Topic: Selling SME Servers to the business community

[troykd]

I was wondering, who here sells servers with SME installed?  How is it received in the business community? Are they receptive to the idea of not using a MS server?  Personally, I know not having to buy CAL's made up my mind.  As  a Noob trying to install a couple other flavors of Linux server (and wrestling with Samba) I was very relieved to find SME.  Not just set up but administration as well.

[brianr]

yes, I sell servers with SME installed.  I have about 25 under my control, and a few more are still out there, but have "got away".  I reckon if I get in front of a small business man who acknowledges the need for a server, AND he is not wedded to a vertical application that needs Microsoft, then i usually prevail with the sell.

[smeusr]

Hi Brian,

I'm very interested in learning more about your success with selling SME Servers.  I've been looking at this for several years and have not really figured out how to get started.  I'm an IT Architect by day and a hacker by night.  Do you mind sharing your experience with how you got started and how you're able to convince your clients with SME?

[brianr]

You start in the same way that you start any company - you need to be able to fund yourself for a while until you (a) get confident with the articles you want to sell and (b) you go out and find people who need your product.  I was lucky that my Daughter worked for a small company that had problems with there ad hoc network, and the SMEserver solved them all at a stroke.  However it still took me a 2-3 years to approach some sort of quorum whereby the re-occurring business for SMEServers (and associated support) and new business could actually support me.  This was 8 years ago, and I have been actually supporting myself (just, in some cases) for about 5 years.  You have to be pragmatic (Be prepared to do what people want, not what you'd prefer to do).  You also need to sometimes work many more hours than you would in "paid" employment.

Does that help?

[smeusr]

Yes, thanks.  How do you advertise your services?  Or asking the question differently, where do you find or how do you target these customers?  Do you have a marketing process?  How do you get leads?

[brianr]

I get my leads from Breakfast networking (BNI), and personal connections and references on from my existing clients, about 30/30/30 (last 10% - who knows?).  After the intial flurry of personal contacts (it took a while for people to know what I was doing), then BNI took over, but mainly these days from references from existing and past) customers.  i did gain a few from a friend who "gave up" his PC support business (and I turned some of them into SMEserver sites). 

Recently most of my work is "repeat" work from my current clients, not put any SMEServers into new clients this year yet.

[smeusr]

Thanks Brian for your generous response.  After all, it's about persistence, hard work, connections and passing out batches of business cards.  I like the approach and presence of your web site.  It's down to earth and genuine.

Thanks again.

[brianr]

Thanks Brian for your generous response.  After all, it's about persistence, hard work, connections and passing out batches of business cards.  I like the approach and presence of your web site.  It's down to earth and genuine.

Thanks again.

no problem

[MSmith]

My business model, going back to 1997, is a little different -- I do not sell any hardware or software at all, just *service*.  Trading hours for dollars.  The advantages to this include:  being paid to research and recommend hardware purchases and set them up once purchased, not having to maintain & pay tax on inventory, not having to collect and remit sales tax (in my state of the USA), and not having to honor hardware warranties.  (In fact, I get paid to help clients get their warranties honored!)  I have many SME Servers in various locations but have not succeeded in getting shadow copies to work correctly so am not usually using SME Server for file server duty.  Gateway/firewalls and email servers, as well as backup file servers, oh yes indeed!

[janet]

MSmith

... I have many SME Servers in various locations but have not succeeded in getting shadow copies to work correctly so am not usually using SME Server for file server duty.

sme is a very capable file server.
Software RAID1 & a 3rd drive, gives good reliability.
Depending what you actually mean by "shadow copies", you can achieve this using Affa backup to another server, either local or remote, and schedule the backup to run very frequently ie every 30 minutes or 1 hour.
http://wiki.contribs.org/Affa

On the production sme server you can use this
http://wiki.contribs.org/ShadowCopy

Gateway/firewalls and email servers, as well as backup file servers, oh yes indeed!

You are limiting yourself and your customers in the use of sme.
Many reports have suggested sme used as a file server gives better/faster response than a Windows file server.

[MSmith]

Mary:

What I meant by "shadow copy" is what is seen on the client workstations via the "Previous Versions" tab of the Properties page of a file or folder.  I tried twice to get it to work on a fresh SME 7.4 server and must have done something wrong, because I couldn't get it to work.  I'm not saying the howto is wrong or that the functionality isn't there, just that I couldn't get it to work and gave up quickly because it's easy in Windows Server 2003. 

In addition, while I never expose a Microsoft product to the Internet directly, there are many applications "out there" in the real world that assume and *require* a Windows back end. 

To sum up:  I use SME where I can, and Microsoft where I must.

[smeusr]

My business model, going back to 1997, is a little different -- I do not sell any hardware or software at all, just *service*.  Trading hours for dollars.  The advantages to this include:  being paid to research and recommend hardware purchases and set them up once purchased, not having to maintain & pay tax on inventory, not having to collect and remit sales tax (in my state of the USA), and not having to honor hardware warranties.  (In fact, I get paid to help clients get their warranties honored!)  I have many SME Servers in various locations but have not succeeded in getting shadow copies to work correctly so am not usually using SME Server for file server duty.  Gateway/firewalls and email servers, as well as backup file servers, oh yes indeed!

Thanks MSmith for openly sharing your experience with me.  Please pardon my questions as they are somewhat probing.  I'm looking for a mentor in this area as my questions are similar in nature to Brian.  What tools do you use to sell to a new client if the lead didn't come from the reference of an existing happy customer?  I would love to hear about one or two (as many as you're willing to share) of your wins.  What is your secret sauce? 

[MSmith]

What is your secret sauce? 

My first two attempts to answer this question seemed hopelessly egotistical so I'll try again, but part of consulting IS ego.   This is my business model; there are many like it, but this one is mine.  YMMV!

First and foremost, you must have the skills to pay the bills.  You must be a superb troubleshooter and have a deep knowledge of hardware, networking and the Internet.  You don't have to know everything, but your Google-fu must be strong.  You must also acknowledge to yourself and to your clients that you don't know everything.  Call in a specialist when you must.

Assuming you have the skills, you're not actually selling service, you're selling yourself.  When you provide IT services to small businesses, you will be forming personal relationships with business owners and office managers as well as lower-level personnel.  Abandon wholly any traces of the BOFH attitude, amusing though that attitude can be!  You are providing a service that enables them to do their business, and in that respect are no more and no less important than a plumber or HVAC technician.  Just as with those other tradesmen, your skills and knowledge have great value.  Be confident in your abilities and manner, but not cocky.  Be friendly, courteous and above all *professional*.

Once you've established trust, treat your clients with absolute integrity.  Understand what they need and want, explain your thought processes (as much as the client wants) and advise them honestly.  Use the appropriate tools for the job at hand; sometimes it will be a Microsoft product.    Provide detailed invoices of what you did when, and how long it took.

Always remember that most people don't care about computers as such and see them strictly as tools with which to carry out their jobs.

I should also note that I did have the luxury of growing my business through referrals and word of mouth only; I've *never* advertised.  And I don't particularly care if I get a given client.  I never, never negotiate on price or accept services in kind.  I didn't plan it this way, but I'm told by my business coach that this lends me a certain cachet, sort of like "playing hard to get."  In my case, I'm not playing; I *am* hard to get.  It seems to make my clients feel as if they're part of an "in-group."

And last but definitely not least, don't price yourself too low!  Look at your market and your competition; don't be the cheapest.  Don't necessarily be the most expensive, but let your rate suggest that you have skill, knowledge and experience.

Once again, YMMV.  Good luck out there!

[brianr]

You have put the whole thing very well, there is nothing in your posting that I could even slightly disagree with.  Just one thing missing - have fun!  if it becomes a bore, then give up and do something else, your customers deserve nothing less.

[smeusr]

My first two attempts to answer this question seemed hopelessly egotistical so I'll try again, but part of consulting IS ego.   This is my business model; there are many like it, but this one is mine.  YMMV!

First and foremost, you must have the skills to pay the bills.  You must be a superb troubleshooter and have a deep knowledge of hardware, networking and the Internet.  You don't have to know everything, but your Google-fu must be strong.  You must also acknowledge to yourself and to your clients that you don't know everything.  Call in a specialist when you must.

Assuming you have the skills, you're not actually selling service, you're selling yourself.  When you provide IT services to small businesses, you will be forming personal relationships with business owners and office managers as well as lower-level personnel.  Abandon wholly any traces of the BOFH attitude, amusing though that attitude can be!  You are providing a service that enables them to do their business, and in that respect are no more and no less important than a plumber or HVAC technician.  Just as with those other tradesmen, your skills and knowledge have great value.  Be confident in your abilities and manner, but not cocky.  Be friendly, courteous and above all *professional*.

Once you've established trust, treat your clients with absolute integrity.  Understand what they need and want, explain your thought processes (as much as the client wants) and advise them honestly.  Use the appropriate tools for the job at hand; sometimes it will be a Microsoft product.    Provide detailed invoices of what you did when, and how long it took.

Always remember that most people don't care about computers as such and see them strictly as tools with which to carry out their jobs.

I should also note that I did have the luxury of growing my business through referrals and word of mouth only; I've *never* advertised.  And I don't particularly care if I get a given client.  I never, never negotiate on price or accept services in kind.  I didn't plan it this way, but I'm told by my business coach that this lends me a certain cachet, sort of like "playing hard to get."  In my case, I'm not playing; I *am* hard to get.  It seems to make my clients feel as if they're part of an "in-group."

And last but definitely not least, don't price yourself too low!  Look at your market and your competition; don't be the cheapest.  Don't necessarily be the most expensive, but let your rate suggest that you have skill, knowledge and experience.

Once again, YMMV.  Good luck out there!

Great advice.  Thank you.