5 Lies Competitors Hope You Believe
If I’d taken all the terrible business advice I’ve been given over the years I would have been out of business 10 years ago.
Well meaning consultants have this habit of giving advice about things they sometimes know nothing about. If you’re foolish enough to follow it you may end up like they do – out of business, unemployed or working as an employee.
Here are my five favorite lies consultants have tried to lay on me over the years Read more »
Let’s get SaaSy – or maybe not
At the recent IT Alliance conference held in Palm Springs California there were quite a few sessions on Software As A Service (aka SaaS).
SaaS is loosely defined as running an application on a remote server that someone else managed. To access the application all that’s typically required is a web connected computer. Often the power of the computer is irrelevant since the processing power has been offloaded to the remote server.
The concept of offloading local processing and data storage isn’t new. Remember the days of mainframes and timesharing?
Part of the reason companies moved to desktop computers was speed. Just 30 years ago remote connections were slow and costly. Today those same connections approach local network speed and the cost has been minimized.
Now that connections are cheap — and the labor to maintain and constantly upgrade multiple desktop computers is expensive – the pendulum is swinging back toward remote computer processing or SaaS.
So the million dollar question most consultants are asking is where they fit within such a SaaS model. If the publisher is selling the application and collecting a monthly maintenance fee then where does the VAR fit in. What’s the model that allows the VAR to earn a fair recurring revenue stream from their installed client base.
Ask ten different people and you’ll get ten different answers. Read on for how I’d tackle SaaS. Read more »
MAS200 Var Outsells Epicor And You Can Too – Here’s How
The VAR who submitted this post requested that it be removed.
The original content contained a description of how he assisted a client with the purchase of MAS200 in a sale that he ultimately won against both Epicor and Great Plains Dynamics. Read more »
How To Turn A $100 Fee Into $1,500 – I Did It – So Can You!
This morning I’m off to see a long time client. Truth be told these guys are high maintenance and are much more aggressive users of my unlimited support plan than almost any other client.
Many of their questions end with a promise that they want me to perform more work – a promise that somehow never materializes.
Yet today I’m going to turn what for most consultants would have been a $100 fee into $1,500.
When I leave the client not only will I be paid – but the client won’t stop talking about the great value they’ve received.
Unless I miss my guess this will turn into repeat business – albeit probably only once or twice a year.
Given the choice between earning $100 and $1,500 – which would you take? I though so. Want to know how I’m doing this?
The answer to how I’m going to earn this larger fee is contained in one word from above – value. Read more »
Traditional ERP VARS Are Dead – They Just Don’t Know It Yet
Most ERP VARS are whiling away their slow hours complaining incessantly about software publishers.
I should know because to some extent I’m guilty of participating in the mutual complaint sessions.
Like the character Lester Burnham from American Beauty, I think most VARS will be dead in a year.
They just don’t know it yet.
Margins = gone.
Protected sales channels = gone.
Traditional marketing = ineffective.
Existing client base = eroding
What’s the solution?
Two words. Special Sauce. Read more »
Software leasing is dead – long live leasing
I’ve just heard from a second consultant in under a month that software leasing as a finance mechanism appears to be dead.
The first consultant approached 10 different leasing companies. The story was the same at each company. They required personal guarantees, strong operating histories and enough cash or equity to make the lease a no risk proposition. Read more »
Do You Introduce Yourself Properly at Conferences?
Conferences can be a great place to meet and network with colleagues – provided you introduce yourself the right way.
Have you ever run into someone at a conference and they introduce themselves – and you have absolutely no idea who they are or if you’ve even met them before.
One tip that Michael Arrington makes in a great post over on Techcrunch is to always introduce yourself with your name and company — “Hi – Wayne Schulz from Schulz Consulting”. This relieves the person you’re speaking with from the awkward “who is this” feeling that can accompany a hectic conference introduction.
Check out the rest of Michaels tips. Some are common sense (never call a cell phone number on the business card you’ve just collected) to the less obvious (A mutual friend who introduces you by email or in person is far more effective than a cold self-introduction at a crowded event). Read the full post here
Publicly shared Google Apps documents will now be indexed by search engines
Beginning sometime later this month Google will start to index any spreadsheets, documents or presentations that you’ve created in your Google Apps account AND have shared publicly.
This doesn’t mean your documents will be shared with everyone. Rather Google is notifying their users that only publicly shared items will be indexed. Users should double check on any publicly shared items to make sure that they really should be public (here’s how).
While on the surface this may seem like an invasion of privacy, and it might be if you haven’t taken care to make sure you have not shared sensitive items, it also could be a great way for web visitors to search and find your site. Read more »
Descriptive titles are the key to getting people to read (and find) your blog
Hopefully by now you’ve realized the importance of blogging to attract visitors to your company site. Topical and frequently updated content is something that search engines like Google thrive upon. Blogging is a key way to generate that type of content.
There’s one huge mistake that I see in about 75% of all company blogs.
The title of their posts are completely wrong, boring and don’t give enough detail to get anyone to start reading the whole article and visiting their site.
No assholes and 11 other rules of client acceptance
Want to keep your sanity – and earn a decent living?
Don’t be afraid to turn your back on potential problem clients – before they become problems.
In most instances this means not accepting the majority of prospects who knock on your door.
You’ve probably dealt with any number of difficult client relationships. After having had more than my fair share I’ve set a few very simple ground rules before I’ll start to consider taking on a new customer. Read more »
When is 100% uptime not really 100%?
It seems likely that in coming months many businesses will embrace Software As A Service (SaaS). This is where an application (or applications) are accessed via Internet connections and their usage is rented instead of owned.
Many of us already do this with services like Google’s Gmail or Salesforce CRM. We don’t own the software or install it on our computer. Instead we rent the usage and access the program from any Internet connected computer.
Yes, this indeed does look a lot like a return to the old days of IBM Mainframes – except in the old days most of us didn’t put mainframe terminals in our homes so we could work or access the mainframe via an iPhone. Read more »
About Wayne Schulz
I’m Wayne Schulz. A consultant for a top brand of ERP Accounting Software.
With clients located all across the United States I specialize in providing fast responses to technical support issues.
I’ve been named an Accounting Technology Pacesetter for the last four year’s running. I’m probably one of the only recipients to be named who is under 5 people in total size (we have 3 people).
During my career I’ve “enjoyed” being referred to (snidely) as a Lifestyle Consultant by both vendors and competitors.
While the vendors and competitors mean the term in a derogatory manner – often using it as a shorthand to describe someone who doesn’t move a high number of boxes of software, I’ve felt the ability to maintain integrity with clients is more important than winning a sales award, a handshake with top management and a trip to Hawaii.
I’ll buy my own trip thank you very much.
Over 100 clients ranging in sizes from start-ups to over $400 million dollars can’t be wrong.
They’ve chosen me and my firm to provide advanced technical support for their accounting systems. That’s the only type of award that I need.
What The Heck Is A Lifestyle Consultant?
I’m still not really sure what a Lifestyle Consultant is.
Am I one because I love my job and work from pretty much anywhere servicing clients who seek me out?
Or is “Lifestyle Consultant” supposed to describe a consultant who has chosen early retirement based on their fat loose flowing revenue stream of maintenance margin and who now lives in Florida and collects monthly checks from the mail box while on the way to the beach to scour for loose coins with a metal detector.
Maybe Lifestyle Consultants mean someone who just sits back and collects the commission checks while working another job? I’m not sure how this happens since last I checked software vendors weren’t paying out margin to consultants who weren’t authorized in some manner (training, sales, etc).
So I’m left sorta puzzled.
What exactly does a Lifestyle Consultant mean?
Is it anything more than the ERP equivalent of a slur to throw out to describe someone you’d rather not compete against?
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