TruMethods Blog Archives - Page 37 of 48

What MSPs Should Know About Social Media Marketing

Posted on January 29, 2019April 5, 2023 | Author Sam Lieberman

Many MSPs are struggling with promoting themselves on social media platforms, which isn’t a surprise: Marketing has always been a top challenge for MSPs. Over the years, more and more MSPs have become interested in deploying social media strategies to increase brand awareness and generate leads for their sales teams. Before making the jump, there are some things to consider first.

First things first: Develop a social media marketing strategy

Despite common belief, there’s more to social media marketing than just posting pictures of your office dog to your company’s social networking accounts. In fact, before even thinking about publishing anything from your business accounts, ensure there’s a plan to deploy a coherent brand experience across all channels. In other words, your company’s social media presence should reflect the brand image your marketing team worked tirelessly to develop for your business. To accomplish this, review your brand’s messaging before creating a social media marketing plan designed to further enhance your brand, put you in front of potential customers and generate leads for your salespeople.

At the very least, every social media marketing plan should have overarching goals. Basically, these are the reasons why you’re dedicating time, money and resources to increasing your company’s online presence. Your top social media objectives should be clear and concise. Most importantly, they should be realistic. For example, more than likely, your company’s Facebook page isn’t going to acquire 1,000 followers the day after you launch it, so don’t set your goals out of reach. This will only discourage you and the employees you assign to managing your company’s accounts. After setting all your goals for social media marketing, determine how your business is going to achieve each one.

Creating content for your social media accounts is a process, so be ready to brainstorm with your employees on potential topics. After creating content, make sure it’s beneficial to your followers, not just you. For example, posting too much about your company can turn followers away. To prevent this from happening, publish content on your accounts from other reputable sources (not your competitors). Creating content is a skill, so don’t be put off right away if it’s challenging. It’s going to take some time for you to get into a rhythm — but after some practice, the process becomes easier.

The most common mistake MSPs are making

When it comes to social media marketing, the most common mistake MSPs are making is expecting results to happen overnight. The truth is social media promotion takes a lot of time and effort. An MSP’s social media presence is built, not bought. Don’t compare yourself to your competitors. Be aware of what your competitors are doing on their social media platforms, but don’t fall into the trap of obsessing over their metrics. You’re on a different timeline than your competitors. Don’t forget this: What’s working for your competitors and other MSPs might not necessarily work for your company.

Which social media networking sites should MSPs be on?

Not every social media platform is right for every business, so don’t try everything all at once. At the end of the day, go where your customers are consuming their information. If they’re on Facebook, create a Facebook page. If they’re on Twitter, create a Twitter page. There’s nothing wrong with testing out various social media platforms to figure out what’s working best for your own business, but ultimately, you’re going to have to decide where you want to dedicate resources, time and money.

Social media marketing can be overwhelming at first, but after a little bit of practice, it becomes less daunting. Before rolling out your brand’s pages, develop a strategy with your goals. Stay committed to generating valuable content even when success isn’t immediate. Most importantly, have fun with it.

What Account Takeover and Business Email Compromise Attacks Mean for MSPs

Posted on January 22, 2019April 5, 2023 | Author TruMethods

Email systems are the number one target of cybercriminals, and the situation is only getting worse. Attackers are finding new ways to infiltrate email accounts and use them as a platform for launching other types of attacks.

Credential-based attacks such as account takeover (ATO) and business e-mail compromise (BEC) attacks are becoming more prevalent. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the 41,058 BEC attacks reported from 2013 to 2018 cost U.S. firms $2.9 billion, and global losses were four times that amount. In 2017 alone, the cost of BEC attacks was more than $676 million.

For example, earlier this year, the Henderson, Texas school district was duped into transferring more than $600,000 in a BEC attack after hackers impersonated a legitimate school contractor.

ATO attacks involve theft of an email credential, which is then used to launch a targeted phishing campaign. If the attacker is able to steal the credentials of a key employee (like the owner or CEO), they can then launch a BEC attack that results in other employees transferring money or information.

Javelin Strategy & Research reported a three-fold increase in account takeover losses last year. ATO and BEC attacks have become more effective for hackers in terms of obtaining money or information they can sell, since the return they’re seeing on ransomware attacks is declining. These attacks are also very difficult to detect or protect against because they rely on psychological manipulation. According to a recent Barracuda report:

“About 60 percent of BEC attacks do not involve a link: the attack is simply a plain text email intended to fool the recipient to commit a wire transfer or send sensitive information. These plain text emails are especially difficult for existing email security systems, because they are often sent from legitimate email accounts, tailored to each recipient, and do not contain any suspicious links.”

Password security, training, and technology are the best defenses

Once an email account is compromised, attackers can cause a significant amount of damage and business disruption. If a victim falls victim to BEC, they’re going to feel the pain first — and the most — but that pain can also end up being felt by their customer and their vendors. So, what can your clients do to protect themselves?

Enforce secure password rules and make sure employees aren’t repeating the same passwords for multiple sites or applications. No employee is exempt from this rule; Last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had his Twitter and Pinterest accounts hacked after criminals obtained his LinkedIn password.
Use multi-factor authentication and encryption to make it harder to compromise email accounts. After entering a password, the user will be prompted to verify themselves again by taking another action, such as entering a code that is emailed or texted to them.
Train users to recognize potential phishing scams that can lead to ATO/BEC attacks, or that may be part of a BEC attack. They should be suspicious of short or generic messages from other employees, and double-check links and downloads. They should also never send sensitive information via email. Training should include phishing simulations, as well.
Set up procedures for payments and wire transfers that require in-person conversations, phone calls, and other non-digital confirmation strategies.

Additionally, there are emerging technology solutions available that can validate email credentials and scan the Internet for sources of compromised passwords.

Take a proactive approach to protecting your customers

It’s critical to recognize these threats and respond to them proactively. At Barracuda, one way we’re doing that is with the launch of Barracuda Sentinel – a product that identifies and stops the types of spear phishing and cyber fraud attacks that can create opportunities for BEC attacks. Sentinel can automatically prevent account takeovers using artificial intelligence, and domain fraud visibility. If employees suddenly start sending blast e-mails to people they don’t frequently communicate with, for example, the solution can detect that behavior and then take some action (like deleting the potential phishing emails) before the problem spreads.

Businesses (regardless of size and market) are vulnerable to ATO and BEC attacks. It’s critical that service providers take steps now to help protect their customers’ networks from these sophisticated and increasingly successful types of cyber fraud.

How MSPs Can Become TSPs in 2019

Posted on January 15, 2019April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

Understand why the sand is shifting for MSPs

The MSP market has matured over the years. Core MSP services — including support, patch, spy, spam, backup and security — are without a doubt being commoditized. What does this mean for the customers we’re servicing? Simply this: They’re no longer able tell the difference between experienced and inexperienced MSPs. Your relationships with customers are changing, and it’s you who needs to adapt to the way they’re consuming your services.

What makes a TSP different than an MSP?

Unlike MSPs, TSPs take their services to a higher level to accomodate the needs of their customers. Today, small business owners are seeking advice on how navigate a more complex technical environment. More importantly, they want to understand how technology can positively impact their businesses in the coming years. In this scenario, a TSP steps up to the plate and thrives.

Different than MSPs, TSPs focus on technology standards and alignment, business impact, and IT strategy. They concentrate their efforts on delivering business results for their customers. They understand the importance of moving technical relationships to relationships based on business value. Simply concentrating on technology isn’t enough.

TSPs uncover technical risks

TSPs don’t wait for technical risks to find them; they’re proactive instead of reactive by going out of the way to uncover technical risk or pain. The process of uncovering technical risk (also known as technical alignment) and the business impact of misalignments need to be established upfront — as soon as possible.

Uncovering technical risk is an ongoing process. To be successful, you also need to have resources dedicated solely to uncovering technical risk. This process should make it clear to clients why they should buy from you — and, ultimately, pay more for your services. What uncovering technical risk does is separate the sales process between your offering and other alternatives, and reveals how your business adds value to client businesses.

Reduce reactive time

TSPs are able to reduce reactive time because they’re proactive when it comes to uncovering technical risks. Where do TSPs save money by being proactive? Support costs. Why? Well, support traditionally falls into the reactive bucket.

To reduce costs associated with support, TSPs should first compare themselves to where top providers stand when it comes to support costs (top providers have one support desk resource for every $60,000 of MRR). Then, afterward, to benchmark where they’re at, TSPs should measure and set goals for items such as tickets and alerts. After establishing baselines, TSPs are then able to begin focusing on developing roles — including technology alignment manager and technology consultant — and processes aimed at reducing reactive time within their business models. If you’re unsure of what I mean, read more about the TruMethods framework, which enables TSPs to do just that.

Becoming an TSP isn’t going to happen overnight. More than likely, shifting from MSP to TSP is going to take some time on your end. You’re going to have to commit and be willing to see the transformation through. Start 2019 off right by moving out of MSP Town by beginning your journey to Technology Success World. I hope to see you there.

MSP Sales: What You Should Know About Reframing

Posted on January 8, 2019April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

What’s reframing?

Part of our job as MSP salespeople is overcoming sales objections. One way to do this is by using a process called reframing, which, if used correctly, can improve your close ratio and increase your MRR. While salespeople in every market use reframing tactics in their sales processes to get ahead, reframing prospects in our industry is essential to survival.

Basically, there are three reasons why we use reframing in our sales processes. First, it changes the prospect’s frame of reference related to technology costs and results; second, it helps the prospect visualize current business results versus the results your clients have with you; and third, it assists us with attaching a better value to our results.

The four steps to reframing

Reframing a prospect’s perception isn’t always going to be easy, but if you follow the four basic steps to using this tactic, you’ll be in good shape after enough practice. First, using broad strokes, paint a picture for the prospect you’re sitting down with. The idea here is to compare the business results the prospect is currently getting with the business services you’d be able to provide. The prospect doesn’t need to know specifics.

Second, after you’re done painting the picture — as any artist would — attach value to it. The prospect should be able to attach value to your services after you uncover business pain. We ask questions to uncover business pain because attaching value to technical pain is challenging for many of the prospects you come across.

Third, use cost to your advantage. Why do your services cost more? The answer is simple: Your services cost more because your company provides better results. Period.

Finally, don’t sell technology. Your customers don’t care about technology as much as you do. Again, it’s important to remember the following: You’re not in the technology business. You’re in the business of providing your customers with better business results. Reframing is the gap between business results — not just technical results.

Why is reframing important?

Done correctly, reframing uncovers real pain — both business and emotional pain — which allows you to easily pitch why your company delivers better results. Reframing also helps you build a business case without even having to present, saving you time and money. Then, when it’s time to present, you have everything you need. In other words, reframing simplifies the decision for the prospect when it’s time for you to close.

When you hit sales objections during the sales process, use reframing to change the prospect’s frame of reference related to technology costs and results, and increase MRR.

Still Haven’t Developed Your Business Plan for 2019?

Posted on January 2, 2019April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

Begin with vision

There are three components to company vision. The first element has more to do with you than your company. Remember: The company’s vision starts with the entrepreneur. Here’s where you’ll need to do some soul-searching. What’s your vision for your life? Where do you picture yourself in five or 10 years? What’s important to you? (In other words, what are your priorities?) What do you like to do? What are your financial goals?

After you figure out your personal goals, determine the role (or roles) your business will play in your life vision (this is the second component to company vision). What does your business need to produce, and how does it need to behave for you to reach your goals? Note: The difference between where your business is today and where it needs to be in order for you to reach your long-term goals is the structure of your business plan.

The final component to company vision is purpose. Think about the core beliefs you want to build your entire business on. Goals are more powerful when they impact others. Think about this: How do you want to impact your employees and customers?

Evaluate your three-year business targets

Three-year business targets give you wiggle room. Three years is far enough out where you can make some mistakes and have some setbacks, but still get to where you need to be. The primary goal here is to determine the amount of MRR you’ll need to add over three years to reach your annual net revenue profit goal. It’s important for you to remember this: Your sales and marketing plan will be geared around your MRR goal.

Use your three-year targets to develop your one-year plan

To construct your one-year plan, use the information you gathered from developing your three-year targets and your current financials. Determine your goal for each revenue categories, including recurring services, non-recurring services, product revenues, etc. Then, afterward, take a look at MRR, average MRR, net profit, etc. Lastly, keep yourself in check by listing the most important things you need to do to make your plan a reality.

Draft your quarterly action plans

Your quarterly action plan should be very similar to your one-year plan. For each quarter, set your revenue targets and calculate your sales goals. Then, again, outline the most important things you need to do to make sure you implement all your plans.

Share your business plan

I always encourage members to share their business plans with their company to hold themselves and employees accountable. If you don’t have any employees, don’t worry about it: Share your business plan with your spouse or mentor to keep you in line.

Stop pushing off your business plan. If you still haven’t developed one, sit down today to get the ball rolling. Without one, you’ll be stuck in the same spot a year from now.

5 New Year’s Resolutions For IT Providers In 2019

Posted on December 26, 2018April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

Ask Yourself: ‘What If?’

Many of us have struggled with goal setting (I know I have). To help us overcome our collective fear of failure, back in June, at Schnizzfest, Mike Rayburn challenged us to ask the following question when setting business goals: “What if?” Instead of limiting ourselves with attainable goals, what if we challenged ourselves by setting goals outside of our own comfort zones? How do you think this mindset would change our businesses?

From experience, I learned the following: The right mindset keeps you in line with goals.

Be a leader, not a manager

With the unemployment rate under 4%, quality employees are hard to find, so retaining top talent is more important than ever. One of the best ways to accomplish this — besides having well-defined roles within your organization — is by being a leader, not a manager. Unlike managers, leaders ensure their employees are in positions to reach their full potentials. What else do successful leaders do? Top leaders also share strong visions and core values with employees and help team members become leaders in their own ways. In the new year, redefine yourself as a leader by becoming someone your employees look up to and trust, and they’ll follow you along your business journey.

Keep track of your “unique client touches”

How often are you interacting with your clients? We at TruMethods call certain client interactions “unique client touches,” and it’s your vCIO’s responsibility to keep track of each one. In order to successfully develop high-value strategic partnerships with your clients, your vCIO should be determining the ideal interaction frequency for each of your clients on an ongoing basis. Remember: Every client is different. If your vCIO hasn’t been keeping track of unique client touches, it’s time to reassess your strategy in 2019.

Become a functional area

In the coming year, do your best to understand how your customers perceive you. Do they consider you to be integral to their businesses, or are you just another expense item, tucked away under SG&A? The MSP model as you know it isn’t the future, and to evolve as an IT provider, you need to ensure you’re seen as a strategic partner. How can you get the ball rolling in the right direction in 2019? Make it a point in the new year to question your customers about their business goals, challenges, and opportunities.

Build a value-based TSP

Around this time last year, we at TruMethods introduced the TSP model and explained why it would be the way of the future for IT providers. While building a value-based TSP takes time, the sooner you begin, the better off you’ll be in the long run. To make the necessary shift from MSP to TSP, take the following steps in the coming year: focus on business results, uncover technical risk and reduce reactive time. Remember this: Shifting your entire business to the TSP model doesn’t happen overnight, but what you can change immediately — and before the new year— is your mindset, so begin today.

In the new year, if you stick to your New Year’s resolutions, your business will continue to grow and prosper.

A Look Back On 2018: 8 Takeaways For TruMethods Members

Posted on December 18, 2018April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

It’s Time To Leave The MSP Model Behind

It’s getting a little bit too crowded in MSP Town, isn’t it? If I remember correctly from when I first launched TruMethods, there were about 10,000-15,000 MSPs in all of North America. Now, from what I’ve been told, there are 35,000-40,000 MSPs across the entire continent. It’s time to adjust strategy, and this isn’t only because of increasing competition. There’s something a lot bigger going on — a new adventure is awaiting us.

How MSPs Can Increase Sales Efficiency To Grow MRR

Increasing sales efficiency is just one of the many ways MSPs can grow MRR. Top-performing MSPs understand why streamlining the sales process can help salespeople with adding new MRR at the right price. If you’re unsure of how you can improve sales efficiency in your business, we at TruMethods are here to guide you.

3 Reasons Why You’re Not Closing More Deals

Your costs are adding up, and you’re not sure what to do. No matter what you try, you can’t seem to increase your MRR. It’s frustrating (trust me — I know from experience). Nobody likes being stuck in a rut, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. You can sell more recurring revenue at a higher price now by developing your ideal customer profile.

What You And The Cleaning Guy Have In Common

Many of your customers today view technology as an operating expense on their income statements. They’re categorizing your managed services under selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A). What does this mean? It’s simple: Your customers are grouping your managed services with office supplies, utilities, rent and cleaning services.

Why Cybercriminals are Targeting MSPs (And How To Avoid Being Victimized)

More and more, hackers are targeting MSPs. This is because MSPs can be a weak link when it comes to security if they aren’t implementing the same security practices they encourage for their clients. There are steps MSPs can take to avoid being victimized.

A Message To Channel Vendors

Competition isn’t everything. There are times when coming together is what’s best for the community as a whole. In the channel’s case, it’s the relationship IT vendors have with their top competitors. Having an open ecosystem allows IT providers to thrive.

Where’s TruMethods Heading?

If you attended Schnizzfest this year, you’re already aware of some of the exciting changes we’ve been making at TruMethods. Just in case you forgot where we’re heading as a company, I decided to dedicate this blog post to some of our major roadmap stops.

Start Creating Your 2019 Sales Plan Today

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. I’d encourage you to start your 2019 sales plan as soon as possible. You’ll want to have it completed before year-end, so you’ll have your Q1 quarterly action plan in place. If you’re not sure where to begin, we at TruMethods have a few suggestions for members.

Going into 2019, don’t forget about all the topics we covered in 2018. There’s plenty of content for you to review before the ball drops, so finish up wrapping your presents, pour yourself a glass of eggnog and get going on reading our top blog posts from 2018!

How To Retain Top Talent

Posted on December 11, 2018April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

In more than 22 years, I’ve owned three companies, and what I’ve learned about retaining industry talent over time can be broken down into a several key components.

Do you have well-defined roles?

Review how you’re defining roles within your organization. Are they well-defined? If not, you could be missing out on a higher employee retention rate. Also, the truth of the matter is this: Businesses lacking well-defined roles oftentimes struggle with low employee morale. Don’t put unnecessary strains on your employees by forcing them to jump in and out of roles in your business.

For example, let’s take a look at TruMethods’ service delivery areas: centralized services, vCIO, professional services, technology alignment and service desk. Some MSPs, especially the smaller ones, try to span their employees across several delivery service roles. We at TruMethods don’t recommend this, but if you’re small and don’t have a lot of resources, just be careful. Clearly define each role and have your employees fit into as few roles as possible. If someone from your business is in multiple delivery roles, be sure it makes sense. Be careful mixing proactive delivery service roles.

Do your meetings have rhythm?

Your meetings need to have rhythm. Are you holding them on an ongoing basis? Are all of your team members included? They should be, and during these meetings, it’s your responsibility to report metrics and progress towards goals. Want your employees to feel accountable? Get your employees excited about your growth strategy by keeping them informed of your company’s achievements.

What’s my higher purpose?

You need to give your employees something to work toward (besides money, of course). Think about it this way: Each role in your company is made up of three things — the core, the results and the essence. The core is made up of the metrics and process that make up the role; the results are how the role impacts customers, employees and the company as a whole; and the essence is the spirit of the role that connects the core to the results. When team members understand the essence of their roles, they find more passion and purpose in their work — benefiting everyone.

Be a leader, not a manager.

Unlike managers, leaders ensure their employees are in positions to reach their full potentials. Leaders also share strong visions and core values with employees, and help team members become leaders in their own ways. Become someone your employees look up to, and they’ll follow you along your business journey.

Retaining employees in this economy isn’t easy, but if you follow my recommendations above, you’ll be well on your way to increasing your business’s employee retention rate.

Does Your Outside Salesperson Struggle With Decision Making?

Posted on December 4, 2018April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

When the people trying to simplify the sales process aren’t good decision makers, they need to look at how they make decisions. I’m sure this sounds like a no brainer to you, but I can’t tell you how many times we’ve come across this very issue with salespeople in the industry. Sure, they understand what they should be doing to keep the sales process simple and how controlling complexity leads to more MRR; however, what they often don’t realize is they’re actually the ones complicating many of the deals, not prospects.

Think about it like this: Our goal as salespeople is to simplify the decision process for prospects, but if we see decisions in a complicated way, we project that mentality onto prospects. That’s something I learned as a young salesman. Since then, I’ve tried to simplify my own decision process around all purchases. Figuring out how your salespeople make purchases is one way to determine if they’re complicating the process.

For example, let’s say your salesperson is looking to spend $1,000 on television set. Instead of keeping things simple, you watch your salesperson browse 20 websites and visit three stores over the course of a month to avoid paying an extra $50. Sounds a bit excessive, no? If your salesperson’s buying process is complicated — like the one I just outlined — prospects are going to have a tough time with your company’s sales process.

If your outside salesperson can’t make purchasing decisions in a timely manner, don’t worry. There’s still hope for your business. After you’ve identified the issue, sit down with your salesperson and point out the problem. You must re-frame the way your salesperson views the buyer decision process. Take some time to remind your employee what we at TruMethods have taught you about simplifying the MSP sale process: Paint in broad strokes. Don’t forget to also mention the following: Going granular only makes matters worse by introducing unforeseen complexities to the process. Use the sales training we’ve provided you with to help simplify the sales process for your salesperson.

When you’re simplifying your sales process, be sure everybody involved can make decisions in a timely manner. If they can’t, when it comes to generating MRR, you could be setting your business up for failure. Your salespeople need to be able to break down the buyer decision process in their own lives in order for them to simplify the MSP sales process for prospects. If your salespeople are introducing complexities, help them overcome by teaching them when you’ve learned during our sales training sessions.

Start Creating Your 2019 Sales Plan Today

Posted on November 27, 2018April 5, 2023 | Author Gary Pica

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.

I’d encourage you to start your 2019 sales plan as soon as possible. You’ll want to have it completed before year-end, so you’ll have your Q1 quarterly action plan in place. If you’re not sure where to begin, we at TruMethods have a few suggestions for members.

Review your 2018 sales results

Before strategizing for the year ahead, take a step back to review the current year and compare it year-over-year to the previous one. First take a look at sales results. Did you reach your 2018 goals? If not, why not? Determine how much in new MRR your salespeople generated this year. How many more clients did you acquire? Review other financial categories, too, such as NRR. What about average MRR and AISP of new clients sold? Don’t forget to examine your balance sheet closely.

Additionally, you’ll want to assess your prospect database. Calculate the number of readily available prospects your salespeople currently have access to on the list. Should your database be larger? What do you know about the companies on your prospect list?

Set your sales goals for 2019

Begin with MRR (your primary goal for sales) by determining your MRR goal for next year. Now, you’ll also want to set an NRR target for 2019 (the target should be a percentage of your MRR goal). Don’t forget to also take product revenue and other revenue streams into consideration when determining your sales goals for 2019. Your sales goals shouldn’t be ambiguous; they should be specific.

Determine your activity goals for MRR and NRR for next year

Figure out the number of FTAs you’d like to attend in 2019. Afterward, figure out which lead generation sources are going to produce those FTAs for you. Ask yourself the following question: What are my goals in 2019 for warm lead sources, my website and marketing activities?

If you’re unsure of where to begin, our MRR sales goal calculator can assist you with achieving your annual MRR goal by outlining for you what you’ll need to do to reach your annual goals. Our tool calculates how many new customers and how many more appointments you’ll need each month to achieve your MRR goals for the year, and more.

For NRR, look at the number of technology steering meetings you’re having. Are you having enough? How often are you reviewing strategic roadmaps with clients? MyITprocess now allows you to update strategic roadmaps for clients. You can now track money generated from recommendations your employees have made to customers, too.

What does your accountability structure for your salespeople look like in 2019?

Think about what you did to hold your sales team accountable in 2018. Did you hold weekly sales meeting? Did your salespeople review our playbooks? Did you on an ongoing basis listen to your salespeople when they were speaking with clients? Figure out what you could do better in 2019 to keep your team accountable for their actions. It’s your job as their leader to pay attention to any inconsistencies and correct them immediately before they negatively impact your annual sales targets. You’re going to need to get the blocking and tackling down if your team is going to succeed next year.

Don’t wait until after Christmas to begin developing your 2019 sales plan. The earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. Before building out your plan for the coming year, be sure to first review this year to figure out the adjustments you’ll need to make going forward. Then set your goals and determine how you’re going to achieve them. Without structure, you’ll have a tough time hitting your targets, so be sure to develop a framework designed to hold your salespeople accountable. Planning for next year doesn’t have to be tedious. As long as you act now, you’ll begin 2019 on the right foot.