Greetings! It's "back to school" in much of the world. Earlier this week I was at WalMart getting school supplies for my boys. And it got me to thinking - it's that time again to lock down your own professional educational plans for fall. I'd like to suggest attending the SMB Nation Fall Conference in Las Vegas, which includes fulfilling the role of a Windows 7 SMB Channel Partner Launch Event. In this issue, I update you on my SMB stimulus funding speech, solicit your opinion on the economic recovery, and remind you that the EARLY BIRD RATE for the SMB Nation Fall Conference expires next Monday (August 31st). BTW – I am hosting another fall conference preview Webinar next week: "Your Community Confab - SMB Nation Fall 2009!" Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT Join us HERE. Registration link https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/187223512 cheers....harrybbb Harry Brelsford | CEO | SMB Nation, Inc. | www.smbnation.com Link with me at LinkedIn | Be my friend on Facebook | Follow me on Twitter                                                  Did you know? Our Small Business Server 2008 Blueprint book is now SHIPPING. Learn more here! Read Harry's SMB Dude Blog here

SMB Stimulus Funds – My Take… As I turn my full attention to writing my fall speeches, the SMB stimulus funding speech is generating the most excitement in the community. You, the SMB channel partner (aka SBSer), are very keen on learning how to participate in the government-led economic stimulation efforts (fiscal policy) to grow your reseller and consulting practice. The best example I have found so far is long-time SBSers Joe Moore and Curt Hicks from CCR in Detroit, Michigan. Many readers know these two as early adopters of Small Business Server (e.g., they were Microsoft SBS advisory committee members) and as co-chairs for last year's fall conference. Facing a 28 percent unemployment rate in Detroit, Curt and Joe realized they needed to diversify quickly to sustain CCR. The answer involved participating in the stimulus funding being injected into the economy by the government. In this specific case, the target is the area of electronic medical records and CCR's decision to become a reseller for GloStream. While CCR still works with SBS, you can see these guys turned their traditional small business networking infrastructure practice immediately to capitalize on the amazing SMB stimulus funding opportunity.   Carefully study Curt and Joe's new messaging at www.ccr1.com. Curt and Joe are part of my "How to Get SMB Stimulus Funding" speech I am delivering at SMB Nation Fall 2009. Hearing their story in depth, firsthand and on-stage with me, will certainly result in immediate revenue opportunities for you. My speech will also cite other specific examples such as stimulus funding from distributors like D&H. My sister, Ginna Brelsford, will conclude the 90-minutes speech with a grant writing exercise. See you there! BTW – If you have other examples of how folks are capitalizing on the SMB stimulus funding opportunity, please send me an e-mail. I'd like to make my speech as comprehensive and complete as possible.

Did You Know? NTRglobal has announced a category-breaking remote support solution for IT support professionals, NTRsupport Pro .  An innovative IT support solution purpose built for support professionals seeking powerful remote control sall IT support operation.  A free 7 day trial is available from the NTRglobal website. NTRsupport Pro is portable for easy access from any computer so an IT support professional can work from anywhere to deliver secure instant remote support. The NTRsupport Pro executable is a small, self-contained widget that is easily downloaded from the internet or can be downloaded and accessed via USB storage device. Non-browser dependent, NTRsupport Pro operates similar to a desktop widget via direct internet connection like a web service.  With NTRsupport Pro, virtually manage up to eight computers simultaneously, even if the machine requires a reboot. NTRsupport Pro remote control capabilities allow support techs to diagnose problems, implement fixes, transfer files and demonstrate solutions while a customer watches in real time or is away from their machine. Additional machines can be monitored in "unattended mode" by the StayConnected™ agent which is downloaded onto the end user machine.  Multiple StayConnected machines can be easily managed from the simple operator user interface with no limit to the total numbers of machines supported With the growing demand for instant technical support by consumers, employees and businesses around the world, NTRsupport Pro offers a powerful and cost effective option to deliver high quality online support expertise. For less than $600.00 dollars per year, or the equivalent of the average mobile phone bill, NTRsupport helps extend reach, flexibility and business opportunity IT professionals need to schedule and deliver instant and proactive support services from anywhere.   More than 17,000 companies rely on NTRglobal to deliver on-demand solutions for remote support, remote access, remote systems administration and online meetings.

Guarantee service response times. Increase customer satisfaction. Grow your business. You're in the business of IT Service delivery, but do you have the tools in place to ensure your key targets for service success are being met?  Meet first-response service delivery goals? Manage, analyze and report on service level performance metrics?  Differentiate from the competition and increase your revenue?   If you answered "no" to any of these questions, be sure to attend SMB Nation's Autotask webinar for an in-depth discussion of Service Level Management programs, best practices, and steps for developing an effective plan for your individual business.  Topics include: setting and measuring internal service levels, tracking and measuring performance against goals, and creating custom Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for your clients. Establish Service Response Time Goals, And Monitor Tech Performance IN REAL TIME! Whether you have formal Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with your clients, or just want to improve service delivery and maximize customer satisfaction, our Service Level Management tools let you quickly and easily define, monitor and measure service performance metrics. With Autotask software, you can easily establish discrete response goals by priority, issue types and sub-issue types. Set your goals for first response, resolution plan, and time to complete. Sort all open tickets by NEXT service level event due. Even set-up workflow rules to automatically generate notices when service deadlines are at risk, and auto-escalate the ticket. Autotask is the all-in-one IT Service Business Management Software Most importantly, Service Level Management with Autotask is fully integrated, at no additional charge, within your overall business management solution and is remarkably easy to use. You also get CRM, Project Management, a full Service Desk Solution including Dispatching, built-in Knowledgebase, Time and Expense Management, Billing, and so much more. To download Autotask's white paper on Service Level Management or a datasheet describing Service Level Management with Autotask, visit: http://www.autotask.com/landing/service_level_management.htm

Windows 7 SMB Channel Partner Launch at SMB Nation Fall EARLY BIRD EXPIRES MONDAY!    A common business phrase is you must spend money to make money. But with our fall conference moving to Las Vegas, you can also spend less money (read save money) to make money. Flights and accommodations are CHEAP. The early bird rate for the attendee pass, set to expire next Monday, is CHEAP! So don't delay in signing up for the big show NOW! Once you're at the conference, get ready for Windows 7! There is a keynote, hands-on labs and lectures supporting this long-awaited desktop operating system. There are many updates to share with you, including agenda, content, speakers, sponsors! Agenda | Content | Speakers | Sponsors So click over, catch up, and please give us your full consideration for attending our fall show in early October! Equally important, please attend the following webinar to learn more:

Blackberry SMB Stimulus Package!   Earn up to $5,000 in gift cards or up 10 free BlackBerry® smartphones, when you sell BlackBerry Technical Support Services. Your clients get to rely on this flexible solution for issues and upgrades, allowing them to spend more time on the day-to-day operations of their business. So what are you waiting for? Start selling today.

SMB PC 3Q2009 Issue Shipping! You can download here: http://smbnation.com/Publications/Magazine/tabid/72/Default.aspx

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