I was recently in the forums over at Nigel Moore’s Tech Tribe and there was a thread talking about the role of the vCIO. The question on the table was who should be in the role of the vCIO and is it best to be a sales position.
The comment thread had differing opinions on the role with many feeling it has become to sales focused and that the vendors are pushing it in that direction. Others felt that the role should be more technical. Absent from the conversation was any talk about leadership.
The Modern Day vCIO
I classify the position as a hybrid role where the vCIO is tasked with being part leadership, part client advocate, and part strategist.
For the role to be successful and impactful for the client it requires the vCIO to be a sherpa, guiding the technical solutions that support the key initiatives of the business and helping the client clearly see the outcomes of the projects and services that are being positioned. Done right, it will help the non-technical business team to make an informed decision vs. blind faith in the MSP.
This is also why too often it gets put into the sales bucket. The reality is if done effectively, it will shorten sales cycles and return revenue to your business faster. But it only gets viewed this way when sales are the leading factor in the vCIO’s approach. If done effectively, it is a stealth sales process, where that outcome (the sale) comes out of a plan that clearly shows the customer how it supports the overall business objectives.
WHO SHOULD HOLD THE VCIO ROLE?
In terms of who I see as the most successful at the role, it generally isn’t the hard-core salesperson as they tend to focus too much on the roadmap alone. Also, it is not usually your most technical resources as they tend to tell you how the watch is made, when the client only asked what time it is.
The most successful vCIO’s, and I will admit they are often a rare breed, is the person that straddles tech and business operations. The best have a strong understanding of how a business operates while also understanding the overall architecture of a robust, secure network…and then can articulate it in layman’s terms to the client.
I have attached an image that shows how we view the role when working with our clients.
Where I see many MSP’s struggle with the vCIO process and the Business Reviews they hold with their clients is they look to“check the box” by holding the meeting to meet their contract language. They tend to either focus too much on their performance (tickets, SLAs, deep dives on tech issues) or focus too much on the roadmap alone (which comes off as sales¬†salesy) and leaves the impression with the customer that its ” all about you, the MSP”.
WHY QBR’S CAN FAIL
The number one thing a Modern vCIO has to consider when holding these events is to look at what they are presenting and ask a single question “What is in it for the customer”. If what you are presenting feels like it is patting yourself on the back or serving your interests above the client’s, it will fail. The client needs to be the star of the conversation. The win-win is it usually then will lead back to serving our needs as well.
We would love to hear your thoughts email us at [email protected].
