By John King, Business Development Manager for Umbrella Managed Systems
Six months. Six months is how long I’ve been working for Umbrella. Six months is hardly enough time to understand the entire marketplace of IT services, let alone learn everything there is to know about selling our products and services.
Even though it’s been a short amount of time, I can barely remember what work was like before Umbrella. Working in a position that did not exist at Umbrella before I started, in an industry I knew little about, is exciting and terrifying.
To say the business world changes constantly is a simplification. The actual matter is that the details change constantly, but the overall scope does not. Businesses are trying to become the best they can be in their specific industry; we’re no different. Umbrella is not striving to become the largest IT Managed Service Provider in the world. We want to be the best at what we do, especially in Kansas City.
I’ve learned in my short time here that what’s worked in the past might not work now. Companies want faster results with lower costs. The needs of clients haven’t changed, but how they interact with their technology has evolved. Their expectations have grown as well.
Business is still conducted between people, and people want to work with other good people. The big change is the context in which we interact. What I know for sure is that Umbrella is made up of great people.
I asked the entire staff a simple question: Why are we better than the competition?
The results were not surprising to me, but they might be to you. A common response was strong service delivery while meeting and exceeding client’s expectations. (Doing what we say we’re going to do.) The problem is that most IT companies say that. What makes us different is that we honestly care more. We have a vested interest in our clients. And we do the right thing.
As I’ve gotten more experience in this position, I’ve learned an important truth about how we do business: Technology is important, but the people are more important than technology. If you don’t have that kind of trusted relationship with your IT provider, we should talk.