7C Discovery Process

The 7C discovery process is a way you are able to find out the customer’s needs in a very efficient and meaningful way.

The goal is to get to know the client’s challenges, business models, existing IT practices, the level of IT management and the complexity of the processes of the client.

• It begins with the filling out of the ITcQ questionnaire. It gives you the basic overview, what key issues the client is facing regarding IT and IT management.
• You prepare the custom report for them, highlighting the issues, stating your questions, and checking the hints and tips for further clarification, stories, expelling aids which you can use during the conversation
• You conduct the reframing workshop with the 7C Canvas, Post-it, the Report, checklists while keep asking questions
• You summarize all the knowledge in the 7C Action Plan builder
• You present the 7C Action Plan to the client and look for feedback, prioritize the issues, and give a longer term plan
• You put together the first quarterly action plan from the priorities
• You present your MSP 2.0 service offering to make the action plan and long term goals happen

Of course, every client and every case is different. However, you can be pretty sure this is a process you have to go through. Keep in mind that the vast majority of the time fast is slow, slow is fast. So get the pace right to avoid to seem pushy or too slow.

See: 

• The MSP 2.0 service offering in the 7C IT management Framework
• Cracking the code of the future of the MSPs
• The process of becoming the Trusted Advisor [video]
• Why clients need more consultative work from MSPs lately? [video]
• MSP 1.0 vs. MSP 2.0 [video]
• 3 ways to segment the market for MSP services to get the best result [video]
• How to decide who to transfer from Time and Material to MSP contract?
• Why MSPs are struggling on sales nowadays?
• The 3 building blocks of a remarkable MSP sales process

Sales techniques:

• Want To Know the Performance of Your MSP Competitor's Online Marketing?
• Breakthrough sales method to dominate your MSP industry
• Three easy B2B sales process hack, very few sales people use

vCIO researches:

• Research: World of vCIOs on Linkedin
• Research: among MSPs offering vCIO services
• Research: Information Managers in Canadian Oil Industry

What is Virtual Chief Information Officer / Virtual CIO?