To help explain the shift in IT provider models in the industry, late last year, I introduced the “Technology Success Provider” (TSP). This year, at Schnizzfest, I asked you to trust me by joining me on the journey to Technology Success World. If you still haven’t taken the first step to becoming a TSP, the new year is a good time to start.

Eighty percent of your MSP sales process should revolve around you assessing the results your prospects are getting today. You accomplish this by asking them technical questions, finding how much they're investing in technology and inquiring about their businesses. We do this so we can determine the best way to reframe their perspectives on technology and costs. With enough practice in reframing, you'll be overcoming sales objections and boosting your sales performance in no time.

If you still haven’t drafted your business plan for 2019, you’re a little late to the game. That being said, I’d rather you develop one late than not create one at all. To help you begin the process as quickly as possible, let’s review several key points to consider.

It’s that time of the year again. Many of us are looking back on the past year to assess it to determine what we could do better in 2019. While it’s important to take time to reflect on 2018, it’s just as important to dedicate a portion of our days to creating a business plan for 2019. If you’re unsure of where to begin, outlining a list of New Year’s resolutions is a good start — and there are some you should consider adding to your list.

With 2018 coming to a close, it’s time for TruMethods members to reflect on all they’ve learned throughout the course of the year. To make things a bit easier — especially with the holiday season upon us — I’ve culled top-performing posts from this year’s content.

Many MSPs are having issues with employee retention in today’s economy, which isn’t necessarily bad news. If you’re having a tough time finding quality employees, so are in-house IT departments. Overall, if you play your cards right, the good could outweigh the bad, but to take advantage of the market’s current conditions, you’ll need to be able to increase your employee retention rate effectively — and that’s not always easy to do.

When it comes to selling the value of the Technology Success Process to prospects, we stress to TruMethods members the importance of simplifying the sales process. Remember: Simplicity equals success. Over-complicating the sales process by focusing on the bottom of the value stack — pricing, technical issues, etc. — negatively impacts your bottom line. Sounds simple enough to understand, right? Well, there’s an obstacle MSP owners face when attempting to develop and implement a simple sales process: their outside salespeople.

Not only is this the time of year to be grateful for what you have and what you’ve accomplished, it’s also the period in time when you should begin your 2019 sales plan.

We at TruMethods encourage all our members to track and measure the results of each service delivery area. While many TruMethods members understand what we’re asking for them to measure when it comes to the majority of service delivery areas, there’s typically a misunderstanding when it comes to evaluating vCIOs — but that stops today.

The key to closing more MSP sales is keeping the process simple. Unbeknownst to us, we oftentimes complicate the sales process by focusing on the bottom of the value stack, where our competitors are — competing over pricing, technical issues and other out-of-date talking points. If you’re not currently closing as much business as you should, you might need to be hit upside the head with what we call the “simple shovel.”