Sharing the Knowledge: Great America Launches Managed Information Technology Training Program

There are lots of things Milton Bartley wishes he knew back when he was starting out in managed information technology services – things like proper pricing techniques and tips for hiring new technicians. Now Bartley, president and chief executive officer of ImageQuest in Nashville, is planning to pass on his expertise to the next generation of MITS professionals.

He’ll lead a Webinar and onsite training session for Cedar Rapids-based GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation, as part of the company’s new Managed Information Technology (IT) Services Navigator Program. GreatAmerica offers a variety of  non-financial services to help dealers evolve their businesses, including Collabrance (Managed IT Services), PathShare (HR Services), Info-Zone.com, and FleetView (remote monitoring).  

The Navigator program, which is designed to help dealers and resellers develop or grow their Managed IT Services business, grew out of GreatAmerica’s Collabrance service, which GreatAmerica formed three years ago. Through Collabrance, GreatAmerica worked with a number of dealers and resellers, and realized that they could benefit from some additional training, particularly from someone like Bartley, who has more than 15 years of industry experience. Participants don’t have to be Collabrance or GreatAmerica customers, and companies can choose either the low-maintenance format of the webinar or the intensive day and a half training session, which takes place at GreatAmerica’s headquarters.

The Webinar in particular is designed for people who are still finding their footing in this field, says Josie Heskje, director of strategic marketing for GreatAmerica’s office equipment group.

“A dealer listening to this Webinar is going to be able to speed their education time, as far as learning what to do and what not to do,” she adds.

The free Webinar will be offered twice – on Tuesday, June 19 and Thursday, July 12. It takes place at 10:30 a.m. Central time on both days and will consist of a 30-minute presentation and a 15-minute question and answer session. During his presentation, Bartley will speak on the five things he would have liked to know before he started his business “but ended up learning the hard way.”

“The main purpose of the Webinars is to show dealers who are getting ready to enter the MITS space, or who have started and not seen much success, several of the best practices they can adopt and pitfalls that they can avoid,” Bartley said. “Specifically I am going to tell them about pricing their offering to both meet market expectations and insure their margins are where they need to be. I will also tell them some key triggers in their business relative to hiring new IT technicians. There are several other nuggets, but these two are key.”

The in-person training session, which takes place Tuesday, Aug. 7 through Wednesday, Aug. 8, is more comprehensive, guiding executive teams through the step-by-step development of a business model and organizational structure. It will walk participants through such processes as branding and marketing strategies, sales force engagement and other key parts of building a business from the ground up. “I will cover building an MITS business from $0 to $1 million – with benchmarks, staffing, pricing, product mix, and key partnerships,” Bartley explained. “The class is based on what we have achieved in our IT business from August 2010 through today – ups and downs, good and bad, profits and losses. The flow of the class is based on three specific phases of our growth – each with a real custom case study as the focal point of that discussion.”

The tuition fee of $2,195 will allow three Managed IT Services decision makers from each dealer or reseller to participate in the session. The president-owner, chief financial officer, and sales manager are recommended to attend. Additional staff members can also be included for an extra cost of $399.  Heskje said she’s really hoping that company presidents and dealer-owners will bring their whole management teams to the training sessions. Not only will they get insight into the process of building a business, “but they’ll be able to take those ideas (about growing a successful business) back to the office with them.”

For more information, or to register for either the Webinar or the onsite session, contact GreatAmerica at (319) 261-4166 or go to www.greatamerica.com/ManagedITNavigator.