MARKETING FEATURE CONT . about one lead for every 5,000 spam emails sent . Can you already see the problem here ? Of course those leads are going to be low-margin , difficult-to-convert clients .
“ Unlike with most other marketing and advertising , prospects that are referred come in WITH TRUST IN PLACE , predetermined to buy from you . Unless you totally screw it up , your close rate on referrals with a need you can service should be 100 %.” – Robin Robins
via a Groupon deal was a cheap , non-repeat , discount buyer . I accurately predicted this the minute I heard the Groupon pitch , because a customer won on price will always be lost on price — yet thousands of businesses desperate for sales and lacking any marketing or sales savvy had to find this out the hard way . The only reason Groupon still exists is because MOST businesses are not savvy or sophisticated enough in their marketing to understand that not all customers are created equal , and HOW they are introduced to your business and the source of a lead dramatically impact close rate and value .
Recently , a struggling MSP sought my help with his sales process . He was getting leads but was frustrated because the leads were typically small deals . On top of that , he was constantly getting beat down on price , making concessions on his contract to get the deal closed , selling month-to-month agreements , and getting frustrated by A LOT of stalls , delays , and prospects going dark . He was nearly at the point of being totally and completely convinced that it was due to a soft economy , pointing to several extremely cheap competitors in his area who were constantly undercutting him on price .
However , after looking at what he was doing , I discovered that he was depending on spam to generate the leads he was complaining about , setting up another URL unassociated with his own to avoid being blacklisted . The lists were ones he scraped or otherwise bought for cheap , only getting
You might think this is an extreme example and say to yourself that YOU aren ’ t spamming — but you ’ re missing the point . ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you do in marketing and in your sales process is either BUILDING TRUST or destroying it . There is no neutrality .
That ’ s why referrals are the gold standard of inbound leads ; they close faster , easier , and with a lot less fee resistance . Unlike with most other marketing and advertising , prospects that are referred come in WITH TRUST IN PLACE , predetermined to buy from you . Unless you totally screw it up , your close rate on referrals with a need you can service should be 100 %.
When I invest in sponsoring an industry event and obtain a speaking spot , not only do we get a lot of leads , but they ’ re high-quality , high-converting opportunities . In fact , a lead generated from a speaking engagement is three times more likely to close , worth five times more initially in revenue , and is four times more likely to buy additional services and membership than a lead generated from digital marketing . This represents a difference of MULTIPLE MILLIONS of dollars . How is this possible ? BOTH LEADS are MSPs . BOTH are getting the same sales pitch . BOTH are being offered the same products and services .
It ’ s because the speaking engagement properly positions me as a trusted authority . The presentation is not a short ad but a long and carefully constructed sales presentation designed to provide value in advance , building credibility and TRUST . That sets the tone for everything that follows .
Very often , I see the sales and marketing practices of MSPs having the opposite effect they ’ re hoping for , essentially WEAKENING their position of authority , trust , and expertise with new prospects ; INVITING price objections ; and making it MORE difficult to attract High Value Clients ( HVCs ) and command the fees they deserve once they get the opportunity to present their services to a viable prospect .
This routinely shows up in the form of price resistance , sales stalls , objections , ridiculous demands to alter your service delivery and pricing , hidden agendas , and “ playing ” you against your competition to secure the lowest possible price . ( HINT : If you position yourself correctly , ALL of this goes away since you aren ’ t perceived as HAVING any competition .)
I ’ ve seen it over and over again where two IT services firms with virtually identical capabilities , credentials , training , vendors , resources , service offerings , and plans have wildly
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