A Key to Success for the MSP

by Ray Stasieczko November 30, 2016

“Emotional Collaboration”, transforms an IT Managed Services deliverable, into a mutual awareness of prevention. “

All service providers must prevent and quickly respond to their customers’ crises. The depth and severity of the crisis will most definitely be defined by the one in crisis – the customer. As service providers we completely understand it’s our proactive approach in prevention, which will define our value as a service provider. What if our customers felt as passionate about prevention as (we) their service providers felt? My answer to this question is this: When service providers understand the importance of customer selection, they will understand the meaning and more importantly the value of what I call - “Emotional Collaboration”

“Emotional Collaboration is whenboth the service provider and their customers are cohesive in their focus on prevention, in an effort to avoid the pain caused by an unnecessary or preventable crises.”

All service providers are not equal, although all their customers’ mindset should be. Most service providers think of their service deliverable as things they do. Things like - the preventive steps they take, the responsiveness they continuously improve on, their follow-up protocol, their documentation processes. The problem is they fit their service deliverable into the customer after they acquire the customer. This is backwards, before we accept a customer is the time for evaluating whether or not the customer fits into your service deliverable. This approach is very common from organizations who chase revenue over profit. All sales organizations can sell things or services to anyone. The challenge is selling only to those who fit your service model. When you do this your capabilities in delivering above expectations increases substantially. More importantly this approach brings fairness to your existing customers, you create an elite club environment and all clubs have two way rules. Both Managed Service Providers and Master Service Providers will benefit greatly from this approach.

Customer selection has more to do with understanding their mindset, then their product set. After all, the products are simply the means to what they want, how the products intersect, with how the products are delivered, and serviced will determine satisfaction. It is this intersection of expectations and reality to circumstances which impacts the relationship. When there is an alignment shortcoming between mindsets, both parties will commit what I call “Excuse Management” the blame game which most realize is a game never won.

Emotional Collaboration happens when your customers are just as concerned with prevention as you their service provider. The customer has the right mindset which aligns with the team behind them, the customer sees the service provider as the means to what they accomplish. In essence the customer is emotional bounded. It is this bond which creates and environment of mutual awareness, the customer understands the impact of doing things against the rules, could potentially bring harm to the cohesiveness of the relationship, the customer respects the system which they are part of.

Providing great service is its own product. All we do as service providers will never be defined by the products we deliver. When the customer engagement becomes the most important part of our deliverable, our organizations and our customers will benefit from what I call

“Emotional Collaboration”.

Ray Stasieczko