This next story is just too good to not share with all of you. Every once in a while somebody calls up and asks the question "can the MSPAlliance help me close more business?" I usually have a standard response to those people but from now on I'm going to be referring them to this blog.
One of our members emailed me saying that they recently closed a managed services contract because of the Managed Services Code of Ethics & Conduct. Now I must admit that at first I was a little skeptical when I read this so I called up the company and heard first hand what happened. It turns out the MSP was bidding a job and had been talking to the owner of the company about their qualifications. The usual technical vetting process took place and everything seemed to check out. The client was getting replacing an internal IT provider with a MSP and the question of client satisfaction became an issue.
When they heard this the MSP told the client that included in the stack of materials provided was a copy of the Managed Service Provider's Code of Ethics and Conduct. He continued by saying that MSPAlliance members are held to a higher standard and that the client should expect no less of him. I guess that was enough for the client and they signed the deal.
This is a great testimonial of how, if used effectively, membership with an association like MSPAlliance can pay off. Clients are much more likely to trust you if you are an affiliated company rather than one who is off on your own and beholden to no one.
This should be a lesson to all our members that using a little old fashioned integrity and non-technical relationship building can go a long way in this profession.
