Most MSPs struggle with sales, specifically the ability to add new monthly recurring revenue at the right price. The root cause of MSP sales struggles is a weak go-to-market strategy.
Our business model is very forgiving, right? It forgives many sins because we sell recurring revenue, and the average lifetime value of our customers is high. But, as our industry matures, your go-to-market motion must also mature.
Every MSP needs to do more than they do today to build a functioning marketing process.
So, here are some of the things to think about moving forward.
First, what is your starting point? Do you generate any qualified leads outside of inside sales? If so, where do they come from? Are they sources that could yield more if you put more processes around them? Set an initial goal for marketing qualified leads (MQLs) if you haven’t already. Then determine what activities to focus on based on your starting point. Consider pure marketing efforts, including inbound marketing, email marketing, event marketing, and digital marketing.
Your goal is to become a thought leader in your target market to build your prospect list, build a great relationship with prospects, and take them on their buyer’s journey. How can you achieve this? By buying or creating content regularly.
As someone who’s produced more content than I’d like to think about, it’s not an easy task. There are a bunch of industry sources that create content, specifically for MSPs. Try leveraging some other sources. If you don’t currently use Kaseya’s Powered Services Pro, which Dan Tomaszewski and I are responsible for — start there. They offer tons of high-quality content each quarter, and they’ll even post for you. Their services are very inexpensive.
Next, establish meaningful metrics and a playbook to track progress. Monitor website conversions, social media metrics, new prospects, email stats, first-time appointments (FTAs) generated, and close ratio.
When your salespeople deal with more qualified leads, your chances of training an actual successful sales resource go up dramatically, and your business becomes more scalable and valuable.
