Every year, conference season pulls MSP owners out of the office for days at a time. But business doesn’t stop just because they’re out of town. Tickets can go unresolved. The team may stall work, waiting for decisions. This leaves owners splitting their attention between breakout sessions and team Slack messages—and when you’re focused on your inbox, it’s hard to get real value out of your conference ticket.
MSP Success interviewed MSPs at TMT’s IT Sales & Marketing Boot Camp about how they’ve learned to step away and keep things running smoothly while they’re gone. Here’s what they had to say.
1. Put a Strong Number Two in Charge
When you are the one in charge, leaving for a week might feel a bit uncomfortable. However, that doesn’t mean you should be managing from afar, especially when you come to a conference to learn new skills. The answer is having a trusted second-in-command back home who can make the right calls while you are away.
“That’s where you have your number two in charge and your team trained. Your policies and procedures are clear, and they know their jobs.” – Tracy Hardin, Owner and Founder of Next Century Technologies
“Whoever is your number two — they have to buy into your vision. If they [don’t], then you’ve got another problem. When you’re not there making decisions, they have to understand where we’re going, why we’re going there, and what decisions we have to make to get there.” – Preston Borchelt, President and CEO of DTX IT Solutions
“I am the number two. The CEO and I have a great working relationship. When I’m gone, he’s there. When he’s gone, I’m there. Hav[ing] someone who is able to oversee what’s going on at all times is important.” – Michael Layland, Chief Experience Officer of X Solutions
2. Build Systems That Don’t Depend on You
If business only runs smoothly when you are around, that sounds less like a business and more like a job you can’t leave. Instead, it’s important to build processes so solid that no one even notices you’re gone. With the right systems in place, your team can handle the day-to-day with confidence.
“You have to put systems in place so that if you step away, business can still run. If something blows up, someone at the office is still going to be able to take care of it, and you can still be present at the conference.” – Borchelt
“It’s important to have trust in your people and customer experience training. We need to know that even if we’re not necessarily in the office, people aren’t upsetting the customer or sleeping at their desk.” –Layland
3. Test Your Coverage before You Go
Instead of juggling fires at home and the presentation at the front of the room, make sure your team is ready to go before you book your flight. Conferences, especially short ones, are a great way to test that your team is ready to provide coverage.
“I’ve had years where we didn’t have enough coverage at home, and we should have just not come, because we weren’t present here, and we weren’t doing good work there. These are moments where you can step back and watch how your team does. [Conferences are] a good experiment for that.” – Jeff Yates, Co-Owner of Reboot Technology and Consulting
4. Let Go of the Laptop
You came to a conference for a reason, and it wasn’t to practice managing from your inbox and troubleshooting via Slack. If you spend all your time looking at your laptop screen, you’re missing the point of being present. Trust your team to handle things and you’ll be able to bring home some great new ideas.
“Last year, I had my laptop up not to take notes, but to stay in touch with my team because they were constantly asking me questions. This year, I had my laptop up to take notes, not stay in touch with the team. Everything’s just running so smoothly. Having a good team in place and letting me relax and really soak in what’s being taught is amazing.” – Rich Robertson, Owner of Computer Enhancement Systems
“Having a good team is important because if you can’t enjoy yourself here and be focused here, you will never be able to get involved.” – Landon McSorley, Co-Owner of Reboot Technology and Consulting
“It seems like every time I step away, we close [a] deal or do something that pull[s] me back anyway. But having people on your team you know you can rely on to do the correct things through appropriate training is instrumental.” – Layland
5. Clarify Decision-Making Authority before You Leave
The last thing you need is your business screeching to a halt because no one knows who is supposed to be making the decisions while you’re away. Before heading to a conference, make sure you let everyone know who makes decisions in the moment and what decisions need to wait for your return. Clear boundaries upfront give your team more confidence and peace of mind.
“I give [my number two] freedom to make decisions, and 99% of the time I agree with them. So, we’re very similar in leadership styles. [He] stays the course.” – Hardin
“Having the team prepared is huge. We have a great team that we can rely on, [so we can] be away for a time.” – Yates
6. Use Conference Week to Evaluate, Not Just Escape
Don’t let this time away from your desk, just slip away. Take this opportunity to talk about your failures and successes with others and listen to their stories. Who knows, the person next to you in a breakout room might have a great idea on how to fix an issue you’ve had for a while.
“I want to come and see and get introduced to new ideas. That’s part of my goal, too, when I come to these: have an open mind.” – Hardin
“Being in the same room with this many people who are all working on the same kinds of problems, it’s genuinely amazing. You are going to leave with at least one to three new things you can implement within your organization. And at the end of the day, that’s the only way we improve. So, I would highly encourage anyone reading to come on down to Boot Camp.” – Layland
Conference season doesn’t have to mean choosing between attending to help your business grow or staying to run the office. With the right people and the right processes in place, you can attend every breakout session and keynote you want without having to worry about checking your inbox. The MSPs who make the most out of events like TMT’s IT Sales & Marketing Boot Camp are the ones that know their team has everything under control while they are away.
To learn more about TMT’s IT Sales & Marketing Boot Camp, check our review of the opening night keynote speakers – The Electric Opening Boot Camp Keynotes from Past and Present TMT CEOs.
