Patch Management
How to streamline patch management and save time
From a chore to an automated routine: How to streamline patch management and save time Patch management can be time-consuming and often gets postponed to
Team XEOX 15/05/2023
Aside from a few other not-so-nice adjectives, bad clients are, simply put, a drain.
Let’s explore the leading reasons you should consider, and a few reasons you should reconsider, firing a client despite today’s uncertain economy.
We were inspired by this social media conversation about firing bad MSP clients to think about the Pareto principle, which is named for Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who noted the phenomena that, often, 80% of consequences are the result of 20% of the causes.
The way this applies to your MSP business is that, in many cases, 20% of your clients will generate 80% of your revenue. And similarly — 20% of your clients might be responsible for 80% of your stress!
For clients who don’t fall into the first 20% but do fall into the second 20%, it might be time to consider letting them go so you can focus on building a brand and upping your level of service so you can move your business in a more profitable direction.
Sometimes a client isn’t so much “bad” as they are “wrong.”
MSPs often outgrow their original client base as they settle into their niche, grow their staff, and need to start charging higher prices. Neither party did anything wrong in this scenario, but if you choose not to create new arrangements or ultimately cut ties with clients that are keeping you from making the moves you need to make to grow, you might be the one responsible for creating a client relationship that’s gone bad.
Maybe you’re still a single-person shop. Maybe you’re actively building out your client pipeline. Or maybe, like plenty of other businesses, the past year has just been rough on your business.
Sometimes, the truth is that you simply can’t afford to fire a single paying client.
That’s okay. If you’re in that spot, stick it out — just don’t become complacent and fall into the trap of letting the wrong clients determine your business direction like we mentioned above.
Sometimes when we’re experiencing burnout, which plenty of us have during the past year, it can be hard to tell if a client is actually unfavorable or if it’s just our outlook that’s grim at the moment.
Of course, what “bad” means is different to everyone, but we’ve put together a few comparisons to help you determine when a client is actually a poor fit for your business and when they’re just difficult.
Yelling at your staff over the phone. Using demeaning language in emails. Sending a flurry of irate texts about a non-emergency at 9 p.m. on a Saturday — or any time, for that matter. This and any other behavior that alarms and scares your team or oversteps professional boundaries is abusive and grounds for immediate firing.
The above abusive treatment often results from clients who don’t respect the expertise of your MSP business.
Even when a client isn’t using obviously abusive language, they can show their disdain in other ways. Often with bad MSP clients, this shows itself through an unwillingness to comply with your expert recommendations for protecting and improving their business. This happens because the client thinks they know more about networks and security than you possibly can. As such, they’ll eventually start undermining your and your staff’s capabilities and, of course, prices.
One of the scarier things that can come from clients ignoring and even going against your expertise is risks pertaining to their business security and compliance. If a client is willing to put their business at risk just to prove how much more they trust their own opinion than yours — let them. Just make sure you’re no longer under contract with them when they do.
Considering today’s increasingly sue-happy business environment, don’t put your own MSP business and future insurability in jeopardy just because a bad client is willing to do the same with theirs.
Just asking questions or making an odd request here and there isn’t usually a fireable offense. It’s much better to have an inexperienced yet curious client than it is to have a demanding one who doesn’t seem to learn when you try to teach them which requests and expectations are simply unreasonable.
A client who’s convinced they know it all and isn’t willing to bend to reason isn’t one you want to keep letting grind down your morale.
Make sure every client signs a payment agreement and make sure that agreement arranges for upfront payment for services.
If a client is uncomfortable agreeing to these terms or makes a late payment even once, say goodbye to them permanently before you have to say goodbye permanently to the money they owe you.
RMM tools help you detect viruses easier and faster than monitoring your devices on your own. XEOX’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) database, which enables you to store all your information about hardware, software and user assets in one central location. You can easily track if something is wrong with your devices here.
From a chore to an automated routine: How to streamline patch management and save time Patch management can be time-consuming and often gets postponed to
What is Patch Compliance? Patch compliance is an important aspect of any organization’s cybersecurity strategy. It refers to the percentage of devices or systems within
How to uninstall a problematic patch Software updates and patches are an essential part of maintaining the security and functionality of any computer system. They
hs2n Informationstechnologie GmbH
Phone: +43-720-505765
E-Mail: support@xeox.com
UID-Number: ATU61747603
Company Reg- No.: FN262506P