Kicking and Screaming I am Bloggin

So today I got this e-mail telling me about this new Rebate Offer from Microsoft, however I am a little confused. (ok so confused is my normal state) It says for new agreements only. It does not seem reasonable that if I sell a new SBS Open Value license to a client that has an open value contract for Office and XP but does not currently have SBS under OV that the sale does not qualify. Also I am under the understanding that a clinet can only have one OpenValue contract unlike Open Business were they can have many. So I am hoping my friend Eric Ligman will chime in here and clearify that.

Here is the offer, it is for an extended time so you should jump on it soon! 

Here’s how: Grow your business with more cash back. Earn up to 30% back in rebates on new Open Value sales. Here’s a chance to earn even more with up to 30% of Microsoft Estimated Retail Price (”ERP”) in rebates on qualifying purchases sold through the Microsoft Open Value program. Hurry, this offer is limited Now through June 27, 2008, Value Added Resellers can earn up to 30% in rebates on new Open Value purchases including Open Value licenses and Open Value subscriptions purchased through Microsoft Authorized Distribution Partners. Simply sign up for this promotion, purchase a qualifying Open Value agreement(s) and start earning your rebate dollars. For details and restrictions, see the Terms and Conditions. The Open Value rebate offer is exclusive to US Value Added Resellers (”VAR”) that purchase Open Value 2.0 through Microsoft Authorized Distribution Partners. Visit our website to find a Microsoft Authorized Distributor. How to get your rebate Carefully review the Microsoft Open Value Rebate Program Terms and Conditions and sign up for the rebate program after placing an order from the Open Value 2.0 Price List, but no later than June 27, 2008. YOU MUST SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE! Questions? Email VarView@Microsoft.com Visit https://partner.microsoft.com/US/VarRebates to learn more about this rebate offer. Rebates apply to:  and many more great products, visit our site to find out more. To forward this e-mail to a friend, please click here. Set and Manage Your Communication Preferences Get the partner-related information you want from Microsoft 1) Sign in to the Microsoft Partner Program Portal with the Windows Live ID (Passport) used to enroll in the program; 2) Select “View Your Membership Account” and “Membership Center”; 3) From “Your Individual Account Page,” choose “Edit Profile;”* 4) Scroll down to “Your Communication Options,” and select your contact preferences for the areas listed; 5) To save your preferences, click the checkbox and then select the “Update” button at the bottom of the page. * Individuals who are the Global or Local Administrator for their organization will have a slightly different experience. In the grey bar near the top of the page, select “Administration,” then “Manage Your Individual Profile,” then follow steps 4 and 5.Trouble accessing the Microsoft Partner Program portal link? You may be signed in with a Windows Live ID (Passport) account not associated with your Microsoft Partner Program membership. Sign out of any other Live ID-enabled sites, and then sign in with the credentials used to enroll in the Microsoft Partner Program. If you still can not open the link, please contact our support team. You will receive a response within 24 hours (Monday-Friday, Pacific Time). Review our Privacy Statement. If you prefer not to receive future promotional e-mails of this type from Microsoft, please unsubscribe. We will promptly update your preferences; however, you may still receive previously initiated communications from Microsoft. This e-mail is intended for distribution within the United States. Please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary for similar offerings outside the U.S. Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052

OK I hear this all the time and I am so glad Eric explains it so clearly HERE, it really is quite simple in order to upgrade you need someplace to start!

Susan writes about making your clients sticky but I would argue this is no the way to do it. Don’t get me wrong SharePoint and Office 2007 are a wonderful combination, and there is a lot of money to be made offering combined solutions. But if you want sticky clients, don’t tie stickiness to a product. Software products come and go, but great relationships last forever!

If you want clients that are sticky, put their best interest first! Sell them solutions that will help them make money. Don’t put them in a solution just to lock them into being your client. Put them into a solution that is in the best interest of their profitability. If you are making them money (or saving them expense) they are yours no matter what the latest greatest whizzbang technology is today, because they know you are looking out for them.

Nowadays everyone is paying lip service to becoming a trusted advisor. Well you don’t become a trusted advisor overnight, or by taking some test or training course. You become a trusted advisor over time by giving great advice and putting the client’s business needs before your own  needs.  Don’t lock them into some product or service just for the lock-in value. Lock them into trusting you by always putting their problems and needs ahead of yours. Don’t be afraid to sell them what they need instead of what they want. If you feel a solution is right for them, argue your point, show the value. Don’t just sell them what they may be blindly asking for, if you know it is not right for them. This is the road to becoming a trusted advisor and having sticky clients!

OK as promised at tonight’s Triad SBS Group Meeting, here is the contents of the file I use to restart my SBS servers.

Use at you own risk, the are no guarantees or assurances made.
All I can tell you is, I have yet to have it fail me.

open notepad.exe

Paste these lines into it.

@echo off

@echo “Gonna Reboot the Server Boss”

net stop “Microsoft Exchange Management”

net stop “Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine”

net stop “Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)”

net stop “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)”

net stop “Microsoft CRM-Exchange E-Mail Router Service”

net stop “Microsoft Exchange Information Store”

net stop “Microsoft Exchange System Attendant”

shutdown -r -t 05 -f

Save the file as restartme.cmd or “whatever makes you happy.cmd”

If you don’t have CRM you can rem out that line, if you like. Otherwise it will just show an error and continue on.

When you want to reboot the server just double click the file.

If you are installing patches remotely, schedule the file to run 30 minutes past when you think you will be done, if you get locked out or RRAS hangs, the server will reboot and save you a drive.

Also I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, that Charlie Russell wrote a much cleaner script which Susan posted HERE, it is much prettier than my quick and dirty little file.