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on the bottom of the value stack, where our competitors are — competing over pricing, technical issues and other out-of-date talking points.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.”  

It’s no secret: I’ve hired, managed and worked beside salespeople for more than 30 years. In every industry, I’ve seen salespeople fail for numerous reasons, but the percentage of salespeople I’ve watched fail or fall short of expectations in our industry is much higher that in any other market I’ve worked in — and I think I know why.

I’ve given hundreds of speeches at industry events over the years. More often than not — and I’m not bragging — there’s a line of people waiting to speak to me after a presentation (and it’s usually not because of something I said on stage). Surprisingly, many of them stand in line to voice their own perspectives on the industry to me — even when they know their views run contrary to the advice I give. Are these people looking to pick a fight with me? No, they’re simply doing what we do every day — seek validation.

Many MSPs are unfamiliar with the inside sales role, which makes hiring someone for the post a bit more difficult than other sales positions. While you don't have to be an expert on the inside sales role, you should still know what to expect from an inside salesperson and how to evaluate an inside sales candidate during the interviewing process.

Goal setting is something many MSPs struggle with. We’ve always been told to set attainable goals in business, but what if we didn’t? What if we challenged ourselves by setting goals outside of our own comfort zones? What do you think would happen then?

How often are you checking in with your clients? Once a month? Once every quarter? Are you even keeping track? If you’re a vCIO, it’s crucial you tally up a portion of your client interactions. We at TruMethods call these particular interactions “unique client touches."

More and more, hackers are targeting managed services providers (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.