Congratulations! You have hit that milestone called a ‘sale’. Now it is time to implement what the core of your services is: Information Technology. On the surface, it seems simple enough because this is what your education was all about. You’re the expert in managed IT services. A set of guidelines will come in handy for the operations to go as smooth as can be imagined. A clean and professional execution of your services will establish the reputation that will be vital for your future growth. Successful sales processes are an integral part of growth for your organization.

Here is a seven-step process to bring your new client on-board-

In-depth analysis. For the preparation of your presentation during your initial meetings you may have completed an overview of your client’s infrastructure. But now you need to collect in-depth information to analyze the exact needs of that infrastructure. This analysis is important for the successful transition toward a professional management of your clients.

Technology assessment. How many computers, laptops and servers do they have? What other devices are involved in their networks? Evaluate every piece of hardware. Some of it may not be up-to-date enough to work with the latest technologies. Take an assessment of their operating systems and software applications. Determine the upgrades and updates needed to bring the infrastructure to your certification level.

Provisioning. You will be testing and configuring all their managed devices, operating systems and software applications. You will also configure remote access and control for remote monitoring and management (RMM). Configure bi-directional integration, communication and operation between the RMM tool and PSA solution. Test and confirm that all the configurations are successful.

Required Data. Even though during your in-depth analysis you have collected information about their systems and network, you still need to know information about everything else that was not included:

• Application and productivity software
• Printers, POS and other peripherals
• Workstation, laptop and other mobile devices
• Backup and disaster recovery and business continuity plans
• Vendor information

Prepare yourself. You have a new client and your client now has a new system for support and backup. That means your client needs training and you need to prepare for installation and the operation of that system. Your associates need to learn the new client’s infrastructure to establish support protocols. This may involve the support of a 24/7 Network Operating Center and their Service Desk. Make sure you and your associates have fully defined and documented the processes of the entire support infrastructure you have created for your client. Basically, you need to train your team to communicate effectively with all the people that will be using the new system. For the system to work well communication between NOC team and users of infrastructure must be clear and concise. Also, be sure you fully test the process, and test for inconsistencies as well as support gaps that could lead to inadvertent service disruptions.

Train your client. They need to learn how to place service requests and understand processes. You will be sending them a lot of information in the QBRs. They will need to learn how to decipher that information and make adjustments accordingly, if needed.

Time to go live. After provisioning and training, you are all set to go. Go ahead and press that button. The first few weeks are critical. There will be some tweaking and fine tuning in the beginning. Evaluate the health of the network and infrastructure at short intervals in the beginning. Then you can extend those intervals until you schedule them once a quarter.

You have completed a very significant phase in establishing yourself in the market. Document everything that you did right and everything that you could’ve done better. Make that document part of your training for the future. Now go out there and duplicate this success. Also read more on why the MSP Advantage Program is right for you and get more information on successful sales processes by clicking here..