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012: Welcome new members - part 2

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An extended water cooler chat with Jerry, Sam, and Joe, discussing issues facing new ACN members, featuring tips from seasoned pros.

Followup:

- iPhone 5S: Joe doubles down on prediction from Episode 002 that new iPhone would be called iPhone 5S, the S for Secure. Last week, iOS 7 beta 4 leaked a new folder called “BiometricKitUI" including strings containing VoiceOver text describing a "photo of a person holding an iPhone with their left hand while touching the Home button with their thumb"; home button fingerprint scanner + passcode = two factor authentication, iCloud Keychain providing seamless integration with Safari on the Mac

Topics:

- sending clients to the local Apple Stores for good will and possible referrals vs. earning extra cash for your referrals through the Apple Business Affiliate and Apple Store Affiliate programs

- the added pressures of actively selling your services and promoting a solution vs. passively offering to help

- Jerry does a client impersonation

- what not to do: don't bash a previous tech

- what to do: trust your gut; trust your instinct; let a new client know about the fee in advance and get paid at the time services are rendered; carry a Square card reader and take credit card payment using your iPhone; don't let too much time go by before collecting accounts receivable; document everything; get paid; get a good read on a new client and don't be afraid to say no

- ACN Plus membership; ACN Member Store coupons

- ACN Company membership; multiple locations

- Terms of Service

Memorable lines:

"Don't bash a previous tech." – Sam

Mentions:

- LightSpeed

- Daylite

- Highrise

 

009: Backups

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Followup:

- Sam's Office365 email migration

Topics:

- enlisting help from outside consultants; no one does things the way you do; importance of communicating with clients

- social media for professionals; how to gain followers; who do you want to follow you? great way to get support from vendors; advice from Allen Hancock: want great followers, post nice things about vendors

- ACN Locator Ratings and Reviews; Google Places, Google Plus

- best mobile workstations: MacBook Air 11-inch vs. 13-inch; remote support from iPad

- Tile: product for locating objects

- Leap Motion: looks cool!

- Backup: mirror vs. clone; examples of backup strategies: Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, Archiware P5 (formerly PresSTORE), CrashPlan; the 3-2-1 rule of backup; is needing two forms of media an outmoded idea? reference: the DAM book by Peter Krough

003: The ACN Office - marketing, finding clients, working with AppleCare, the Apple Store

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Episode three of Command-Control-power features a wide-ranging conversation with Joe, Sam, and Jerry discussing the topic of The ACN Office.

Topics: 

  • marketing to existing clients, incentivizing referrals vs. mass marketing to public; relative quality of leads
  • Constant Contact, MailChimp, My Emma, Campaign Monitor
  • sticking with what you know vs. "the devil you don't know"; clients also trust a known entity
  • finding clients, never having needed to seek out clients before now
  • PR; marketing
  • press releases in local publications; working with non-profits to get one's name out
  • OnForce vs. ACN
  • Intro to Business at the Apple Store presentation includes an ACN slide; tip from Apple Store Business Manager
  • retail turnover in the Apple Store, especially in the Business Team
  • tip from local Apple Store about increasing ACN referrals
  • working harder to get new business?
  • "Sales"
  • Managed Services vs. Break/Fix
  • revenue streams; recurring fees
  • Wellness Visits, i.e. preventive maintenance
  • running a managed offsite backup service using CrashPlan
  • offering email and web hosting services
  • RackSpace offices in San Antonio, a former mall
  • recurring revenue streams, no matter how small; residuals
  • benefit of referrals from Apple Store; clients feel Apple endorses us
  • a day in the life of an ACN
  • next week: Live from Advanced Camp!

Mentions

Craig Cohen (@ccohen), Arek Dreyer (@arekdreyer), Ben Greisler (@magikben).