Comments on: When to Kill A Product or Service http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/ Managed Services & Cloud Services Blog for VARs & MSPs Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:46:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51648 Joe Panettieri Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:05:09 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51648 Jim: Thanks for the friendly reminder about the value of audio podcasts. We'll keep that in mind as we prepare new content. -jp Jim: Thanks for the friendly reminder about the value of audio podcasts. We’ll keep that in mind as we prepare new content.
-jp

]]> By: Jim Van http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51644 Jim Van Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:38:23 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51644 All: Selling the Invisible is also available as an audiobook (for those of us who are really time-challenged) from Audible.com. For many, it's also downloadable, for free, from your local library as an audioook. I return to it often on long drives... Joe: the cool thing about the podcasts is that I can listen to them while doing other things, driving, etc. Hope you'll keep us 'listeners' in mind for any future podcasts/videos... Happy Holidays! Jim Van Logicomm, Inc. http://www.logicomm-inc.com All: Selling the Invisible is also available as an audiobook (for those of us who are really time-challenged) from Audible.com. For many, it’s also downloadable, for free, from your local library as an audioook. I return to it often on long drives…

Joe: the cool thing about the podcasts is that I can listen to them while doing other things, driving, etc. Hope you’ll keep us ‘listeners’ in mind for any future podcasts/videos…

Happy Holidays!

Jim Van
Logicomm, Inc.
http://www.logicomm-inc.com

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51623 Joe Panettieri Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:47:02 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51623 Stuart: I just got a Kindle for Christmas. Checking out Selling the Invisible today. Thanks and Merry Christmas. -jp Stuart: I just got a Kindle for Christmas. Checking out Selling the Invisible today. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
-jp

]]> By: Stuart Crawford http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51618 Stuart Crawford Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:47:15 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51618 Hey guys, I recommend reading "Selling the Invisible" by Harry Beckwith. Opened my eyes to a lot of selling tricks around Managed IT Services. I prefer to use the term "Business Technology Services" or something like that. First never call it managed services to the public, but I think that is a given...I hope! Work on your own brand, people do business with a those who have a brand. Remember the old says "I will fire get fired for choosing IBM". Perhaps not the best service, but a brand which is recognized. Food for thought Merry Christmas Stuart Crawford http://www.bulletproofIT.ca Hey guys, I recommend reading “Selling the Invisible” by Harry Beckwith. Opened my eyes to a lot of selling tricks around Managed IT Services. I prefer to use the term “Business Technology Services” or something like that.

First never call it managed services to the public, but I think that is a given…I hope! Work on your own brand, people do business with a those who have a brand. Remember the old says “I will fire get fired for choosing IBM”. Perhaps not the best service, but a brand which is recognized.

Food for thought
Merry Christmas

Stuart Crawford
http://www.bulletproofIT.ca

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51610 Joe Panettieri Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:09:45 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51610 Dave: I keep hearing about the hourly service demands as well. I wonder: Will any VARs/MSPs create low-cost apprentice programs where college interns and recent grads handle the hourly support chores? -jp Dave: I keep hearing about the hourly service demands as well. I wonder: Will any VARs/MSPs create low-cost apprentice programs where college interns and recent grads handle the hourly support chores?
-jp

]]> By: Dave Dempsey http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51609 Dave Dempsey Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:49:31 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51609 Phil, you (and Joe) hit the nail on the head. My struggle isn't killing an unprofitable product... it is whether or not to kill a product that I actually make money on, but that causes me a lot of grief and is cumbersome for me to manage on the back end. For me, 2010 is going to be a year of contradictions. I am having trouble selling managed services contracts, but there seems to be a stronger demand in my area for lower end hourly service. I also bought in to the "work on your business, not in your business" but I'm realizing that I spend most of my time tweaking, changing, testing, reading, both my business and the technology we use, when really I need to spend more time working with clients now. Joe, you are absolutely right, however, when you said that the best products create their own market. That is the I.T./MSP service conundrum. How do you take something that is becoming more and more of a commodity every day and create your own market, or at least fine ways other than price to provide value with. -Dave Phil, you (and Joe) hit the nail on the head. My struggle isn’t killing an unprofitable product… it is whether or not to kill a product that I actually make money on, but that causes me a lot of grief and is cumbersome for me to manage on the back end.

For me, 2010 is going to be a year of contradictions. I am having trouble selling managed services contracts, but there seems to be a stronger demand in my area for lower end hourly service.

I also bought in to the “work on your business, not in your business” but I’m realizing that I spend most of my time tweaking, changing, testing, reading, both my business and the technology we use, when really I need to spend more time working with clients now.

Joe, you are absolutely right, however, when you said that the best products create their own market. That is the I.T./MSP service conundrum. How do you take something that is becoming more and more of a commodity every day and create your own market, or at least fine ways other than price to provide value with.

-Dave

]]> By: Stuart Crawford http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51605 Stuart Crawford Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:01:29 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51605 Hey Joe, besides knowing when to kill a product or service is knowing when to kill something that doesn't serve your overall purpose. Many small business owners get sidetracked daily with many distractions like volunteer groups, advisory councils and even habits that rob valuable focus time, time to call clients, time to meet others, time to lurk in the streets downtown (I do this and it is great to just bump into people, only works in busy downtown metros) and time just to think. So to go deeper into killing a product or service is knowing when to dump distractions in your life. Cheers Stuart Crawford Hey Joe, besides knowing when to kill a product or service is knowing when to kill something that doesn’t serve your overall purpose. Many small business owners get sidetracked daily with many distractions like volunteer groups, advisory councils and even habits that rob valuable focus time, time to call clients, time to meet others, time to lurk in the streets downtown (I do this and it is great to just bump into people, only works in busy downtown metros) and time just to think.

So to go deeper into killing a product or service is knowing when to dump distractions in your life.

Cheers

Stuart Crawford

]]> By: Jacob Warren http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51601 Jacob Warren Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:59:04 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51601 Killing a product or service is hard to do but is well worth it in the end. You need to make sure that your business is growing as well as delivering the quality that you originally intended. Killing a product or service is hard to do but is well worth it in the end. You need to make sure that your business is growing as well as delivering the quality that you originally intended.

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51599 Joe Panettieri Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:38:58 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51599 Dave@1: We're striving to listen more closely to customers as well. But here's an interesting twist. During a recent conversation, Digium CEO Danny Windham reminded me that sometimes it's smarter/less expensive to develop a product and "get it out there" rather than doing costly market research and polling customers again and again. Examples: Were customers asking for iTunes? iMac? iPhone? Or does Apple spot dysfunction markets that are prime for disruption? Phil@2: Your thoughts remind me of how Lou Gerstner ran IBM. Soft landing for OS/2 corporate customers during the IBM Global Services ramp-up. Dave@1: We’re striving to listen more closely to customers as well. But here’s an interesting twist. During a recent conversation, Digium CEO Danny Windham reminded me that sometimes it’s smarter/less expensive to develop a product and “get it out there” rather than doing costly market research and polling customers again and again.

Examples: Were customers asking for iTunes? iMac? iPhone? Or does Apple spot dysfunction markets that are prime for disruption?

Phil@2: Your thoughts remind me of how Lou Gerstner ran IBM. Soft landing for OS/2 corporate customers during the IBM Global Services ramp-up.

]]> By: Phil LaForge http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/12/23/when-to-kill-a-product-or-service/comment-page-1/#comment-51590 Phil LaForge Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:16:54 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/?p=5367#comment-51590 I think gracefully killing established products is one of the toughest things for MSP leaders to execute on (no pun). Especially the ones that are not clearly BAD. Ideas that fall on their face right out of the chute - that's easy. Deconstruct, learn, and move on. But some products just won't die. They don't lose money. They don't make money. Customers like it - but there aren't enough of them to get to critical mass. Maybe it's dated technology with some remaining die hard users. Heck, I ran a dial up ISP business until 2008. Joe brings up the correct point - look past the P&L and examine the mind share and time you have to invest in these borderline products. You just have to crowd them out to make room for growth. Over communicate intentions and build a soft landing for your customers - and then move on to next big thing. I think gracefully killing established products is one of the toughest things for MSP leaders to execute on (no pun). Especially the ones that are not clearly BAD. Ideas that fall on their face right out of the chute – that’s easy. Deconstruct, learn, and move on. But some products just won’t die. They don’t lose money. They don’t make money. Customers like it – but there aren’t enough of them to get to critical mass. Maybe it’s dated technology with some remaining die hard users. Heck, I ran a dial up ISP business until 2008. Joe brings up the correct point – look past the P&L and examine the mind share and time you have to invest in these borderline products. You just have to crowd them out to make room for growth. Over communicate intentions and build a soft landing for your customers – and then move on to next big thing.

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