What Happens After Your Kelser Discovery Call?

Your initial discovery call with Kelser is complete. You have provided us with a basic understanding of your IT needs and are ready to move forward. What comes next? 

We’ve been asked that question by a lot of customers, so we put together this article to explain exactly what happens next. 

At Kelser, we build relationships that are based on trust. A key component of trust is providing honest information. In that spirit, this article will provide a road map of the process that moves our relationship forward. 

After reading this article, you’ll understand not only what comes next, but what happens during each step in the process and how long it takes to get from discovery call to onboarding. 

We are committed to communicating so that there are no surprises (for you or for us). 

What Happens Between The Discovery Call And Onboarding?

While there are many steps between the initial discovery call and onboarding, the entire process moves quickly. 

1. Internal Sales/Engineering Meeting

Following your initial discovery call, our sales and engineering leads get together to discuss your needs. This internal meeting ensures that everyone on your Kelser team has a complete understanding of the information you’ve provided thus far and what the next steps should be.

2. Deeper Discovery Call 

Your Kelser contact will reach out to schedule a deeper discovery call which will include members of our sales and engineering teams. This meeting may be in person or virtual. Before this meeting, you will receive an email with the meeting information and an article to read to prepare you for the meeting.

The goals of this meeting are to: 

• • Understand your technology pain points (the reasons you came to us) 
  • Determine if we are a good fit to work together
  • Discuss questions, issues, problems, and concerns (What’s going well? What can be improved? In an ideal world, what would IT help you do?)
  • Talk about the next steps

3. Engineering Site Visit

Following the deeper discovery call, Kelser will reach out to schedule a walk-through of your site(s) by one of our engineers (also known as an engineering site visit). 

During this in-person to your site, our engineer will ask some general questions like:

• • How well does the current set-up work for your business? 
  • How do employees use IT resources?
  • What are your concerns/pain points?
  • Are compliance issues affecting your internal team?
  • Where are there gaps in your IT process?
  • What does your cybersecurity look like?

Then, we’ll want to get specific about the IT equipment you have on-site as well as any remote technology resources. Some of the specific things we’ll be looking at include:

• • Data Closets/Server Rooms
  • Servers/Racks
  • Network and Wireless
  • Phone System 
  • Printers
  • Devices :laptops, desktops, tablets
  • Backups
  • Security 
  • Email
  • File Sharing
  • Wi-Fi
  • Three-Year Business Plan

The goal of this visit is to:

• Provide us with a comprehensive, first-hand view of your IT footprint and infrastructure
• Gather detailed information about your IT environment from the person who best understands it as well as any other key stakeholders
• Help us make best-in-class recommendations that address your unique business needs
• Prioritize our shared goals

4. Internal Follow-Up Meeting

Within 48 hours of the site visit, our internal sales and engineering teams meet to discuss detailed assessments and recommendations. 

Our engineer specs out any necessary hardware and develops a Bill of Materials to include in your customized proposal. If no hardware is required, the engineer writes up the technical steps and reviews them with our vCIO (virtual Chief Information Officer) to determine your monthly cost for services.  

5. Proposal Preparation

A Kelser sales representative pulls together all of the information and prepares your proposal. The proposal is reviewed by our vCIO and engineering staff for accuracy.

6. Proposal Review Meeting 

A member of our sales team will contact you to schedule a 30-minute proposal meeting. You will receive the proposal for review prior to the meeting so you can come prepared with questions. 

We keep you informed throughout the process, so there should be no surprises.

The goal of the proposal review meeting is to simply let you know the exact cost and address any last-minute questions/issues/concerns.

7. Statement Of Work

Following the proposal review meeting, we will send you a credit application and prepare the statement of work. Once you sign and complete both, onboarding begins!

Ready To Move Forward?

After reading this article, you know all of the steps that happen between the initial discovery call and the beginning of the onboarding process. From our internal meetings to deeper discovery calls to site visits and beyond, you understand the entire process. 

You may be wondering how long this all takes. The answer really depends on your sense of urgency. It can take as little as a few days, or we can push things out to a time that is more convenient for you. 

At Kelser, we’re all about making things easier for you.