??Finding Your Perfect Match: Speed Dating for MSPs + ??Industry Shout-Outs!

It’s February. And that means it’s time for me to roll out a dating metaphor.?

As you've hopefully seen, this blog is meant to be more around topics that inspire me at the moment; I've shared my professional journey, staffing your business like the Wu-Tang Clan, and most recently about how I have dealt with professional rejection.

If you are willing to indulge me today, I want to tell you exactly why Channel Pitch for both the MSP and Vendor communities has a ton of value. I've tried to do this in a creative/entertaining way so hopefully, you find the humor in it. It's only the first step in what we are doing at Channel Program, but I took the biggest risk in my professional career to do this, so I'd love it if you'd hear me out.

First, I want you to picture pre-Covid times. You may even want to imagine the good ol’ days when meeting people happened face to face, instead of on an app. (Let’s all pause a moment and remember those simpler times.)

Good. Now imagine walking into a crowded bar. You’re single and feeling good. You’re hoping to meet someone amazing. But there are sooo many people. And that means sticking your neck out and striking up a conversation. And another. And another. Maybe you even give out your What’s App number or gather a few for yourself. Maybe you follow up. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you make a connection. Maybe you strikeout. At the end of the night, you’ve lost track of how many martinis you’ve bought for people, you’ve made a huge effort, you might have even bought new threads and paid a steep cover to get in.?

But you go home alone.?

Changing the Game

In the IT channel space, there are tens of thousands of MSPs and just as many vendors. You go to an event, drop a huge ton of cash, hand over your contact info when you register (which is available to everybody in many cases), and then are bombarded by vendor calls for the next week. And it may or may not lead to meaningful connections. It’s a lot of money, time, and effort for not much payoff.?

Enter speed dating for MSPs. (Which my partner Kevin Lancaster and I like to call Channel Pitch.)

Put simply, it’s a place where you can meet your soulmate.?

Okay, okay, maybe that’s a bit generous. (Though who knows? Maybe you’ll click on a business AND find out you both love ‘90s hip hop and GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64.) But it is a place where we bring everyone together in an efficient, anonymous way. We learn together, encourage each other, and everyone has chosen to be there. Another plus? Being able to bring everyone on your team to the event! It’s an opportunity for everyone – MSP owners, technicians, marketing people, and anyone else who’d like to – to sit down and listen to a seven-minute pitch.?

And that’s what we love about speed dating for MSPs.?

Imagine a restaurant where you sit down one-on-one with a potential date. No contact information is given unless the parties agree to do so. The interaction is timed so you have to get to the point. Fast. You need to show them the goods, let them know what you bring to the table, and what you can offer the other person. It’s open, it’s honest, it’s efficient.?

And it’s what the Channel Pitch is all about.?

Why Speed Dating?

• It’s fast: The whole event lasts less than two hours. And each pitch is just seven minutes. It’s short. It’s sweet. It’s to the point.?
• You learn to up your game: This one is for vendors. Instead of being at a crowded bar, where you probably don’t get to hear why no one fell for your pickup lines, at our pitch events, vendors receive instant feedback from MSPs, helping them sharpen their pitch and tighten their game. (And for MSPs, you’ll get to contribute thought leadership and help newbies improve.)

• We’ve prepped all the vendors, so they know what’s up: They understand what they need to include in their pitch, so you know you’re going to hear why they’re awesome and why they’ll make a difference to your bottom line. After an hour-long meeting, you’ve got some meaningful leads and a lot of inspiration.?
• It saves money: It’s easy to drop several thousand at just one channel event. (And vendors can spend $20K-100K.) (And what do you spend on a night out at the bar? New clothes, great dinner, bar cover charge, Uber, coat check, drinks for yourself and a potential match, after-bar munchies, and aaaaalll the effort.) As an MSP, listening in on our pitch events is FREE. (And we even hold raffles, give away cash, and last month our vendor partners gave away three international trips! Tell me a bar that does that! No, seriously, please tell me.)??
• It’s anonymous: Contact info is only disclosed if you want to. No calls and texts from people you aren’t at all interested in. If you’re feeling it, you share your information.
• It’s fun! Trust me. We have a great time at these things. The IT channel is a great place filled with lots of interesting people! And you’ll get to hear all my amazing one-liners at Kevin’s expense.?

We’re stoked because we’ve had such awesome feedback so far. Here’s one review from Raffi Jamgotchian of Triada Networks:

“Channel Program is an innovative way for technology service providers to connect with new channel vendors and truly partner with them. I find it massively impactful to link with the companies that are best using the technology and guide the technology’s path with our feedback. The presentations get to the point and quickly answer ‘What problem do you solve’ and ‘How would your solution impact our business?’”?

Meeting your perfect match doesn’t have to be painful, cost a ton of cash, or even require roses and chocolate. It just needs speed dating via the Channel Pitch. Everyone on your team comes together to listen to razor-sharp pitches, offer feedback, and you get to give your number to vendors that YOU choose to. You’re in control of the second date, where you can both open up a bit more and determine if you really are business soulmates.

It’s a brand-new way to communicate in the IT channel.?

Don’t miss out on the chance to meet your match! Our next pitch event is on February 25. Register here. (And if you’re interested in pitching, get in touch with me here.)

1. Jimmy Hatzell of Quickpass & Dave Goldie of Gradient, who put together a great LinkedIn Live on How MSPs Can Win On LinkedIn.
2. Andrew Morgan & Wes Spencer + others who put on the Right of Boom event last week. I've heard nothing but great things, sounds like you all set the new bar for security events in the space.
3. Allison Kastel on her move to JumpCloud as a Marketing Campaign Manager.
4. Nerdio for thinking outside the box and doing a fun roadshow with their stadium series.
5. Great efforts by Karl Palachuk and Amy Babinchak to spread the word about the National Society of IT Service Providers.
6. Enjoying SpearTip's Weekly Ransomeware Updates. A great resource for any MSP/ISP looking to have conversations about cybersecurity with their customers & prospects.
7. Jennifer Bleam of MSP Sales Revolution for becoming a first-time author with "Simplified Cybersecurity Sales for MSPs".
8. Tom Lawrence of Lawrence Systems, I can't tell you how jealous I am of your new studio, great behind-the-scenes look at it here.
9. Adam Slutskin making big moves joining Password Boss/AutoElevate as Chief Revenue & Strategy Officer.
10. Vijilan Security & IT By Design teaming up to deliver Managed Extended Detect Response (mXDR) service to MSPs. Love both of the teams of Kevin Nejad/Luciana Furtado & Sunny Kaila/Kam Kaila. All great people in this industry.