The Process of Partnering With Kelser

You’ve reached out to Kelser to explore whether we are a good fit to work together. You’ve provided us with a basic understanding of your needs. You may already be feeling better knowing that help is on the way. 

You may also be wondering what comes next and how quickly things will get moving. 

We get this question from customers often, so we put together this article to explain exactly what happens next and at every stage in the process of partnering with Kelser. 

Sometimes you may not see visible signs that work is happening behind the scenes to move things forward. 

After you read this article, you’ll have a complete understanding of the steps that will happen and about how long each one will take. This knowledge will give you confidence in our process and the assurance that your peace of mind is our top priority. 

You’ll know exactly what’s going on (whether you can see it or not). We’re excited that you’ve reached out and are considering Kelser as your IT partner. 

What Happens During The Process? How Long Does It Take? 

There are several steps in our process. Some of them involve you directly and others are handled behind the scenes. 

While there are many steps, the entire process moves quickly. 

Here’s a roadmap of the process that moves things forward: 

1. Internal Sales & Engineering Meeting

Soon after your initial discovery call, in which we discovered an overview of your current IT environment,  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 and what the next steps should be. 

2. Engineering Site Visit

Next, 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). This visit will take place at the earliest mutually agreeable time. Most often it happens within 3 to 5 days of the  discovery call. 

The 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, they’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
  • Firewalls
  • Access Points
  • File Sharing
  • Wi-Fi

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

3. Internal Follow-Up Meeting

After the site visit, our internal sales and engineering teams meet to discuss the findings in detail. This usually happens within 2-3 days of the site visit.

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

5. Proposal Preparation

A Kelser sales representative pulls together all of the information and prepares your proposal. A final review is done by all stakeholders to make sure we haven't missed anything.

6. Proposal Review Meeting 

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

You’ve already discussed the services included, so the goal of the proposal review meeting is to simply let you know the exact cost and address any final questions, issues, or comments.

7. Statement Of Work

Following the proposal review meeting, we will send you a credit application and prepare the managed services agreement and/or statement of work, depending on the scope of the engagement. Once you complete these documents, onboarding begins!

What’s next?

After reading this article, you have a comprehensive understanding of the steps that take place between the initial discovery call and the beginning of the onboarding process.

We’ve filled you in on the internal sales and engineering meeting, the deeper discovery call, the engineering site visit, our internal follow-up meeting, the proposal preparation, proposal review and the statement of work. 

This information paints a full picture of the steps involved in the process of partnering with Kelser. 

From here the process moves to onboarding and we move forward in partnership together. 

Want a refresher of all of the services included in your managed IT support agreement? Check out this article: Kelser’s IT Offerings & Why Each One Matters.