Category: Sales & Marketing

differentiate
Ask an MSP Expert: How to differentiate my offering

Ask an MSP Expert: How to differentiate my offering

Ask an MSP Expert is a weekly advice column answering common questions from MSPs and IT service providers. It covers topics ranging from pricing and selling to marketing and communications—and everything in between.  Q: I am finding it harder and...

/ March 16, 2015
cold calling tips
Cold calling tips for MSPs: How to respond to “We already have that”

Cold calling tips for MSPs: How to respond to “We already have that”

If you’ve added cold calling to your sales and marketing strategy, you’ve likely been told “No, thank you!” in more ways than you can count.  Rejection and objections are part of the process, and there are multiple ways to navigate...

/ March 11, 2015 / 1 Comment
purpose
IT service providers: How to find your purpose and own your brand

IT service providers: How to find your purpose and own your brand

What is your purpose? This is the single most important question every business must answer in order to effectively market and differentiate in today’s experience-driven marketplace. Forget everything else—vision, mission, values, brand pillars, operating principles, strategies, priorities. Get to the...

/ March 7, 2015
msp marketing
3 Reasons managed service providers shouldn’t give up on marketing

3 Reasons managed service providers shouldn’t give up on marketing

Too many managed service providers think MSP marketing is as simple as launching a few campaigns and then sitting back to watch the new customers roll in. As long as they get out there and do it, they’ll win, right?...

/ March 2, 2015
Starting a sales conversation
Ask an MSP Expert: How to start a sales call as an MSP

Ask an MSP Expert: How to start a sales call as an MSP

Q: I set up a sales call with an SMB and need some tips on how to begin the conversation. Should I just launch into my sales pitch? What advice can you offer me on what to say and what...

/ February 23, 2015
cold calling for MSPs
5 Reasons MSPs need to stop making excuses and start making cold calls

5 Reasons MSPs need to stop making excuses and start making cold calls

Call it cold calling.  Call it telemarketing.  Call it prospecting.  Call it whatever you want, but start doing it.  I’ll bet you just thought of a bunch of reasons why you aren’t using cold calling to grow your business.  I’m...

/ February 11, 2015
heart
Ask an MSP Expert: How do I respond to an SMB that wants to break up with me

Ask an MSP Expert: How do I respond to an SMB that wants to break up with me

Q: Help! I think one of my SMBs wants to leave me for another service provider. What do I do? Is there anything I can say to convince them to stay? I hate confrontation, but I don’t want to get...

/ February 9, 2015
ID
MSPs Beware: Do your research before signing that new prospect

MSPs Beware: Do your research before signing that new prospect

Who is your ideal client? As an MSP, you probably have some standards about the kind of companies you want to work with—say, SMBs with 50+ users, from one of four or five industries, in a period of growth, etc.,...

/ February 4, 2015
Ask an MSP Expert: How to make backup mandatory for my customers

Ask an MSP Expert: How to make backup mandatory for my customers

Q: I know the value of selling cloud backup and recovery as part of a managed service agreement, but some of my customers don’t get it and say they’d rather skip it. Should I make it a mandatory service for all...

/ January 19, 2015
MSP marketing
5 Strategies to score touchdowns on every possession with your MSP marketing

5 Strategies to score touchdowns on every possession with your MSP marketing

While every MSP wants to turn prospects into clients, not every MSP knows how. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “Only one in 100 IT firms think marketing first, but 100 out of 100 want more leads.”...

/ January 12, 2015