{"id":34782,"date":"2023-05-22T13:47:49","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T09:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/?p=34782"},"modified":"2024-01-23T19:43:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T15:43:30","slug":"msp-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/blog\/msp-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"The Comprehensive Guide to MSP Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running a sales operation may not be the most exciting part of your work as an MSP. But the fact is that, for an MSP business to be successful it needs an effective sales plan, sales team, and strategy for tracking sales performance.<\/p>\n

Keep reading for tips on how to implement each of these things for your MSP business, along with links to further reading with additional details on each topic.
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Create a Customer Profile<\/h2>\n

You can\u2019t sell effectively if you don\u2019t know who your customers are. That\u2019s why building a profile of your target customer is a crucial first step in developing an MSP sales strategy.<\/p>\n

To be clear, when we say you should build a customer profile, we mean that you should identify the key characteristics of the customers to whom you will ideally sell. This is different from acquiring customers first, then figuring out what their profiles are. If you start by determining what your ideal customer looks like, you can target those types of customers with your MSP sales operation.<\/p>\n

This makes for a much more effective strategy than simply casting a wide net and seeing which customers respond. If you take that approach, you may end up spending sales resources on leads who are not a good fit for your company (based on their technical needs, budget, and so on). Worse, you could end up with customers whom you can\u2019t really support.<\/p>\n

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MSP Sales Pitch: 6 Tips from a Real MSP<\/div>\n
Create a dedicated sales pitch that will keep prospects engaged and your sales team focused on the task at hand.<\/div>\n
\n\"CTA\"<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

So, start off your MSP sales strategy by building a profile of the customers whom you are well-positioned to serve. Be sure that your profile identifies the following:<\/p>\n

The Size of the Customer\u2019s Company<\/h3>\n

How many employees does your ideal customer have? How many devices exist within the customer\u2019s IT infrastructure? What amount of budget should the customer have to spend on managed IT services? These are all important questions to answer to ensure that you don\u2019t bite off more than you can chew, while at the same time keeping your business profitable.<\/p>\n

Industry<\/h3>\n

Which industry or industries do you want to provide services for? Many MSPs specialize in certain verticals, such as healthcare or finance.<\/p>\n

Further reading<\/span> 5 Tips for Choosing Your Vertical<\/a><\/p>\n

Pain Points<\/h3>\n

What, specifically, does your customer need from an MSP? The answer to this question includes which types of managed services the company is looking for, as well as the level of support and guidance that it requires. Some customers are looking only for specific services, like data backup or server management, while others need big-picture guidance for their overall IT strategy.<\/p>\n

Further reading<\/span> Top 5 SMB Pain Points Solved by MSPs<\/a><\/p>\n

Who Are the Decision-Makers?<\/h3>\n

Who do you need to reach your target customer\u2019s company in order to market yourself and close a deal? For smaller companies, the decision-maker is often a CTO or (for smaller companies) even a CEO. At larger clients, the decision-makers for a managed services contract will be mid-level management.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve answered all of these questions, you can create a customer profile, and design sales operations that target that portfolio.<\/p>\n

MSP Sales Funnel<\/h2>\n

Once you know who your customers are, you\u2019re ready to begin MSP sales operations. The best way to do this is to adhere to the tried-and-true sales process, which includes the following steps:<\/p>\n