·  What is TSPN?

·  How does it work?

·  Why does it work?

·  What does this mean for my clients?

·  How much can I make?

• What roles can I play?
• Why else should I consider TSPN?
• What resources are available?
• Is there a cost to become a member?
• What other advantages are there to becoming a TSPN member?

What is TSPN?
The Technology Solution Provider Network is a referral alliance for computer technicians, consultants, and consulting companies in the computer services industry.  . TSPN empowers its members to offer additional services to new and existing clientele to generate more revenue.

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How does TSPN work?
Let's say that I am a consultant that provides services to my clients. i.e., an application programmer. I have recently completed a job.  The client asks about a need that I cannot fulfill because it’s not the business I’m in; like an accounting system upgrade. I say no, and miss out on the potential revenue.

But if I utilize TSPN? I can say yes, "I have people that do this kind of work, and I'd like to introduce you to them." I share this information with TSPN to find out which qualified TSPN members with the right skills are available and I refer the job. I leverage my relationship with the client and the TSPN member-base.  For my efforts, I will receive a generous share of the profits, even if I choose to do nothing more related to the project. If I choose to participate in the project, I am compensated for the work that I perform. By forwarding this opportunity to the TSPN network, I can provide additional service to my client, and generate revenue from work that I would normally pass up.

As a member of Technology Solution Provider Network, my clients can now come to me for all of their technology needs.

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Why does this work?

Within the computer services industry, there is a high degree of specialization. One consulting company may market networking solutions, another perhaps custom application programming, and yet another web design.   We can't all do everything and still be good at it.  A consultant's ability to generate revenue is based heavily upon skills & services being provided.

Opportunities are passed because they do not provide the solution the client needs.  This is the reason why TSPN was created.

As a TSPN member, I offer new services to my clients, and also receive new opportunities.

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What does this mean for my clients?
The Technology Solution Provider Network can increase your exposure to your clients, and leverage the time and energy you've spent building those relationships, in order to maximize your returns. They are yours, and will always be yours. The goal is to increase your ability to generate revenue, by providing you with the means to offer additional services to your clientele. You are the one who decides when TSPN gets involved.

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How much can I make if I refer a job?
Our formula entitles the TSPN member who made the referral a full 30% of the profits made on the project, regardless of its size, even if you don't perform any of the work. If I choose to participate in the project, I am also compensated for my labor. And the membership also includes 20% residual profit-sharing.

Let's go back to the example given earlier.
You'll recall that the client was looking to upgrade their accounting system, and even though I myself don't do that kind of work, I am not going to let that revenue get away, so I decided to utilize my TSPN membership.

Because of my decision, a TSPN member with the right skills performed the work, and everything went smoothly. My client's needs were satisfied and I participated in the profits. But, while performing the upgrade, the TSPN member who performed the work discovered a new problem with the client's corporate backup strategy.

Now move ahead in time and examine the  residual revenue concept.

With my approval, a solution is drafted and presented to my client; they accept. I do nothing but allow the solution to be offered, and I receive 20% of the profits. The reason why my share of the profits drops from 30% to 20% is so that there is an incentive for TSPN members to always look for new opportunities to fix a problem and provide a solution, and create more business. So this means that not only do I receive 30% of the profits for any job that I decide to refer to TSPN, but going forward, should a TSPN member ever inform me of a new opportunity at this client, I continue to participate in the profits.

If I am the one to open the new opportunity, then my share stays at 30%.

Member entitlement includes a lifetime 20% profit-sharing for all future projects opened & performed by TSPN members. TSPN members oftentimes will find additional solutions to present to the client, based on their specialized knowledge & skills. This means that should new opportunities arise from your referrals, your revenue stream continues.

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What roles can I play?
The current TSPN compensation structure splits the profits of the project into several key phases. The individuals responsible for working on these phases are compensated according to a pre-determined compensation schedule. You can simply refer jobs, or take an active role in one or all of the phases of the project.

Referral and Project Evaluations
Client Meeting and Needs Assessment
Research, Proposal and Contract Creation
Project Management
Labor
Project Completion
Opening Additional Opportunities

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Why else should I consider TSPN?
TSPN offers many benefits for consultants usually associated with much larger firms. By pooling resources it allows its members to compete in a larger arena.

Scale
Often very large clients such as Fortune 1000 companies, and state & federal government agencies, require that potential bidders provide information regarding the size and scale of the business in order to be awarded contracts. TSPN allows members to present a much larger image and volume of business, and draw upon those resources in order to achieve higher reward.

Partnerships
Because of our membership, TSPN is able to create partnerships that give us a business advantage. For example, TSPN has created partnerships with hardware, software and service organizations you can leverage today.

We are finalizing a new partnership with one of the premier hosting & storage facilities in the country. This partnership will allow us to market same-day disaster recovery protection to virtually any size client. This facility is on the forefront of the latest technologies such as I-SCSI, remote backup & replication, and co-location, and has been credited by CISCO as being the first service provider to create a workable I-SCSI solution.

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How do we pool our resources?

Marketing
In most cases due to limited budgets or inexperience most consultants and small to mid-size companies do not have a formal marketing plan. By participating in a TSPN marketing pool, limited budgets can be overcome, allowing you to reach more potential clients through our network-wide TSPN marketing efforts, one that can include the specific services you provide.

Purchasing Power
In any sales industry, profit margins are based on volume. Using the same concept as the marketing pool, pooling purchasing power under the TSPN umbrella allows members to leverage greater purchasing power and achieve higher margins normally not available for the small amount of hardware and software a typical company purchases.

Staff Resource Pooling
Hiring full-time administrative staff is one of the most difficult business decisions that companies can make, because it means having to carry non-billable staff. This adds an enormous burden on the business to produce adequate revenue to carry this overhead. By pooling our resources we can combine positions that normally do not warrant full-time staff. Some examples are;

Secretarial staff to answer calls,
Administrative staff for payroll, billing, collection and other related but crucial tasks
Technical help-desk staff, that can field calls, and be first line support for the client and TSPN members
Field support personal to dispatch in order to deal with trivial on site problems
Trainers for post-standard installations training.
The possibilities are endless.

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Is TSPN membership open to anyone?
No. TSPN members are evaluated based on their core-competencies and their geographic region of operation. Specific skill sets, along with the growth potential in the geographic region, are evaluated and the decision on membership is made. Once accepted, the new TSPN member has 30-mile radius exclusivity for the core-competencies outlined in the TSPN agreement. If an additional TSPN member is considered in the same region of exclusivity the existing TSPN member is consulted for input. A new member is provided a 6-month probationary membership during which time their performance is carefully monitored. If the performance is satisfactory, the member is elevated to a full membership with full privileges as outlined in the TSPN agreement.

Is there a cost to become a member?
There are a number of factors that determine the membership fee, some of which are listed here. These factors help us to evaluate your potential for reward in the TSPN system. This helps us to estimate the setup and administrative fees that the annual membership fee covers.

Type of business
Number of active clients
Number of in-active clients
Gross sales
Annual hardware and software purchases
Number of technical employees
Number of non-technical administrative employees
Number of offices
Service offerings and core-competencies
Certifications
Willingness to display and share TSPN material

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Are there any other advantages to becoming a TSPN member?
The advantages go beyond your ability to capitalize on missed opportunities. You have the resource of the member-base itself, a talented pool of technicians and professionals, each with their own unique knowledge and experience that you can draw upon, in many ways;

Technology and Training seminars
TSPN hosts periodic gatherings for TSPN members. These gatherings provide an opportunity for the member-base participate in policy meetings, to interact with each other along with training and demonstration seminars on a wide variety of technical topics related to our industry. Led by fellow members and hardware / software vendors who are subject matter experts, you'll hear first-hand from people who actually perform the work, how to properly handle projects, what pitfalls to avoid, and also to get to know each other.

Specialists and Subject Matter Experts
Making referrals sounds great, but what if you want additional help on your own projects. Maybe you have a project that might benefit from some specialized skills, or maybe just an additional pair of hands. TSPN can help. Sometimes just having another opinion might make the difference on a project.

On the job training
Maintaining a qualified staff has its own unique set of problems. Technical people need to be challenged, and given opportunities to improve their skills, not just to increase billing opportunities for you, but also to give them a reason to stay. What better way than to have a chance to work along side senior level technicians, receiving valuable on the job training in the process. Whether participating on a TSPN run project, or when utilizing a TSPN specialist on one of your own, TSPN can help mentor staff, and provide valuable insight & instruction. You don't have to figure out how to do something at the client site anymore.

Critical support
You're in the "eleventh-hour" of a project, and you're starting to have problems. If you work through the night you might be able work out the issue, but then again maybe not. The TSPN membership can help. Whether working on a TSPN project, or on one of your own, members make themselves available to each other in this type of critical scenario through the use of a member-to-member critical support accord, which stipulates that all members establish a member-to-member discount rate for emergency phone support. This low "bail-out" rate allows members get the critical help they need, and provides compensation for the support, helping each other deliver the goods on time, and on-budget and helps you build a working relationship with the specialists in the TSPN member-base.

Liability Insurance
Often consultants work without adequate liability insurance because of the associated costs, leaving them too exposed should something go wrong. Beyond the insurance that comes from a qualified member-base, TSPN projects are also backed by liability insurance that protects its members.

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