leading a remote workforce

Leading a Remote Workforce

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The workplace landscape has changed and now more than ever it’s important to master leading a remote workforce. But what does this mean? Being a good leader means you have a clear vision, and a path to get there.  You empower others to contribute their piece of the vision. As a result, you build a team that feels significant and motivated.

Transparency is Key

So, now the question is how do you be a great leader with a remote workforce?  Managing remote employees changes the dynamic of leadership and requires an additional set of skills. The first of these is transparency. Communication and availability are key attributes to a successful remote leader.

The best leaders engage remote employees in frequent and authentic conversation. They intentionally schedule “touch-base” calls to ensure they are communicating frequently and effectively.  During these calls, don’t underestimate the basic but direct questions including “How are you doing”, “Is there anything frustrating you?” or “How can I help make your day more effective?”

Get creative in your communication, schedule virtual team coffees and happy hours and have special baskets delivered that go along with the theme. These types of activities go a long way in making your team feel engaged and connected even from afar. Regardless of the method, be mindful to communicate often and be transparent.

 

Set Clear Boundaries and Guidelines

Leaders should also prioritize the development of clear boundaries and guidelines. At its most basic level, this involves assisting employees in defining their availability.  Clearly define when the employee will be working, leaving no room for ambiguity. Also, what is the best way to reach the employee at home?  If additional personal challenges such as childcare and homeschooling are involved, how will the employee address these challenges?

The typical leadership characteristics still apply when leading remotely. A good leader will still need to understand team dynamics. He or she needs to create and communicate a clear vision.  Provide coaching and mentorship when needed.

 Effective Technology and Tools

 Whether you are thinking about going remote or already are, perform an IT audit to make sure you have all the necessary technology and tools to set your team up for success. These include but are not limited to:

  • Videoconferencing app
  • Mobile Hotspot
  • Remote Desktop
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Project Management Software
  • Automation Tool
  • Team Chat App
  • Centralized File Sharing
  • Security Tools

Then you must ensure that all these tools are well integrated into your processes. For example, all customer notes must be documented for cross-company communication, sales quotes must be integrated with billing software, and so on.  It’s one thing to have the tools but it’s another to use them effectively.

Many of our clients find that it is necessary to implement a consulting company like FocusPlanit to ensure they make effective changes to streamline their tools and grow the business.

FocusPlanit serves the entire United States and is the industry’s premier team of highly qualified ConnectWise, QuickBooks, Wise-Sync, GoZynta, CharTec, ConnectBooster experts who have dedicated years of their professional life implementing and optimizing these solutions. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.

When To Fire A Client

When To Fire A Client

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As a consulting firm, we find most clients to be a pleasure to work with, but sometimes you end up with a client so difficult that, to protect your time, reputation, and your company, you need to politely fire them. Here’s how to fire a client as painlessly as possible so you can get back to business.

No one wants to fire a client. They pay us money, they have interesting projects, and sometimes they become our friends. Then there’s the other kind of client; the one who is such a nightmare to work with that your business starts to lose money and morale.

Valid Reasons For When To Fire A Client

  • Lack of communication
  • No acknowledgment of expertise
  • Unconstructive, hostile, or offensive criticism
  • Unethical business practices
  • Unwillingness to share frustrations
  • Unreasonable expectations
  • Inability to afford services

 Plan Your Exit Strategy

 Step 1: Get Involved

If you are the owner, have a hands-on approach, gather, and document as much information as you can to protect your brand. Determine how you can reduce your workload with the client so there won’t be much left to complete in order to complete your relationship with them. Start turning down any new assignments and decline to sign a new contract.

Step 2: Don’t talk yourself out of it.

Many business owners are concerned to fire a client for fear of a negative effect on their business reputation but remind yourself that the time you will save not dealing with their nonsense will open up an opportunity to find and secure an ideal client who will pay you more and, more importantly, treat you better. In addition, think about the example you are setting for your employees, an example that will make them feel company pride and feel valued if they were involved in any of the negative dealings.

Step 3: Write a professional letter

It’s important to let your client know in writing that you do not plan to continue the working relationship. This enables you to establish a clear exit plan with end dates and project closure. The resignation or disengagement letter may also be an opportunity to let the client know what was not working in the relationship in hopes that the client may change their behavior for the better when they work with other partners in the future.

Feel Good About Your Decision

Firing bad clients helps create the time and energy you need to take on those dream clients who are waiting in the wings to take your small business to the next level. Suddenly, work will no longer feel like a hassle. Instead, you will feel good, knowing you made the right business decision. You’ll be able to enjoy balanced, challenging, and lucrative projects with clients you appreciate and who appreciate the value you bring them.

Trust us, we know firsthand how difficult it is to fire a client, but as a consulting firm we also know ho important it is to engage with partners who appreciate the value we bring to their operations.

FocusPlanit serves the entire United States and is the industry’s premier team of highly qualified ConnectWise, QuickBooks, Wise-Sync, GoZynta, CharTec, ConnectBooster experts who have dedicated years of their professional life implementing and optimizing these solutions. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.

FocusPlanit In The News

FocusPlanit In The News

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We recently partnered with technology law firm Scott & Scott, LLP to help them maximize their contract management solution with ConnectWise Sell. As a result, our very own Calvin Johnson, Director of Sales was interviewed and a subsequent press release issued by Legal IT Professionals was issued. For your convenience we’ve included the press release in this blog, or you may find it online here.

The Press Release

Scott & Scott, LLP Launches Contracts-as-a-Service Solution for Managed Services Providers Using ConnectWise Sell

May 19, 2022

Technology law firm Scott & Scott, LLP has built an integration between its contract management solution and ConnectWise Sell, which is automated quote and proposal software for the IT services industry.

Scott & Scott, LLP offers a cloud- based contracts-as-a-service solution for managed service providers, allowing MSPs to deploy customized versions of its master legal templates for online review and acceptance by end users. Using the Order Porter and quote templates within ConnectWise Sell, MSPs can collect e-signatures, enter into click-wrap agreements, and obtain browser wrap consent from clients for the online terms and conditions provided by the firm.

“The industry is moving to digital contracting and we are helping our clients implement scalable solutions to manage risk,” said Robert Scott, Scott & Scott managing partner.

Industry-leading ConnectWise and MSP consulting firm FocusPlanit is working with Scott & Scott to get the legal agreements the firm has created for its MSP clients integrated with ConnectWise Sell’s quoting software.

The collaboration should result in MSPs being better protected in a time where technology is changing so fast that MSPs are at high cybersecurity and ransomware risks.

“Scott & Scott is providing the contract management solution and we are effectively helping clients implement it using Sell,” according to Calvin Johnson, director of sales and marketing at FocusPlanit. “Since the MSPs we work with on a daily basis aren’t attorneys and are just trying to take care of their businesses, they need the legal aspect to be out of sight and out of mind. We want to provide any help we can to do that.”

Scott & Scott’s solution allows MSPs to bind their customers to services agreements the firm writes using the quote acceptance and electronic signature capabilities of Sell. By integrating directly with the quote, the solution collapses the sales and contracting process into one easy online transaction. The firm was referred by a client to Johnson, one of the early employees at ConnectWise and someone with vast experience in implementing ConnectWise Sell for MSPs.

“Most MSPs lack the internal resources necessary to program Sell to integrate with hosted online terms and conditions,” Johnson said. Saying that he found Scott to be unique in how he explained why legal agreements for MSPs should be structured in a certain way, Johnson said that Scott is “far more technical than any other attorney I have talked with in the MSP space.”

“That matters,” Johnson added, noting that while most lawyers have an idea about the cloud and MSPs’ services, “Rob has a great understanding of the structure of it all.” Johnson also said that being comfortable sending FocusPlanit clients to Scott & Scott because of the collaboration is a big deal.

“We are very picky as to who we send our partners to because if they go out of business or get in trouble, we lose them,” Johnson said. “So, it’s significant to find legal resources that we can send them to. Scott & Scott provides that.”

Further, the firm is being innovative in how it is helping its IT clients, Johnson said. “Scott & Scott is looking to take things a step further and say, ‘Not only will we supply the legal terms and keep them up to date, but we will help you implement them and get them into the quote and proposal.’ It’s a new approach compared to the firm’s peers,” Johnson said. “Nobody else has taken the next step.” It’s a crucial step, however, because it is key to have a legal document that is laid out in a way that a judge will enforce, Johnson said. “If you don’t have that, it doesn’t really matter,” Johnson said. “That’s the part Scott & Scott is trying to fix.”

Johnson said that a person may buy a cable offline and be given the box with the cable, but that doesn’t mean they will know how to install it. He said that if installing the cable is analogous to putting together an effective, potent legal agreement for MSPs, Scott & Scott is, for the first time in history, installing the cable and helping the cable buyer understand how it works. “Many customers want to use ConnectWise Sell but are bogged down in the implementation process. Not only are we showing them how to leverage the tool, we are offering standard templates for quotes and proposals,” Scott said. “Working with FocusPlanit, we now have a standard set of integrations that can easily be applied to any Sell user’s deployment. Thus, we are able to go live with ConnectWise much faster and cheaper than we would have had we not engaged with FocusPlanit.”

Johnson also complimented Scott’s dedication to FocusPlanit clients, pointing out that Scott helped one over the phone at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. “We know we can pass them off to Scott & Scott and they’re taken care of,” Johnson said. “If I can help the firm, that’s awesome, but Scott & Scott is certainly helping us. It’s not just about the need to prove to a judge that a client agreed to X, Y and Z terms. If MSP companies aren’t covered properly and their legal terms aren’t up to date, you could lose your entire business in the blink of an eye.”

Need An MSP? FocusPlanit is Here For You

Are you looking to make your IT services and business operations more efficient, so you have more resources to put toward your core business? Then it’s time to call us. FocusPlanit is a concentrated team of professional, seasoned experts focused on helping you create and maintain a successful business. We are on a mission to help business owners build highly functioning and sustainable operations leveraging existing systems.

FocusPlanit serves the entire United States and is the industry’s premier team of highly qualified ConnectWise, QuickBooks, Wise-Sync, GoZynta, CharTec, ConnectBooster experts who have dedicated years of their professional life implementing and optimizing these solutions. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.

TopLeft: A Complimentary Program To ConnectWise

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TopLeft a company we partner with has launched a software program that provides an overlay to ConnectWise. It allows the user to visualize their work to understand project progress, accelerate helpdesk dispatch, identify neglected tasks, and remove the bottlenecks that slow down your team. The best part about it? It Integrates seamlessly with ConnectWise.

A Enhanced ConnectWise User Experience

Are you a visual learner? By using TopLeft: a complimentary program To ConnectWise you have the opportunity to see tickets and projects without getting lost in the details. The professionals at FocusPlanit can implement TopLeft into your existing ConnectWise program.

You can watch as tickets, projects, and opportunities move across the boards. The position on the board indicates how the work is progressing in the team’s pipeline. You have the ability to drag and drop cards to indicate their status and importance compared to other cards.

See how work is distributed by grouping cards according to project, assigned technician, type, or other properties.

 Avoid Unnecessary Work Cycles

So many times, miscommunication causes unnecessary work cycles. Integrating the TopLeft program with ConnectWise allows managers to plan and monitor projects and tasks and engineers use it to understand priorities and indicate progress.

By working with an MSP like FocusPlanit to leverage all the necessary tools, you can ensure your systems run smoothly and help integrate software to maximize their use into your daily processes, allowing you to focus on your core business.

Are you looking to make your IT services and business operations more efficient, so you have more resources to put toward your core business? Then it’s time to call us. FocusPlanit is a concentrated team of professional, seasoned experts focused on helping you create and maintain a successful business. We are on a mission to help business owners build highly functioning and sustainable operations leveraging existing systems.

FocusPlanit serves the entire United States and is the industry’s premier team of highly qualified ConnectWise, QuickBooks, Wise-Sync, GoZynta, CharTec, ConnectBooster experts who have dedicated years of their professional life implementing and optimizing these solutions. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.

ConnectWise

TeamFocus: A ConnectWise All Inclusive Monthly Partnership

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ConnectWise provides businesses with a single operational platform, but we have found that most clients get overwhelmed with integrating into their businesses, which is why we created a ConnectWise All Inclusive Monthly Partnership called TeamFocus. This partnership allows us to partner with your team and will empower your business to maximize your sales processes, your operational systems, and your finance tools by using existing systems like ConnectWise.

Features of  TeamFocus:

  • Customized Offering Tailored to Your Business Needs
  • Assistance with 3rd Party Integrations
  • Unlimited Maintenance and Administration Hours
  • Full Access to the Entire FocusPlanit Team
  • FocusNOW Chat Support (Based on Availability)
  • Fixed Monthly Budget

What’s Included:

  • Development of Business Processes
  • ConnectWise Manage Consulting and Administration
  • ConnectWise Sell Consulting and Administration
  • Hands-on Training and Guidance for Quote to Cash Workflow
  • Custom Sell Quote forms
  • Personalized ConnectWise configuration settings
  • Best Business Practices
  • Hands-on ConnectWise Training for your team

Available Add-Ons:

  • Onsite Training
  • Staff Augmentation
  • Centralized Office Services including:
    • Agreement Invoicing
    • Time & Materials Invoicing
    • Project Invoicing
    • Special Invoices (Credit Memos, Down Payment, Miscellaneous)
    • Quote to Cash Processing
    • Opportunity Conversions
    • Creation of Sales & Purchase Orders, Tickets, Projects and Invoices

Packages are offered standard as one year but can be financed monthly. In addition, the FocusPlanit team can build in custom reporting or RMM consulting if needed at an additional cost.

Use your business systems to its fullest potential. We can partner with you to maximize your sales processes, operational systems and finance tools. Working with our dedicated team of consultants, we’ll look at your implementations to identify and streamline the gaps within your current processes. Learn more about our ConnectWise All Inclusive Monthly Partnership.

FocusPlanit is one of the industry’s premier ConnectWise Consultants serving the entire United States. Contact us today and let us be your partner in success.

Maximize Your Sales Processes, Operational Systems, and Finance Tools

New Year’s Resolution: Maximize Your Processes and Tools

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In need of a New Year’s resolution that will maximize your processes and tools? It’s well known that a new year brings personal resolutions centered around mental and physical wellbeing, but what about your business? Is it in need of an overhaul? There are simple actions a business can take that will help you meet your business goals and keep your office running smoothly.

 5 Ways to Maximize Your Processes and Tools

We also know the past few years have been tough especially on small businesses. The continued pandemic has largely moved the business world entirely online, and pivots have been necessary to navigate unprecedented circumstances. Likely, your business started and ended the year with very different sets of goals, challenges, and experiences.

So, as you look forward why not tackle all the efficiency goals you’ve been putting off like a plan to maximize your sales processes, your operational systems, and your finance tools by using existing systems like ConnectWise.

Here are 5 ways you can build a stronger, more prosperous business in 2022:

  1. Maximize your ConnectWise software to by integrating your payment collections utilizing ConnectBooster and Wise-Pay support integrations.
  2. Streamline your quoting process to build a stunning and accurate quote efficiently and one that also reflects your brand.
  3. Develop reporting tools to gain insightful information with custom reports that set your business up for success.
  4. Organize and manage your projects with powerful templates, scheduling and project management tools.
  5. Integrate your financial tools with supported QuickBooks and tools.

Find a Trusted Partner

To use your business systems to its fullest potential you’ll need to find a consulting partner that can help your organization determine areas for improvement and plan to change them. We can partner with you to maximize your processes and tools. Working with our dedicated team of consultants, we’ll look at your implementations to identify and streamline the gaps within your current processes.

FocusPlanit is one of the industry’s premier ConnectWise® Consultants serving the entire United States. Contact us today and let us be your partner in success.

managing holiday stress

Managing Holiday Stress

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We’ve identified tips for managing holiday stress at home and in the workplace. Holidays are usually the happiest time of the year because we have additional quality time with family and friends and often share in meals and other uplifting social functions. But at the same time, the added scheduling pressures, sometimes indulgent eating, and other departures from our normal routines adds stress that can be difficult to balance, not to mention the added stress around COVID!

Here are 5 simple lifestyle tips to help get you manage holiday stress:

1. Don’t over-commit 

As much as it seems like you want to attend every holiday social, party, and dinner, sometimes it is absolutely overwhelming to do it all and still manage your daily life. Select those things that matter most and politely decline the things that don’t, and you will thank yourself later. No one expects you to do it all, so don’t expect it of yourself.

2. Plan self-care activities

If the joy and chaos of the holidays really does overwhelm you, then schedule some planned downtime. Set time aside to treat yourself to a facial, beauty treatment, get a massage, or engage in a quiet activity that lets you reset and gather your energy.

3. Maintain as much routine as possible

Holidays are terrible for routines. While a few can just go with the flow, most of us rely on regular structure to keep our lives manageable. If you stick to the basics of your routine (when you get up, when you eat, when you exercise, etc.), then you will have more emotional and physical energy to manage the holiday chaos. Sticking to #1 (don’t over-commit) is helpful in this regard.

4. Don’t neglect sleep

When it comes to schedules and routines, the most important routine might be sleep. If you neglect sleep, then everything else will be more stressful and harder to manage.

So stick with your regular sleep schedule as much as possible. It might get disrupted by a party or two, or holiday travel, but if you can keep a regular bedtime and a regular waking time on as many days as possible, your body will better tolerate the stress that comes your way. If you have trouble sleeping due to stress, there are natural products you can take to promote better sleep.

5. Stay active

Exercise is recognized by experts such as those at Mayo Clinic as an important stress-management tool that can keep your body and mind more stress-tolerant all the time.

Too often at the holidays we let regular exercise go by the wayside (eh-hem routine…) along with the rest of our self-care. Keeping exercise on your calendar is challenging but still very important.

Helping Employees Manage Holiday Stress

There are a few simple actions managers can do to help boost morale and help employees manage holiday stress including:

  • Incorporate wellness breaks to give employees a chance to refocus‍
  • Help employees prioritize projects to manage pending deadlines and/or incorporate a consulting partner to help manage back-end office activities‍
  • Encourage employees to stay home when sick
  • Educate employees about wellness related activities including sharing this blog

For more information on this topic, or to learn how FocusPlanit can help your organization be more effective and efficient, contact our team. FocusPlanit serves the entire United States and is the industry’s premier team of highly qualified ConnectWise, QuickBooks, Wise-Sync, GoZynta, CharTec, ConnectBooster experts who have dedicated years of their professional life implementing and optimizing these solutions. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.