Empowering Your MSP Business to Grow and Prosper—One Post at a Time

Pricing is something many businesses struggle with, and MSPs are no exception. Price your offerings too high, and you might not find a great market for you. Price too low, and you might be hurting your own margins. Right now, the industry still offers enough flexibility that there are a number of different managed services pricing strategies that work. However, it’s important for MSPs to be aware of the benefits and drawbacks to each. Which pricing model is best for you? Let’s discuss.

What is one of the worst things an MSP can hear? “You’re fired!”

When a client leaves you, that’s called churn… and it’s really bad for your business. Churn not only represents a client leaving, but it can be incredibly costly to replace that business. It’s important to minimize client churn and therefore, you need to be able to identify the early signs of churn so you can reduce the chance that your client leaves you.

If you’ve been on LinkedIn recently, you’ve probably seen the #NextGenMSP challenge floating around. Started by Continuum, this challenge engages MSPs and asks them to post a video sharing their top growth tips for the next generation of MSPs. 

With over 60 videos and counting, the challenge has taken over our LinkedIn feeds. These videos contain excellent pieces of advice from fellow IT providers, MSPs, and vendors. We noticed a couple key trends and themes, so we’ve decided to consolidate these to bring you the best pieces of advice we’ve heard thus far.

An increasing number of managed services providers (MSPs) are finding competition creeping into their accounts. Inevitably, competition will drive down prices and profitability, unless you can demonstrate to your customer why working with you is worth the extra money.

There are massive pressures on managed IT service providers today—leading to a new chapter in MSP evolution. The speed at which the M&A market is consolidating and the growing IT skills gap are just a few examples. And because of this, we’re seeing an increasing separation between those MSPs who are quickly growing and succeeding, and those who are being left behind.

To be part of this former group, though, the key may be to leverage the Master MSP model. On a recent TubbTalk podcast, Richard Tubb was joined by Paul Dippell, the CEO and founder of Service Leadership, to discuss how today’s fastest growing MSPs are using this model, and why.

At Southern IT Networks, we’ve been supporting Office 365 for several years now. Over these years, we’ve also moved from a pay-as-you-go support model to a fixed monthly fee model. Along the way, we’ve learned a lot about how to best support our small- and medium-sized business (SMB) clients and how to add value by using bolt-on services.

In this post, I’m going to share some of my top tips for supporting Office 365, as well as which services you could bundle in to add value and make it easier to support your clients.

The ability for an MSP to specialize and differentiate themselves from their competition is a major factor toward business growth. However, with IT services becoming increasingly commoditized, providers are converging under large-scale mergers and acquisitions. This leaves many MSPs looking for the right way forward to grow their business. For many MSPs, this means specializing managed IT services for specific vertically-aligned industries.

From technology needs, to regulatory concerns to highly specific RMM, security and BDR requirements, MSPs who specialize in a vertical must become experts within that field in the realm of IT. They will anticipate problems before they happen, resolve issues as they arise, and advise on the technology needs for the future—all of which requires industry-specific experience and knowledge. For the MSPs who take the time to accumulate these skillsets and earn a trusted reputation within the vertical, the ROI can be enormous.

It all starts with a first step, and our new eBook, Targeting New Verticals: Understanding MSP Opportunities and Go-to-Market Strategies, is the perfect place to consider and evaluate your next move.

As referenced in my last installment, Executive Business Reviews (EBRs) aid in driving awareness, communication, and reinforcing trust when expansion opportunities arise in your client base. With this foundation of how to deliver a highly effective EBR, it’s time to take things a step further to better engage with your clients and create meaningful relationships and mutually beneficial outcomes.

Executive business reviews should deliver both information and value to your clients in a clear, concise manner. Clients should leave the meeting with a better understanding of the work you’ve been doing to keep their business running efficiently, as well as the areas where you can help them improve. This is a delicate balance, so you must do your research prior to the meeting to be successful at capturing new revenue opportunities that are presented.

Focus on the following key items to help you achieve your goal.

“I got an inbound lead! I’m going to call them right now!”

Whoa there. Let’s hit pause for a second. All of us in business get excited when that hot inbound lead comes in, but you shouldn’t be running full steam ahead as soon as they submit a form. Instead, take a step back and prepare before engaging.

Much like it’s important to understand your managed services competitive landscape, you’ll want to fully understand the end client before reaching out. That due diligence starts on the Internet.

According to BCC Research, the global managed IT services market could be worth more than $250 billion by the year 2021. This sector in flourishing, and the potential for value-added resellers (VARs), break/fix providers, or emerging MSPs to achieve scalable, profitable growth in IT is tremendous.

Capitalizing on this proactive, preventative approach to IT services is more efficient than running around putting out fires. Additionally, this model can lead to higher margins, scalability and recurring revenue, while improving customer service. To get there, however, you will need the right business plan, technology and partnerships. 

So, what’s the key to unparalleled success in managed IT services? Focus on these four elements.