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. 

Landing your first few clients isn’t easy, but the more confident you become in yourself and your business over time, the more clients you’ll acquire. 

You meet thousands of people throughout your life, but only a handful impact you in a meaningful way — and here’s the thing: Not all of them are easy to spot, so be patient and curious.

Each day seems to present you with new challenges, but think about it: Are they really all that “new”? 

You’re going to eventually lose a client. It happens at some point to everybody. What matters most is how you deal with it. 

A few weeks ago, I published a blog post on the rise of private equity money in the channel. Recently, Thoma Bravo, a private equity investment firm, which also owns Continuum and is a major investor in both SolarWinds and Barracuda, acquired ConnectWise (a deal estimated to be worth $1.5 billion). Somehow, this feels like a seminal moment for MSPs.

We at TruMethods encourage all our members to track and measure the results of each service delivery area. While many TruMethods members understand what we’re asking for them to measure when it comes to the majority of service delivery areas, there’s typically a misunderstanding when it comes to evaluating vCIOs — but that stops today.

How often are you checking in with your clients? Once a month? Once every quarter? Are you even keeping track? If you’re a vCIO, it’s crucial you tally up a portion of your client interactions. We at TruMethods call these particular interactions “unique client touches."