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IT Pros: exclusive shows await you on Patreon, focusing on the more challenging aspects of running your practice and working with clients and employees.


430: Living & Dying By The Sword

Topics:

Sam struggles with an email migration going from Microsoft 365 hosted by Go Daddy to a straight Microsoft 365 tenant. 
-Somehow Sam didn’t lose financially on this extended amount of time. 
-Jerry discovered an issue importing an Outlook PST file. 
-New Outlook is a “dumpster fire of a product”. 
-Joe talks about a method of getting Facebook support by way of buying an Oculus. 
-Music Match causes some confusion for a client of Jerry’s. 
-Sam’s worst nightmare seems to come true with Harmonizely. 
-The Harmonizely incident spawns a bigger discussion about being up front about billing for meetings. 
-Jerry misses an opportunity for a snappy comeback. 
-A client of Jerry’s unplugs his wireless antenna with surprising results. 

428: Easing into Managed Services with Allen Hancock

Topics:

This week’s episode of Command Control Power will be a patron only feature. You can find this episode if you are a supporter of Command Control Power on Patreon. You can also click on the Support link in the menu above. If you are not yet a supporter, feel free to sign up! We think you will enjoy hearing it. Let us know your feedback if you do. In the meantime, enjoy a highlight from an older episode.

427: Guest Host - Tim Pearson of CreativeTechs

Topics:

  • This week we welcome long time supporter of the show, Tim Pearson of Creative Techs.

  • Tim joins us as a co-host.

  • He talks about traveling on the ferry to do onsite work.

  • The group discusses the wildfires out west.

  • Tim shares a story about the time he made a mistake of wearing a Star Wars shirt, causing his meeting to go way overtime.

  • The group helps Tim with approaching a mistake he made in his business.

  • Jerry’s talks about the “Screwdriver Effect”

  • Getting fired by a client is a great opportunity to take another look at how you do things.

  • Everyone discusses MSP and contracts with clients.

  • How are the group members finding new work throughout the pandemic?

  • Sam explains how he started getting referrals from the Apple stores.

  • The group talks about the Apple Consultants Network program and its benefits.

  • What is everyone seeing regarding to employees coming back to the offices?

  • Some people work better in offices and some at home.

  • Do you have employees or paid friends?


426: Who Am I?

Topics:

  • Jerry & Joe discuss client credibility.   

  • Jerry recently did work with a client who made changed without consulting him.

  • How do you build up credibility with your clients?

  • Jerry takes photos of projects he is proud of as a method to show his work to other clients.

  • What is the most effective way to communicate what you do with your clients?

  • Clients don’t always have the same image of you that you have of yourself.

  • Joe describes how he uses keywords on his site to appeal to potential customers.

  • Photos are worth a thousand words.

  • A good URL shortener that Jerry recommends is bitly.com.

  • There can be tremendous benefits when there is an inherent level of trust with the client.

  • Some clients want to know exactly what you do for the money they’re paying and some just completely trust you.

  • When there isn’t a level of trust between you and the client if can make things difficult.

425: The Appointments You Make Are Equal To The Appointments You Take

Topics:

-Jerry shakes Sam’s tree to get the skinny on a fancy pants email signature he has from Wisestamp.
-As a part of his updated signature, Jerry includes features like a “pay now” link and social media buttons.
-One concern Sam has is including the Harmonizely link to book time.
-We continue part of a conversation from a “patron only” episode.
-What are the fees of waiting for payment vs a fee of a credit card transaction?
-Sam uses Moonclerk, integrated with Stripe for credit card payments.
-Harmonizely is now a full part of Sam’s workflow. He is now convincing Matt on his team to do the same.
-simplybook.me has acquired Harmonizely and has added to their already impressive features.
-Joe talks about a book called “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris.
-Sam talks about the mindset he needs in order to be able to take tech support calls.
-As part of being cautious with available time, Jerry explains methods used to curate his available time on Harminzely.