Why Every vCIO Should Be Surveying All Users
As vCIOs, we often spend most of our time talking to a handful of key stakeholders, including owners, department heads, and office managers. And that’s great. But if we stop there, we’re only getting a partial picture of the client’s IT reality. The real insights? They’re sitting with the users. When you survey all […]
Recommendations, Not Options!
As vCIOs, we’re often tempted to play it safe when advising clients. We outline the pros and cons, offer a few different paths, and let the client decide which way to proceed. On the surface, this seems responsible and client-centric—after all, we’re empowering them with choices, right? But here’s the truth: your clients don’t […]
Be Confident in Your Stack
Too often, I see hesitation when it comes time to recommend a change in the tech stack. Whether it’s swapping out a firewall, ditching a misaligned backup platform, or recommending a different EDR, vCIOs sometimes hold back out of fear of seeming overly pushy. That hesitation is understandable, but it can also be costly. Clients […]
Paint an exciting future or be a commodity
When clients stop seeing you as strategic, you start becoming… replaceable. That’s the risk every vCIO faces when the conversation stays stuck in tickets, updates, and costs. Yes, those are important, but they’re not enough. If you’re not painting a bigger, bolder picture of what IT could do for their business, you’re not creating […]
The 3 Core Objectives of a vCIO
A vCIO should always be forward-looking, focusing on a strategic roadmap built around three core objectives: reducing risk, increasing productivity, and optimizing costs. Every recommendation, project, and conversation should connect back to these pillars. Let’s break them down: 1. Reduce Risk Cybersecurity threats, non-compliance, data loss, and downtime aren’t just IT problems; they are business […]
The vCIO Money Mindset
As vCIOs, the most important thing we do is strategic planning. And to do that effectively, we have to adopt the right mindset about money. Too often, I see vCIOs hesitate to recommend solutions because they’re stuck viewing costs through a personal lens. We look at a $12,000 investment in a redundant firewall and think, […]
Stop Negotiating with Yourself
As a vCIO, your job is to provide strategic technology guidance that helps your clients reduce risk, increase productivity, and drive their business forward. Yet too often, I’ve seen my vCIOs talking themselves out of proposing the best solution before the conversation even begins. They assume the client will balk at the price, so they […]
Custom GPTs for PropelYourMSP
At PropelYourMSP, we’re all about making you more efficient as a vCIO. That’s why we’ve created 3 Custom GPTs designed to save you time. Whether you’re putting together client current situation and vision slides, building audit questions, or setting up project templates, these AI-powered tools will make it a lot easier. PropelYourMSP Slide Builder – […]
Are you deploying Microsoft 365 or setting yourself up to lose clients?
For many MSPs, deploying Microsoft 365 means migrating emails and files to the cloud, setting up 2FA and conditional access, and calling it a day. But if that’s all you’re doing, you’re leaving a massive opportunity on the table and creating a pain point another MSP can use to steal your client. The real question […]
Stop Thinking IT—Start Thinking Business Outcomes
The Challenge We All Face as vCIOs As vCIOs, we love tech! But let’s be honest: clients don’t care about IT like we do. For them, it’s about one thing: how IT makes their business better. Here’s the real question: Are we truly delivering what they care about? From IT Projects to Business Results Let’s […]
