CharTec Academy: Show Me The Value

I had the chance to talk to both longtime CharTec partners and first-time academy attendees during my visit to the master MSP's facility in Bakersfield, Ca., during its June academy and new facility grand opening. During the academy, CharTec partners hear from CEO Alex Rogers on his experiences as an MSP the last 18 years, as well as from members of the CharTec team on their areas of expertise. So what do attendees think?

Joshua Van Berkum, a partner in Michigan MSP SourcePath, was at the academy for his fourth visit, and had brought along his business partner to hear the presentations. Joshua told me he finds different value in each academy he attends, in part because there is simply too much information delivered during the two-day event to absorb in one visit, and in part because each offering is a little different, and has a different mix of attendees. "I found that when I first returned home, I was super productive, but then I started to slide again," explains Joshua. "So now I come back every couple months and it reinvigorates me." He says key to his success at the academy is networking with purpose. "I try to find that person sitting alone or standing alone and start up a conversation with them," he says, adding that every single business owner does things a little different, and you never know when you'll talk to someone and learn something. "It might be something really small, but it can make a huge difference."

Joshua can't say for certain that CharTec is the single reason for SourcePath's profitability — it doubled its revenue last year, and expects to double it again in 2011 — but he says he is certain that he has avoided pain by being part of the CharTec community. "It isn't just information and advice on how to sell, it is the solutions they provide," says Joshua. CharTec offers deep support in the form of CharTec Connect, its online community and archive that includes questions for discovery in customer environments, tracks for marketing campaigns, examples of presentations and proposals and more. "I've just found CharTec goes beyond the everyday to help us meet our customers' needs and budgets, they are a true partner," says Joshua.

For Randall Garner, owner of Garner IT, the opportunity to repeatedly attend the academy (he's here for the second time) brings the chance to practice, and practice, and practice more. "It's like sports, you get good when you practice," says Randall. He agrees with Joshua — there is simply too much information to catch every bit of advice the first time around. As a former employee at a break/fix technology company who launched his own business two years ago, Randall is keenly aware that he doesn't want to make mistakes others have already made. "With CharTec you don't have to make your own mistakes; instead, you learn from others and avoid pitfalls that can slow your entire business down." He says he has found CharTec's team and its channel partners are more than willing to help, bending over backward to offer support and advice. Plus, as a fledgling MSP, having access to sales training, marketing tracks, best practices, and HaaS has helped jumpstart his business. "As a startup, the value of HaaS is immeasurable," says Randall. "If I am going to have to manage this network, I want it to be the best, the newest, the most stable it can be."