaul our back-end system and pricing structure. This change will allow our partners to on-board their customers regardless of the number of devices at a fixed cost.

We know that this pricing change does not work for all of our partners, so we will continue to maintain the ‘per-node’ model for them. However, we have seen a huge increase in our existing partners (who have switched from the old to the new licensing model) and our new partners in putting customers on their dashboards).

How it works:

It doesn’t matter to us how many devices are associated to each client. We use a formula of 100 devices per site license to calculate the total number of devices our partners can amortize over the customers they have under management. A perfect example would be if a partner of ours purchased a 10-Site license pack. Whether they have one customer, 25 servers and 300 desktops and another customer with 1 server and 7 desktops, they simply have a pool of 1,000 devices they can spread out over the 10 site-licenses. Also, we don’t care if one of our partner’s customers has 15 locations; we count that as one site.

In addition we have launched our new community site – a great place to share ideas and find out information about PacketTrap MSP. Go to http://communities.quest.com/community/packettrap/ptmsp

For more information or to download our free trial, go to www.packettrap.com

Microsoft RGT = More Content!

I tracked down a very busy Josh Waldo from the Microsoft USA subsidiary to learn more about the content corpus he is sharing with partners. It’s called “Ready To Marketing” and it’s here and now for you!

Real Time, Real Fast, Real Easy…

It is completely unbelievable that in 2011, most small businesses do not have an IT disaster recovery plan. In fact, for many small businesses, backing up their data is still a dreaded and difficult task and they avoid it all together, leaving them susceptible to potential disasters. Unfortunately, disasters do happen and the more serious ones can deliver a knockout blow to small businesses. According to the US National Archives & Records Administration, 93% of companies that lost their data center for 10 days or more due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster. Of course, all of this would be different if there was a fast, easy and cost-effective way to protect your data without the drudgery of backup.

Over four years ago, HEROware set out on just such a mission; to create the fastest, most reliable, cost-effective and easiest to use automated backup solution. However, such an ambitious plan would require an equally ambitious idea and effort. The result--forget backups, just replicate the entire server—operating system, applications, and all of the data—and do it all in Real-Time with little to no operator involvement. Of course this is not a completely original concept, after all, nearly half of the Fortune 500 (250,000 servers) already use this technology. However, bringing enterprise-grade server protection to small and medium businesses is unique concept, and HEROware is the first and only company that can offer this.

Enter the HERO-Defender™ Backup & Disaster Recovery appliance. The HERO-Defender™ uses state of the art replication technology provided by the Double-Take® (Vision Solutions®) high-availability engine. This technology allows the HERO-Defender to completely replicate Microsoft Windows servers in Real-Time, Real Fast, and Real Easy, with little user intervention and little cost. Mission Accomplished.

Backup or replication is only half of the disaster plan. Both during and after the disaster, the HERO-Defender™ appliance has you covered. Because of Real-Time replication and automatic failover, your HERO-Defender is a live working copy of your production server(s). So, even if your server is kaput, the HERO-Defender is up and ready. After the disaster passes, easy failback from the HERO-Defender to your new server is a snap to perform on your schedule.

The key to business continuity and data integrity is a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, including fast access to an up-to-the-minute copy of your data. HEROware provides a complete protection and recovery solution at a favorable price for small businesses.

To find out more about Real-Time Replication, please visit www.heroware.com or call 866-810-HERO(4376)

May / June 2011 SMB PC Magazine is HERE! Download NOW!

You can download
HERE

Create Your SMB’s Disaster Recovery Plan in 5 Actionable Steps

When SMB owners or managers are busy keeping a business running, they often don’t want to think about how a disaster might affect them. It’s easy to put off planning for a damaging fire, virus attack, or natural disaster when every work day is tied up with normal business operations plus urgent customer or employee needs. However, it is precisely because SMB leaders are so dedicated to making their businesses succeed that they should also dedicate time to creating a disaster recovery plan, which will ensure protection of one of a business’ most critical assets—its data.

Half of SMBs Are Unprepared
About 60% of businesses that lose their data will close within six months, according to John Jackson of Storage Insider. Still, half of SMBs with 1,000 or fewer employees operate without any kind of disaster recovery (DR) plan, according to Forrester Research. Even SMBs who realize the importance of having a DR plan may consider it a daunting task, or don’t know where to start.

Create an Effective Plan in Less Time
Preparing a DR plan need not be a complex or drawn-out process; there are really just five main planning steps to consider and execute. To simplify SMBs’ planning efforts, Axcient has sponsored the white paper, Keeping Your Business Up and Running – No Matter What: 5 Steps to Disaster Preparedness. It provides five actionable steps for preparing an effective DR plan, along with calculations, examples, and other helpful tools for each step.

Click here to receive this helpful white paper (a $2,000 value) absolutely FREE.

About the sponsor: Axcient delivers a uniquely unified platform for backup, business continuity, and disaster recovery that offers unprecedented ease of use and uptime to the SMB market.

“CharTec helped doubled my monthly revenue in less than a year”

Two years ago, persuading clients to replace aging hardware was no easy task for Randall Garner. Working at a small break-fix computer service company for eight years, Garner grew weary of bandaging old technology for clients struggling to upgrade or just refusing all together, only to have the client haggle the invoice caused in large part due to their failure to properly maintain their technology.

“At the time, I listened to my own boss complain about cash flow. I knew our clients struggled with their IT budgets, also. There just had to be a better way.” Garner began researching the developing Managed Services market, even approaching his current employer with the concept of flat rate IT and layering in additional monitoring services for their clients. “My current boss failed to see how Managed Services could help his company and the clients, so I was asked to wait nearly a decade for him to retire with the promise of taking over the company. We all know the IT industry cannot be paused and there are no guarantees. I had to make a decision for my career and most importantly my family.”

Garner IT Consulting was born in 2010. “I was all in,” said Garner.

Garner, an engineer at heart, continued his research into Managed Services and in April 2010 discovered CharTec and their Hardware as a Service program, which compliments IT services by adding hardware into an all-inclusive IT agreement and presenting it to the clients in a flat monthly fee.

“This is what I was looking for, a way to overcome the hardware replacement resistance that would allow me to quiet the networks and keep my own cash flow in line. It made sense.” By summer, Garner was a CharTec Partner and attended Academy for training.

The Bigger Challenge

Garner IT Consulting is three-person $240,000 per annual IT consulting and services company primarily focused on small to medium businesses within the Northwest Florida area. Over 70% of Garner IT Consulting’s annual revenue derives from monthly annuity based contracts for Managed Services. The company is family owned, operated and oriented. Wife Julie Garner assists with the internal marketing, including social media and email campaigns, which they have developed into an additional annuity service for clients, while Randall does what he loves – consulting with clients to reduce their IT pain and helping them utilize their investment to achieve their business goals.

“I was determined to stay out of break-fix as our primary income,” said Garner. “I watched my previous employer struggle with cash flow and small margins under this model while dealing with clients that just would not change out their dying hardware.”

There is no argument that IT budgets are slim and clients are expecting their technology to stretch further. In fact, hardware margins had declined so much over the years many IT consulting companies had given up hope of ever making money selling hardware again. Some IT providers even resort to asking their clients to just call them after the client has ordered the hardware themselves. This relationship puts IT resolution and service even more out of alignment. The client may purchase below standard or incompatible equipment due to budget constraints, which the IT service provider is forced to make work. The result can be long hours, lower margin on service and frustration for both client and service provider.

“It was just as frustrating for me at the time as it was the client. I wanted to help, but my hands were tied,” recalls Garner. “This is where I leaned on my partnership with CharTec and really accelerated our company to the next level.”

The Partnership and Academy

CharTec is known as the leading Hardware as a Service (HaaS) provider in the industry. The company manufactures its own servers, workstations, VoIP system and has even developed an award winning BDR Appliance all for its Partners to deploy at no upfront cost.

Still, many IT companies struggle with approaching their client base to open the discussion of hardware sales and replacement because of confrontation or just begin plain uncomfortable in a sales role. CharTec acknowledged this in its partner base, and created CharTec Academy, a two-day training session encompassing sales techniques, marketing, business operations and even technical sessions.

“Julie and I have both attended CharTec Academy. In fact, I’ve made the trip twice in the last year,” said Garner. “Hardware is the smallest portion of this relationship. It’s just the icing on the cake, the dessert. The education at Academy is the main course.”

Using the techniques learned at CharTec Academy, Garner nearly doubled his company’s Managed Services revenue by January 2011. His latest accomplishment this June was refreshing an existing MS client operating below minimum network standards by using the HaaS equipment provided by CharTec and increasing the client’s monthly commitment during the process.

“We quieted the network with no out of pocket for the client, and doubled the monthly revenue we were previously receiving for managed services,” Garner said excitedly. “They were so happy. It’s rewarding when the client really sees and appreciates the value you are delivering.”

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