Peer groups — which allow managed service providers to compare best practices behind private closed-door meetings — remain the rage. But some of the “recent” buzz actually started months ago. N-able, for instance, quietly disclosed its peer group plans in a blog entry back in January.
At the time, Taylor Business Group Co-founder Larry Schulze told N-able partners to prepare for BIGs (Business Improvement Groups). The groups, he noted, would allow N-able partners to:
“discuss MSP best practices, as well as general practices involving all aspects of your business including your other service department offerings and operations, sales and admin.”
Quite honestly, I wasn’t aware of N-able’s relationship with Taylor Business Group until an N-able spokeswoman last week pointed me to the original January 2009 blog post. I think Schulze and N-able have since been silent about the BIGs peer group strategy. And I haven’t seen an official/formal announcement from N-able yet.
But during a phone call last week, Schulze briefly mentioned to me that he expected more news about the N-able peer groups to be forthcoming.
Choose Your Partner
Meanwhile, Taylor Business Group has made an official peer group announcement involving Autotask customers. And HTG Peer Groups is working more closely with ConnectWise partners.
Why are MSPs lining up to join peer groups? Multiple factors are involved. But to me, there’s a clear link between MSP-oriented software and proper business management. Peer groups reinforce that link.
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Hi Joe,
It is very interesting, because N-able measures the performance of most of our MSP Partners against their results at N-able University. We have found that the most successful / profitable MSPs are the ones who invest the time and effort to identify, measure and manage the key metrics that are most important to their business. We feel the Taylor Group offers an excellent extension to N-able University, The Blue Print for Success, our Partner Development Specials and the whole stable of new business, sales and marketing programs just released to partners over the last quarter.
Gavin,
I think you used the key word: “Measure”
masterIT, one of your partners, once told me about the business metrics they measure every month. And ultimately, those measurements allow masterIT to compete against itself every month…
Sort of like a sprinter trying to beat his or her best time, or a golfer trying to compete against his or her own course record. If you’re not measuring your own business performance, how can you hope to improve?
Hi Joe;
I’m in complete agreement with Gavin – we find that KPI measurement and improvement strategies are what differentiate average MSPs and Solution Providers in general from best-in-class providers. At MSP University we have adopted ongoing benchmarking as a fundamental element of our 8 phase 360 degree business improvement process for our members, and have partnered with Paul Dippell’s Service Leadership organization for the tools and resources to provide this critical diagnostic component.
These measurements allow the ability to analyze revenue and gross margin by managed services, project and product revenue, allowing the provider to quickly identify areas that need immediate attention.
Without these tools, we find typical MSPs tend to blend their project and managed services revenues and margins, and sometimes even product data together – making it difficult to easily understand which of these areas is underperforming, and which are carrying the rest. This tends to hide problems – sometimes until it’s too late.
Arlin Sorensen calls this “running your business by the numbers”, which is where business owners should start – not where they end up.
Erick Simpson
MSP University
http://www.mspu.us