Video: How Vendors Can Best Support MSP Partners

so for me to vendors it's invest in the education of your msps because they are the ones that are on the front lines they're the ones talking to customers they are the ones that understand the day-to- day of the businesses that grow our economy hey Channel insiders I'm your host Katie boso and welcome back for part two of my interview with Nancy henriquez be sure to head on over to channel insider.com to catch up on part one if you haven't already done so today we discuss what Nancy learned about the it Channel and about what msps really need from their vendors while working for a prominent it vendor startup plus what she says newcomers to the it managed Services industry should look for in a peer group and what to consider when creating Partnerships I want to kind of shift gears now and talk about where you've been for the more recent history of your career since selling your last MSP you actually went to work for a vendor an IT vendor in this space which was interesting to me because now you're on the other side of the coin talk to me about what that Journey was like for you in shifting to a a vendor role and learning about what that side of the coin looked like what did you see from that new perspective about your peers who were still working as as msps I guess talk to me about how you you saw things differently when I was leaving the uh MSP that acquired me I really wanted to think about what is it that as cliche as it may sound I really was thinking about what is my purpose I've heard so many times people come to me and say well are you going to start another MSP and no for me I think that is u a part of my history and what I realized is that I have so much experience doing that now uh also running the MSP that acquired mine and so at a larger scale and I have so much to uh give and so much to offer to help other MSP owners not make the mistakes I did or to help them get to another level faster than I did uh you know whatever that may be I realized that that's what I really am passionate about in a way giving back uh to the community that got me to where I am and so for me the the natural Next Step was can I work with a vendor that is helping msps uh in their Journeys for their businesses and I got this opportunity uh to join a a startup that was taking off in terms of uh the product that they are uh offering but then also what they were doing for the community and so it gave me a lot of insight into not only what is still needed within the MSP space and what is not being given um or you know however that may be what I realized was that there is still so much more support that is necessary um to give msps not only to the msps that have been in the industry but there's a wave of new MSP owners of Technology professionals that are trying to also find a place within this community and that for me was key um to you know working with a vendor and seeing like I can see the other side and see how else can we help as a community so it was a great opportunity um I was there for almost a year built up the community there and fantastic experience just being on the ground level with and talking to so many msps about their businesses and what their challenges are and what they need to help you use the word Community a few times there and inside the channel that's how I Define it it is a community because especially since it's so Niche and and talking to people inside of this space seems to get you so close to so many people so quickly it's easy to make friends it's easy to have people who are like I know a guy that can help out with this if I can't do it myself and it's easy to call up people and ask for help or to provide business so it's a it is a community with that said is that something that when it comes I'm thinking about peer groups and I'm thinking about the way vendors kind of approach enabling that Community is there anything that vendors can take away from your experience on both ends of the table now that they should consider doing better or doing it all uh now that you've been able to have that experience yeah I would say invest in their education and invest in their and upskilling them you know one thing that we all talk about is a shortage of talent and as the world begins to quickly shift into Ai and so many different aspects of Technology like there is no greater talent to invest in than the msps that are for me at least the heart of the businesses that are within our economy and our ecosystem and so for me the vendors it's invest in the education of your msps because they are the ones that are on the front lines they're the ones talking to customers they are the ones that understand the dayto day of the businesses that grow our economy and so without them we wouldn't be able to grow as much as we need to and so upskilling and education not just technical but also how to run an efficient business I think those are all things that are needed not just on the MSP side but on the vendor side as well and so if we can come together as a community that's where I feel the most magic can come from is supporting those the Frontline workers and making sure that they have all the resources that they need in order to be successful not just you know sell this product because this product is the answer I've always talked about how a tool is a tool and it's the people behind it that make the difference and so that's where the invest need to go I could eat spaghetti with a hammer but it's not the proper use for a hammer so even though that's a tool I'm not using it in a way that could help me so I I appreciate that perspective a lot with that in mind just let's let's do the the the inverse of that question right um for msps whether they're starting their business or they've been in the business for a while and now they're looking for that Community I I hear time and time again find a mentor find a peer group find your community find your friends go Network what would you advise an MSP just getting their feet wet in this space with the community as far as when they're searching for a peer group to start up with because we we both know some folks who are like they are the faces of peer groups or they are like peer group Warriors where they have their their LinkedIn pages are just chalk full of boards and peer groups that they belong to so somebody who is like that's intimidating what do I need to look for to just go to my first one what would you tell them to look for in that peer group one be aware of all the different types of communities and groups that are out there within the space I think that's the very first thing is understanding or realizing that there are so many different groups to help and just like high school or any other time you're not going to fit into every group and that's okay you have to find one that is right for you that you feel comfortable in that you feel safe in because at the end of the day feeling comfortable and safe is actually going to let you be more open and once you are more open to talk about your problems your challenges what you're facing then that allows you to receive and receive help from others in the same way and so I think that it's not a matter of go to all or or however it may be it's it's about finding the right Community for you where you feel comfortable in and there's a ton of communities out there uh and so yeah that's that's the advice I would give and I would say even if it is just one that you're starting off with and even if you are starting off as a you know a wallf flower uh that's okay find at least one friend during that and I guarantee that that is like the the start of changing your business um at least it was for me and so I'm a huge and firm believer in having all the support around you whether whether it is mentors coaches Geer groups whether it's a community whatever that may be those support systems are what to me just will create such a huge difference for your business um so whether it's one or a few just Join one even if it's a Wallflower to listen it first it's okay that's fine just start somewhere starting is the best way to to start yeah doing it is the best way to start for sure I want to put put you on the spot and see if you're comfortable answering are there any peer groups that you personally love I I do I've had um I've been through several and so that's also something that I would actually say is it's okay to move from different groups and so I do have a favorite which is my my OG group I would say my Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program it's not an industry one but it's a peer group of CEOs and things like that and we've just become such Fast Friends 10 years now in the in the making I guess and so relationships get built through that and that's um so that's my favorite outside of the industry inside the industry I would have to say I don't I don't think I have a favorite I'm not going to pick a favorite in the industry but there's so many good ones out there I believe you I believe you and thank you for giving me the answer that you did so going from there and going back into the the MSP side of the business and and thinking about where that business goes from here just now that you've taken a step back and you've looked at your own career and you've looked at what other people are doing in their career when they look for a vendor or look for a peer group is there anything that you would say the MSP industry needs to do better or maybe start doing or kind of shift their thinking around I'd love to just kind of get your T in where they can go from here to improve grow and continue to serve the customer base I love that question so I I have to say and maybe this is my somebody used to call it this is like the Kumbaya part of you um where I I just want to hunt the world right and I feel like there is space for everyone and uh there's plenty of business for everyone so I think that what is missing and we're heading in that direction right in in our space is collaboration over competition and that's something that you know no matter what type of business you are whether you're a vendor whether you're an upand cominging Community there's so many of us and we're all so different and unique that there is comfort in different ways uh right and so I would say that the more that we come together as a community the stronger we become as an ecosystem and so for me it's not so much about like oh I'm not going to be a part of so- and so's Community because of whatever or I'm not going to to do business with so and so it's more so of you have certain strengths and there's a specialness to whatever it is that you are doing that can add value for me in this way and so I always say like if we all take a slice of the pie then as a whole we we are better and so to me that's what it's all about um not just the vendors and not just msps but together as a whole I love that I want to hug the world too Nancy maybe we could both get our hands around if we combine forces like that one big hug I love hearing about that I have a bit of a curveball question for you that was something I was thinking about because again you you have a lot of experience in this space going from break fix to MSP to vendor and you've you've experienced it all in a world of Market places in a world where you can go and and get anything that your clients need do you think you'd partner with many different hardware and software vendors if you were to go back and and create another MSP or do you think you'd do a select few I really want to know of like should your line card be you know Boutique with with with big abilities or should you just go hard and just partner with everybody what does that look like to you I think that it really depends on your customer uh who you serve and their customer who they serve and I think that the reason why is because not everyone uh is going to need everything you know there's definitely the need for selection and having a a due diligence process when it comes to selecting whatever partners that you're going to be working with and so asking the right questions as if you were your customer I think is the best place to start and that is uh one of the things that now you know customers are a lot more educated nowadays as well and so those questions are going to come up in the sense of who are you selecting to be in my environment and how are you selecting them to be in my environment and so I would start with that in mind and have you know I would even go as far as publishing my due diligence and how I select my partners um that way there's also transparency across the board and customers feel a lot more comfortable with that and that you are uh competent enough to choose the right products and services for them to bring into their environments so that's how I would start it nowadays and that's something that I I think that is needed across the board not just as an MSP but customers doing that for msps as they select their msps and the same way that MSP should do that to select their partners and who they allow within their their space and their environment because at the end of the day all of it influences how you then go about your business so again when when vendors invest in their msps msps can then bring that back and educate and provide a safe secure environment for their customers I think that's so important to consider I think it's so important because we see marketplaces come on the scene and in the beginning people were worried that you know does this mean customers can buy anything would they replace the managed service providers and the vars out there and in my mind I'm like worst case scenario let them do it let them see how long it takes before they realize they don't know what they're doing or they're selecting Things based on nothing you need people who have relationships with these vendors understand their technology and and vouch for their technology and can manage that technology to be able to be a part of this system I appreciate your your perspective so much Nancy and I got to ask you know what's next for you because you're you're in a fun kind of space right now where you get to call the shots and make a decision about your own Journey are you comfortable sharing what might be next yeah absolutely um so I have a couple projects that I am working on one is I am in the process of writing a book basically a collection of stories from my experience um as well as other msps experiences within the space um ultimately I I want to write a what could be a guide for someone that may not have formal education business education to be able to you know start a business or grow a business get a get a business to the point of sale leveraging their Community without having to have that type of education that's one of the things that's um in the works and um beyond that I do have another project that I'm going to be kicking off here soon and I can't give much details about that one yet but definitely be on the lookout I absolutely will be way to leave me on a cliffhanger I'm so excited for your next role Nancy it's been incredible to talk to you and to get your perspectives and thank you so much for your time today if anybody would like to reach out to you to just talk to you the way that I did but without a blinking red light where can they go and and what would you advise them to uh to do to be able to get in touch with you yeah so LinkedIn um connect with me on LinkedIn that is the best way and then we can go from there love that Nancy thank you so much for your time today I wish you the best in the rest of 2024 and I'll be watching thank you so much thanks again to Nancy for joining me and thank you for watching or listening hey to channel insider.com to check out all episodes of Channel Insider partner POV or head to our YouTube page at youtube.com/ Chanel inssider newws and Trends you can listen to us on your favorite podcast platform but don't forget to like subscribe and follow wherever possible so you never miss an episode once again I'm Katie boso and I'll see you next time n

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