Service Agreements for SMB Consultants - A Quick Start Guide for Managed Services [Paperback]

Karl W. Palachuk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

Everyone knows it - spoken agreements aren t worth the paper they re written on. The SMB Consultant is facing changes we never imagined a few years ago. Managed services are everywhere. Franchised tech support is taking off. And now big corporations are trying to compete in the SMB Space. Whether you like it or not, you need to make some changes in order to meet the challenges of the next few years. Service agreements literally define your business. If you re not using them, you need to start today. If you are using them, great! Just make sure that they truly represent who you are and how you want to define your business. Whether you sell your services hourly, in blocks of time, or with a Managed Services plan, you need a good service agreement. You need this book! As with his other books, Karl gives you more than just the forms. This book includes best practices and lots of great information to help you run your business more prosperously! A CD with the critical forms and agreements is included!

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you want to offer service agreements to your IT customers, or are not sure of the value of selling service agreements, buy and read this book. When you are finished, you will be able to start offering service agreements - it's as simple as that. Thanks to Karl, I'm in the process of proposing 4 service agreements. The $50.00 for the book will be paid for by the first one so it's definitely money well-spent. On that note, I appreciate the short, concise format because that made it that much easier and faster to read. Technology books with hundreds of pages are more often than not nothing but fat. Not with Karl's book - lean and right to the point. Whether you know nothing, something, or a lot about IT service agreements, this book is an excellent resource. It will show you nearly everything you need to know about service agreements, from the perspective of someone who is obviously very adept at running his own IT business. In the past when I tried to come up with something on my own, I just stared at a blank screen. Although I could come up with a handful of bullets of what should be included in a service agreement, Karl points out many things I hadn't thought of, including what not to cover. He also provides actual frameworks and examples of the agreement language. I really like his practice of having more than one type of agreement. --Schyler Jones (Hillsboro, NH)

This is the book to have on your shelf. Karl will walk you through how his contracts are setup, what the parts mean, and the basic structure of delivering managed services via a contract vehicle. You can't get this kind of consulting help this easily, and Karl will give you everything you need. I highly recommend it. --David P. Sobel, Evolve Technologies

Wow! This book only cost me $50, and as far as I can see, it gives me all the info I need to offer clear managed services contracts to businesses that just want their computer system to work. Mr. Palachuk tells how his company structures their contracts, but also gives you all of your options, because as he says, everyone is different and has to be comfortable with the services they offer. His writing style is excellent. He uses humor, but there are not so many jokes that you get distracted. He is clear and organized. I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone in the I.T. service business, whether you want to offer contracts, blocks of hours, or provide service on an as-needed basis. It doesn't matter if you're just starting out or a veteran. This book has many golden nuggets of knowledge for you! --Suzanne Naranjo, Santa Rosa, CA

From the Author

Computer Consultants who want to move into Managed Services need to answer some very important questions about their business. 

What do you sell (services and materials)?

Who do you want your customers to be?

Where these two meet - what you sell and who you sell it to - you have a business! Service Agreements are the most important piece of that connection.

This book is not a big, fat legal book. It is a very matter-of-fact discussion about best practices in starting your Managed Service business, with the agreements and safeguards in place to help you be successful.

Thousands of small business consultants have been helped by this book. All the forms, plus some additional spreadsheets and other information, are available online to registered owners of the book.

Satisfaction guaranteed!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 185 pages
• Publisher: Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc.; 1st edition (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976376024
• ISBN-13: 978-0976376026
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Consulting

More About the Author

Name: Karl W. Palachuk

Karl W. Palachuk is an author, speaker, and small business owner from Sacramento, California. He has 20 years experience as a technical consultant and trainer. He has been a Microsoft Hands-On Lab instructor and is a popular speaker at technical events. He is the founder and co-president of the Sacramento SMB IT Professionals and is the author of nine books.

Karl has appeared in dozens of cities across the United States, plus another five cities in Europe. He has been a speaker at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference as well as SMB Nation, SMB Summit, the SBS Migration Conference, MSP Revolution, Autotask Community Live, and many other venues.

His very popular "Small Biz Thoughts" blog provides advice for Small Business owners and managers in the SMB space. His "Relax Focus Succeed" blog provides general advice on building a successful life.

Outside the world of technology, Karl is also the author of Relax Focus Succeed®, a guide to balancing your personal and professional lives and being more successful in both.

For more information, visit www.smbbooks.com or www.relaxfocussucceed.com.

Karl W. Palachuk is a "serial entrepreneur." He owns several small businesses and has successfully promoted and sold millions of dollars worth of goods and services over the internet in the last fifteen years.

You can easily find Karl on Facebook, Twitter, and all the social media. Contact him there or directly at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is it. Everything you need, June 26, 2007

By 

David P. Sobel "Evolve Technologies" (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Service Agreements for SMB Consultants - A Quick Start Guide for Managed Services (Paperback)

This is the book to have on your shelf. Karl will walk you through how his contracts are setup, what the parts mean, and the basic structure of delivering managed services via a contract vehicle. You can't get this kind of consulting help this easily, and Karl will give you everything you need. I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read For Service Contract-Minded IT Consultants, May 25, 2007

By 

Schyler Jones (Hillsboro, NH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Service Agreements for SMB Consultants - A Quick Start Guide for Managed Services (Paperback)

If you want to offer service agreements to your IT customers, or are not sure of the value of selling service agreements, buy and read this book. When you are finished, you will be able to start offering service agreements - it's as simple as that. Thanks to Karl, I'm in the process of proposing 4 service agreements. The $50.00 for the book will be paid for by the first one so it's definitely money well-spent. On that note, I appreciate the short, concise format because that made it that much easier and faster to read. Technology books with hundreds of pages are more often than not nothing but "fat." Not with Karl's book - lean and right to the point.

Whether you know nothing, something, or a lot about IT service agreements, this book is an excellent resource. It will show you nearly everything you need to know about service agreements, from the perspective of someone who is obviously very adept at running his own IT business.

In the past when I tried to come up with something on my own, I just stared at a blank screen. Although I could come up with a handful of bullets of what should be included in a service agreement, Karl points out many things I hadn't thought of, including what not to cover. He also provides actual frameworks and examples of the agreement language. I really like his practice of having more than one type of agreement.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars worth its weight in gold, February 26, 2007

By 

Suzanne Naranjo (Santa Rosa, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Service Agreements for SMB Consultants - A Quick Start Guide for Managed Services (Paperback)

Wow! This book only cost me $50, and as far as I can see, it gives me all the info I need to offer clear managed services contracts to businesses that just want their computer system to work. Mr. Palachuk tells how his company structures their contracts, but also gives you all of your options, because as he says, everyone is different and has to be comfortable with the services they offer. His writing style is excellent. He uses humor, but there are not so many jokes that you get distracted. He is clear and organized. I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone in the I.T. service business, whether you want to offer contracts, blocks of hours, or provide service on an as-needed basis. It doesn't matter if you're just starting out or a veteran. This book has many golden nuggets of knowledge for you!