By Ian Richardson, Managing Partner, Richardson & Richardson Consulting
Podcast Season 1, Episode 8 Guest: Nancy Henriquez, VP of Sales & Marketing, Synetek Solutions
Nancy Henriquez is VP of Sales and Marketing for Synetek Solutions, a Texas-based Managed Service Provider serving as an outsourced IT department for small and medium sized businesses. In 2008, Nancy co-founded her first IT business at the age of 22 after being in the industry right out of high school. In 2016 she co-founded an award-winning cybersecurity and compliance focused MSP before being acquired in 2021. I spoke with Nancy a while back and had a few great takeaways around vertical focus, peer recognition, and culture retains talent from our conversation. I wanted to share those with you here.
Vertical Focus:
If you are choosing a vertical focus for your business, you need to go all in on that strategy. Going wide (having multiple areas you can focus on within that vertical) as well as deep (gaining subject matter expertise in each area of focus) in the vertical is critical to recognizing success. Make sure to capture testimonials and patterns/trends across the vertical so you can further exploit opportunities in the space.
Peer Recognition:
If you have been recognized by peers in your space, you can use that recognition to differentiate yourself to prospective customers. By focusing that it is your peers (competitors) saying you’re a leader in the space, you make an implied statement that there is no one else on your level without having to say those words – the assumption is self-created by the prospect.
Culture retains talent:
In today’s environment, employee loyalty is far more difficult to achieve. Employees have massive opportunity to shift career paths and employers, and those opportunities are presented in highly visible ways. If you are in a small business, competing on perks and payroll can be next to impossible. If there is a large employer with superior financial resources in your local market its exponentially harder. Instead, focus on intangible benefits recognized by working for your organization. Perks can include:
- Direct access to entrepreneurs
- Robust opportunities for growth and experience
- The ability to participate in strategic and tactical decision making.
- And so on.
This ability to create impact can attract and retain your talent base.
I gain so much value from meeting with fellow entrepreneurs and leaders. Each and every person I speak with brings their own experiences, knowledge, and viewpoints to the table, and without fail, I walk away with a head full of ideas and motivation to do better in my own business. I so greatly appreciate Nancy’s willingness to come onto W.I.N. and share her story.
If you’re interested in joining me on an episode of W.I.N., it would be my privilege to host you. You can book your spot by visiting https://randr.consulting/connect and selecting the Podcast Booking option from the services menu. You can find previous episodes of W.I.N. on our website and subscribe to it on whatever your platform of choice is.
Always Forward,
Ian
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