Relationships PT. 2

Yesterday posted on the importance of Relationships. Earlier in the week I mentioned HTG Peer Groups. Today I am going to tie the two together.

Three of my fellow HTG13 members have teamed up to present some great ideas on positioning your company for success when everyone seems to be tightening their belts.

Microsoft 5w50 Webinar - Maximizing Success in Troubled Times
January 12th - 9:00 AM Pacific

- Karl Palachuk, KPEnterprises Business Consulting, Inc.
- Scott Mallet, Network Technology Solutions
- Tavis Patterson, TAZ Networks

Register at:https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=259605

Please join these successful SMB Consultants as they explore some of their great ideas for what may be a tough year ahead. This is part of Microsoft's 5w50 seminar series.

Scott does a great deal of training in his business. He'll talk about how Microsoft Training can be a major boost for your business in the year ahead.

Tavis has a unique approach to sales promotion. He committed to a program a few months ago. We'll check in to find out what he learned and what lessons he has for us in the months ahead.

Karl will talk about some ways to improve cash flow and safeguard against sudden turn-arounds.

Each of these guys have made significant contributions to our HTG Peer Group. I look forward to seeing them all again at our Q1/09 meeting ind Dallas later this month.

Relationships

The fact that this blog is hosted on and IT Technical Services website should not imply that all of the postings will be technical in nature. My real interest here and I suspect yours as well is to address business issues. By all indications, 2009 is going to be a difficult year for all of us. For a brief commentary on my views for 2009, visit my personal blog here.

Part of my "elevator pitch" is that Quality Systems Solutions, Inc. is a "relational" business as opposed to a "transactional" one. When we engage with a new customer, we seek to do so for a long time. Our original client, dating back to 1997 is still a client. We are simply not in the business of selling a piece of hardware, installing an application of fixing a problem and then moving on to the next opportunity that comes along. Clients that are NOT looking to establish a long term relationship with a solution provider are just not very good prospects for us.

Establishing mutually beneficial relationships, structured to provide service for and extended period of time are central to our business model. That philosophy applies equally to both side of the business equation for us. We view our vendors, distributors and partners the exact same way that we view our customers. Establishing a healthy vibrant relationship is essential to maintaining a profitable business relationship.

To that end I plan on featuring certain "relationships" on a regular basis as part of this blog. The easiest place to start is with my fellow members in the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce, Business Power Connection (BPC) group. BPC is a lead sharing group similar in purpose to BNI, Le Tip and any number of other groups.

Today I would like to introduce you to Mary Beth Huffman. Mary Beth is the owner of IMPACT Marketing & Public Relations . IMPACT Marketing and Public Relations is an independent integrated marketing communications boutique. Their experienced and talented team focuses on your business needs, which range from promoting your business, products, and services to influencing sales and business development. They can help you grow your business using effective integrated marketing communications strategies. When you contact Mary Beth, tell her that I sent you!

Next week, I'll feature Angela Schiek with Aflac.

Rick Bahl selected to Facilitate HTG19

I am honored and proud to announce that yesterday, January 5, 2009 I was selected as the Facilitator for the newly formed HTG19 Peer group. HTG Peer Groups are comprised of technology industry resellers “who are serious about implementing a model for success in their own businesses through sharing and collaboration of best practices.” Each group consists of 12 member companies that are generally distributed across the country. There is also a group in Canada and the U.K. There are (or will be soon) 20 groups in total.

In addition to being the facilitator for HTG19, I represent Quality Systems Solutions, Inc. as a member of HTG13. QSS has found tremendous value in our membership and I am very excited about being able to share the experience and extend the value to 12 new partners.

We don’t often think of other business that do essentially the same thing that we do, as Partners. More often we view them as Competitors. That is one of the distinguishing features of HTG Peer Group Membership. Each member company is deeply committed to the group and the other member companies within the group. Each member acts as a “Virtual Board Member” for every other company in the group. Everyone is dedicated to ensuring the success of not only their own company but the other member companies.

The process is actually very simple and it is all driven by Execution and Accountability. We meet quarterly but are in contact via email and phone on a regular basis. We share “Best Practices.” We share our financial data. We share resources. We share key contacts. We share our Goals and Objectives by clearly communicating them to the group and we report on our progress at each meeting. But the key to success is that each company is driven to Execute and they are held Accountable for their commitments.

Our next quarterly meeting is the last week of this month, in Dallas. Check back for a report on both HTG13 and HTG19. I am certain that it will be very exciting and informative.