Do You Want to Grow Your Business?

If you ask the CEO of Growth Generators, Harrison Baron, there’s a chance he’ll say you don’t. 

Why would we make such a claim? Because in Matthew and David’s recent conversation with him, they asked him for a brutally honest industry-related opinion, and he said this without any hesitation:

“The bar is so incredibly low for sales and marketing in the MSP world, that if it was a toothpick on the ground, you might not even realize it was there.”

And Harrison’s not alone in this thought: when 1,300+ people working at MSPs in North America were asked what the least efficient area of their  business was, ‘sales and marketing efforts’ came in 2nd place. These initiatives are crucial for business growth, but many MSPs simply aren’t doing it. Does that apply to you? Does the confrontation sting?

Together, let’s pick that toothpick up off the ground and chat about:

1. Why sales and marketing is so important for your business

2. How to begin prioritizing those initiatives

Great Sales and Marketing is Outside Your Comfort Zone

We get it–when you pick up the phone to chat with that guy that seemed interested in working with you, and he proceeded to not pick up, then shut you down via a cold, brief email, it wasn’t fun. It makes you want to stop making calls and go back to researching the latest cybersecurity vendor or joining in on the online discourse regarding the most recent breach.

That’s where you’re most comfortable. But we’ve got to stop spending so much time focused on building the best tech stack and spend more time on reaching the people that need that tech stack (whether they know it or not). Because your tech stack doesn’t make you money. Customers do.

Make Your MSP Stand Apart

Beating the competition and getting new customers continues to be an ongoing struggle for MSPs. In fact, it was the #1 concern for MSPs across the globe, representing 43% of respondents according to Datto. Expectations are higher, requirements are stricter, and the marketplace is more crowded than ever. How do you stand apart? Invest in your business. 

Your business’s online presence matters more now than ever. A dated, or inactive, online presence often equates a dated, or inactive, business to prospects. MSPs must use the proper tools to increase brand awareness, reach new people, and close more deals.

Where to Start With MSP Sales and Marketing

1. If you don’t have one already, get a CRM with helpful sales and marketing tools. Think Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, Pipedrive, or Nimble. Need help deciding? See what MSPs are saying on Reddit, or check out this Forbes comparison chart.

2. Identify your niche, then go where they are. Think about your ideal customer, whether they exist or not. How big is their team? What industry are they in? How much IT knowledge do they have? Let’s find more of them! If that means more customers in Professional Services, get active on LinkedIn. If it’s more blue collar professions, join some Facebook groups.

3. Start creating free, valuable content on a regular basis. What you post on your website and social media platform(s) should provide value 80% of the time. That means you should only be promoting your business 20% of the time. What’s that look like? Here’s a few ideas:

   1. Think through the questions or problems your customers often talk to you about–write a blog about the answer or solution to one of them!

   2. What are the top 5 things most often addressed during onboarding a new customer? Create a checklist prospects can download to address them on their own. 

   3. With summer comes increased travel and vacation. Write a social media post suggesting best practices for working remotely.

4. Start an email marketing campaign. Once people start downloading your content and you capture their emails, organize them in your CRM by industry, size, location, etc. Then, write emails for each specific segment. Your accounting prospects care about different things than construction companies–write personalized content accordingly.

5. Build a strong online presence. Get started with digital marketing. Optimize your website and content for search engines by using specific keywords. Invest in paid digital ads that will target your ideal audience. If you haven’t already, set up your Google Business Profile and begin collecting reviews from customers.

6. Boost your credibility. It’s easy to write about your business, your services, your team on your website. But allow others to do the talking for you. Begin to gather a library of testimonials and case studies (here’s an example!) that can be sprinkled throughout your website, boosting your credibility.

7. Stay in touch with prospects. Contact your leads! If you’ve been given their email or phone number, they’ve shown interest in your business! Allow that to give you confidence. It won’t always be fun, easy, or comfortable, but as Harrison said, “You’ve probably burned yourself cooking once and you still make food everyday, right?” Keep putting in the effort, and you will see results.

Show Prospects Your MSP is Invested

At the heart of it all? You have to truly care. Throughout Harrison’s call with Matthew and David, he reiterated that the opportunity to make more money is there. You just have to prioritize sales and marketing, and truly care about the businesses you serve. Take the time to fully understand your prospects. Learn how they operate, identify their pain points, see what their definition of success looks like.

When a prospect does pick up the phone or agree to a meeting, ask open-ended questions that lead to more in-depth conversation. “Can you tell me more about that?” “Can you be more specific?” “What’s that look like?” “How long has this been an issue?” And don’t be afraid of silence. Oftentimes, the silence doesn’t mean they have nothing to say, but rather that they have so much to say and are just thinking through how to verbalize it. Allow them to drive the conversation, both in tempo and in topic. By making it all about them, instead of about you and your company, you’re showing them right away how much you care.

MSP Sales and Marketing Don’t Happen Alone

Lastly, remember that you don’t exist in a vacuum. Leverage the community you have (or are soon to discover!)

• Look into local partnerships or alliances.

• Create a referral program.

• Ask your customers for testimonials or case studies.

• Once you’ve identified your niche, pitch the idea of co-hosting a webinar with someone you know in that industry.

• Meet with your current vendor partners about marketing development funds.

• Attend marketing conferences and local networking events.

• Become an active member of a Reddit subreddit or Discord channel.

• Join an online community like Growth Generators.

We know you prefer your alone time behind a screen, but connections truly will impact your sales and marketing efforts. You’ll see.

You can do hard things!

Bottom line? You’ll only get better at sales and marketing if you do sales and marketing. Remember how low the bar is. Pick up that toothpick and start today. Call that number you’ve had on a sticky note on your desk for weeks. Post on your personal LinkedIn for the first time. Every small step you take will compound into something greater than you’d expect. And when you inevitably get a “No” or embarrass yourself in front of a peer, dust yourself off and try again. Because you, and your business, are worth it.

Get in touch