The world is upside down. Cities and countries are on lock down across the world, a big chunk of the world economy shut down for an undetermined amount of time, markets are dropping along with investment portfolios, and fear is rising. While there are many unknowns, here's what I do know.  

We're in the midst of a rapidly changing reality. Without a doubt, the world has changed. It’s never going to be the way it was before the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The Coronavirus outbreak is dominating not only the country’s news cycles, but our lives. Right now, we're seeing how external factors can impact the economy quickly in a big way. No one knows what the ultimate impact will be on the global economy (or even your local economy). I’ve been talking to our TruMethods peer groups over the past year or so about the importance of understanding the economic cycle — and now you know why: You as a MSP owner must always prepare for the next downturn. 

As the number of cyberattacks targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) increases, there is more pressure to protect against those attacks. That's why MSPs handling the IT needs of these businesses must place security at the top of their priority list. One way to build a strong security offering is from the ground up, starting with one of the most fundamental tools used by and MSP – their remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution. 

For MSPs, reactive noise is a major variable that impacts profitability. Since the amount of time spent on reactive tickets directly impacts profitability, all of the other operational functions within an MSP should work toward driving down the time spent on reactive tasks. 

Over the past decade, I’ve met and worked with many business leaders whose business growth, profitability and other key metrics were not rising to the level they were hoping for. These business leaders seemed to be lost in the dark, hoping to be handed a flashlight. 

Tax season is once again upon us. While many of us pay taxes throughout the year, we usually don’t also assess our needs as MSPs from a tax standpoint. Hiring a tax professional can help. Even though we hire tax advisors to prepare and file our taxes, they can do a lot more. 

Being a truly proactive vCIO takes more than making a few basic recommendations about software renewals or hardware refreshes. A proactive vCIO provides high-level strategic advice to clients through the technical alignment process. How do you do this? You align your client’s technologies against your standards. Some examples of standards are legal and compliance requirements, security requirements, industry requirements, or business-specific requirements.

The end of the year is a time of reflection for many of us, and for good reason. As the year comes to a close and the new year begins, it’s a great time to look back on how you’ve grown over the past year, reassess company values, principles, and direction. 

Put simply, I’m a sales guy. I’ve been selling for more than 30 years. I believe that sales is a craft more than a talent. Anyone who wants to learn the craft can become proficient at sales. Mastering the craft of sales has enabled me to start and successfully grow several businesses over the course of my lengthy career. We do our best here at TruMethods to help you learn the craft of sales.